Reflux in 3 week old - inconsolable crying and hoarse voice

[Millsie1]

My 3 week old has just been diagnosed with reflux. I haven't slept in 10 days and neither has she! The medication prescribed doesn't seem to be working. How long can I expect this condition to last? Does it clear up in weeks/months/years? What can I do to help her? At the moment I am carrying her in a baby bjorn which seems to ease her - I can't put the poor mite down without her having a case of the screaming wotnots - which only exacerbates the situation I think. She is extrenely hoarse. Has anyone else gone through this? Did it work out ok? Am at the end of my tether and about to throw myself out the window of our 6th floor apartment...

Poor you, and poor dd....3 weeks seems so young to be suffering with reflux. dd2 had it (note past tense, there is hope!) but it started really kicking in around 5 weeks. She was put on Gaviscon which did absolutely nothing other than constipate her, then moved on to Ranitidine and Domperidone, which helped to a point.

Is your LO on those, or something stronger? I think Omeprazole is the next step up? If the meds aren't helping, I'd go back to the doctor and ask for them to be reassessed asap: make sure you tell them she's very hoarse, the acid reflux may be causing that.

Hope you get some help/relief soon...there are lots of threads on reflux in the health sections, which may have helpful stuff in them, worth checking!

So sorry for you. Reflux is an horrific condition. On the positive side, yes, they do come through it I promise. In most cases, babies outgrow the condition by about 9-11 months - some sooner, some later.

However, before you throw yourself out of anything (please don't!), it IS possible to get relief from the symptoms much earlier than that if you manage to hit on the right medication. This is where persistence comes in - keep HOUNDING your doctor/ask for a referral to a specialist and do not back down. I agree with Elibean's advice and there are a good few threads - you are not alone. If you can't find the threads, shout and I will try to link. There is a lot of stuff you can do to help (e.g. keeping upright after feeding, turning winding into a religion, sleeping on incline etc. etc.) but in all honesty the main thing is the medication.

Can you get some other help in the meantime to try to help you get some sleep? (family etc.)

Argh, I am afraid that there's noone I can turn to as I live abroad away from close friends and family. I am just going to have to stick it out for 9 -11 months!!! Oh my god.

The medication here is not the same as in UK - DD is on drops 4 times daily which increase the rate of food transit and an antacid that she takes once a day. Neither of these seems to be doing anything at all.

I will take the advice of persistence - there MUST be something else out there that she can try taking to ease her suffering. I honestly don't think that we can continue like this without me going bonkers!

Oh poor you. 9-11 months is when you can generally wean off medication. DS's symptoms were under control by about 5 months but then we weren't diagnosed until 8 weeks and there was some trial and error and getting him on the right thing.

If I had my time again I would have shouted earlier - and louder. Can you get a referral to a specialist? There will definitely be other medications out there - but they are always reluctant to prescribe.

The drops and antacid sound insufficient - get back to the doctors and shout, I would. You could google Ranitidine and Motillium and see what names they have for them wherever you are - then ask the doctor for those. Ditto Omeprazole, if the meds you have are those already and not helping.

dd was finally diagnosed properly at 8 weeks and much better by 4 months (but a bit better almost straight away) on meds, then kept taking the meds until about 20 months - but no symptoms for ages, IYSWIM.

One other thing I read and did was not to wind by patting - just stroke your baby's back upwards to bring up wind, as anything harder might cause the acid to go up too.

Eli, I used to lie DS down on his back for a moment or so, then sit him gently upright again as part of our winding routine - used to get some spectacular burps that way! Otherwise yes, very gentle stroking and rubbing. Learnt that one the hard way - was like triggering a land-mine otherwise.

DS had reflux (also not in UK) and was on Omeprazole, which still took about a month to take effect. (But he wasn't diagnosed until 4 mos by which time he was pretty sore!) Agree that stroking and holding upright after feed seems to work best. DS cleared up at about 7 months when he was crawling but it can take longer. I sympathise - it's horrible!!