Silent Reflux milk

[Teabird]

Really need some advice. My 12 week old dd has been diagnosed with silent reflux last week and is on gaviscon in her normal cow & gate milk which seems to be helping a bit but is already making her quite constipated. I've tried her on SMA staydown but she seems to hate the thicker texture of the milk. Is there any other milk that is thinner but better for her. she is still screaming randomly, bubbling at the mouth and very congested. help!!

Teabird did your GO say what they think may be causing the silent reflux? Just asking as I thought it was a symptom rather than a diagnosis.

Does your DD have any other symptoms?

sorry I haven't replied, but I've been back and forward to GP'S with this.

the doctor diagnosed the silent reflux and prescribed sma staydown milk and gaviscon. my dd hated the milk but the gaviscon seemed to be helping her a bit but she still is in pain and struggling.

her symptoms are
crying during feeding and straight after
struggling to get wind up and burp
arching back and straining legs and knocking bottles away
chronic congestion and constant cough
sneezes and hiccups a lot
uncomfortable at night and very disturbed sleep
bubbles constantly at her mouth

it's horrible to see her so uncomfortable and in pain.

any help or advice would be great

Poor little thing. Has the GP mentioned the possibility of Cow's Milk Protein Allergy? Has he referred her to a Paed?

the doctor never mentioned an allergy but I have my hv coming this afternoon and an appt on Thursday so will mention it to them and see what they can do. I am definitely asking for a referral to a paediatric dr. thanks very much

I was going to say CMPI / CMPA too - this was the cause of our DS' Silent Reflux. Are you completely FF or mixed feeding? If Mixed you may need to cut dairy out of your own diet. If FF you can get special milk on prescription - but it's foul (DS refused to drink it but he was 14 months when finally diagnosed, and mostly BF anyway).

Great that your GP was on the ball with diagnosing the reflux - our GP said Silent Reflux was "a myth" and only prescribed us the gaviscon after our HV rang him and shouted at persuaded him.

I am completely formula feeding on cow and gate. I am going to ask about her being allergic to cows milk and see what she says. can they test for this? the infant gaviscon did work for about 3 weeks but now seems to have stopped. is there any other medications she could try?

How did you get on with HV Teabird? Interested in this as my 8 week old also has silent reflux.

Tea yes there are stronger medications you can be prescribed for reflux. TBH we never got very far with medication for DS - it only improved once we cut out the dairy.

I believe you can be tested for allergies, but not for intollerances. If an intollerance is suspected, the recomendation is to cut out the trigger (eg dairy) for a minimum of 3 weeks.

Try the cow and gate anti reflux or comfort milks. Worked wonders for my son but the SMA one was quite different. The c&g one is I believe the same as the Aprtamil. I'd try that before going for more medication. It solved the problem for us

The Health visitor was great, she had already spoken to my GP about trying ranitidine so I got a prescription for it really quickly, so far its been 3 days and seems to be massively helping. She is no longer crying all the time and the bubbling and congestion has reduced hugely. She seems very much more settled. They want her to be on it for three weeks then review it and will refer her to a paed if needed after that. Apparently there is a chance the ranitidine can work initially and then stop being effective so its a trial and error with each thing. I'm also carrying on using the gaviscon too.

My HV said that if I wasn't happy after the paed then she can self refer my DD to a dietician who can prescribe cows milk free milk. So I have that if needed.

Heiress- thanks for the names of those milks but the reason I haven't tried any other milks with my dd, is she really doesn't like the thicker consistency and they are all like that to some extent. I was also a bit worried how you make up the bottles, with cold water-how does it kill any potential bugs in the powder?

PinkZebra21- it seems it has been worth perservering with my GP and HV as they are taking me seriously now I think!

Both my GP and HV recommended slightly early weaning as it should improve reflux. What do you think to that suggestion? I wasn't sure....

Personally I don't think you should give comfort or stay down milk alongside gaviscon as it would constipate too much as that's the point of gaviscon to keep milk down effectively. You can buy sma HA milk which is a extensively hydrolysed formula and for those with possible issues with cows milk. My dad had bad reflux and had special milks and oneprazole which is stronger than ranitidine. Why ranitidine may stop working is because the dose will always need adjusting as they gain weight so you need to have them regularly weighed and make sure you are on correct dosage. Good luck as I know how stressful it can be and a long journey to getting the right support.