Reflux help

[leahmaysimmonds]

Hi my daughter is almost 4 months and has been struggling with reflux since she was born and it’s gotten worse. I was strictly breastfeeding but because of thrush I changed to formula. I tried aptamil and it was no good, she was very gassy. I then changed the aptamil colic n constipation and it was even worse. Done the opposite of what it said it should. Please don’t use this on your babies, it will make them very gassy and constipated. I have now changed to SMA little steps and it’s the best one I’ve tried which has made her colic a little bit better but no difference to reflux. I’ve tried, water, gaviscon, gripe water and infacol and nothings worked. I sit her up right when feeding, burp her every 2 ounces, keep her upright 30 minutes after eating and nothing works. She’s in so much pain and I feel so helpless. I don’t really want to try any more treatments just maybe a different formula but it has to be vegetarian. Any advice or recommendations please? Even if it’s treatments x

[CountryGirl36]

We switched our LG to C&G anti reflux and was a game changer. No longer sick and she is a different child!
Have you tried carobel with her existing formula? Gaviscon etc did sod all for us

[JingleJohnsJulie]

Reflux is usually seen as a symptom rather than a diagnosis leah so I'd try to find out what's causing the reflux and treat that.

Have you ruled out CMPA?

I'm not sure on vegetarian formulas either. I know that there was a new directive recently on what formula milk has to include and now most of them contain fish to comply.

[Thatwentbadly]

I would say it could be CMPA.

[leahmaysimmonds]

Thanks for your comments. I have discussed about Lactose intolerance but the wait to be seen for her is 5 months. Because she’s also gaining weight they don’t think she has it. But now she has diahorrea for about a week, she’s always had tummy problems. She’s been constipated for weeks before and they don’t seem to think anything is wrong with her. When I touch her tummy to massage her sometimes she cries and tenses up her tummy. I’m a Muslim so id need a vege or halal certified formula x

[leahmaysimmonds]

She doesn’t have any symptoms of CMPA but I’m really starting to think it’s more than reflux and colic
Here are her symptoms
Constantly wriggling and cries most of the day, especially after eating and during feeds she arches her back and keeps unlatching. She pits out the milk when eating. Throws it up after eating even after 1 hour or sitting her up straight. No rashes or swelling. But constantly having tummy problems like constipation and diahorrea (don’t know how to spell it sorry), trouble sleeping on her bed keeps moving and putting knees up to chest. When I burp her she will scream and fidgets so much. Even if I burp her for 20 mins she seems really uncomfortable and doesn’t settle. She cries for most of the day. When she is chill she doesn’t seem to sleep. She just is very unsettled. I feel very hopeless. I don’t know what to do to help her and I’m not sure if it’s just reflux&colic. Something would have worked by now.

[leahmaysimmonds]

• back not bed
  So sorry for mistakes, was rushing when writing

[Ajahd]

My boy has bad reflux so was given ha iscon. This made him constipated so they gave him lactulose. It did nothing. He pooed once every two to three days and although it wasn't hard, you could see he was in pain between movements.

I used aptamil anti reflux which helped stop the sick, but didn't stop the constipation.

I took him to an osteopath. He had two sessions with her she was fab. She massaged his tummy and he had the most explosive poos after.

After his second session, his tiny started getting much better and he began to poo more frequently. This coincided with him taking the new formula for around 2-3 weeks, so it could also have been that his tummy w getting used to it.

My boy was poorly when born and was given antibiotics. I didn't know this this, but a tibiotics mess up your gut flora, and as a baby spent have much gut flora in the first place, this is one reason why he had so many problems. Did your baby have antibiotics?

His reflux is more controlled now. He has some off days where he's a bit more sicky, but all in all he's quite content now

[leahmaysimmonds]

I’ve seen people say not to take them to an osteopath and antibiotics, they told me it will make reflux worse and it’s not recommended by NHS.

[JingleJohnsJulie]

She doesn’t have any symptoms of CMPA

Reflux, gas and diarrhoea are signs of CMPA though.

[PollyPocket245]

Like pp says my DD had all of those symptoms and had CMPA. I don’t think they always have rashes with it. The only way to tell would be to cut dairy out and see if it makes a difference. You could also speak to your gp about trying omeprazole once you find out what’s causing it

[leahmaysimmonds]

Thank you guys. How do I check if she has CMPA, and could I not try out a formula before her being diagnosed because wait is long to see paediatrician

[JingleJohnsJulie]

Did you manage to read the leaflet I posted a link to?

[Nadabel]

Hi, my little one was exactly the same from birth, we tried everything in terms of different types of milks, it took us a few months of doctors trips and trying a number of different medications until we found the perfect combo of gaviscon powder, ranitidine and domperidone (excuse my spelling)! We were so reluctant to give him so much medicine but it seemed to be the only combo that worked to not only tackle the reflux but also the side effects of the other medication in the trio!! Granted he would still be sick after almost every feed but the quantity was much less and all of the symptoms (bad sleep, uncomfortable, back arching etc) improved dramatically and by about 11 months he was able to slowly wean off them and hasn’t suffered with it since.

I know medication isn’t always the best option and this is a lot but honestly after the horrible first couple of months of seeing him struggle it was such a relief to have something that helped.

Hope this helps!!

[leahmaysimmonds]

Thank you so much for your help everyone. I just checked the leaflet and it made me think it really might be more than reflux and colic because I’ve tried everything. I even have anti colic bottles and try massages. I noticed she’s had small spots all over her face and has had it for many months but she is teething and has been since 3 weeks (I know she’s very young to teeth) but I’m not sure if that’s related to teething or not.

[leahmaysimmonds]

I haven’t mentioned but she’s had problems with thrush and nappy rash a lot of times. Breastfeeding seemed to make reflux worse

[PollyPocket245]

It sounds a lot like CMPA, have a look on google for ‘milk rash’ and see if that looks similar to what she has. I would give your gp a call, or health visitor and explain the symptoms. You can get milk free formula to try her on but they are prescription only so you would need the help of your gp, they should also be able to advise on halal certified or vegetarian formula too.
Sending you hugs, regardless of the reason it’s really tough

[leahmaysimmonds]

They’re not as raised or as red as the pictures but are small
Thank you so much for your help ladies x

[leahmaysimmonds]

Best formulas for CMPA then? Vege/Halal ones only please x

[leahmaysimmonds]

@CountryGirl36@PollyPocket245@Ajahd@Nadabel@Thatwentbadly@JingleJohnsJulie

Are these spots normal? X

[CountryGirl36]

They look like milk spots which are normal? My LO didn’t have CMPA just reflux x

[Thatwentbadly]

Look like milk spots to me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby without them.

[FrostedCupcake]

My son has reflux and colic, symptoms exactly the same as you describe.. it took along time but for us and I didn't want medication but we exhausted everything else, he was so distressed that we medicated him in the end. We use cow & gate anti reflux milk (don't know if it's vegetarian), omeprazole liquid once a day and co-lactase drops in his milk, massage and bicycle legs when he's windy and we finally have a happy baby!