Reflux- does cutting dairy out help?

[LalaDipsey]

Hi, my 12 wk old dts has been on Gaviscon for 2 weeks and is a bit better but not lots better and still is very distressed in the evenings. Has anyone tried cutting out dairy from their diets and if so does just major dairy work (milk, cheese, yoghurt) or do I have to search labels for hidden dairy too? And is soya ok?
Thanks heaps

It really depends on the child and the reasons for the reflux, but yes it can help.
In my DS' case it worked wonders.
He used to vomit after every feed and had huge problems with his stomach.
I stopped all dairy when someone suggested that I should when he was 2 months old.
Within 24 hours all his vomitting stopped and we never looked back.
He was fine with soya products, it was only cow's milk products that affected him.
I replaced dairy with soya milk and yogurts, along with goats cheese.

By the time he was about 10 months old he had grown out of the problem and he was able to drink cow's milk with no ill effects soon after turning one year old.

Hi ruthchan thankyou. Did you search food labels too (apparently some crisp flavourings have dairy? I guess this means chocolate is out too?!

I tried it and it didn't help DS but it is definately worth a try. DS had severe silent reflux and screamed all the time he was awake, didn't sleep more than 20 mins at a time and had constant choking, he stopped breathing etc. He is 3 now and still has it although it is managable now. It started getting better at about 19 months slowly. We tried everything; diets, different milks, (although was also breastfeeding till 11 months) Gaviscon etc. Only meds that worked was LOSEC MUPPS sprinkled in apple purree. Only way he would sleep was in an Amby hammock bed, this really helped. Most refluxers grow out of it before 12 months and usually earlier.

Gluten is smother possibility as issoya.

If your baby is distressed in the evenings only it could be that they're overtired - if they don't get enough naps and are awake for too long (anything more than 1.5-2 hours at a time).

Thanks but its definitely not that, he naps well and I make sure he has napped till 5/5.30. It's utter distress he's in- screaming, high pitched, beating me with his hands, pulling my hair, impossible to comfort. It helps to hold him sitting with pressure in his tummy (sometimes) but this is hard to do as it needs two hands if his twin sister is kicking off too.......!

I'd ask for better medication than gaviscon - it's usually the thing gps give. Ds and dd both had/have silent reflux so I got ranitidine and losec (acid suppresents). Do you exclusively BF?

I also cut out soya, dairy and gluten plus spicy foods and acidic foods too which seems to have helped.

I only mention overtiredness to rule it out.

Hi iggly - yes I do exclusively bf. We have a doctors appt tomoro am so I will ask to try different meds. I don't know whether to give them a try first? Only my diet consists of lots of decaf tea, cheese & chocolate atm!!!

Ranitidine is usually prescribed next (sometimes with Domperidone if a lot of vomiting). Losec (omeprazole) is the last one. Ranitidine is also easier to give than gaviscon too.

You could try changing your diet too - I did as dd/ds are very windy so would also affect them that way too!

Ooh anything easier than Gaviscon would be a bonus!! Thanks for your advice

I had to give up all dairy as well as choclolate (sorry!) as it really set DS's reflux off. Coffee could be a culprit bit I was too knackered to forego that. TBH, if your DC is only cranky in eve, I'd query reflux as this strikes day and night, relentlessly ime. But if you're convinced, exclude all dairy (including hidden sources) to give it a fair go. Good luck.

Anti colic meds didn't work. He is very sicky and congested. Starts off the day happy and deteriorates through the morning then descends into a pit of distress mid afternoon to evening (or midday today ).
Dr thought acid reflux and Gaviscon has helped with the sickness but not really with the distress.

I agree with others above; gaviscon didn't make any difference to DS. He was prescribed Losec and that was a godsend. So pursue an alternative med?

Gaviscon doesn't neutralise the acid unfortunately :(