Baby formula - milk allergy/lactose intolerance, Kendamil and Aptamil Pepti 1

[kiernahan]

Hi there,

I'm looking for any advice or personal experience anyone may be able to share in regards to babies with cow's milk allergy and/or lactose intolerance.

I have a 5mo son who we have exclusively formula-fed since birth (due to personal medical reasons).

We've used Kendamil stage 1 formula up until Monday this week, when the doctor prescribed Aptamil Pepti 1 following a discussion about our baby's symptoms.

We took him to see the GP on the advice of our health visitor, as he has been consistently sick for months now - immediately after his feeds, but also in between bottles. He's a very happy little soul and is growing at a healthy rate, so no concerns there. But the amount of sick he is producing in a day is far more than your average baby.

He's an extremely happy little boy and has always LOVED his food - but he absolutely hates this new milk (and I'm not surprised because it smells and tastes disgusting compared to Kendamil). He's just as sick as he was on Kendamil, though the sick is more watery and thin which reflects the thinner consistency of the milk. He's drinking much less at each feed/across the day and isn't as happy/settled after his bottles as he used to be and he's far less enthusiastic while drinking it - he's very fussy and spits a lot out. The only noticeable (positive) change we've seen is in the nappy department - his stools are much firmer and 'healthy' compared to previous nappies, which were extremely loose, brown and watery.

The GP said it's likely to be an "intolerance" to lactose than an "allergy" to cow's milk, but I've since discovered that the Aptamil Pepti 1 she prescribed actually contains lactose...so I'm confused as to what she's trying to treat. I will speak to her about this and get some more guidance/advice but I'm wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences? With the way things are right now I'm quite tempted to put him back onto his original milk because at least he enjoyed it.

The doctor did say it may take a couple of weeks for him to settle onto the new milk, but I'm just not sure...something tells me he's struggling with a lactose intolerance rather than a cow's milk allergy but I wonder if anyone could cast light on it from their personal experience with their little one(s)?

Thanks!

Hi! How is your little one doing now, did he settle on the aptamil pepti? I hope he is well!

May i ask what his symptoms were before being prescribed this formula?

My little one is currently on Aptamil first and keeps breaking out in spots/rash which seems to be getting worse as the days go by. Also he gets congested and sounds rattly after a feed. Before this he was having Kendamil organic, he was fine at first with no symptoms at all but then started to cry right before passing stools which is why i changed.

I am considering buying aptamil pepti online as i think it’s a cows milk protein allergy which is causing these symptoms, but i am reading around first to have a look at peoples experiences.

Thank you

How are you getting on?

The hypoallergenic formulas have differing levels of cows milk and I guess lactose too. Similac Alimemtum and Pepti are the entry level formulas which contain dairy but it is broken down or "hydrolysed" then you have nutramigen which is more extensively broken down and finally there are amino acid based formulas which have seen a cow but contains all the necessary nutrients individually. It is best to keep as much dairy as possible in the diet as it will help when reintroducing dairy also there is an increase in cost as you go to the more processed it is. We have one of the amino acid formulas and I believe it costs £40 a tin and that lasts 4 days!! Also, the taste gets worse too!!

I think you can get lactase drops if it is lactose intolerance.

If it's a mild reaction to cows milk it might be looking at soya formula. Usually you wouldn't swap dairy for soya as 50% of babies with a milk allergy also react to soya but it might be worth considering

A word of warning, GPs do not have to have allergy training as so the advice you can get is patchy and not always correct.

I would definitely speak to your HV ask ask to speak to the local allergy nurse. We had this for our little boy after he helped being sick right after feeds and in between also huge blow out nappies. She has helped us through since April 2020 when he was 6 weeks old and got us to ask the GP for prescription milk after none of the supermarket ones worked. We tried 5 different ones over 8 months and he finally settled symptom free on neocate LCP.
Any milk you try baby needs to be on it for a minimum of 6 weeks as thats how long it takes the 'bad' milk to leave their body.
I hope you get some help soon