Reflux - doctors in London

[Akrasia]

DS is 6 months and has reflux that seems to be getting worse rather than better.

He is on the maximum dosage of Omeprazole, and is still suffering badly, so has been referred to a children's hospital in London.

However, the appointment they have given me is for November. That's far too far away - he is suffering more and more and I can't leave it that long.

Does anyone have any good suggestions of a private doctor in London? I'm in SE London (Blackheath), but will travel anywhere. He needs to be seen soon - he is screaming in pain, so I would really appreciate any help.

[addictedtofrazzles]

An excellent Gastro Paed (who saw both my silent-reflux sons) is dr Muftah Eltumi at the Portland Consulting Rooms. Call the main Portland Hospital number and they will give you an appointment (probably in the next week). The Consulting Rooms are opposite the hospital. He also works out if the Spire Hospital, Bushey.

I hope things start to improve - in the mean time, have you tried eliminating dairy? If not, try Neocate - it is prescription only formula but you should be able to buy it over the counter if you explain that you can't see the specialist straight away. However, it is £30 a tin. My DS went from drinking 1-2oz a feed to drinking 5oz after one bottle.

Big hugs - it is a stressful time.

[Bubandbump]

Hey I am in Blackheath too! We took DD to Dr Lindley at great ormond street - he is a gastro paed and a lovely doctor!

[Bubandbump]

Oh and you can get his secretary number off the gosh website. He saw us the next day. Recommended by others on the reflux support thread too which is where I got the recommendation.

[narmada]

I have heard really good things about Dr Lindley too. I would choose him if we needed to get DS seen privately.

Is your son on formula or BM? If the former, I second the poster above who mentioned cow's milk protein intolerance. Definitely needs to be ruled out if it hasn't already been. If you're BF, you will need to do a complete dairy elimination diet, and given the severity of your DS's symptoms I would also omit soya too.

[daisylulu]

Hi there - sorry to hear of your LOs discomfort. I can also recommend Dr LIndley - in fact I've just seen him today. He is a lovely man and one the leading gastro paeds in country. Scarily knowledgable. His view is that reflux is a symptom and you need to treat the route cause rather than plying them with drugs- in my case my LO has cows milk protein intolerance and is on neocate (although she is also on omeprazole and domperidone thanks to GP- now need to wean off gradually).. Call his secretary (v helpful) and you should be able to get an appointment for one of his clinics quite quickly. Let us know how you get on - good luck. It's awful to see your LO in pain but If anyone can help it's Dr Lindley.

[Akrasia]

Thanks for the replies. The hospital called yesterday and have brought his appointment forward to next week, so we'll go ahead with that and if for some reason we're not satisfied I'll make an appointment with Dr Lindley.

addicted and narmada he is breastfed, yes, and I would be extremely reluctant to give that up. I have been dairy and soya free for months, now, and nor can I eat tomatoes as they seem to make things a lot worse for him. I do wonder if there are other intolerances he has that I haven't worked out yet.