6 week old baby screams whenever awake and seems in pain :-(

[angel05]

hey everyone. im so worried about my dd. i have taken her to the doctors four times as she seems to be in alot of pain but its just getting worse. we have been given stuff for colic, gaviscon for reflux and changed her bottles. it started off as her bringing her milk up and arching her back. now with the gaviscon she doesnt bring it up too much (she is formula fed, was unable to breast feed) now she seems to be in alot of pain whenever she passes bottom wind and keeps bringing her legs up. she will do a poo one day, none the next, then one the day after. i really think its her bowel that could be causing the problem. i understand shes only 6 weeks and her bowel isnt very strong which is what the doctor keeps telling me but i have never known a baby to be like it and ive tried all the massage and stuff. has anyone got any ideas at all?
thank you for taking the time to read this loooong message :-) xxx

Can you see a different doctor? Maybe take her to a walk in centre, if you can't see a different doctor at your own clinic.

If it is all due to colic, have you tried keeping her closer (in a wrap or baby carrier)?

I am not a specialist in any way, but didn't want to read and run. I really hope you can get this sorted. You might want to repost this in chat as it gets more traffic so you are more likely to get a response.

Hello. Having to deal with is crap. Big hug to start with. A daft question but have you tried a comfort formula (SMA or Aptimel)? Both my babies were the same as yours and after a couple of days we took them off meds. Good luck.

My educated giess would be reflux which is being helped slightly with the gaviscon, but gaviscon is known for causing awful constipation and wind.
My advice, go back to the doc, say gaviscon is helping so prob is reflux, but the gaviscon is causing it's own problems and ask for another medicine. They will prob give ranitidine. Then hopefully the new meds wil help with the reflux and the elemination of gaviscon will take away the constipation and trapped wind problem. It can take a week or so to take effect and change over so give it a chance. Also do not keep changing babys milk as this aggrivates the tummy more.
Also research hints and tips for reflux. They often prefer little and often with feeds, always hold them upright after a feed for as long as possible, put cot/ moses basket on a slant (use books under legs) wind well.
If you need any more info please feel free to message.

My daughter was very similar with the painful wind, legs up, and screaming, although didn't bring up milk. She turned out to be lactose intolerant, and went on lactose free formula, it really transformed her. You could try some and see how it goes. (BTW she is now 6 yrs and not intolerant anymore)

thank u everyone. yeah the gaviscon has given her bad constipation. so i was told by health visitor to squeeze a tiny bit of orange into her boiled water and it helped alot! but her poo was so hard bless her :-( shes been alot happier today and getting abit upset now so in going to see how she goes during the night and then try a different doctor in the morning as i just found out they do a walk in service for children :-) thank you for the advice everyone. hopefully she will be back to her very cheeku self asap :-) xxxx

i keep saying to them i think its an intolerance and they said its not. but i really think it is so im going to kept a second opinion, well more like a 5th lol xxx

I agree with Keepmum - it sounds exactly like DS at the same age. When we tried to feed him he would greedily suck the first mouthful, then start pushing the bottle away and really kick up a fuss. We would wait until he was asleep and then "sneak" feed him, just so he had some food in him. He was constantly arching his back, lurching from constipation to diarrhoea, very bloated, silent reflux - all classic symptoms for CMP (Cow's milk protein) intolerance. At 10 weeks, after a couple of visits to the dr's they put him on a prescription formula called pregestimil (based on coconut and sunflower oils I think!) and the transformation in him was miraculous. Literally within 24 hours he went from a screaming, unhappy baby who wouldn't eat or sleep, to one who fed well, smiled almost constantly and was a total sweetie!

Do go back to the GP - in the meantime keep a diary of when & how much you feed her (and also which formula it is - they are surprisingly different!), and exactly what she does - include everything you can think of from the state of her nappies, to her emotion and behaviour. This can really help the GP to put together a full picture of what is happening, and get a proper diagnosis.

Good luck!