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?

@Crystalisedpeanuts if there's a letter on your child's records from the dietitian recommending medication, then phone your GP practice and ask to speak to their practice pharmacist. If they're a prescribing pharmacist they should do the prescription for you unless there are any concerns about it. And it they're not a prescribing pharmacist they'll do a prescription for one of the GPs to sign, again as long as there's no reason for them no to.

@Y0ubetterwerk poor mite! Ds won’t even take stuff off a spoon yet despite trying him, hv suggested it but he doesn’t want it. My first would’ve bit your hand off for a taste 😂.

@RandomMess I hate the word colic, I’ve never met a baby with just colic. I got 47 minutes going by my watch last night. I get more at the weekend when dp can watch Ds1 but there’s no way it’s sustainable long term. Im mad enough as it is lol.

Sounds awful and how distressing for you. Can you ask to speak to the manager of the surgery? Calm but assertive wins the day. I had awful problems getting neocate prescribed despite a letter from the Paed and a call to the practise manager sorted it ( and I got an apology from the GP!)

@Zilla1 op is clearly hugely sleep deprived and at the end of her tether. The GP sounds extremely unempathetic so how about cutting her some slack eh?
Lots of GPS are great some are truly awful and uninformed about reflux and CMPA.

In our area it is only the specialists who can prescribe omeprazole.

You say that you give calpol every day. Most reflux babies cant tolerate calpol because it makes the reflux worse.

Medication does have side effects. Dd1 had terrible reflux and lost weight. Medication made her worse. Best thing we did was when the paediatrician suggested introducing solids at 4 months. My screaming banshee changed overnight to a content little baby. I really wish gps would communicate better though.

I had similar when my ds has apnoea as a baby. I kept getting fobbed off with 'all babies snuffle and have disrupted sleep' 'some noise is normal' etc etc. I kept a detailed diary of his sleep patterns for a fortnight (slept an hour max, woke screaming, settled after hour long feed etc) and also filmed him snoring and stopping breathing and then screaming. Could you video him feeding and pulling off to scream to hammer your point home?

I eventually went to the HV in tears and she helped me loads with who to see and how to get referrals. Turned out he had such severe apnoea that he needed an urgent operation.

Ask for a peads referral. If the baby is not 'failing to thrive' they don't give a toss. Mine was one that fed every 2mins and didn't sleep, he looked lovely and chubby and when he didn't have reflux he smiled beautifully but screamed 19 hours out of 24. He ended up on adult doses of gaviscon, ranitidine and omeprazole plus specialised formula.
One gp said 'all babies cried' another said 'we can sedate the baby, we did that in the 60's' (my response was there was a lot done in the 60s which today would be considered abuse and if you're seriously considering sedating my 1yo then we have a problem and you will refer me back to peads').
I filmed him and took it to peads and said I wouldn't move until someone took me seriously. In the end we were up 8times a night (at least) for 3 years. He was medicated for 5 years.
Ask for a different GP, take someone else with you for morale support if you can and become really stubborn! I just kept thinking no one else is going to fight for him and he can't fight for himself. Good luck, really hope your DS is feeling better soon.

Farfalla, I was happy to cut some slack even after the unacceptable OP before the second unacceptable insult which was after PPs had confirmed the GP was doing her job. I am sick of the daily GP bashing and the vile misogyny.

Whatever the guidelines might or might not say, it simply isn’t the case that an infant has to have issues with gaining weight for there to be reflux or CMPI/A that needs treatment. This is straight from the horse’s mouth, ie the lead consultant at a paediatric allergy clinic in a London teaching hospital, who will obvs be more up to date than your GP.

I would be insisting on a paed gastroenterology referral. Don’t get up out of the chair until the letter’s in your hand. But waiting lists are bound to be long. Unfortunately many areas don’t let GPs prescribe a PPI, though this is probably moot in your case anyway, given your GP’s lack of knowledge or interest.

What has she diagnosed him with to explain his pain and behaviour, if not reflux?

And how is she justifying leaving a young child in constant pain?

I definitely echo others with the suggestion of filming things.

We had to push a lot for support with his reflux. Luckily for us he projectile vomited all over the gp when she was trying to fob us off again and she finally referred him.

With dd i was more prepared and filmed her episodes (silent reflux).

Ask for ranitidine and a referral to paeds.
Omeprazole is not licenced in children this young so GPs do not prescribe.

Dairy free may also help. I stopped dairy when I was breastfeeding. LO was less crabby.

So sorry you are going through this OP.

Both my dc were the same, except dc1 was also (severely) failing to thrive.

With ds1 we gave him omeprazole and metoclopramide, and he started gaining weight although his reflux didn’t completely go away. The consultant gastrointestinal paediatrician insisted that we give it to him for as little time as possible and made us wean him off it as soon as it was clear he was eating well again. He also made us wean him at 16 weeks.

With ds2 as he was gaining weight we didn’t give him any medication and he was uninterested in food until 8 months (I tried from 16 weeks but he wasn’t having it).

While these drugs are lifesaving when necessary, we simlpy do not know what long term effects they might have when given to infants. The data just isn’t there yet.

This is why doctors are cautious

Ranitidine has recently stopped being prescribed for all patients due to side effects.

Omeprazole liquid is insanely expensive and no one would prescribe for our tube fed child. The tablets can be dissolved in water but are made of lots of tiny little beads called MUPS these mustn’t be crushed so the medicine is very gritty.

I am sorry to hear your LO is in so much pain. I hope you get some relief soon.

@Tolleshunt she’s said he has reflux.. quite happy to agree that after he saturated her entire desk despite being told not to shake him about so much.

She’s not even began to try to justify why it’s ok for him to be in pain, nor distressed or give a clue on how to cope with ds1 at the same time. He can’t stand the noise so he’s constantly in tears too, the other day I watched him through the bloody window while holding the screaming baby outside my own house to give his ears a break.. a shit idea but they both survived.

Calpols all we’ve got to give, pain killers for the pain seem to be better than nothing. Didn’t know there was a link.. I’ll have a read.

@m0therofdragons I know it can have side effects but the side effects she’d said were bone loss in long term use at high dose in adults.. so not a likely one in a low dose trial or in general. The lack of trying is enough to drive me batty. He won’t take solids, spoon goes in once he coughs n cries or sucks his lip in and won’t re open 😂

OP THIS IS IMPORTANT I cannot tell you for certain but all evidence from what you’re saying points to a tongue tie, even if the gp has done a visual check they may have missed a posterior tie. Ask to be referred to the local infant feeding specialist and look for local breastfeeding support service as they will often be able to refer you themselves.

If you haven’t had a baby with reflux, you have no idea how distressing and nerve-shredding and utterly miserable it is. It isn’t ‘just crying’.
OP I hope you can get another GP with some empathy. So sorry you’re going through this

Take your baby to A&E and get them in front of a paediatrician.
My DD had silent reflux and CMPA and was in so much pain she fainted at 5 weeks old. It's a horrific condition and the paediatricians know what they're dealing with. GPs aren't experts.

Ranitidine has been recalled due to concerns of contamination, so don't necessarily push for that.
GPs aren't under an obligation to go off guidelines or prescribe unlicensed medicines (and the ranitidine recall vindicated that somewhat). That can be frustrating but best to work with them and ask for a referral/second opinion if they don't feel they can provide the treatment you want rather than knocking your head against a brick wall trying to get them to do differently to what they feel is best.
Some have concerns about medicating babies without the approval of licensing.
Specialists may feel more confident.
I'm not trying to be dismissive, just suggesting an approach which might get you the help you need quicker.
I've been the sleepless Mum of a reflux baby, I really sympathise.

50% of babies with CMPA are also allergic to soya. It could also be another allergy.

Have you seen a lactation consultant as CMPA symptoms and tongue tie are similar.

I would get a tongue tie checked ASAP. It would explain the constant feeding.

I would also stop with calpol, it won’t help and may harm.

I would also ask the receptionist to make an appointment with another doctor regardless - say it’s for you if need be.

You say you're already dairy free, could you try going soya free too? Dairy and soy allergies often go hand in hand.

And agree about checking for a tongue tie too.

I feel for you I really do, it's really shit to be in your position

Hi OP

Sorry your little one is going through this. My first was a reflux baby and I had to really push with GPs. Like others I found dairy free made a huge difference and soya free too after lots of vomiting after bf after I'd had quite a lot earlier in the day. This was a few years ago so ranitidine really helped but I did use gaviscon successfully too. I decided it was worth the constipation. I used to mix up a sachet with boiled water and use single use medical syringes, giving 1/2 a dose per feed between boob swaps. It got lots better with weaning too. See if you can see another GP though