Please help me with reflux at my wit's end

[kiki22]

Ds2 is 12 weeks old he has mild silent reflux we have been to gp then refered to the consultant they have been very good but I'm still having problems that don't quite fit so we are not really getting the right thing, I'm hoping to find some mumsnetters who can help from the wealth of knowledge I know is here yes I'm buttering you up so here are the facts.

-The reflux is mild gaviscon totally controls it however makes him extremely constipated much worse than the reflux.
-I had many digestives problem as a child, ds1 was diagnosed with lactose intolerance as a baby he grew out of it but I've never been 100% on his problem being lactose if I'm honest. It's quite common in my mum's side to have mild problems with digestion

• Ranitadine made him cry all the time within 24 hours of taking it we tried for a week and by the end he was crying most of his awake time. He rarely Cry's even with the reflux
  

-We are 5 days into the omeprazol and he's been unsettled and crying a sore cry for 2 days won't take more than 2oz at a time.

• I asked about alternatives to the medication I think he may have a sensitive digestive system like me and ds1 the medication seems to irritate him with indigestion and constipation (I think) I have heard carobel instant can be good they told me it's best to have medication.
  

I really think the medication is making him worse not better but don't know what I can do I've done all the usual propping up cot raised etc. The only other advice I've been given by friends and family is start weaning buts he's only 12 weeks. Please help

[MrsPatrickDempsey]

You say he rarely cries with the reflux which leads me to the conclusion that none of the meds (except gaviscon which causes constipation) are actually helping. What symptoms led you to the reflux diagnosis?

[MrsPatrickDempsey]

? Cows milk protein allergy?

[ChocolateForAll]

Aptamil do an anti-reflux milk which was a life changer for us. Was told about it by a friend whose child had all of the prescribed milks to no
avail and this was the only thing that helped. Definitely try it.

[kiki22]

I can hear the milk coming back up if it's quiet then see it in his mouth he only really cry's when eating he cry's when he's hungry or tired too but is generally easy to console. He arches windmills and fusses when eating.

He also seems to fuss and takes hours to poo but it's not hard runny enough to leak from the nappy and farts like a grown man all day long I forgot to add that.

[kiki22]

Oh and we have tried apitmel and sma comfort neither made a difference. He's on normal sma right now.

[ScarletSienna]

My experience: son had silent reflux/GORD. What worked for us in the end was him growing out of it at about one but it got a lot better by 6/7 months with Omeprazole and cutting out dairy (possible CMPI/A). I stopped eating dairy which meant my breast milk was also clear of it. A friend of mine needed to cut out dairy and soya. We stopped the Gaviscon very early on as the constipation was equally awful. Weaning would not help as even at 6 months, they don't go from milk to fully nutritional meals so you're right!

It may be worth bringing up dairy intolerance with the doctor.

[ILiveForNachos]

My daughters was due to cows milk protein intolerance. I was breast feeding, cut out all dairy and soya and it went away. If yours if formula fed i'd suggest you see if you can get specialist milk. It's not the lactose that does it, it's the protein in the cows milk.

[MapMyMum]

Sounds exactly like my youngest. We used colief drops to help with the constipation along with gaviscon.

[thisismyfirsttime]

If the reflux is mild it sounds like the medication is causing more problems than the reflux itself (we had this with dd). We fed her in the most upright position we could, then sat her up to wind her for 5-10 mins after every feed helped, we got a bouncer suitable from newborn that we could sit her up a bit in, she napped on us on the sofa sitting upright with her on our chests and then transferred her onto pillows that were arranged for her to sit elevated. Once we went to bed she had a pillow under her mattress at the top so her head was elevated then too although only slightly. Whenever we held her she was upright, over shoulders rather than in arms. I consulted with a doctor and an OT who both said it was fine to put dd in the pram with it on a slight sitting up incline as long as she wasn't slumped forward and was supported. Gaviscon made her slightly constipated but once she settled to it she was fine. We did a lot of milk changing/ medication changing for a few weeks but in hindsight that made it worse.

[GraceGrape]

I would definitely push for trying out a dairy-free formula (not soya either). Ask for a paediatric gastroenterologist referral.

[NotAnotherUserName1234]

why do you think it's the gaviscon giving him constipation and not the sma?
you could give cow&gate a try - my LO was constipated on sma, very loose on cow&gate and kinda ok on aptimel

also - check out the little refluxers forum

[QueenOfHumboldtCounty]

I think there's a maturity of the gut that happens around 12 weeks that means digestive problems start to be less problematic so I hope this will be the case for your lo

[kiki22]

The Gaviscon turns his poo green and clay like I know because on days he has more its worse the following day and days hes been off it trying other thing he goes back to yellow more liquid poop. He was worse on apitmel I'm scared to keep changing incase it makes it worse.

[MapMyMum]

Yes you do need to be careful chopping and changing, and they told me it takes 2 weeks for changes to properly show with new meds etc. Do try the colief drops in with the gaviscon to ease off the constipation without gripes that laxatives give

[ScarletSienna]

Agree with Map about giving each a chance. The Omeprazole took two weeks. Each time we tried to reduce the meds, we would see symptoms creeping back after ten days then it'd take a while to get back to the right balance.

[kiki22]

Thank you I will keep going with the omeprazole for another week hopefully it will settle down.

[ScarletSienna]

Good luck!