Does this sound like silent reflux?

[Dennisreynoldsduster]

Ds is one month and paediatrician said it’s likely he has silent reflux as you can often hear things come up but not come out after feeding, and he pulls a face like something tastes bad. He also grunts quite a lot and it sounds like a throat clearing noise which the doctor said is where the acidic milk has come up and coated his throat.

The other thing he does - which is what I’m wondering about - is go really red after feeding, kind of tense up and stiffen or curl into a ball, arch his head and his head goes back, kind of squirming and pulling faces, then cries - and it happens after every feed. He also seems to squirm and gripe when he passes wind (mainly farts, burps don’t seem to bother him!).

I just wondered if this was to do with the reflux as he often wants to feed again which seems to soothe him but then obviously he does the tensing/curling discomfort thing again immediately after.

We’ve been given gaviscon and told to put half a sachet in with formula feeds and on a spoon for breast feeds, six times a day, but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything to ease this :(

It sounds very similar to my ds when he had silent reflux. Are you using a heavy formula for reflux? That was the only thing we found worked for us along with keeping him upright as much as possible, especially after each feed

We've got aptamil anti reflux but haven't used it yet as health visitor said it could cause him worse wind :-/ and he's already trumping away like a trooper and really grimacing when he does...

Which one did you find worked for you?

A few people have recommended Hipp Organic but I don't want to keep chopping and changing...

He weirdly seems worse after breast feeding at the moment, which doesn't make much sense to me unless it's something I'm eating that's making the reflux worse

Sounds very much so like silent reflux. Think painful heartburn and that's basically what it is.

My girl suffered for 2 years.

Firstly get some gripe water and give before a feed, this will help with the wind.
There are meds the doctors can prescribe. Infant gaviscon is the first option which can constipate some babies, then ranitidine, then omeprazole and so on.
If you're formula feeding I would suggest changing your milk to hipp organic, it is one of the most gently milks on babies tummies.

If you're breastfeeding I would suggest start cutting out dairy. I believe the statistic is about 95+% of babies with silent reflux also are cmpa.

There is a fabulous non judgemental group on Facebook which mountains of support call babies with reflux and silent reflux.

Other ways to keep them comfortable is raise Moses basket/cot with a vision, if napping put on his side so if he regurgitates he won't choke. Don't overclothe to a point of very warm. I once took my girl out in a freezing November night in a vest and blanket as she was too hot and had screamed for hours and hours. A warm bath if he is struggling to do the toilet and baby massage.

Apparently the witching hour is usually around 1am when their bodies have an "acid dump"

Good luck mama, it's hard and you feel helpless but there is lots of support available x

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oh wow thank you @Michellebops that's so so helpful

We have infant gaviscon which I'm trying - is infacol gripe water? Can you use this with gaviscon?

At the moment he's like it after every feed, on Friday he seemed to be straining, tensing and groaning whenever he was awake :(

I have a box of Hipp Organic but it is just the standard milk not the comfort/anti-reflux one, is the original one still better than usual formula? does changing their formula too often upset their digestion?

The first time he did this tensing squirming, straining thing I thought he was having a seizure or spasm, it really scared me!

Sorry for all the questions, you seem very knowledgeable

It could be yes.
Gaviscon constipated my daughter,be warned.
After she was prescribed ranitidine she was like a different child. She had cow and gate formula.
She had ranitidine from 4-9 months, then once she was crawling she was fine.

thanks @UserThenLotsOfNumbers did your daughter behave in the same way?

I'm a bit worried about the constipation, were you able to get anything to counteract it or did you move onto the different meds?

The normal hipp is fine. In my experience infacol isn't great as it contains sorbitol which can react against reflux.
Try the hipp with the next feed.

Most babies outgrow it by 6/9 months when they're able to sit upright or crawling as the activity will help with their digestion.

In some cases early weaning May be advised but don't feel forced into it. Do it when you're both ready.

It is scary,
And it's so common.

Feel free to message anytime and I'll offer you any support I can

Thank you so much I will take you up on that

Just gave him a breast feed and he immediately grimaced afterwards then screamed and went so rigid in his legs I couldn’t sit him to wind him for a bit

He had a bit more and we’ve managed to settle him but it’s so upsetting

Yes similar, especially the grunting.

The grunting is awful :( it all seemed to suddenly start at three and a half weeks old

He’s also started dirtying his nappy less although lots of wet nappies, and he’s doing stinky farts which he wasn’t before. I think his poor digestion is really struggling

DS has that and the midwife suggested a dummy (which he hated anyway). It was worse lying down, and I was breastfeeding at the time and some things I was eating seemed to make it worse.

DS had this (he’s nearly 16)

We have given him a dummy and it does seem to soothe him just not when he’s having his rigid, squirming grunting sessions after feeding. It’s like it starts coming back up immediately and then continues after for a bit

Which things made it worse out of interest, as he does seem worse after bf and more content after formula which has made me consider giving it up :(

This sounds exactly like my wee one who was eventually diagnosed with a non-IgE mediated Cow Milk Protein Allergy, of which silent reflux can be a symptom.

After speaking with a Paed Consultant we put him on Cow and Gate Pepti Junior formula and within 3 days he was a different baby. You can buy it over the counter and (at least here in Scotland) get it free on prescription following official diagnosis. Aptamil Pepti 1 is similar.

Good luck, I totally understand how stressful getting to the trot of it can be xx

*getting to the root of it!

As @SerBrienneOfHouseTarth said, it could well be CMPA. I'd recommend examining that as a possibility; I think the usual approach from HCPs now is to exclude that as the cause, because medication won't work if it is.

Check out the NICE guidelines on childhood CMPA, and also on childhood allergies more generally. They'll give you an idea of the pathways available.

Thank you
The paediatrician mentioned cmpa but said we need to go through the process with the different meds for silent reflux first
Weirdly he seems a bit better with formula which made me think it couldn’t be cmpa but who knows

That approach surprises me - are they a gastro specialist? Gaviscon fine, but i regret getting my then infant on to ranitidine/omeprazole without ruling out CMPA as the cause - they change the levels of acid in the stomach, which is fine if they're doing the job, but can have a knock on impact on gut flora IIRC. I thought the usual approach now was rule out allergy first.

Mind you, if he's seeming better on formula then I'd be very surprised if it's CMPA rather than classic reflux - we had vastly worse screaming and puking, and an exciting rash, when we introduced formula! You're putting way more protein in through formula than through breast milk, so if symptoms are better not worse, CMPA seems unlikely.

Either way, to you - it's not easy, but does pass!

Foods that seemed to kick it off: Lentils - brassicas - beans (and me as a veggie!!) the doctor told me it was rubbish but my midwife said ‘it’s common sense - anything that makes you fart!’ It worked for me.

Funnily enough a colleague gets reflux - says keeping head above tummy works when lying down (maybe raise the cot head?)

He definitely doesn’t like laying flat.
And sometimes when he’s asleep he will pull a bit of a retching face but nothing comes up then he grimaced and gives a little cry like something tastes horrible. It’s horrible to see :(

Infacol has helped a little with the wind but gaviscon doesn’t seem to be doing much so think we will be back at the doctor to see if they can offer us anything different

My little one was put on gaviscon yesterday and I was told to go back in 3 days if no change for something stronger. It does seemed to have settled him, he just won't sleep. Have you raised the cot or crib with anything? He won't sleep unless on me!

@strawbmilk we have put a blanket under the mattress to kind of wedge it up but it doesn’t work, he only stays down for a little while then he’s grunting and and waking again.
He will only sleep on me or propped up on his cushion and then I can’t sleep. I’ve been looking at wedgehogs wedges as they supply the NHS so I figured they must be safe but I’m going to do a bit more research into them.