Reflux baby :(

[Goingcrazy888]

My DS is almost 20 weeks and has suffered from reflux from being around 1 month old. Initially it was silent reflux with occasional projectile vomiting. We saw the GP who didn't actual believe that silent reflux existed (!). She did however prescribe infant gaviscon but this made his poos really thick and I was worried about constipation. He was also suffering badly from colic at the time and we tried him on comfort milk but this didn't help.

His symptoms settled down a bit but the last couple of months his reflux has slowly progressed into full blown reflux. He is sick quite a lot after every feed and usually projectile vomits at night when lying flat. After vomiting he does not appear to be uncomfortable. It has gotton to the stage in the day that I am too scared to wind him because I know he will bring his feed up. He is on bottles of both formula and breast milk. We tried him with gaviscon again but he wouldn't take it with his milk.

We have just tried him with anti reflux formula and that has now given him diarrhoea, poor baby strained so hard that his stools had blood in :(.
I started weaning him a few weeks ago, so far this has made no difference. He is tolerating food well but has projectile vomited puree once.

He was 9lb 6oz when born, 98% centile he now weighs 15 6oz, just below 50th centile. He is off the charts for length however I do have a couple of family members who are tall and skinny but his drop in weight centiles does concern me a bit. As he is gaining weight the GP and health visitor are not concerned :/

Any thoughts?

Sorry I meant the anti reflux milk have him constipation not diarrhoea!

Don't lie him flat - babies don't actually need to lie flat (if you visit a neo-natal ward they never put the babies flat because being on an incline aids digestion). A hammock-style cot like an Amby can be much better for vomity babies. DD didn't have reflux (she was a happy sicker) but was sick after every feed and sometimes her night-pukes would actually clear the side of the cot. When they're not made uncomfortable by their vomiting then it's not reflux because they're not bringing stomach acid up - it's just posseting and some babies do it more than others. The Amby worked well for us.

I wouldn't bother with the Gaviscon - keep him upright after feeds and try feeding a bit less - usually posseting just means they had a bit too much in their stomach. Don't feel that he's bringing everything up, either - he really isn't. Babies' stomachs are actually very sensible. Don't bother with weaning either - it will just irritate his immature gut.

And don't worry about the 'length' charts - they don't mean anything until the baby's about 2 and can stand up.

Incidentally, silent reflux isn't a terribly widely-accepted condition, so your GP was probably just expressing the majority view. As doctors are fond of saying, happy sicking isn't a medical problem it's a laundry problem.

Have you ruled out intolerance to cows milk which could contribute to the reflux? I would stop the bottles or at least cut down to be sure. And see another GP.

Have you ruled out intolerance to cows milk which could contribute to the reflux? I would stop the bottles or at least cut down to be sure. And see another GP.

I will try elevating his crib tonight and see if it makes a difference. I've spoken to a very helpful lady at the cow and gate carline who suggested carobel instead of anti reflux milk. Anyone have experience of this?

I have considered CMPI but my understanding is that he would have a lot more symptoms if it was CMPI such as rash/diarrhoea/screaming etc??

Hi my DS suffered with silent reflux as a baby. He started on gaviscon which helped for a few weeks; when it stopped working we went back to the hp and were prescribed carobel in his milk. Unfortunately for DS this made him worse and we were eventually prescribed ranitidine which. Add all the difference. We had to keep having the dose adjusted as he grew but as long as the dose was right his symptoms were much better.

Yes, go back to the GP and ask for ranitidine. Much more effective than gaviscon or thickened milk and without all the constipation side effects (your poor lad )

*should say 'gp' not hp! and 'made all the difference' !!

Carobel is super, it was the only thing that got DS to take a bottle. He was on Losec till 18 months as well, but even with medication, it was the Carobel that made the real difference. And it didn't constipate him at all, whereas Gaviscon did, really badly.

I LOVE Carobel : )

CMPA can cause constipation as well. DS only cries at night with tummy ache but is very happy in the day. He also gets patches of dry skin with it.

The drop in centiles should be looked into if they cross more than two. Poor weight gain is common with allergies. I rod go back and forks to someone.

Colic, poor weight gain, projectile vomiting, bloody stools, constipation, cant be laid flat? This is not normal or a laundry problem this needs medical attention. If you were violently sick after every meal ZuleikaD I think you'd have been less easily fobbed by an out of date GP. Even so-called happy chuckers tend to end up with awful sleep, fussy food issues as they end up associating eating with pain, really suffer when teething and at worst long term risk attachment disorders if nothing was done to alleviate their discomfort... or worse they were sleep trained 'out of it'. I would strongly suspect cmpi - which affects up to 40% of infants and 20% adults in the UK. Theres a reason eating dairy is taboo in many parts of the world it makes lots of pepple unwell and babies unhappy. But in the UK people just used to let their kids scream in prams in the garden then perpetuate the suffering by telling the next lot of mums its normal. It isnt. My son was an untreated happy chucker - who always woke crying (happy my arse) as I was repeatedly patted on the head and told to go away by hcps. He didnt sleep well for 16 months. My dd has treated severe silent reflux. She sleeps, then wakes smiling and singing. The difference is astounding. OP do push for better meds: gaviscon is cheap but hopeless. And ask to try the hypoallergenic formulas. They are pricey so the GP wont be thrilled but your babies symptoms are not normal and the doc certainly wouldnt let their own child suffer like that.