Experiences with CMPA please??

[Newmummy133]

Hello! FTM mum here, my LO is approaching 4 months and I need a bit of advice from other people who have been through the same thing as we currently are!

Basically, baby has been more or less exclusively formula fed from birth due to very low milk supply. He’s on Cow & Gate and was thriving on it until about 6 weeks ago when I noticed a sudden increase in reflux after feeds. He went from spitting up a handful of times a week to some days spitting up multiple times during and after every feed. Spoke to HV who advised me that as long as DS was happy (he is) there was nothing to worry about, and GP said it sounded like normal reflux and again, nothing to worry about.

This week, he’s developed a mild rash mainly on his back and chest but also slightly on his arms and legs, consisting of tiny red and skin coloured bumps. Did the glass test and the rash disappeared, no signs of illness and DS is still very happy in himself. After a few days of no improvement spoke to GP who was very lovely but seemed pretty clueless - said it sounded like cows milk allergy (which I was worried it could be), told me I could buy the hypoallergenic formula in ‘any supermarket’ and I wouldn’t need a prescription, and even suggested I switch to breastfeeding, 4 months down the line!

Anyway, pharmacist at our local chemist has informed me we should have been given a prescription for the formula which I’m going to ask the dr for on Monday, but in the meantime I’m still really doubting myself about his symptoms! His reflux doesn’t bother him at all, in fact he laughs every time he spits up, and it comes and goes, some days it is really bad and other days completely nonexistent. He is an incredibly happy baby and is so far meeting all his milestones, sleeps relatively well and only really cries when he’s hungry or very tired!

I was wondering if anyone who has dealt with their LO having CMPA could shed some light on the symptoms they experienced and just how bad they were? And if he doesn’t end up having CMPA, will it hurt to try him on hypoallergenic formula for a few weeks just to see what happens? Thank you!

It's not sounding like CMPA to me @Newmummy133 but you're right, if the GP did suspect CMPA the very least you should have had was a prescription for a hydrolysed formula and a referral to a Paediatric Dietician.

How is LO now?

@PanicBuyingSprouts thank you so much for replying! Yes so I’ve spent all week trying to get in touch with the GP to get a bit more advice and possibly a prescription but now that everything with COVID has kicked off again that’s been impossible to do!

It’s Sod’s law that for the past week, LO has had minimal reflux so now I feel a bit silly for panicking! That’s what was confusing me really, some weeks he’s a sick fountain and throws up after and inbetween every feed, other weeks we don’t even get a hint of spit up! His rash got a lot worse initially, but I think it is now improving? I think I’ll just keep an eye on things and if his symptoms flare again I’ll contact GP, but it’s good to know it doesn’t sound like CMPA!

This is a good article on CMPA so should help you decide if this is what is going on

My DS had cmpa and has now grown out of it. We had special formula from our GP and we're also referred to a diatician. I bf him so he only started on the formula at 9 months.

His main symptom was very bad eczema but the GP said if he'd been having formula his symptoms would have been more severe so I would keep an eye on it for now. But go back to GP if necessary. We had an allergy test to confirm cmpa but no idea if they still do that.

My LO had colicky crying, terrible eczema, phlegmy chest and lots of spitting up. Hypoallergenic milk didn’t help loads to be honest especially the first prescription we got. It cleared up at 11.5 months when we switched to oat milk. He’s now grown out of it and has àll types of dairy with no eczema or other symptoms.

Hello, my 4 month old has had diarrhoea since 10 weeks, he has rash on face and body and also consistently congested. I keep going to go as I think it’s cows milk allergy however the gp always seem to disagree. They say he would’ve had it from the first few weeks of life. He’s always been on cow and gate. Please advice? Am I right in thinking an allergy can happen anytime and doesn’t necessarily need to display all symptoms

My baby is 4 months old, formula fed. He has severe rash eczema on his face and body, stools were watery. No other symptoms happy baby never cries. Doctor said CMPA. (Not had allergy test) Prescribed aptamil pepti 1 and steroid creams for rash. I’m 4 weeks in to the new formula stools have improved. Skin did fully clear after first week but rash has now come back as well as a continous cough and nose congestion. Steroid cream gets rid of rash but comes back soon as I stop using it. I would have thought changing the milk would have been a permanent improvement so now I question if it is cmpa or if his skin has just become reliant on steroid cream