Silent reflux - anyone got any experience?

[Zoidy]

Hi,
I have a 16 week old boy called Finn who has been bottlefed since 3 weeks. He puts on weight well & up until approx 10 days ago has been eating well and is happy. An average feed was 6oz.

Then he started to play up during feeds - he takes the bottle happily for about 3.5oz and then pulls away. I know he is not full as at first I just stopped feeding as everytime I tried he refused & cried at me, so I thought must just be a slow day! But the rest of that day was a nightmare - he couldn't sleep cos he was still hungry but then couldn't eat as was tired - vicious circle.

The next day I calmed him down by shushing and rocking - something that works when he is tired. He then drank another 2 oz before pulling away and then screaming. He pulls himself up into sitting (or tries to) and then seems to get happier. He has also started to suck on anything - no dummy yet but will suck on his bib happily. He has also started posseting up milk (very watery or maybe acidy?) sometimes hours after his feed.

He is still sleeping ok at night - sometime wakes & cries then falls back to sleep again.

Could this be silent reflux? I don't want to conclusions but he doesn't have trapped wind, has never had an issue with colic. Doesn't throw up lots and his poos seem normal.

Any ideas, thoughts, help would be appreciated as feeding time has become a horrid time where I feel I am being nasty to him but I know if he doesn't eat 5oz at least he will still be hungry.

Thanks
Claire & Finn!

Hi Claire,

My DS had reflux and some of Finn's symptoms sound similar to his. Unfortunately as you know symptoms of colic/wind/reflux etc can be similar.
I found this site www.littlerefluxers.co.uk helpful as there are always chats/debates about symptoms and "does my child have reflux" issues.

Whatever it is it sounds dreadful for you both. I hope you get some answers soon.

Davidsmom

If sucking things soothes him, then it might be worth trying a dummy. Dummy certainly soothed my ds1, and it was easy to wean him off it when he found his fingers.

You could try changing his formula to another brand.

It could also, possibly, be teething - try him on something like Nelsons Teetha granules, or rubbing his gums with a chilled teether or soft silicon teething brush.

It could be teething Zoidy. Sore gums can cause babies to pull away during feeding and they often put things in their mouths to chew. Is your ds dribbling too? I know it seems early but my dd startd teething around 12 weeks and her first teeth were through at 16/17 weeks, we thought it might be SR for a while as we weren't expecting teeth so soon.

Hope things improve soon.

Clare,
Hi - my DD1 had severe reflux (often silent). It kicked in at around 2-3 weeks and I would be surprised if it has started so late with your DS, particularly as his weight gain has been so good up til now. If it is reflux (and causing the pain) then you will be able to smell the acid (it stained and ruined all of DD's clothes when she was a baby). I very much hope thatit is teething as per other posts above.

If you do find that it is reflux then pls post again and I will be happy to help.

alice

Hiya my DS has severe acid reflux. It started at 2 weeks and he still has it at 23 weeks. He has always fed pretty well- his problems come after the feeds. The problems are extreme and constant irritability..screaming, arching etc, constant choking...he has been in hospital 3 times..once as he stopped breathing! coughing, violent hiccups, vomitting up to 3 hrs after feeds, I can hear the fluid splashing up inside him It has been awful. He is on two meds from the hospital which help abit but don't stop it. The choking is the worst and the irritability. DS weight gain has always been good as he feeds every 1.5-2 hrs, probably to ease the pain. Hope you get it sorted if it turns out to be reflux. At least they usually grow out of it.

Jellybeans
The thing that helped my DD1 most (tried all the medications to no avail) was thickening the milk (if you bottle feed). She had it like this til she was about 9 months (I had to give up breast feeding at about 5 weeks as she just couldnt cope)

Thanks Jasper, is your DD OK now? Hope so. I am bf but use some formula and he has started baby rice etc on hospital advice. That doesn't seem to help nor does the meds. I have tried Gaviscon but made him constipated. It's a horrible thing to deal with, thanks for advice though

Hi Jellybeans - yes she is fine but it has had a lasting effect on her attitude to food (but i think she was quite bad - screamed on breast or bottle 6+ months and difficult to wean as suspicious of everythign going in her mouth). Its great if you have been able to carry on breastfeeding. I am assuming that a dairy intolerance has been ruled out?

You have my sympathies - its a nightmare to deal with, but it will be over at some point!

Hi,
Thanks for all your replies - and sorry to all of you whose little ones have this horrid condition.

I took DS to see the doctor yesterday to ask if there was anyway we could rule it out, and all he kept saying was 'as he doesn't throw up lots and is growing you should just push through it'. I felt a bit fobbed off to be honest but as I said I don't want to jump to conclusions.

I hadn't thought about teething but I will go today & get some granules and give them a go. He does seemed calmed by the sucking so I will get him a dummy today too. Weirdly today after 3.5oz I changed him, he lay on the mat happily chewing his hands or bib and then after ate another 2.5oz with only a little fuss. I guess that silent reflux babies would not like to be on their backs after a feed? So maybe I am just over analysing this!

Will let you know how it goes with dummy etc.

Thanks again!
Z x

Z,
Yes you would normally find that they prefer to be kept upright or sitting so the fact that he is happy on his back is a good sign :-)

From experience you will get no real help from GP unless you have failure to thrive. My DD was just about ok on that front and we ended up having to see a private paediatric gastroenterologist to get help.

Does sound like hopefully it is just teething anyway :-)

Zoidy, I was fobbed off at first, alot of doctors have no clue! Hope it is just teething and your little one is much better soon. If you feel it is reflux push for a referral or to try some meds such as Gaviscon.

Jasper yes I tried Dairy free for 4 weeks, no difference sadly. Glad your DD is better although hope she is OK with her food soon.

Hi, I've just seen this thread and wondered if anyone had any advice for me? My 14 week old baby (who was 7 weeks prem) has silent reflux. He is on Ranitidine and gaviscon and currently we're trying to get him to go from 3 to 4 hourly feeds on HV advice to help feed digest before offering more. He tends to start giving up after 2 oz and then it is sheer torture for both of us to get him to take the rest of his feed. He cries when the bottle is pulled away so it is not a case of him being full. The feed will then continue painstaklingly slowly with lots of writhing, grunting and squaking. It's so upsetting to watch. He is 9 1/2 lb now so needs to be taking 5oz bottles really. He is generally good at night and the past few weeks has cut down his night feed himself, going to past 5am and taking around an ounce. But...he then stopped settling after this feed and would grunt, groan and make choking sounds for the rest of the night. We propped up the top of his cot on GP advice. Then he stopped taking anything all at this feed and will settle with a dummy for a short while but will wake again 1/2 hr later or so and so this continues til 7 am when he will finally give feeding a go but still won;t take much. I'm pretty much at the end of my tether and have stopped going out due to the stress feeding causes. I feel quite isolated from my friends now which is really upsetting me. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? What should I do about the night feeds? My husband thinks baby would cry if he was hungry, which he doesn't - he generally wakes at a similar time each night and grunts for a while, so my husband feels, as feeding worsens his reflux at night, we should leave it. There is no way he would accept a dream feed as it gives him far too bad wind - grrrrrrrrrrrr! I'd really appreciate any bright ideas anyone has! Thanks