Page 2 | Reflux with choking :(

jellybeans · 2009-01-10T23:57:02+00:00

Hi my DS is 8 weeks and has pretty severe reflux. He doesn't vomit much more than posseting but has the acid reflux and swallows anything that comes up along with extreme discomfort, irritability and violent wind and hiccups. At least once a day he will gag and choke on the refurgitated milk, usually some time after a feed (sometimes badly and once I took him to A and E as he was changing colour ) They diagnosed reflux/GORD and showed me some CPR. We tried gaviscon but no change so now have Omeprazole an Domperidone which he has been on 2 weeks. He seemed to get a little less irritable and sleeps 4-5-hours (in 2 blocks) now whereas before he didn't sleep at all at night. This hasn't stopped the choking though. Basically I am terrified he will choke to death or pass out. Is this likely/possible. None of the doctors seem to make a big deal of it, my mum said if it was dangerous then they would have him in hospital. Has anyone elses child had this and grown out of it? I am so stressed and on edge all the time in case he chokes.

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Original poster

jellybeans · 13/02/2009 18:55

irishmama the author is Bryan Vartabedian, i got book off amazon. Hope you and your little one are ok.

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irishmama · 24/02/2009 22:39

Hi there how are ye all doing? My lo still has no relief from the reflux. Currently now on neocate ( The last three days) She is bringing big mouthfuls up all day . The neocate is a thinner feed but was prescribed on the off chance that she has an intolerance to cows milk protein(unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working). Had to stop giving the gaviscon as she got constipated. Jellybeans is your lo still having as many choking episodes or has there been any improvment? I notice on a previous post that even though your little one is on meds it didint stop the choking. The next step as suggested by the pead is a barium x.ray > Does anyone know does this cause any discomfort or are there any side effects?

rainy3 · 20/03/2009 22:09

HI, my D has severe reflux and we are due to have the barium xray done in a couple of weeks time, i was also wondering if anyone can tell me how distressing this will be for her and me? D is now 4 months and weve had all the drugs and no real improvement, except I think that the chocking seems to have got better since we were on the ranitidine and the latest one omeprazole. Im bfing and wondered if anyone else is feeding upto 19 times a day?? She feeds on average every 1.5 hours 24/7?

mad4myboys · 29/03/2009 21:16

The barium doesnt hurt the LO. You basically go in the xray room, wear the tabard thingy, get LO undressed and they lay on the bed and they give you the barium meal which is a white chalky liquid in a little bottle, you feed the LO (after they have been starved for 6 hours (IIRC) and as LO is swallowing the drink the radiographer will be watching on a screen that you can see aswell which is an xray type picture but in video form. You can see the reflux VERY clearly.

Jellybean, how are you getting on??? Just thought id check back in. ds2 is now 18 weeks. He is going into hospital tuesday and wednesday he is having cameras put up and down him and they are taking biopsies as he is still suffering

Original poster

jellybeans · 01/05/2009 12:13

Hi sorry only just found this thread again. Been wondering how everyone is getting on. My DS is now 24 weeks. He still has bad reflux He still chokes daily, this morning I thought was going to loose him, he really struggled for ages for breath. Most choking episodes are much less scary, though. I started on solids at 20 weeks on advice of the HV and Paed. Hasn't helped, if anything made the vomitting worse (DS now seems to have full sick reflux and silent reflux!!) I am still bf with the odd bottle formula. DS still on Omeprazole and Domperidone. His Paeds sttitude is that he looks well and is growing well and so we just have to wait till he grows out of it, she said hopefully by age 1.

rainy3 Hi, how is your little one doing?
mad4myboys and Irishmam how are yours doing?

This tests sound very stressful, hope all is OK.

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emma2475 · 09/05/2009 08:22

Hi Jellybeans
I have a 7mnth old who was exactly the same, in fact I am on here today looking for people with babies on solids who still have reflux. Yes, they do get a lot better and the thing is that the docs have seen it so many times before that this is why it's not a big thing to then. It's hard and you do panic when they seem to be fighting to breathe though, my little boy still does this now. Have you got an angel care baby monitor?

lobsters · 09/05/2009 19:28

DD has reflux and apnea episodes. I was terrified that something would happen in her sleep, so as well as CPR training the hospital gave me an apnea monitor. I'll need to go and have a look at it to get the name, but basically there is a sensor you tape onto her tummy which connects with a wire to the monitor. Have to be honest it is a bit of a pain to wire her her up and you need to remember when getting her in and out of the cot, so I tend to use the matress sensor pad I'd bought previously during the day and the hospital one at night.

Just had a quick peek without waking up DD and I have a Graseby MR10, which I have on loan for at least 6 months. I've had it about a month and so far no false alarms.

Flook76 · 27/05/2009 19:15

Hi
My DS is 6 months old and has exactly the problem everyone here is describing. So far we've been to A&E 3 times as he's choked and stopped breathing. Eventually diagnosed as reflux. He's never had it before - seems to have just started in the last 2 weeks, which is really odd. I have started weaning him now, but it's made little difference. He had his third episode yesterday. Seems to be linked to when he has a cold (someone else mentioned this), as if the combination of mucas and reflux combine.
The only way DH and I have found to start him breathing again is to suck the stuff out of his throat.
It's terrifying to watch. The docs assure me he would start breathing again on his own, but waiting it out would be v v difficult I think. We've been prescribed Gaviscon, but the only advice is that he'll 'grow out of it'. The ambulance men yesterday said they've regularly taken kids time and time to hospital with this sort of thing, and then suddenly they're no longer called out there as they've grown out of it. Fingers crossed, but don't know how I'll cope in the meantime - sleep deprivation and all.
So far all of DS's attacks have been in the day, a couple of hours after his last feed. There are other times when I feel it might be coming on as he does a sort of reedy cry and arches his back, so I just constantly carry him around with me and stick a dummy in his mouth, and so far that seems to have stopped it (apart from yesterday when I didn't stop the signs in time)

Flook76 · 27/05/2009 19:16

Hi
My DS is 6 months old and has exactly the problem everyone here is describing. So far we've been to A&E 3 times as he's choked and stopped breathing. Eventually diagnosed as reflux. He's never had it before - seems to have just started in the last 2 weeks, which is really odd. I have started weaning him now, but it's made little difference. He had his third episode yesterday. Seems to be linked to when he has a cold (someone else mentioned this), as if the combination of mucas and reflux combine.
The only way DH and I have found to start him breathing again is to suck the stuff out of his throat.
It's terrifying to watch. The docs assure me he would start breathing again on his own, but waiting it out would be v v difficult I think. We've been prescribed Gaviscon, but the only advice is that he'll 'grow out of it'. The ambulance men yesterday said they've regularly taken kids time and time to hospital with this sort of thing, and then suddenly they're no longer called out there as they've grown out of it. Fingers crossed, but don't know how I'll cope in the meantime - sleep deprivation and all.
So far all of DS's attacks have been in the day, a couple of hours after his last feed. There are other times when I feel it might be coming on as he does a sort of reedy cry and arches his back, so I just constantly carry him around with me and stick a dummy in his mouth, and so far that seems to have stopped it (apart from yesterday when I didn't stop the signs in time)

Flook76 · 27/05/2009 19:16

Oops sorry posted twice and now can't work out how to remove one of them

Elibean · 27/05/2009 22:50

{{Flook)) sounds exhausting and scary. dd's reflux wasnt' the choking sort (though she did start to choke on over-large tonsils later on, at about 18 mos) and although she made scary noises, that was down to her laryngomalacia and not the reflux itself.

Wanted to bump for you, and wish you well. Hope someone else sees this and can provide tips/support.

Original poster

jellybeans · 31/05/2009 13:16

Hi everyone just seen this again. Hi Flook, Lobsters and Emma. Sorry you are all dealing with this too. My DS is 6.5 months now and still refluxing/choking. He has just scared me to death ten minutes ago I am a nervous wreck very often. Luckily he sleeps now quite well. He is on purrees but it makes the sick harder to cough up if anything, was considering going to 1 or 2 meals a day but he seems starving.

I do have a monitor which goes on his nappy, very reassuring although have had loads of false alarms.

How is everyone doing?

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