Silent reflux? Advice!

[Emilyyhw]

Hi all
i have a 16 week old little boy
ive always suspected he may have a little silent reflux since he was born as would often hear him doing loud swallows and he’s always been somewhat of. The last few weeks has just gone from bad to worse. Thought he could be teething or a possible slight bottle aversion from when he had quite a severe TT which was why his feeding was so hit and miss but took him to doctors today because he is literally only taking half his feeds and getting so worked up. He’s (unsurprisingly) dropped off his line slightly. Gp has prescribed him omeprazole which I can pick up tomorrow - just wondering if anyone else l/o had the same symptoms and had any success? I’m really hoping for just a little improvement because this is just hell, he’s such a content, happy boy except from when it comes to feeding. These are his symptoms as of late

• sometimes Has milk in mouth and then I can see / hear him swallow it back down. Sometimes I can’t see anything and he is still gulping
• has a cough
• has always sounded quite congested - put this down to c sec delivery and it did improve but seems to have worsened again
• sounds raspy + as though he has something at the back of his throat after feeding
• VERY fussy to feed, often refuses bottles but other times if really hungry will take a couple of ounces then not be interested. Occasionally he will have another couple 10-15 mins later
• i can hear milk/ air hitting his stomach
• he really roots his head on my even straight after feeding. It’s quite fast and aggressive like he is trying to soothe himself
• even if he has a decent feed he will then suck his dummy and hands hard straight after
• after some feeds he will really scream and cry unconsolably. Not every but most
• can NOT burp while feeding, often will burp hours later and they sound wet
• frequent hiccups that sometimes seem quite uncomfortable for him
• sometikes wakes up from naps absolutely screaming with his eyes closed. Takes a while to calm him and it’s as though he is still asleep

i think that’s all I can think of! I’ve spent a fortune on bottles, teats, every single different kind and flow rate you can think of and no real difference there. Any advice very welcome!

I went through this and it was infant cows milk allergy. My DD had ranitadine which helped from 4 months but every time she put on weight and I wasn't quick enough to up the dose she would get reflyx again. I discovered she was allergic when I started weaning and was allergic to everything. She wasn't really but the milk allergy had weakened her.if I had another baby who showed signs of reflux I'd put them straight on dairy free formula (if breastfeeding cut our dairy) straightaway. I wouldn't wait for a paediatrician. GP didn't take me seriously at all and the paediatrician didn't even suggest milk allergy. Honestly once she had dairy free milk the reflux was gone forever in a week. At 2 I gradually reintroduced dairy and she was fine. She's 8 now but if she has a virus I have to cut down on dairy to this day.

Thank you that’s really helpful actually. I had considered this as allergies are a thing on his dad’s side, and he does suffer with iffy skin at times. Gp wasn’t interested really even at the reflux suggestion but I really pushed hence getting the omeprazole. Did you just buy the lactose free formula. It’s ever so expensive so if I can get it prescribed that’d be amazing but also willing to buy some to try and see if it helps!

You can still insist on seeing a paediatrician and getting the milk on prescription but I just got fed up with feeling helpless. The GP didn't take me seriously at all, he said fussing was completely normal in babies. She wasn't 'fussing' she was screaming the house down! I couldn't put her down at all. It was awful! I had a friend at a local baby group with the same problem, nobody suggested allergy. Her son was finally given dairy free formula at 9 months and the reflux went. You can get a cheaper soya based formula-its not perfect because when they have cows milk allergy they tend to also be sensitive to soya BUT its only a couple of pounds more than the regular one and it helps a LOT! It's also an easier switch because the taste isn't as dramatic as the ones you get on prescription. I used the soya one because when I tried one of the expensive dairy free ones she wouldn't accept it (it probably tastes horrible), she was small (9th percentile) and I was desperate for her to put on weight. I know people will judge me for changing milk without a GP BUT vegans use this milk anyway, it's perfectly acceptable for babies! She still had muscus in her poo with soya but the reflux went. When I changed her to regular oat milk at 11 months (obviously it should really be 12 months but she was still uncomfortable) she was 100% healthy and slept better. I really wish you the best, silent reflux is the worst! Poor things x

My daughter has reflux, severe silent reflux and multiple food allergies.
3-4 months was when she ramped up to unbearable. She was really difficult to feed fussing and pulling off the breast every few seconds. She went down to second length feeds.
Until 17 weeks it was only the reflux that was diagnosed and she was on a low dose of omperazole and generally miserable all the time. She needed me to start removing her allergens from my diet and high dose omperazole to manage the silent reflux. She's 4.5 now and still has the silent reflux but this is quite unusual

Thanks, have another docs appointment today to talk through options. Really helpful advice! My LO is generally quite a happy baby and CAN be put down but it’s just the feeding issues that are a problem. Last night I managed to get a full feed into him but afterwards he seemed so uncomfortable screaming for an hour, but he was also v overtired as wouldnt nap, so hard to differentiate

Thank you - that’s what I’m wondering tbh. Im
not sure it’s just silent reflux, I’m 99% sure he does have silent reflux but what’s causing it I’m not sure. Going to get back to GP today!