Silent Reflux Enfamil A.R. as alternative to Gaviscon

[MissBonpoint]

Just wanted to share my experience in case anyone finds it helpful.
My 8 week old was recently diagnosed with reflux - we had awful trouble feeding, after a short calm feed (30-60mls) he would start crying and arch his back and refuse more food, although he initially did want the bottle back. It was just terrible.
The pediatrician suggested infant Gaviscon, but as I was hesitant to head straight for medication I asked if we could try a stay-down formula instead. He agreed we could try that & I was lucky enough to find a couple of tins of Enfamil A.R. (anti-reflux) in our local pharmacy. It's a thicker formula than regular milk, the thickener is just rice starch I think.
We had to change to vari-flow teats (Avent make them), as the formula is too thick for a regular teat. Making up bottles is easy, no lumps.
The change has been remarkable. Suddenly he's very happy to take 150 mls at a time! He just loves it and there's no more screaming at meal time. Initially the new formula made him constipated, which had me very worried, but it passed quickly.
Worth a shot if you're in the same boat. Good luck if you are.

Hi ya my little girl has been a terrible feeder from birth and is now 12 weeks old and has only gained just over 1kg. She was in hospital two weeks ago as she got a virus and feeding went from bad to worse. Anyway doc has said she suffers from reflux and i think its silent as she doesn't spit up much but has all the symptoms you describe. Each feed is a battle not a joy. She never takes anywhere near the 600ml she should despite reflux meds. Anyway my son had reflux but it was the vomiting type and i had him on Enfamil AR. I wasn't sure if it worked for silent reflux so thanks for the post i will definitely give it a try and see if i have a happier baby.

Kul
Sorry to hear you're going through all this. I understand what it's like for each feed to be a battle - it can be very upsetting. I hope you have some luck with the Enfamil. I think the only difference between silent and regular reflux is that with silent reflux they don't actually spit up. Apparently the acid just gurgles up into their oesophegous (sp?) causing them discomfort. So it makes sense to me that a thicker formula should help a bit. All babies are different & perhaps we didn't have such a bad problem but we really saw a huge difference.

I would also recommend a book that came out recently which I happened to buy before my baby was born, and luckily has a lot of information about silent reflux. It's called the Sensational Baby Sleep Plan by Alison Scott-Wright. The author also has a web site & apparently she is a bit of a guru when it comes to problems like reflux and she does home visits. May be a last resort, but thought I would mention it in case you're not getting enough help.

Wish you and your daughter all the best.

Thank u fingers crossed i am going to try the Enfamil once my little girl has her appointment on Wed. At least then i have given the hospital treatment a fair go. I find it heartbreaking when she is hungry at feed time but won't feed. Enfamil worked wonders with my son so i am hoping it works for her. Thanks for the info re the book will look at it as i need all the help i can get. The HV feels this is pushing me into PND as i am feeling so helpless and a failure to her with her lack of weight gain and poor feeding. How long has your son been having Enfamil now.

Easy to say, but try not to be so hard on yourself, you're getting medical help for your little one and doing all you can. I felt very down when things weren't going well and I couldn't see things getting any better. I really hope you see an improvement with the treatment. It's understandable how you're feeling but you're not a failure.

My son has been on Enfamil for just over a week, but we saw the difference from the first feed. I'm just lucky I happened to find the formula at the chemist and that it worked for us.

If you think you may be getting PND make sure you get treated, it's so common and there's treatment that will help.

Let us know how you get on! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.