Reflux - Choking at night - traumatised mummy

[mrsspagbol]

Hello. Please excuse brevity/typos as LO doesn't sleep for long!

My DD is 13 weeks old tomorrow. I won't bore you with the horror that was our first 8 or so weeks but eventually we got a silent reflux diagnosis and after moving on from Gaviscon we have been on Ranitidine which has made a huge difference.

My current issue is that:

DD never used to spit up (hence the silent reflux) but she has now started vomiting after most feeds. She is a big eater. To me it looks like a lot but I appreciate that she is keeping most of the feed down. I am just concerned as to why she has started doing this?

Related to this, and my primary concern is that, 3 or 4 times after a night feed I have burped her and put her down to sleep only to wake up about an hour or so later to what can only be described as the most traumatic thing to ever happen to me - my baby thrashing in her basket, fighting and failing to catch a breath, totally choking, gulping for air with a look of pure fear in her eyes and sometimes milk spurting out of her nose. This is HORRIFIC and although I was previously happy with 2/3 hour blocks of sleep (forget about sleeping through - my expectatons have been suitably lowered by reflux).....but I am now terrified to sleep at all in case it happens and I am too tired to hear her.

We have an angel care baby monitor but it never went off.

This is the scariest thing ever.

Please help - any advice? Has this ever happened to anyone?

My poor baby! . Yes this is PFB.

gosh how scary. I have no experience of this but didn't want to read and run. the night choking sounds like she has been sick in her sleep maybe? I am sure I have read that this is very rare... but it is what it sounds like. Have you spoken to your GP? That would be my first step.

As to why she is being sick... no real idea I'm afraid . has the amount she is drinking increased recently? or if FF have you changed teats?

Angelcare monitor wouldn't pick it up unfortunately as it's designed to go off if baby is unconscious and completely still, so if your LO is thrashing around it will register her as moving and won't go off. is she in your room?

Thank you for replying.

I will contact GP today for sure.

Can't really say re amount she has been drinking as she is EBF, oh this is so hard!

Yes she is in our room, next to my bed. I have heard her every time it has happened but I am really getting tired (finding myself losing concentration during the day etc) and I am just scared that one day I won't hear her .

My dd did this. It was awful! She grew out of it eventually. Nothing helped (gaviscon and ranitidine). We co-slept so I was more aware of it, and I kept her upright for ages after feeds. (I used to lie down and have her resting her head against my tummy and so she would sleep in a sitting position after feeds).

I can well imagine you are scared to sleep

It may be that there is another sort of monitor/alarm you could use until this resolves. For example my DD was premature and when she was in hospital she was attached to an oxygen desaturation monitor (at least I think that was the name), basically it would go off if she stopped breathing or struggled to breathe and her oxygen level dropped.

In fact now I think about it, it did go off once or twice after a feed, and they said it was due to refluxing, so maybe I do have some experience of this after all. but of course DD was in hospital so dealt with straight away (and she was tiny and very sleepy so no obvious signs of choking other than lips going blue ). She grew out of it by the time we left hospital.

the monitor wasn't particularly invasive, it had a little pad that we taped to DD's tummy, attached via a wire to the monitor. Maybe ask your GP about getting one of these? At least that way you could sleep knowing the alarm would wake you.

You poor thing, that must have been horrific

How are you putting her down? DS suffered badly with reflux, and was best after having been sat upright after feeds, and then put down on his tummy (yes, I know, I know, guidelines ). Also a dummy really helped with his reflux as well - will your DD take one?

Really hope things get sorted for you. Can anyone watch her for a few hours during the day so that you can get some sleep?

Domperidome (sp?) for the reflux? Is your crib tilted at one end? Are you keeping her upright for 30 minutes after feeds?

Is it silent reflux? Has CMPI been ruled out? Have you tried excluding dairy from your diet?

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

Just back from the baby clinic. Took her to get weighed so we can check whether Ranitidine dose needs reviewing. The nurse there said we should be on Domperidone (sp?) based on the choking, so we are going along to the GP later this afternoon.

Cot is tilted, will ask about placement on her side as she really doesn't like sleeping on her tummy - I have tried. I do try to hold her up after feeds but since the Ranitidine provided such a breakthrough I have perhaps been slipping on that especially at night.

I tried dairy free but it made no discernible difference and to be honest I don't tolerate dairy well myself so I don't eat a lot of dairy products.

Goodness me this reflux business really is something.

It's rubbish, isn't it? As if having a baby isn't hard enough, you have this to deal with.

FWIW, DS is much better now (7 months) so this will pass!

It is just hell for everyone. We also saw a big improvement with DD at 7 months. We are weaning her off the meds now at 13 months.

I found a sling invaluable. I used a stretchy wrap (needed 2 because 1 was always in the laundry!). It meant she was upright and I could...eat without screaming! She slept really well. I did laundry, cooked, etc. Life felt slightly more bearable!

Hang on in there. It will get better.

My DS did exactly the same thing- choking, milk coming from his nose etc- it was terrifying. He also use to drink huge amounts of milk, and occasionally vomit huge amounts back up!

Ask GP about domperidone, it helps to empty the stomach so there isn't so much milk hanging around. Both my prem twins are on domperidone and omeprazole for silent reflux and the dose needs adjusting regularly with weight gain.

He stopped doing it after about two weeks, but like you they were two exhausting weeks! I hope you can get some rest & the reflux settles down soon.

Sorry to hear you're having such a tough time. My DD has regular vomity reflux and had a couple of these night chokings when she was under 3 months. I had to take her to the doctors the next day to check she hadn't inhaled any both times. Fortunately her lungs were clear but it is so bloody scary at the time. I still never leave her sleeping unattended as a result, and she's 5 months now.

Her reflux is more silent these days and she rarely has huge pukes. I still hold her upright after every feed, and have been encouraged to let her sleep on her tummy as she simply can't settle on her back and wakes every 20 minutes. It's not something I do easily because it doubles the risk of SIDS, but I was at the end of my tether due to lack of sleep.

I've also begun solids a month early, again on medical advice. In our case it seems to be helping, but it is a gamble and for many it can make things worse.

I hope things improve for your LO, don't be afraid to keep going back to the docs if things don't improve. Reflux is incredibly hard work but there are many lovely mnetters who have assured me there is light at the end of the tunnel.

it totally sucks!!!!

Thanks for the encouragement, we start the Domperidone tonight.