Omeprazole and Painful Wind

[FLI881]

Hi all,

My little girl is 7 weeks old tomorrow and has been on omeprazole for reflux since she was 2 weeks old. She can’t lie down for more than a few minutes without discomfort. She can settle after this but it’s only another few minutes before being uncomfortable again and after about 20 minutes she can’t manage with it anymore and gets really distressed. We have to hold her/have her in a sling all the time which is exhausting.

I really don’t think the omeprazole is working as she is still just as uncomfortable (maybe more so) and the dose has been increased once, but the biggest problem at the moment seems to be painful wind. She farts extremely frequently through the day and it is very sore for her (she lifts her legs up, squirms and cries). It’s really hard to see her uncomfortable and exhausting not being able to lay her down to sleep. I am wondering if the omeprazole is making the painful wind worse or if it’s the reflux.

I have cut dairy out of my diet and she has been prescribed aptimal pepti (combination fed so that I can get some sleep) and have been doing this for a week and a half. I know it takes longer to see if this helps but the paediatrician doesn’t think it’s a dairy intolerance (she told me to try it anyway).

I’m struggling to cope when my little one is in pain so often and it’s all very hard with little sleep. We’re thinking of stopping the omeprazole but worried that it may be helping a bit without me realising and it will make things even worse for her. Does anyone else have any experience of omeprazole making wind more painful? Did it get better when you stopped it?

Thanks.

[FATEdestiny]

Are you giving your baby a dummy consistently?
And what about a swaddle?

Both these are close to being vital for a newborn who is getting very distressed.

[FLI881]

@FATEdestiny I’ve tried both but she won’t tolerate a dummy at the moment (I’m going to keep trying) and she doesn’t like to be swaddled, she likes her arms to be free. I do think a dummy would definitely help to soothe her so hopefully she’ll take one soon.

[FATEdestiny]

Try all the time with the dummy - literally constantly baby is awake, or at least as often as you can. But make it a very big focus.

Tickle her cheek or top lip with the dummy teat so that she actively reaches with her mouth for the dummy (similar to getting a good latch with nipple when breastfeeding). Aim slightly upwards when putting dummy in, rather than backwards. The roof of the mouth triggers the suck reflex. Tapping the outside of the dummy also triggers sucking.

Try a few different brands of dummy too.

[Crazycatlady83]

This is exactly the situation we are in! My 7 week DS has been prescribed omeprazole for reflux, but struggles with wind. It's so hard fo watch them struggling, isn't it.

We have found that gripe water at regular intervals during the day until early evening really helps and doing "cycle legs" and baby massage to get things going.

Bath in the evening also helps with the warm water soothing his stomach.

I have also cut out diary but I don't think it's a milk intolerance (plus I'm finding it so hard fo cut out all milk products so am probably not doing it consistently enough)

I hope you find a solution soon!