colic/reflux

[ElaineB100]

my DS is now 8 weeks old and i think he may be colicky as well as having reflux?

symptoms:
cries for most of the day on/off (especially in the evenings)
has trouble burping
constantly passes wind via bottom
Constipated
raises his legs up to his chest, and redness in face
vomits (not just normal amount of sick but frequently between feeds)
gags
Arched back
roughly sleeps for 2hrs out the whole day on/off

I have tried, infacol, gripe water, colief, gaviscon, cooled boiled water, dr brown and tommee tippee bottles, I have switched from SMA gold to Aptamil Comfort, tried winding in different positions, white noises, car drive, walks in the pram, but none of the above have worked, anyone have anymore ideas?

Poor you, it's so hard when they are like that.

Could he have a dairy allergy? Have you been to the doctor to see whether they could prescribe some of the special formula for that (sorry, don't know what it is called).

I took him to the doctors and they gave me the Gaviscon which made him constipated, really not sure what else to try?

Go back to your GP and ask for either Ranitidine or Domperidone, and Omeprazole. If it is reflux you will quickly see some improvement and he won't get constipated. Good luck, reflux is awful.

hi, ds1 had reflux, we tried everything but in the end just had to wait for him to grow out of it :(
ds2 had colic, we changed to mam bottles and comfort milk which made a slight improvement, we then, much to my health visitors horror!, put him on soya baby milk and he changed overnight. He had pretty much every symptom youve described, although was rarely sick, and they all vanished :) Doctors can prescribe milk that has low/no lactose (rather than the soya milk im in trouble for using!) might be worth talking to your gp. Hope he improves soon, i know how hard it is.

Definitely do as previous posters have said and rule out milk intolerance . It's the milk protein that's usually the problem, not lactose. It's hard but when you get it sorted you'll have a different baby!

Have you had him checked for tongue tie?

TT can cause air to be swallowed when feeding (whether breast or bottle, or solids) which can then cause reflux symptoms.

I am by no means saying that all reflux is caused by tt, but it can be a factor.

My DS was the same and it was a combination of reflux and milk protein allergy.

If it is simply colic you will know by 3 months as it will have gone without you knowing why!

I saw a paediatrian who prescribed a combination of gaviscon, domperidone and ranitidine. We did have problems with constipation but with advice we altered the doses until we had the right levels. Nothing against GPs but a specialist in child allergies and feeding problems would be better placed to help you.

Although the meds helped us DS was still having problems so he had allergy testing. They used a pin prick skin test which showed he had cmp allergy. He was kept on the normal formula as he was able to gain weight well and the alternatives have their disadvantages but again you really need specialist advice.

Now he's weaned he can tollerate small amounts of milk especially in cooking but I notice if he has too much.

have you tried raising the cot/moses basket up at one end? my DD had really bad wind and reflux and we raised the head-end of the crib up on a couple of books (makind sure it was safe obvioulsy) and the difference was amazing. the angle helps the wind travel down their tummies and out.

also, bear in mind that most of the remedies you've mentioned will take a few days to build up in their systems (because babies are usually very effective at getting rid of all waste) so you might need to persevere with a product for a few days before you see any dramatic improvement.

I also used dentinox colic drops which I found more effective than infacol. I also used gaviscon (to help with the reflux) and ended up halving the dose as it was too concentrated for such a little tummy.

I second the suggestion to go back to your gp and discuss whether ranitidine or omeprazole is appropriate and also consider dairy intolerance (its fairly common for babies to have both I think). You can get non-dairy formulas like nutramigen on prescription if they help.
One, more natural, alternative to gaviscon, which worked well with my two reflux babies, is a thickener called carobel (made by cow & gate). You just add it to the bottle and it thickens the milk (you'll need a bigger teat size) so should reduce the refluxing to some extent. You can buy it in most chemists although they may have to order it in for you. Again, if it helps you should be able to get it on prescription.
Hope that helps.

earwigwam I can't believe they kept your DS on unmodified cow's milk as far as I am aware, are no worse for babies than regular formula. There is an issue with cost to the prescriber which is why sometimes parents can't get them prescribed, and also there can be issues with palatability with some of the elemental formulas in particular, but that particular issue can usually (not always) be got around.

If a child's got CMPI and breastmilk is a no-go, then he or she should be prescribed hypo formula. OP, if it is a problem with cow's milk protein, it can be completely fixed by removing unmodified cow's milk from the diet.

sounds like reflux to me

keep on at your gp, if no joy go to a+e, thats what i had to do to finally get some help. i put dd onto sma staydown (note it is made with cold water)

all the best, reflux is hell but it will pass

What you describe sounds exactly like my DS who at 5mo corrected still has severe reflux which we control to some extent. Don't put a brave face on it, get to the docs again and see what can be done. If that doctor can't help, see another. Living with reflux is a nightmare which essentially your baby can only really 'grow out' of (usually around 9 mo) but in the meantime you can minimise the symptoms and make life bearable for you both.

Here are some things we've tried which may help:

Raise the mattress in your Moses basket or cot so that your baby is lying on a slope with their head higher than their feet - really helps gravity to keep the milk and stomach acid down.

Gaviscon powder can be used to thicken feed or given after or before feed (if BF) to keep it down

Omeprazole helps to neutralise the acid in your baby's stomach so they get less discomfort when refluxing. I think Ranitidine works in the same way.

Domperidone can be given before a feed to help the digestive system work more efficiently which means that milk isn't sitting in the tummy for too long - it basically pushes the feed through your baby's system more quickly.

Hope these suggestions help. Good luck!

My daughter had colic, to be honest the main thing that helped was just time. If it is colic, be reassured that it will pass - that helped me get through it. Think most people have said everything, have you tried the bicycle leg movement and massage? That helped a bit. Also putting a warm (obv not hot) micromave beanie thing on tummy for a min or two gave a bit of relief.

Also, get some time off if you can as it can be very stressful. x