Help! 14 week old screaming at every feed and it's really getting me down.

[screaminghabdabs]

Hello all. I'm new here and I'm hoping that someone may be able to help me as we're in a desperate state. DD2 is 14 weeks old and has screamed from birth when being fed. BF exclusively for first 6 weeks and then on advice of HV gave up BF as she wasn't gaining weight and was refusing the breast and screaming...However, still fights bottles (Avent and Aptamil) and screams and screams. GP and HV have said it's colic although she doesn't draw legs up and brings wind up OK. (Plus DD1 had bad colic and this is much more severe) Tried infacol, gripe water, colief, Dr Brown bottles, homeopathy and osteopathy without any improvement. Also cow and gate FF. I'm at my wits end as it can take an hour to get 3oz down her and she screams the whole time although is clearly hungry. It's got so bad that I've been diagnosed with PND and given prozac Gp keeps fobbing me off by saying she's a difficult baby although I've pleaded for a referral to a paediatrician as my instinct tells me it's something else. In a good week she's only gaining 1 or 2 oz a week in weight and has dropped from 98th centile to the 8th. On bad weeks she doesn't gain at all. When she's not screaming she's alert and smiley but hates being put down and needs to be held the whole time. She has short naps during the day and sometimes wakes up screaming from those.
Please help as I hate seeing her in so much pain and I'm finding it extremely difficult to cope with the constant crying.

Am sat here crying now.Wish I had found this when dd was 4 months,past the supposed "colic" stage.Did not get her diagnosis until 6.5 months of struggling.Did google reflux,but did not get this site. but previous posters list so describes dds symptoms to a T.Poor mite was so uncomfortable for months.Screamingabdabs please take the article to your Gp,if your little one does have reflux and can get treated life will hopefully become much easier.

Those symptoms EXACTLY match my DD's. She's had ongoing snuffles since birth which I've also been assured (by the same useless HV) are perfectly normal and are her adjusting to life outside the womb... as well as lots of hiccups, drooling and gagging without puking in addition to food refusal despite being hungry and poor weight gain. I also googled reflux ages ago but didn't find this so will definitely take it to the GP. Thank you so much.

I've started my LO on infant gaviscon today. The first 2 feeds were a little easier and at the last one she took 6 oz - a record! Perhaps the thicker consistency helps a little? Keeping my fingers crossed that we'll see a real improvement soon and we can then be referred. Big hugs to all xx

Oh that's excellent news. Maybe your gp will listen next time.

that's great!

I hope things continute to improve for you - it is so stressful and difficult, I hope you have enough help and support.

I had a difficult time with my daughter who used to cry during feeds and seemed to be hungry all the time, it transpired she had tongue tie, once she had it clipped (which took a second and wasn't as bad as it sounds at all) she gradually settled down but it wasn't an instant change - I think she had colic too.

Anyway I just mention this in case the cause of your baby's distress might be tongue tie if it's not any of the things already mentioned.

Wish you all the best, hope things get better

So glad that you have had a better time.I really hope the gaviscon works for your little one,but as prev poster said if it does not then still push for a referral.Heres to it working for you and you having a "reflux free" Christmas.

On a positive note my little angel is now nearly 13 months and a lovely happy smiley little girl,though a bit of a late developer.(not crawling,still with bottom firmly rooted to floor) and I put this partially down to her being in pain for the first six months of life.

Hi, I'm new to this thread, but had exactly the same with my first LO, got told it was nothing to worry about etc etc and she was not diagnosed until she was 6 months old, poor thing. My second started the same symptons at only 2 weeks old and this time I was straight to the GP and got referred to an excellent paed. LO is now on ranitidine. I just wanted to flag that if you do have another LO, the paed told us that it is very common for reflux to happen with siblings, so be ready.

I'm so grateful to you all for your fantastic advice and support. It's just a shame my Hv and/or GP weren't able to offer a similar service. I'm now praying that the gaviscon does the trick and proves that it's reflux so that we can get a paed referral to check for milk intolerance and anything else at the same time. Hope you all have a great christmas and new year with your little and not so little ones xx

OK.. got this from my other site so have c&p for you.

Reflux 101
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in infants

SYMPTOMS:
Baby may have all or some combination of the following:

pain, irritability, constant or sudden crying, "colic"

frequent spitting-up or vomiting (large amounts or small amounts ? or ?silent reflux,? where baby does not spit up at all)

vomiting or spitting-up more than one hour after eating

not outgrowing the spitting-up stage

poor sleep habits, frequent waking

pain while lying flat

"wet burp" or "wet hiccup" sounds

recurrent, painful or persistent hiccoughs

chronic dry cough

gassiness: from gulping air while crying and eating too voraciously

apnea ? voluntarily holding breath while eating or sleeping, air then comes rushing in with an audible wheeze (and if eating, choking and gagging following apnea)

constant eating and drinking (swallowing temporarily relieves the pain)

refusing to feed, arching back, crying on breast or bottle even though hungry

poor weight gain; weight loss; failure to thrive in extreme cases

swallowing problems, gagging, choking

ho!@!@ voice

frequent red, sore throat

ear infections

constantly running nose; sinus infections

bad breath, tooth enamel erosion

excessive salvation, drooling

peculiar neck arching, Sandifer's Syndrome

respiratory problems; pneumonia, bronchitis, wheezing, asthma, nighttime cough, apnea, aspiration, noisy or labored breathing (extreme cases)

Another thing to consider is dysphagia - a swallowing disorder.

1)Does he eat better when he's sleepy?
2)How long does it take to feed him?
3) Does he scream and when he sees the bottle/before he starts to feed?
4) Does he seem fussy while he eats vs. after he eats.
5) Is he congested or had any other respiratory problems.

These are all signs/symptoms of dysphagia.

1)They eat better when they're sleepy because they aren't as aware of the liquid entering their airway
2) It takes forever to feed them because they are screaming and fussing trying to protect their airway
3) They learn that the bottle/breast is something to be afraid of
4) They fuss when they eat due to the liquid entering their airways (aspiration), if it's reflux, then fuss after feeding (drinking soothes reflux, it's after eating when they are burping up the formula/breast milk that the pain begins)
5) Anytime foreign particles enter the airway it can lead to upper respiratory issues.

Thanks for this Frosty. However, I'm now thoroughly confused as she seems to have symptoms of both!
Certainly painful hiccups and screaming when burping would make me think reflux along with the other points; frequent waking and very short naps, hates being flat, gassiness (painful farts and burps), spluttering when feeding, bottle refusal although hungry, arching her back, crying through feeds and pushing bottle away, crying then grabbing it back, poor weight gain, runny nose, drooling (although could also be teething) and bad breath (smells like acid) But it does take FOREVER to feed her the tiniest amount - last feed it took 20 mins to take 1/2 oz as she was screaming and doing the bottle pushing-pulling routine although over 3 hours since previous feed. She seems to fuss whilst feeding, usually after she's had 1/2 an oz or so and before she burps the milk up. (She isn't often sick)
Any ideas please?? Can anyone tell me how long it took them to see a paed? Thanks in advance x

and apologies for going on and on about it....

All I can suggest is that you ask the GP about either case being a possibility. I've no idea how long it takes to get a referral.. sorry!

I do hope it all gets resolved quickly though.

It took several weeks for our paed appointment to come through, but we were managing things by then, so maybe we weren't classed as such an urgent case.

What is your dd like when not feeding? Is she happy then, or does she do a lot of screaming between feeds too? Not sure what others' experiences of reflux are, but the constant screaming all day long was for us a symptom of the milk intolerance rather more than the reflux. If your DD is happy betwen feeds and doesn't have a lot of diarrhoea then I'd be doubtful if the problem is milk intolerance, so that would be one less thing to focus your attention on.

I agree with kayzed that the gaviscon should help whichever of the other two it is, so carry on with this whilst you push for a referral.

Thanks for the replies. She does have periods of being angelic and smiley, but for the most part spends a lot of time screaming unless she's being held upright. Most of her poo is quite explosive and runny although since she's started on the gaviscon she's been constipated. Will definitely keep on with the gaviscon until referred as when she has fed, it's been slightly easier even if the amounts are smallish.
I just hope I can get a referral quickly as I don't want the situation to get any worse. Thanks for all your help once again, it's really appreciated.

Me again! If you want to talk to a homeopath I have one you can call. Just email me on lovelymarslady at aol dot com.

Also.. have you tried cranial osteopathy?