DS not keeping milk down.. Help? Please?

[Mummytobee2012]

Hey Mummy's!!
My son was breast fed/bottle until he was 14 weeks, he's suffered from constipation since birthing, didn't pass his first poo within 24 hours- When he did, it was the size of a 1p. He's now 23 weeks and since putting him on Formula solely he has NOT kept any milk down at all, he was weaned at 6 weeks under docs advice- Under health visitors advice we've tried: Cows milk, Goats Milk, Soya milk, Lactose free milk and Anti-reflux milk. We took him to the docs this morning who gave him Gaviscon for Infants, which he said would work instantly, however, it has not.. Anyone got any advice on what to do?

Ps- Took him hospital about 5 weeks ago, they gave him Dioralyte.
Thank you!

I would say he needs to be referred on to a paediatrician, poor baby, and poor you. I cannot believe you've just been left to get on with it by the medical profession.

I cannot believe you were advised to wean at 6 weeks old . Who on earth gave you that advice, it's really shocking. Were the midwives/ doctors not concerned when your baby didn't pass stool within 24 hours of birth ??

It sounds to me like there could be any number of things going on, he could have some sort of gastric problem and it definitely needs to be investigated properly.

Has anyone ever suggested the possibility of a milk and soy protein allergy (usually just referred to as milk allergy) to you? NOT a lactose intolerance, protein allergy is quite different and far, far more common. Symptoms include vomiting, either diarrhea or constipation, faltering growth, terrible sleep, etc etc etc. If it is CMPI, then there are formulas you can try - you can get them on prescription. Examples are nutramigen, aptamil pepti, neocate and nutramigen AA (the latter two for very allergic children). These formulas have the milk protein broken down, save for neocate/ nutramigen AA, which have never been within a mile of a milk protein and are entirely man-made.

If it is reflux plain and simple (with no CMPI as a factor) then gaviscon IMHO is crap. It is only any good for the very mildest cases of reflux, AND it causes constipation quite commonly. So, be on the watch out for that. There are other far more effective meds for reflux in babies, including ranitidine (Zantac) and PPI meds like omeprazole. They are serious meds, but sometimes warranted.

Do see your GP and ask for an onward referral.

PS if it was cows' milk allergy, soy-, anti-reflux-, goats- and lactose-free formulas would all have likely been completely useless. Soy milk proteins are similar to cow's and provoke an allergic response in circa 50% of children with CMPI. Plus soy is not recommended for baby boys due to oestrogen-like effects. Anti reflux is just thicker cows' milk formula, so no good for that reason. Lactose-free only has the milk sugar, not the protein, removed, so again no good. Goats' milk proteins are again similar to cows' milk ones. All mammalian milks are likely to be out.....

CMPI allergy more likely if there is a family history of any sort of allergy (including hayfever, eczema, food allergies).

I am going on about CMPI: of course, it may well not be this, just something I have personal experience of....

My DD has a severe milk allergy and from the symptoms I'd take a fair bet on that. DD vomited up every feed from a few days old, even breast milk, and supplementation of formula as recommended by the health visitor made it 100% worse. Weaning at six weeks is madness - a very old school approach. We didn't get to see a paediatrician until ten weeks and didn't get a proper diagnosis until five months so I know how frustrating it can be.

What worked for DD was hypoallergenic formula - neocate is certainly the best one. It's prescription only and very expensive for health authorities but worth it's weight it gold. She improved hugely within two weeks, but the reflux didn't stop entirely until she was a year old, so don't be disappointed if it's not a miracle cure. Gavisgon and all the other reflux drugs will be useless if it's a cows milk allergy, as will all the other formulas mentioned. Cows milk and soy will make it much worse.

Is your DC also very unsettled, won't sleep, screams as if in pain a lot of the time, writhes around when lying down?

P.S DD is now a strapping lass on the 90th centile and her weight gain has been great since switching to neocate and weaning at six months with no dairy. It will get better but demand a specialist referral immediately. If you have private health insurance PM me as I can recommend the most amazing allergy paediatrician.

I have no professional knowledge in this field, but I just wanted to ask if pyloric stenosis was checked for and ruled out by your doctor? My friend's DS had this problem, and his symptoms sound fairly similar to what you're describing. The doctors thought this was "regular" reflux for quite a while - poor baby! However, he is now doing well after a simple operation.

Hope he gets well soon!