Is this reflux?

[sweetjane]

Ds has been really sicky from birth, not just possetting immediately after a feed but up to an hour and a half later. It doesn't seem to be causing him any pain when he vomits though so can this still be reflux?
He has recently started to scream quite a lot when I put him on his back to change his nappy etc but he never used to do this and he is almost 5 months old now. It's not wind because he burps well during and after a feed.

I have an appointment to see the doc on Friday but she is pretty useless so was hoping to get some opinions on here as well!

Anyone??

Are you breast or bottlefeeding?

If it isn't actually causing him a problem then I would n't worry about whether it is reflux or not. Many babies don't like being laid down at that age for whatever reason - they just prefer to sit up and be able to see around better

Have you tried Infant Gaviscon? Can get it over the counter but might as well ask GP to prescribe it, it's not expensive.
When ds was 6wks old he started on Gaviscon and his projectile vomiting became manageable. I had thought I had PND but the sun just came out for me with the arrival of the Gaviscon!

Ds2 has reflux and he has infant gaviscon now and it really does help. He used to throw up after every feed (he fed every hour or two) and would also be sick an hour after feeding. He'd scream sometimes too as if he was in pain so that's why I saw my gp. The sick didn't seem to bother him much and he puts on weight really well (bf) but he did seem in pain with it too. He is 19 weeks on Thursday.

You're not supposed to use infant gaviscon under 12 months without a prescription from the gp, says so on the box and they shouldn't sell it to you if it's for use on a baby under 12 months.

Hiya, I'm bf exclusively. Lizs, I know what you mean and that's why I haven't really done anything about it until now because everyone just keeps saying "well he's obviously getting enough" etc. But now that he has really started to scream when on his back I wondered if it could be a kind of reflux - it's definitely a pain cry rather than an "i'm p*ed off" cry! But it's not all the time and he is mostly quite a happy baby, but he does have definite periods of screaming each day and it is usually shortly after feeding. He also tends to wriggle and pull away a lot during feeds.

That could be the sick coming up in his throat as that burns, just like heartburn. Remember how painful that was if you had it during pregnancy. I had it quite bad and so I couldn't leave him with it and not give him anything.

Sounds like he's been what they call a 'happy spitter' up until now. If you think it's bothering him you could try saying to the GP somthing like "could we try some infant gaviscon, I've heard it can really help sicky babies be more comfortable" - worked for us! Your HV can help with prescribing too by writing to the doctor. If the gaviscon does work and you are FF then ask for enfamil AR instead after the first few weeks - it's already got the thickener added so a)easier to make and b) baby doesn't get the double helpings of sodium (not that it's at all harmful but if you don't have to then why do it IMO). Enfamil AR can be used safely as a sole formula until 12 months.

Have to say though, reflux does tend to dramatically improve whe they learn to sit unaided and start to eat solids so if you're not hugely bothered you could wait.

my little girl had reflux from birth till one year old.gaviscon didnt help her when she was 3 months at all.but when she was about 10 months gaviscon and another minty syrub sorted it. i was very happy.vomitting is nerve racking. she vomitted every feed,even when she was a sleep and food as well when she started eating. gps said its ok,i shouldn`t worry.but i kept taking her untill they sent her to the spetialist at the hospital.

My ds2 is sitting now but still throws up when I don't give him the gaviscon.

JodieG1 mine did too.
she was crawling and still vomitting food everywhere
i stopped counting the times when i washed my carpet.it was awful.
i didn`t visit friends and limited my going out.

I wondered about Infant Gaviscon, are there any side effects though - can it cause constipation or anything do you know? And do you have to give them it all the time or does it actually 'cure' reflux?

it cures it.after you finish the recommended dose.
i didnt notice any side effects. the gp didnt mention this as well.

morethanamum, thanks for this.. sorry to hear about your experience, I kind of thought it might go away by itself once ds is weaned but that's a while off yet and from your experience it doesn't sound like that's a guarantee!

Thanks to all for your advice, liquidclocks will do as you suggest.. thanks!

Jodie - it's common for it to persist, my 2.8 yr old still spits up but it's most likely it'll clear up between 6-12 months.

Sweetjane, I'm sorry I must disagree with morethanamum, the only 'cure' for reflux is time. But, it is very manageable and it's likely your baby will be happier when treated if it is reflux.

we had this reaction when our dd had reflux (i'm not angry at you sweetie, just those who say "well, he's obv getting enough").

whether or not they are putting weight on is not the issue - i had to turn round (to the 3rd doc) and say "how do you feel when you're being sick? the acid taste is bad enough but it also burns your throat and can damage it (though it can recover) and in silent reflux - the acid goes back down into the stomach so burns everything 2ce. not pleasant for adults but even worse for children and babies". docs wills ay they eventually grow out of it but they're not the ones going through it it's the babies.

if, as you say, your doc isn't very sympathetic to your baby's plight, then see another doc and keep going until your baby gets the treatment they need. i have heard v.good things about crainial osteopathy - it may be worth thinking about x

this lady also has similar query

ds had silent reflux but it took a lot of nagging on my part for any doc to take us seriously as ds was putting on lots of weight - in desperation we got a private referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist who identified it and put ds on ranitidine, which had a brilliant effect after just a couple of days and he outgrew it enough by 8 months to be taken off the meds. He had been on Gaviscon before that but we found after initially helping its effect seemed to diminish. Ds rarely threw up and when he did he was not in discomfort - it was just the rest of the time! He was very unhappy especially on his back.

Other symptoms ds had: coughing, spluttering/gagging for no apparent reason, lots of hiccups, bad breath that smelt like acid, pulling off the breast crying while still obviously hungry, but mostly just screaming all day... ohhhh the screaming .

I've heard it said on here that reflux diagnoses are thrown around too much. But tbh MN is the only place people seem to be very aware of it in my experience! And our gasto doc said he thought it was massively UNDERdiagnosed - that persistent 'colic' in any baby over 12 weeks old should be investigated for reflux.

Reflux info