All new deluxe reflux support thread

[buttonmoon78]

Welcome one and all!

[ekkiethump]

she is 16 weeks old, so just hitting the peak of reflux.
have been hear before with my first son and it was a this point i had a meltdown. not as bad as that time. was exactly like you MamaLaMoo. hit crisis point and was sent straight to GPs. thnigs got better after that as people started to take me seriously. before then HV thought was fine because i had managed to draw open my curtains so was not that depressed!
the thing that frustrates me most is that i am constantly questioning myself on whether i have got the right diagnosis. some days we have good days and she has a 2 hour nap and i think maybe she hasnt got reflux maybe she just doesnt need/like her milk and sleep like eveybody tells me. she no longer cries that much anymore since starting gaviscon but still not feeding/sleeping well so i think that is still a bit of reflux but maybe not... who knows.

[buttonmoon78]

I question everything too. You begin to doubt whether it really is that bad or whether it's just that you're not coping. Or at least, I do especially when people look at me gone out because he's always perfect when we're out!

[buttonmoon78]

And so it begins. Again.

I'm sure I'm not imagining this - it's getting worse.

[ekkiethump]

we are getting worse too. have regressed from nearly 4oz bottles back to 2oz bottles and a lot of frothing at mouth.

[ekkiethump]

is anyone bottle feeding? what size teat do you use? i was using size 1 cos i assumed would be better with reflux but when tried size 2 she drank more milk without adverse effect. still only taking 30z max at a time. just wondering if going to fast flow would help more or make reflux worse. anyone got any experience?

[buttonmoon78]

We've got dr browns. DS is nearly 17wkis and on size 2. I think that the dr browns make them work a bit harder so he didn't seem to drown with the size 2 whereas the size 2 tt ones choked him.

DS still takes only 4/5oz a time apart from his first night feed where he takes 6oz and hardly ever chucks up anything

DS1 was on 7oz bottles x 5 at this stage and therefore sleeping 7-7. I am at my former self!

[fizzypigs]

Well just back from dr and now they think baby has cmpi which is aggravating his reflux. Has anyone had a similar thing? I'm mixfeeding so have been told to exclude dairy and been prescribed special formula (can't remember the name). How did you get on with the formula and excluding dairy from your diet?

[ekkiethump]

just thought i would share with you all, that i have finally found a positive aspect of having a baby with reflux!
you lose your baby weight quickly!
have been spending so much time either feeding, holding baby upright after feed, comforting baby and then running to my bed as soon as baby is asleep i just dont have time to eat.
so mums there is a positive to all this.

also do believe it makes me a stronger person in the longrun (but would rather not be a stronger person and just have a happy baby who feeds and sleeps) and you realise who your friends are that you can really rely on. Ironically my most suppostive frinds are the ones that have not had babies. the ones that have had babies think that this is just what babies do and i need to deal with it like they did. little do they know.

[ekkiethump]

Sargesaweyes. This is my second baby with reflux so feel i am experienced in reflux babies!
with my first after 3 months of constant crying in the evenings and night he gave up crying and would just wake in the night but not cry at all. once on treatment he was really happy on playmat etc and hardly ver cried.
with my dd she does not cry much anymore now on gaviscon but still not taking full bottles and waking in the night and not settling, she just doesnt cry. she is also fairly happy on the playmat at times.
dont make the mistake of thinking they dont have reflux or doubting your diagnosis. we constantly did that with our first one and kept reducing his medication, only to go back to night waking and fussying at bottles.
i doubt myself everyday on whether i have got it right or not. especially when you hear terrible stories of babies who dont get better with any medication and are 8 months old etc...
i am glad you asked that question because i think the same everyday. but the fact is that she is much better on the medication and that is the ultimate test.
hope that helps.

[ekkiethump]

its all a haze - that is one good thing, i cant remember a lot about it just that it was awful so hopefully ds doesnt remember any of it.
but i think it got better at 6 months coinciding with when we weaned him. the only times it got worse was when we stupidly would try to stop his medication. we have only just stopped his gaviscon and he is 2yr 4months.
how old is your ds?

[ekkiethump]

Sargesaweyes how long has ds been on ranitidine?
we are seeing paeds tomorrow and hoping he will start dd on some to improve feeding and sleeping.

[camdancer]

ekkie you want to really lose weight quickly - go on a total elimination diet to sort out reflux. It just drops off regardless of how many bags of crisps I eat.

Can I have a small rant? On Monday I got DD2 weighed. She's growing fine but very nice health visitor suggested seeing a dietician because of DD2's reflux, possible cmpi, gluten intolerance and a whole bunch of other intolerances. She referred me to my gp's health visitor who is now saying there is no research to say mothers diet affects baby's reflux so no point in referring. Aagghh. Meanwhile we are getting towards weaning and I'm still only eating about 6 things.

Just to give other people good news. DS and DD1 both grew out of their reflux by about 10-12 months. It was very gradual. With DS, I just realised we weren't doing as much laundry - he was a happy spitter. With DD1, we just didn't have to keep increasing her dose of ranitidine for a while so gradually reduced it until she was off it.

[ekkiethump]

camdancer have you had 3 babies with reflux?
I have had 2 babies so far and would really like a third but worried may have another refluxer. my husband says HE cant cope with another one! would love to have a baby who enjoys feeding and falls asleep on the boob and i can breastfeed lying down.

regards to referral to dietician i would push for one. research smesearch. i think it would be worthwhile to see dietician to give advice on how to start weaning. it is likely that your dd2 wont have the intolerances lifelong, they will grow out of it but advice on how to start and find out would be good. the main one would be the cmpi.
also one of my friends treated her baby's reflux with diet alone - cut out tomatoes, onions and mushrooms - but she is absolutely fine eating them (not sure from what age though - at least 1 year+)

[camdancer]

DS was a happy spitter, so not really reflux but would throw up all the time. It didn't bother him and apart from doing lots of laundry, he wasn't really a problem. He did like the falling asleep on the boob and loved feeding, it was just that he'd generally wake up in a pool of milk!

DD1 and DD2 have had proper reflux - pain, back arching etc. But I have a lovely GP who is happy to give proper medication and will listen to me. I think that makes all the difference. I don't enjoy the baby months though. It is just something I have to get through to get to the fun bit once they can walk and talk.

I'm definitely going to push for a referral - even if I have to go privately.

[ekkiethump]

i am seeing paediatrician tomorrow but have gone privately.
could not be doing with arguing with my GP about a referral as she did not seem that interested. the thing that annoyed me the most was that she told me her ds also suffered from reflux - thought that would make her more understanding but i was wrong!
am pinning all my hopes on getting ranitidine and that that is going to make my life much better.
i am so glad to hear somebody else doesnt like babies either. all i get is people saying how lovely babies are and when i tell them i hate babies and just want the six months over with they look at me in horror.

[buttonmoon78]

camdancer my nephew has allergies requiring epi-pens - egg, dairy, potato. he was diagnosed before weaning. how? because they were being transferred through the bm. sil's immunologist was almost salivating as she is such a researcher's dream. being written up for journals as we speak.

please excuse typing. sat here with ds fitfully asleep in my arms. been screeching all evening. both been sobbing. dd2 came up trumps and opened wine. not eaten or anything yet. so i'll be trolleyed shortly.

feel so damn guilty that i cant do anything to help him.

[ekkiethump]

thank you. you have given me hope. have been awake since 4am due to dd. by the time i got her back to sleep at quarter to seven, my ds woke at quarter past seven.
have just managed to get them both to sleep at the same time so am off for a nap and then looking forward to my paeds apptment tonight.

[buttonmoon78]

I can't do this anymore. DS slept 9-11, 1-4, 5-7 last night and shrieked the rest. He's now decided projectile vomiting is a good thing which is just great. I can't do anything to help him. He's upstairs wailing because I just don't know what to do with him.

[jan2011]

hey
its awful this reflux so sorry for everyone dealing with it. we want our babies to enjoy their feed times not dread them, its awful how they want the feed and can't stand it at the same time. its heartbreaking the pain.
i am breastfeeding in day and ff at night with prescribed enfamil, dd was given ranitidine earlier this week and it seemed to have helped her be more settled in between feeds but shes still in discomfort during and just after feeds.
yesterday i cut out diary to see if it would make a a difference. my baby has the silent reflux and seems to be very gassy....i am now questioning my diet...i am going to try to stay off lots of vegetables that might make her gassy, and citrusy fruits and diary. ive stocked up on rice milk and oat mllk. ive heard that if you are diary intolerant you can't have soy milk either as it has the same type of protein as cows milk, is this true? has anyone had experience of cutting diary out and did it help? soy would be better if i could have it as i do like yoghurt etc but i will do this if i need to. also do you think having very small amounts of diary would matter, like the odd cappuccino or does it have to be very strict? if anyone has been there and done that please give me some advise! thanks