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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

EBF 6mo, silent reflux, constipation on infant gaviscon, help!

14 replies

YankNCock · 27/01/2013 12:30

Apologies for typos, on mobile.

Ds2 seems to have silent reflux. Finally worked it out and took him to gp a week ago, got infant gaviscon to try.

It does seem to help, he's feeding less often, waking less at night. However, he used to poo every day, quite runny, straight up his back and out of the nappy. I figured the constipation with gaviscon couldn't affect him too badly, but he seems to really be struggling.

He's only pooed on 2 days out of 7 since starting gaviscon, and it's been loads thicker, today's was quite hard, more like adult. He's just six months and doing blw so he's not really getting any solid food yet.

Any ideas? Is there something different to try?

OP posts:

stargirl1701 · 27/01/2013 12:33

Yes, Ranitidine. It doesn't cause constipation in our LO. She has silent reflux.

LunaticFringe · 27/01/2013 12:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

narmada · 27/01/2013 12:55

The carob thickener is carobel made by cow and gate. Nowhere near as bad for constipation as gav in my e.xperience

sharond101 · 27/01/2013 21:45

If his poo is hard give him some cooled boiled water.

Poppet45 · 27/01/2013 22:07

Ugh ditch the gaviscon me lovely. Bliddy awful stuff for BFers makes them constipated which worsens the reflux and a right faff to administer. Ask to try ranitadine and if things arent easier within a couple weeks ask for omeprazole... which really helps. Worth noting that at least half of all cases of silent reflux are due to baby reacting to cows milk proteins from the mums diet. If thats the case then unfortunately the meds wont help unless you cut out or reduce dairy intake (and in 30% of cases soya too).

Original poster

YankNCock · 27/01/2013 23:46

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully the improvement on gaviscon confirms for the gp that it IS silent reflux, and I can't ask to try ranitadine.

I can't do a thickener I don't think, as he won't take a bottle any more, not even with expressed milk. He used to from about 2 weeks old, then started refusing at 3 months, and I got so fed up of throwing breastmilk out that I quit trying the bottle. We recently gave tried again, but he gets very annoyed.

I don't have too much trouble getting the gaviscon in using a syringe, he actually seems to enjoy it sometimes.

That's interesting about the dairy, could something like that come on suddenly? He only started to show symptoms of reflux around 4-5mo, and nothing in my diet had changed. I do hope he'll grow out of this soon, 6 months old a few days back.

OP posts:

CatsRule · 28/01/2013 10:44

My ds has reflux, he was on gaviscon too and it really helped but also made him so constipated that he was sick anyway whilst trying to poo! Prior to weaning I also had to give him lactulose to help combat the constipation.

He is 11 months now and is still sick a lot, approx 7 out of 5 days and with at least 2 out of his 3 meals...so not great for weight gain/loss!

Recently we have tried giving him smaller but more meals so he will be getting the same amount but just less at each time. So far this seems to be helping. He is bf but try to give him a bottle in the afternoon while he is at nursery..often he refuses this or will only take a little. He has never been able to take a large amount of milk at the one time.

Could little and often help?

Original poster

YankNCock · 03/02/2013 19:57

Update!

Called gp on Monday and she wanted to try carobel first. Couldn't get hold of it till Thursday, so on Tuesday I gave him gaviscon once more because he seemed so miserable. Then when I got carobel, I really tried to get it in him, but he wouldn't take it from a bottle mixed with formula, nor as a paste on a spoon (tried mixing with water, baby rice and breastmilk each separately but he wouldn't have it!) the only way I got a teeny bit in was with a syringe, and even then I was fighting with him. I don't know how much carobel I would need to get in for it to make any difference, does anyone know?

He's been sleeping better at night though really ratty in evening. He was prescribed lactulose on Friday because he'd not pooed for 5 days, has had 3 doses and pooed sat and today so think he's all clear now!

Unfortunately he's got an ear infection too (diagnosed Thursday) so is on antibiotics. I don't even know what to think is 'normal' for him anymore.

Do I wait a few days to try anything else, since he's on other medication? Persist with carobel? Go back to gaviscon and use the lactulose too? Or insist on ranitadine?

OP posts:

Tooodlepip · 04/02/2013 12:10

Ranitidine really was the life saver for me, not the starting dose of 0.5ml 3 times a day but when they raised the dose to 1.0 ml 3 times a day, the gaviscon made my baby not poop for 10 days and it really is such a faff when bf.

My Dr told me carabel wouldn't make much of a difference in a bf baby which is why she skipped straight to the ranitidine

Hope baby improves quickly I know how draining it is to have a wee baby crying in pain all day long in my case

Original poster

YankNCock · 05/02/2013 23:41

Another update:

I saw the GP (different one) yesterday to ask for ranitadine. He didn't want to do it, made noises about 'overmedicating' and said about the carobel ' so the issue is you can't get it in him' as though this was just me not trying hard enough. I was nearly in tears.

Then DS decided he wanted a feed right there, so I started, and he did his thing of pulling away, arching his back and screaming, then being happy again if stood up, but then wanting a feed....and repeat. I told the GP 'FIVE HOURS yesterday evening he was doing this!' and that seemed to change his mind.

The dose we've got is 1ml 3x daily. I looked at the BNF for Children and this seems to be about the right dose with room to increase if needed. I booked on to see the other GP who initially diagnosed it next Tuesday, just to follow up.

And would you believe it, DS took some formula from a bottle today, after 3 solid months of bottle refusal. I put some carobel in it, can't tell if he liked it because it was thicker or what. I'm hoping it means I might get a break from him soon!

OP posts:

Tooodlepip · 06/02/2013 08:47

Yank no gp would prescribe anything for my ds2 so I suffered for 6 months no sorry my baby suffered I hate it when dr's do things like this. It takes a while to see the full effects of the ranitidine, but I hope its the start of a corner turning for you both

BelleEtLaBaby · 07/02/2013 22:10

Hi;

Really consider something in your diet - especially dairy. Years ago my mil had what sounds like exactly this with sil, and all of a sudden too. Took months of misery and different formulas and she eventually ended up on a soy formula (don't try this without talking to Hv first, though). Mil still says she was mortified to discover she could have just quit dairy and kept bf-ing. Have they suggested lactose intolerance to you? Did you say your baby had taken some formula? How did s/he react to that?

bigmouthlala · 08/02/2013 20:41

Listen to belleetlababy - it could well be an allergy to cows milk. This can be triggered by having formula or even through ingestion of cows milk protein passed through your BM. Its not lactose intolerance but allergy or intolerance to cows milk protein.

BelleEtLaBaby · 08/02/2013 21:32

I really got a lot of good information from the Kellymom site when I was bf-ing ds. This link is the dairy info.

Good luck! I hope your lo feels better soon :)

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