To think the gp’s at it

[Crystalisedpeanuts]

Ds2 has reflux.. ds1 had reflux but was ff so treated with ranitidine and carobel.

Ds2 was given gaviscon, he’s a bottle refusing bf baby.. giving him it was like giving a cat a bag of pills. He’d vomit most of it back down me with the air swallowed from the screaming.. I gave him it through a bloody sns at one point just to try, all it done was constipate him and make his wind even harder to pass.. more screaming.

She said she wouldn’t prescribe anything else until we’d spoken to a dietician, they recommended medication. She didn’t prescribe it.. because he’s not loosing weight, probably because he’s got a tit in his mouth unless he’s screaming like a stray banshee. Seriously he feeds constantly with stretches of an hour max between feeds (22weeks).

I’ve got the same gp again for him on Friday, I’m off my head going back it’ll be a massive waste of time, he’ll do nothing but scream because he’s in the buggy.. so his brother will scream because he freaks out at the noise.. and I’ll walk the whole way there and back in tears. Because I’m a complete shit show of a parent. And I can’t afford a £200 run in with an osteopath considering it might not help and he might need 5-6 treatments... Unless anyone’s interested in my kidney?

Why is she being a twat? Is omeprazole or whatever else they can give actually complete poison? Is there a reason she enjoys the madness of telling me no and changing goal posts?

Can you request another GP? I have tablets for acid reflux as an adult so I know what your baby is feeling. It's awful, probably worse when you are a baby and don't understand what is happening.

I would swerve her if possible. Good luck!

This is absolutely not your fault. I've been there with the endless screaming in pain. GPs can prescribe ranitidine without a consultant (who in some Trusts, including mine, must be the one to prescribe omeprazole or lansoprazole for babies). Insist. Tell them he's in pain and is comfort feeding which is why he's not loosing weight. Say you had this with your first child and ranitidine helped so you want to try it. You have to fight your corner - I know this from experience. Be polite but firm and if they still refuse, see a different GP. Record a particularly bad episode on your phone as that often helps them realise you aren't exaggerating.

Keep a log of how much he actually feeds. It's easier to dismiss words like "stretches of an hour max between feeds" as you just exaggerating. But if you can produce a piece of paper that shows exactly what happened with timings then it's better proof.

I keep telling her he’s distressed, pulling on n off and has screaming matches during feeds where he won’t go back on without a fight and he has calpol a daily.. she couldn’t give a toss.

The receptionist keeps putting me to her because she’s the one who deals with children in our area. It’s like a sick joke.

If you don't get any help from her say you're not happy and want to speak to another doctor. Don't let her just fob you off.

Tell them you want a second opinion so they will just have to book you with a different GP. You have the right to a second opinion.

I would register with another practice.

This is just the worst thing ever and seems to be so badly handled by health professionals. A common cause seems to be dairy intolerance which would mean you cutting it out of your diet if you're bf.

He sounds a lot like my DS, who was on Gaviscon and then ranitidine/omeprazole, before we eventually cut dairy out and that turned out to be the cure.

Have you tried cutting out dairy, as these are classic CMPA symptoms?

Also, I vaguely recall reading recently that ranitidine/omeprazole has since been discovered to be potentially harmful to babies and it worried me a bit because my son was on it for a couple of weeks - maybe try having a google of that to see if I have totally imagined it or not.

Good luck - I have been where you are and it’s utterly shit. I hope you find some answers soon,

We’re already dairy free.. before he was out lol.

I’ve started writing things down, I did show her the sleep tracker on my watch last time just to show I really meant I barely sleep.

Registering somewhere else isn’t an option they’re the only practice in the area. Still a mile n a half walk to them. If she’s no better I’ll attempt to argue for another gp.

It was ranitidine that was recalled it’s no longer Available for kids or adults.

Do you have a decent HV? I know they are a mixed bag but one time I was desperate & it the HV said she’d sort it - then she reappeared with a script from the previously unhelpful GP

(A HV is also more likely to look at the two of you as a unit)

Good luck

Sounds like you’re having a terrible time OP. Completely unacceptable from the GP, I’m guessing she has never had a baby with reflux!

Currently ranitidine is really hard to get hold of as a lot of makes have been withdrawn, so that might be the reason it’s not being prescribed. Could you ask your pharmacist first if they are able to get hold of some before seeing the GP?

Omeprazole is often only prescribed by specialists so GP may not be able to prescribe it.

Good luck

It's not all down to preference of GP, there are guidelines they follow for managing reflux
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng1/chapter/1-Recommendations#diagnosing-and-investigating-gord

And no PPI (like omeprazole) or H2 antagonist (like ranitidine) is licensed in infants.

Reading the guidelines it looks like the recommended next step is you have a breastfeeding assessment by someone experienced in this issue, so maybe enquire about that when you see a GP next.

Good luck

Omg this was my baby. You need to get a referral to the pead and get omeprozole prescribed. They don’t like GP prescribing because it’s expensive. Worked wonders for us.

Only the liquid form is really expensive. The tablets that you can dissolve and give to babies on a spoon or from a syringe are cheaper (these are what my son had - lansoprazole). Ask to be referred to a paeds gastroenterologist if thry say there's nothing they can do. It was a 5 month wait for us as "urgent" but she prescribed lansoprazole at his first appointment (CMPA, severe GORD and DGE).

Sorry to hear that, OP. When you have your consult, say you met with the dietician as they suggested and persisted with the gaviscon without improvement so you now want an urgent referral if they won't prescribe in case something sinister is happening about which you are out of your mind with worry given what the GP said to do previously hasn't resolved anything, actually things seem worse (As PPs have said prescribing isn't straightforward for GPs now). I'm not sure where the osteopath relevance is in your post but I wouldn't.

Good luck.

They aren’t or weren’t a few weeks ago doing any face to face breastfeeding assessments but I’ll ask again.

She’s went up n given the HV’s a bollocking and said she won’t be giving anything to anyone unless the child has faltering growth. Literally shouting into their office like a right cunt.

She doesn’t have children.. it pours out her too whenever you tell her anything related to a baby. She actually said “babies cry” while I held my purple gasping baby like yes there’s crying and there’s bloody hysterical.

It’s 7.5miles to the next time practice.. I don’t drive or I’d have considered it. Not practical given reduced public transport at the mo.

Sorry to hear you’re having a tough time. I’m a GP but I do really sympathise. Technically, if he isn’t losing weight, She is following guidelines correctly. As PP said, ranitidine isn’t available at all in many areas (can’t get it for love nor money round here) and many GPS won’t prescribe omeprazole until after seeing paediatrics. She can refer you to paediatric dieticians who often have a quick turn around time.

yabvvvvu to call your GP a twat in your OP and after PPs have made clear she is following guidelines to then call her a cunt.

Ds's Reflux was (and remains) hideous.

We only got losac omeprazole after finally seeing the paediatrician. Ended up dissolving in water and putting in one of those calpol syringes to give to DS as, by that stage, he was a bottle refuser because he was in so much pain. On her advice, we weaned at 14 weeks as DS flat out refused to take his milk.

It doesn't matter that weight is stable. I ended up taking a video of DS writhing in agony and screaming for 3 h after a forced feed so I could prove that it wasn't 'just collic'. It was the only thing that made my incredibly dismissive GP put the referral in.

Do people still use gripe water?

@vinoelle that was one of the goal posts, the dietician we spoke to agreed he needed medicated. As he’s clearly in pain, she could hear him on the phone from another room while dp and dm tried to calm him.

@Zilla1 Guidelines that I’ve followed she’s had the letter to medicate and won’t.
She’s a cunt for marching up and shouting at a room of people because she’s the all powerful gp. I’d call my own boss a cunt if they marched in shouting the odds about something. Ain’t professional, mine told me one of them had to apologise to a mother on the phone.. bet that was a great image for a mother seeking help on the phone.

Been there too, was hideous

"Touch of colic"

She slept 7 hours out of 24 from 6 weeks old 😢

HV sounds unprofessional. Shouldn’t be discussing the GP with patients.