Silent Reflux Treatments - what works?

[AlmondFrangipani]

I am 99% certain my 8 week old DS has silent reflux. I spoke to one GP last week who agreed and booked me in to see another GP this afternoon.

Should I push for ranitidine instead of infant Gaviscon? What treatment actually works??

Is there anything else? I'm at my wits bed with no sleep and really need to help my little boy.

Not sure on the treatments sorry, hopefully someone with more experience will be along soon.

Just wanted to mention what happened to us, DS was a terrible sleeper and wanted to be held constantly. I thought it was reflux but turned out to be upper lip tie and tongue tie. Its worth getting this checked out as, if your Lo has it, it can cause problems with solids and speech too.

See what your gp suggests as he will know best, but i would Definitely try gaviscon first if its suggested as ranitidine etc is a pain to administer and is a bit more hardcore. Gaviscon works in ALOT of cases.
What are the symptoms you are finding?
Gaviscon did nothing for my lo, but I know people it has worked for. It does make them constipated though so discuss this with your gp for sure.
If it isn't improving in a couple of weeks go back for ranitidine. We are still in the gp every week trying to get the right combo of drugs for my lo. It can really escalate so if you are concerned always go back to your gp.
Might be worth discussing cmpi also. Apparently there is a big link between the two. Despite not many symptoms for my son it is looking more likely he is suffering with this and my hv says all reflux babies should be considered as having food intolerances.
Best of luck. X

Ranitidine - remember there are different dosing levels. Return to the GP until they prescribe the max dose if you think the lower doses are having no impact.

Omeprazol (sp?) - generally only prescribed by a paediatrician.

Do you have a sling? Upright is always good. A sleeping wedge? In addition to elevating the cot. Have you joined littlerefluxers.co.uk? Lots of knowledge people there!

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. The visit to the GPs was disappointing. As our DS is gaining weight (91st percentile) he doesnt feel that it is a major issue and basically said that some babies are 'fussy'. I find this hard to believe as he is such a happy boy in the day and is physically in pain at night. I think he would have let us leave empty handed but I burst in to tears as I am so exhausted and need to feel that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. So...he prescribed us Infant Gaviscon which we need to give 6 times a day. So started that tonight. Fingers crossed for some improvement otherwise I will be banging the GPs door down for some Ranitidine!

He did have tongue tie which he had snipped but I dont think that helps as he still gulps a lot of air when feeding. We use Dr Browns bottles, have his cot elevated and he spends a lot of time in the sling. But like I say he is fine in the day as he is upright most of the time. It is night that is so tough.

I saw 6 different GPs in 8 days to get a referral to paediatrics Keep going back until you are happy with the treatment. Is your HV any good?

Sadly this is a common story. Many babies have reflux and it passes with time so docs often dismiss it from what I've read (and experienced to an extent).
My doc was doing this until he got blood in his poo, then everyone freaked out and took notice, we got referred the same day.
When you say he is fussy, whats happening? Is it when he feeds? Or just at night while lying down? In any case you need to be happy your lo isn't in pain so give the gaviscon a chance I'd say, but then after a week or so if its no better go back. If he gets worse also go back. In the majority of cases it isn't too bad, but it can cause serious problems in others. I met a baby with a hole in her lung caused by Undiagnosed reflux. So don't be afraid to make a fuss.
Gaviscon does work for many babies so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it works for you guys too. Xx

The Gaviscon seems to have helped a bit but what I feared would happen has and now he's constipated from it and screams for an hour before doing a poo! So went back to the doc and got Ranitidine. Fx this helps!!

He fusses on the bottle (groans, pushes it away the screams that you've taken it away) and at night he thrashes, groans, makes screeching sounds and wimpers.

We're seeing a paediatrician soon for another issue (kidney disease which he's inherited from me) and the Dr said to raise it with them too.

You should see improvement within 48 hours. If you don't see improvement within a week, return to the GP and ask for the dose to be increased.

It took us almost 2 weeks to see an improvement, but it did come. Best of luck. Xx

We tried Gaviscon (prescribed by GP) for about 6 weeks while waiting to see Paediatrician who prescribed Ranitidine and Dom Peridone.
Gaviscon worked on reflux symptoms but caused horrible constipation.
Ranitidine which makes stomach juice less acid and Dom Peridone which reduces vomiting are working well though she still thrashes about a bit after night feeds - but not as bad as before.

We had the same issues with DS, gaviscon sorted the reflux but caused constipation. We got glycerin suppositories from the chemist which had an almost immediate effect (they are now known in our house as the 'magic bullets'!). Longer term you can use Lactulose (prescribed by our paediatrician) to help them poo. 5ml twice a day I seem to remember but you'd need to check dosage. The good news is that the more solids he ate, the more he pooed, so it was a very short term problem! Good luck, it's an awful thing to see your LO going through and it's very poorly understood (IMO) by GPs & HVs.

There is also the possibility of cow's milk protein allergy. It sounds like he is formula-fed?

A trial of a hypoallergenic formula would rule this in or out, and might save you having to pursue medication.

The symptoms are almost identical to reflux. Does your DS have any skin rashes aside from normal newborn baby acne?

We've been very lucky in that in my second visit to doctor about this, jr reffered us to a paediatrician. We are on Gaviscon, ranintidine and domperidone and i have seen an improvement (I'm not kidding, literally as i wrote that he threw up and i was about to say he hadn't vomited in a few days)but he is still in pain after feeds and makes noises as if he has stomach pains throughout the day/night so i think its also cmpi. But the paediatrician wants us to do the reflux meds alone for a month first before he will prescribe the formula to try. So frustrating but i think we are lucky to have been referred so quickly. We saw paediatrician the day after the docs appt.

If you are desperate ypu can buy hypo formulas over the counter - special order from boots, megabucks though. But possibly worth it to sort it out.

Might give the hypo formula a go if the paediatrician doesn't play ball when we go back, and if it works demand it on prescription. If i think he still needs it though when i go back in going to argue strongly for it from him. There have already been 2 issues in ds's short life that have been dismissed by healthcare professionals that ive pushed on and ended up being right so im not taking no for an answer as i don't care how qualified they are, no one knows my baby better than me.

I think sometimes they are very quick to dismiss you as a nervous first time parent who has diagnosed on the internet and i think that is so wrong.

Absolutely right, JRmumma. Stand your ground.

Cheers Ragusa i will! Cant wait to get him sorted the poor little thing.

Worth double checking that the tongue tie hasn't grown back, they can do. Glad you have ranitidine. If he's ff then yes try the nutrimagen or neocate hypo formulas but bear in mind it may take 2 weeks for dairy to leave his system, also they taste foul apparently just to warn you.