cant feed, wont feed?? is ranitidine suppressing appetite or stopped working. desperate for advice

[JPK123]

hi

I started another thread about this but still none the wiser and am getting really desperate while waiting specialist referral and wondered if anyone else had similar problem:

DD1 20 weeks old, diagnosed silent reflux at 6 weeks, on ranitidine, pretty well controlled till 6 weeks ago when went on feeding strike:

sometimes not interested atall, sometimes will have a few sucks then stops and cries and refuses to go back on. this happens all day but she will feed ok at night (but is not catching up at night - has 1 or 2 small feeds). weight gain has stopped - she is 13lb7 dropped from 80th centile at birth, was steady on 50th centile to 10th now. she has also started getting sleepy in the day which makes me think she is really not getting enough calories.

i had various theories such as thrush, teething, distraction, ear infection etc but it has gone on too long for these i think.

wondered if anyone had any experience of ranitidine suppressing appetite? or if this was an indication their baby needed something more like omeprazole, or none of the above.

I am going a bit bonkers with worry as noone seems to know whats wrong and HV, GP pretty uninterested although have now referred her.

Please help!!

Hi -

I feel a bit of a fraud as this is the 2nd time today I've suggested this to an OP!! But take a look at this - could it be possible that you are dealing with an overactive letdown, and not reflux at all??

My DD was also "diagnosed" silent reflux at about 13 weeks - I put that in quote marks because really, I nagged the GP until she said that it could be reflux and gave us Gaviscon. It took me a few months to realise that basically I was dealing with a normal, non-ill baby who just puked a lot and seemed gassy and unhappy. And years later I read about overactive letdown and thought, blimey! Wish someone had mentioned that to me at the time! But it's exactly the sort of thing that GPs, HVs and probably most paeds don't know about ....

my DS had ranitadine until he was 6 months old

it didn't appear to suppress his appetite

it is very weight dependent and the dose will need adjusting regularly

static weight gain coupled with the other symptoms (especially being sleepy) should be checked out i think

thanks both.

boobmeister someone else mentioned overactive letdown to me a while ago but i think that while it makes things worse im pretty sure she does also have reflux as the ranitidine initially "cured " it. it wasnt completely silent either as she was projectile vomiting to start with. also she really screamed blue murder during and after each feed - alot more than youd expect from letdown probs. thanks anyway though!

I thought Id just post again on this in case anyone reads it - DD just came out of hospital and diagnosed with oesophagitis secondary to reflux/cows milk protein allergy. So that's what it was. Touch wood seems to be getting better on lansoprazole and neocate.

I'm really glad you have had a diagnosis. We too are having reflux issues. DS2 is on ranitidine (now 13 weeks, been on it for last 5 weeks) and sometimes he feeds well, other times he doesn't. Weight gain is steady though, but I am sure ranitidine is not enough for him. DS1 ended up on omeprazole and domperidone which cured him overnight. We have been referred to a paed - app on 25th May, so just hanging in there till then. Incidentally how did they diagnose oesophagitis?

Sorry to hear youre having problems with reflux it is such a total NIGHTMARE isnt it.

The consultant basically made a clinical diagnosis of oesophagitis based on her history and watching her feed and things like her ramming her fists down her throat every time she fed (sore mouth and throat). If their discomfort is severe enough to stop them feeding altogether then its likely they have some degree of oesophagitis. She also had a barium swallow and meal which can show it to some extent, but yes you need an endoscopy to properly diagnose it, which they didnt do.

I hope you get some help from paed. I got omeprazole from my GP in the end (although it didnt work because she was CMPI too) because my paeds appt was 8 weeks away. Its frustrating having to wait when it causes so much stress. Have you increased ranitidine in line with his weight? I think that was my mistake, not doing that.

Good luck

JPK is omeprazole unsuitable for cmpi? DD2 is on it and still windy as anything and screaming most of the time...

sorry, scrap that, I mis-read your last post!

hobnob57

just thought id add - my DD was really windy and seemed to have tummy pain on omeprazole and isnt on lansoprazole. it could just be that the whole thing is more sorted out now with cmpi addressed but worth thinking about aksing to change if your dd doesnt improve.

they can both cause gastritis but i expect its more likely the relfux or something else causing your dd problems>?

good luck