why did HV advice rice/rusks

[BabyMamma93]

My LB has reflux, pretty bad he can have a 5oz bottle, not be sick for a hour, then the hour following up to his next bottle hes non stop then still wanting his bottle, he sometimes throws up for the whole 2 hours.. but hardly ever on a night (night feeds)
when i spoke to HV & doc they both said.. absolutely no food until a min of 17 week although even then you shouldn't really BUT if the reflux is still a problem, try giving rusks or baby rice from 17 weeks with formula (not in a bottle)' doc also said its ok to give him bland very soft mushed up potatoes with nothing added, now by what ive read on here, rusks & rice is a big NO NO as basically its no good, so why would my HV & doc both tell me its ok?

He is being referred to see pediatrician so i guess i will see what he says and see if the reflux can be addressed..
I just don't get why they said i can try it but people on here say not to as its basically crap for them

 

[AP]

Because Hv aren't always right, they can be set in old ways.

Rusks are high in sugar, and rice has no nutritional value. Obviously she thinks that having something heavy in his stomach will help.

What has been tried so far Babymamma93? I remember you posting about his reflux before.

 

[BabyMamma93]

we tried gaviscon, sma stay down, both worked for 2-3 week, then doc tried nutramigen which made him worse so 3 days later he was given Enfamil AR, i went back earlier this week and have been given referral to hosp bcos apparently Enfamil is the last resort.
i do get that she thinks something heavier will settle, but surely thats the same as thicker milk anyway.
What about doc saying plain boiled mushed up potatoes? is that another no no? or something worth trying at 17 weeks +? providing what we try next doesnt work?

 

[BabyMamma93]

the HV i have too she is a student and said she is being taught by all the new regulations not by all the old ways, this is why im questioning whether i should or not.

 

[liz1985]

HV advice can vary very greatly by area. Me and my friend only live 20mins away but come under different area's and the advice we get is so different its unreal. Even though my HV promote weaning from 6m they still recomend to start with rice, their reasoning is that it similar in taste to milk so can make the transition easy. Allthough the are very against rusks and I always hear them telling people not to give them as they are very high in sugar. If you were to start early because of the reflux id personally skip the rice and give fruit and veg instead.

 

[AP]

we tried gaviscon, sma stay down, both worked for 2-3 week, then doc tried nutramigen which made him worse so 3 days later he was given Enfamil AR, i went back earlier this week and have been given referral to hosp bcos apparently Enfamil is the last resort.
i do get that she thinks something heavier will settle, but surely thats the same as thicker milk anyway.
What about doc saying plain boiled mushed up potatoes? is that another no no? or something worth trying at 17 weeks +? providing what we try next doesnt work?

Won't they consider a medication? It can sometimes take a few goes at different combinations before something suits them
To be fair weaning caused us more issues, but it's not the same for everyone

 

[BabyMamma93]

well i was agreeing more when she said boiled potatoes, that makes more sense rather than baby rice. i dont want to give my baby and baby food really, just normal food i have or cook..

and the doctors are rubbish really, so i cant wait to see pediatrician, see what they think and give me for him, i know a few people whos baby has reflux one of my friends baby was given enfamil ar by pediatrician, another was given 2 other things to ass to baby milk.. only time will tell i just wish id get the referral soon

 

[irish_cob]

They haven't really tried anything, gaviscon is the first medication they try, they haven't tried ranitidine or omeprazole. I begged for ranitidine for my dd and it really helped her. You could try going back to your GP and asking to try ranitidine. I think the giving of food is less important to the overall issue than getting the reflux sorted out x

 

[BabyMamma93]

They haven't really tried anything, gaviscon is the first medication they try, they haven't tried ranitidine or omeprazole. I begged for ranitidine for my dd and it really helped her. You could try going back to your GP and asking to try ranitidine. I think the giving of food is less important to the overall issue than getting the reflux sorted out x

a friend told me to ask for this, when i asked the doc she said there's no point trying anything else because enfamil is what the hospital suggest and its usually the last thing to try, but my doc jumped right to using that hoping it would help, if not then a referral is needed, to be honest i don't want to see my doc about it anymore they are rubbish, after the doc googling 'sicky baby' and coming to the conclusion he has a allergy, i have totally given up on them..
Its so bad that we cant even trust our own GPs to do their job.. so yeah just waiting for a referral and go from there

 

[AP]

They haven't really tried anything, gaviscon is the first medication they try, they haven't tried ranitidine or omeprazole. I begged for ranitidine for my dd and it really helped her. You could try going back to your GP and asking to try ranitidine. I think the giving of food is less important to the overall issue than getting the reflux sorted out x

a friend told me to ask for this, when i asked the doc she said there's no point trying anything else because enfamil is what the hospital suggest and its usually the last thing to try, but my doc jumped right to using that hoping it would help, if not then a referral is needed, to be honest i don't want to see my doc about it anymore they are rubbish, after the doc googling 'sicky baby' and coming to the conclusion he has a allergy, i have totally given up on them..
Its so bad that we cant even trust our own GPs to do their job.. so yeah just waiting for a referral and go from there

It's because it costs them money This is why they told you to do this - the cheap option. Our GPs cant give out omeprazole though, expense or not. We had to get the paeditrician to give us what we needed, pretty much every time we tried something new.

 

[BabyMamma93]

got the referral through, its on 19th August, 3 long weeks to wait, but least we are getting somewhere x

 

[supertabby]

We were told early weaning could help with reflux but no earlier than 4 months. Before 4 months their digestive systems literally cannot process solids properly. They're not developed enough.

We weaned at 5.5 months and it made no difference anyway and I wished I'd waited (I wanted to do blw but you can't before 6 months, she took to eating better once she had finger food).

Keep pushing for medication - it took some trial and error to find the perfect combination for DD, she ended up on gaviscon, omeprazole and domperidone. She was under consultant care at the hospital and they were great. GPs were rubbish. I knew she had reflux and got dismissed as a paranoid mum by various GPs, HVs and midwives. When she choked on her own rising acid and we called 999 (thinking it was a seizure) the paediatrician at the hospital that night diagnosed reflux.

 

[BabyMamma93]

im waiting for the referral before i make any decisions on weaning, like you i really want to do BLW so weaning before 6 months is a no go. i really do hope they can sort this out, given it is reflux, i really think it is, i could be wrong i know very little about alergies as me nor my family or OHs family has any so i have no knowlege or experience, but its only the sickness he suffers, and constipation but a gp told me this is due to all the change in milks. i cant wait for him appt with pediatrician, ive never been so excited for a appointment lol

could you tell me what the do at the appointments pls?

 

[sparklycat]

You need to get ranitidine for your baby, I tried gaviscon and then went back to the doctor and pushed for ranitidine - couple of days later i had a new baby. I don't understand why they aren't giving you it x