Reflux- Gaviscon Infant . Is it worth it?

[lockdownpregnancy]

Hi ladies.
My DS is suffering with reflux. We bottle feed him and wind him every ounce and then keep him upright for around 20 minutes after feeding but he still throws up whilst upright and then Continues to spit up quite a bit of milk after we put him down.
My question is, is Gaviscon Infant any good?
DS is 5 weeks old.
My GP is a sack of shit at the minute so any help is greatly appreciated.

[lockdownpregnancy]

To add on I spoke to the HV and been told to get some thickening powder so I have been advised Cow & Gate Carobel powder from the pharmacist, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed now we have this things start to improve!
If anyone has used this with their baby can you let me have your reviews on it please
TIA

[Loukifre]

Gaviscon infant was a lifesaver for my DD. She has a CMPA and the reflux was horrible. Screaming all the time, wouldn't be put down, spitting up constantly, etc.

I only had to give her one sachet in the evenings to make a massive difference. Sometimes 2 a day depending on how bad she was. Be careful about constipation tho - make sure you mix it correctly and don't overdo it. They say max 6 sachets a day but I noticed a difference in poop consistency with just one sachet.

She's 7 months now and seems to finally be over it. I always keep gaviscon infant in the house!

I liked gaviscon infant as all it is is basically a thickener type substance that goes to the top in the stomach and acts like a barrier to help stop liquid coming up. It doesn't affect stomach acid and has no other effects.

[Lenny1987]

I'm in a similar position, my ds has awful reflux, we had him on infant gaviscon, which helped a bit and reduced the vomiting from 6 times a day to 2 or 3, but in the end he was put on omeprozole which has done the trick. Also I know you're doing 20 mins but I've found that any less than 30 and my lo brings it back up, could be worth a try.

[NameChange30]

Have you ruled out CMPA?
www.allergyuk.org/information-and-advice/conditions-and-symptoms/469-cows-milk-allergy

If CMPA is suspected, you'll need to trial a hypoallergenic formula.

If it is CMPA it might be resolved by switching milk and you might not need medication (but you might still need it).

The GP will tell you to try Gaviscon first and if that doesn't help they should prescribe omeprazole.

[1Pinkfluffyelephant]

Omeprazole and Carobel were absolute game changers. DS was sooooo sick due to reflux he dropped 5 centiles and ended up in hospital. Was started on them and he improved literally within days!

[doireallyneedaname]

I would add that some reflux is very normal at that age for most babies and doesn’t always need treatment. If he’s not displaying any pain and is gaining weight, you probably don’t need to treat it. I went through the same thing and he was over it a month or so later. The gaviscon is in the cupboard untouched - I read it constipates a lot of babies which just makes things worse.

[Esmeralda1988]

We've just started cow and gate anti reflux today and it's been really good, my LO is back to drinking almost a full feed and no screaming/pain/throwing up. Hope it isn't some sort of fluke!

[Ffsffsffsffsffs]

My dd was ebf, was absolutely horrific with reflux. Ended up taking her to A&E one night at the absolute end of my tether after zero help from gp or hv. Was prescribed infant gaviscon sachets. Fiddly as had to squirt it in with a syringe before every feed but ye gods it was an instant relief.

[dolphinpose]

Gaviscon infant was a real life saver for DS2 who threw up everything he ate due to reflux and was losing weight rapidly. It kept enough food down for him to start to grow and it eased the pain. Ranitidine was even better (no longer sold) but Gaviscon helped a lot.

[Ihaveoflate]

The simple answer to your question is yes.

DD had horrendous silent reflux and was on maximum Gaviscon from 3 weeks to 5 months when we weaned. She was also prescribed Lansoprazole from 12 weeks but she had already improved hugely by then with Gaviscon (and cranial osteopathy).

[Trinpy]

It worked wonders for my ds. He went from a screaming, miserable baby who barely slept to being happy, calm and sleeping a 6 hour stint at night within 2 days of starting it. I kept the leftover sachets in the cupboard for when ds2 was born but although he was also a sicky baby it didn't bother him so much.

[NishaaS123]

Gaviscon infant really helped my baby qas constantly throwing up after feeds but after taking Gaviscon infant he was alot better

[Superscientist]

Gaviscon improved my LO reflux, she fed better we were on 3 sachets a day which was just about OK re constipation but she still had reflux. Ideally we would have increased the gaviscon but we wanted to avoid digestive issues. We have switched to omperazole, it has improved the reflux but its still there and causing discomfort. We are only on the starting dose but have a review next week I am hoping that we can try increasing the dose.

[lockdownpregnancy]

Thank you ladies.
We started him on the cow & gate carobel yesterday and he's barely been sick which is good!
However the HV said to knock his feed down by an ounce (4oz instead of 5oz) so he doesn't get over fed with the formula being thicker.
So last night he was drinking 4oz, which took half an hour as we have to wind him every ounce, then keep him upright for 30 minutes and then he was going down for 45 minutes to an hour and then he was waking up again wanting another 4oz feed!
So as you can imagine me and DH are absolutely knackered, as for the last couple of weeks he was sleeping for 4 hours and then 2 lots of 2 1/2 hours which was manageable.
I'm tempted to put his feed back up to 5oz as he was going 3-4 hours in between feeds m, but I'm worried about over feeding him and causing him tummy discomfort
Thoughts?

[Esmeralda1988]

@lockdownpregnancy that's interesting, so they might drink less of a thicker feed? My DD has been the same but it's hard to find the balance and she's feeding every 2 hours again!

[lockdownpregnancy]

Well I put his feed back up to 5oz and all he has done all day is scream the place down so I'm taking it back down to 4oz instead.
I'd rather him feed every 2 hours and me and DH are knackered than listening to him scream for hours. I have a splitting headache and it's all on me as DH is at work until later tonight 😭
No nap for me today either so I'm a zombie!
Oh well! It's what I signed up for!
He's currently conked out on my chest and I'm reluctant to put him down the poor little poppet!

We have gripe water for his colic and that helps a lot but we can only give him 6 doses in a 24 hour period so we can't give it to him every time he has a bottle unfortunately! 😫

[Passanotherjaffacake]

We found it helpful but the resulting constipation was awful and my dd was on the minimum dose, we did a lot of sleeping in shifts so she could sleep on us until she grew out of it! Good luck!!!