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Original poster

Has anyone successfully treated reflux with just Gaviscon??

14 replies

extracrunchy · 12/01/2014 15:07

DD aged 3 weeks is already suffering from reflux, which DS (now 2 and a half) had quite badly. He was on ranitidine and domperidone till he was 2, I was advised to cut dairy while BFing, which extended into a dairy free diet for DS in the first months of solids.

I remember last time the GP started us off with infant gaviscon, which in DS's case was useless, but I'm reluctant to get into the cycle of drugs and complicated diets this time unless we have to and assume gaviscon will be the first port of call for DD.

So I'm wondering if anyone can offer any reassurance that they've had success solving reflux with just gaviscon (and positioning etc) or if anyone can suggest anything else that might help before we start medicating.

Thank you Smile

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BrianTheMole · 12/01/2014 15:27

Yes dd had just gaviscon until she was about 9 months, and then just seemed to grow out of the reflux.

larrygrylls · 12/01/2014 17:46

Infant Gaviscon is merely a food stabiliser (increases thickness, so less likely to be brought up), it does absolutely nothing for the pain of reflux. We had a son with bad reflux and he was on ranitidine until about one year old. Gaviscon may stop the vomiting but, if you want to make your daughter more comfortable, she will need something for the acid.

Original poster
extracrunchy · 12/01/2014 21:56

I know gaviscon is just a thickener but I didn't know there was still pain if feeds were no longer being refluxed - is that the case?

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Original poster
extracrunchy · 12/01/2014 22:51

Bump!!

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heymammy · 12/01/2014 22:57

Dd2 had reflux but the copious vomiting sort, not sure how much she had in the way of acid pain. Gaviscon sorted her out a treat Smile

Original poster
extracrunchy · 12/01/2014 23:53

Hmm I think we've got more of the other way round - pretty regular vomit but mostly wet burps and hiccups with lots of crying and fussing as it hurts. But I guess Gaviscon could still work if it keeps the acid down as it's the acid that's causing the pain..? Or have I got that completely wrong?!

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Original poster
extracrunchy · 12/01/2014 23:55

Ooh and did anyone manage to give gaviscon while exclusively breastfeeding without having to express? (i.e. via a syringe rather than mixed in feed)

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BrianTheMole · 13/01/2014 00:23

But I guess Gaviscon could still work if it keeps the acid down as it's the acid that's causing the pain..? Or have I got that completely wrong?

Yes. I didn't feel my dd was in any pain after she managed to keep the milk down.

Ooh and did anyone manage to give gaviscon while exclusively breastfeeding without having to express? (i.e. via a syringe rather than mixed in feed)

Yes I did this too, although it was easier to mix it up in expressed milk.

Original poster
extracrunchy · 13/01/2014 03:40

That's very encouraging! Thank you! Did you have any issues with constipation on the gaviscon?

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MissRatty · 13/01/2014 07:11

Our LO is on gaviscon and ranitidine, but in terms of the syringe, we have now nailed it...we use a calpol one, we don't make the gaviscon up to the recommended 15ml, only about 10ml (15 is too much for him) and give it to him verrrrrrrrry slowly, and very soon after starting breastfeed, now he gulps it down as he's always still hungry when he gets it, and four weeks on, he doesn't mind the taste as much now.

StuntNun · 13/01/2014 07:26

I mixed the gaviscon with a little water and gave it right before the breastfeed. The gaviscon was brilliant for stopping the vomiting, we went from ten possets/pukes a day to one at most. It didn't do anything for the pain though and DS3 would wake up screaming in pain in the night. The only thing we could do was hold him upright and give him a feed to sooth his throat. The ranitidine was completely necessary in our case I'm afraid. DS3 had secondary reflux due to egg intolerance - he was reacting to egg protein in my breastmilk and that caused the damage to his gut. Once I was on an egg-free diet his gut started to heal and after a few months we were able to stop medicating him.

Original poster
extracrunchy · 13/01/2014 07:51

StuntNun do you think your DD was still silent refluxing when she still had pain - just not actually vomiting? Interesting about egg. How did you establish that?

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StuntNun · 13/01/2014 09:57

Definitely Crunchy. He would be okay in the day but when he was laid flat to sleep he would wake up crying then as he was held upright the pain would pass after 10-20 minutes. Breastfeeding helped soothe the pain as the milk is an antacid (I think) but of course then the milk in his stomach would start the cycle again. Afaik babies usually develop reflux early on but DS3 wasn't diagnosed with it until six months. What probably happened was the egg intolerance developed over time and the constant irritation and inflammation caused the stomach issues - he wasn't a 'classic' refluxer. Fortunately I gave him egg early on in weaning and as he reacted to it we knew there was an intolerance (I was egg-intolerant as a baby). Unfortunately it took a while for me to realise that I needed to stop eating egg as well.

Original poster
extracrunchy · 13/01/2014 11:06

Oh sorry DS! It's so unfair no one thought to suggest it might be food related. We were encouraged to go no dairy fairly early on with DS but hard to know if it helped because it coincided with new meds as well - and of course by the time he weaned he wasn't used to dairy so had to introduce very slowly anyway.
It's so hard when they can't tell you what's up!

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