Older children with reflux - didn't get many takers before, wonder if there are any newbies

[foxinsocks]

dd and ds still get reflux. We haven't been to the doctor about it because I'm not sure what can be done other than medication (as they were both seen by paediatricians as babies/toddlers - reflux appears to run in our family but isn't hereditary apparently!).

Anyway, what I was going to ask was ds (who is 8) is vomiting up whole meals probably once a week at the moment. It's normally if he eats too much (one of the things about reflux is not realising when you should stop!) but it also seems to coincide with him drinking a lot of milk. He loves milk and will quite happily drink a whole pint of it in one go.

He had a milk allergy as a child (untested - his older sister had tested allergies so I knew what it was when he showed the signs) but he outgrew it fairly quickly (I think around 1ish).

I am thinking it is because his tummy is too full rather than a reaction to the milk but was wondering if anyone else's older child still has a problem with reflux and how are you handling it.

prob not much help fox, but my DD had this last year, side effect from swine flu. For a good few months she would be sick after everything she ate or drink - my finest hour was catching her sick in a half empty milkshake carton in the middle of a well-to-d- cafe

She was 12, and it was hard work, so i really feel for those whose DC have this long term.

We tried various things, gaviscon after every meal, very low fat diet, no fizzy pop etc. which helped a little. It started slowing down from after every meal to once a day, then once a week etc. She knew though if she ate too much fat she would be sick

I hope you get more takers, with more answers, as we didnt really get to the bottom of why DD was keep being sick - we did have a lot of docs opinions though

ds2 has reflux (he's 7) its a PITA.
He takes gavison & it does seem to help a little. We are fortunate in that he does not throw up often, he sort of catches it in his mouth TMI, sorry!
but he does get painful heartburn, certain foods will make it worse, tomatoes, orange juice.
ds2 also had to come off of cows milk for a while so I guess he is slightly intolerant but he has very little milk now so difficult to judge if it is a factor.

It may be worth reducing anything that you feel may be aggrivating his reflux & see if you notice a difference

thanks for responding both of you

jetcat, it's interesting that you start being able to predict when it's going to happen isn't it. What were the docs opinions in the end? I'm glad it stopped for her because it's a right pita!

anon, do you find the gaviscon is worth taking? I am just not sure whether it is worth taking it as I never thought it did much for them as infants/toddlers. I take omeprazole but even I am not allowed to take it long term so I suspect they wouldn't be allowed to take it long term either.

Yes, I think I might try and stop him downing pints of milk and see what happens. He loves strawberry milk which seems to be a real trigger (he had a whole McD strawberry milkshake and then regurgitated the entire thing plus his meal in the car park this weekend!)

I'm also concerned about the impact on their teeth. Yes, ds also regurgitates sick into his mouth a lot (which is what worries me about his teeth). That's interesting about fizzy drinks - he doesn't have many but I will watch that. I think they make them burp which doesn't help (as they often bring up sick with it) and they seem to make them more phlemgy too (another trigger!).

I have a hiatus hernia. I'm sure my DD3 does too. I think you should look this up and see if the symptom profile fits what your DCs have (it looks like it to me, but I'm not a Dr and so obviously can't diagnose your children!).

It's not the end of the world if it is - basically the sphincter between the stomach and the oesohpagus, where the diaphragm muscle is, doesn't function properly and, where it should help keep food down, it actually lets food, and acid, come back up.

I have had mine since I was born and was very ill with it as a baby, but I cope with it very well now. I definitely find that certain foods make it worse - too much fatty stuff, and wheaty stuff too. Fizzy drinks too, of course, and drinking too much at a time. It's also worse dramatically the minute I get pregnant due to the relaxin hormone. And if I am carrying too much weight.

I don't have a teeth problem - very strong teeth and no fillings at all. I worry more about the affect on my oesophagus about so much acid on it. I take zantac when it's bad.

Thanks flamingo. Dd had an epigastric hernia but nothing else. Nor ds. But maybe I should take them back again.

I just fear all the tests again, all the prodding etc. only to get to the end and they go 'oh it's just reflux without an underlying cause' and everyone just shrugs their shoulders and on you go (which is what happened when they were younger!).

can't they fix yours flamingo?

Ah, you see mine wasn't diagnosed at first because it's a sliding hernia. Sometimes it's evident and sometimes it isn't.

You can have surgery for them but it's not fail-proof and, of course, is surgery, which I don't really want.

I prefer to just manage my diet and lifestyle so that it doesn't impinge too much.

Maybe a food diary would help your DCs?

gaviscon does help, we have tried to take him off of it & his symptoms are worse.
Even with the gaviscon we still have to watch his diet.
DS2 has other conditions (cerbral palsy & autism) that are likely to cause his reflux... the poor muscle tone associated with his CP being the main cause. Also digestive problems are common in children with autism.
TBH though, unless you can fix it surgically it is all about controlling symtoms with diet & medication no matter what the cause.
I hope you find the combination that works for your dc.

Hi
yes, the gaviscon really helped, she did take the tablets rather than the medicine, as she could not keep the medicine down.

The docs did suggest a hernia, as well as fluid dropping down from the back of her nose making her sick, reflux, a side effect of swine flu (at this point i think they had gave up trying to figure out the exact reason so just gave a catch all kind of diagnosis). We also have glandular fever suggestions, psychsomatic?? etc etc etc. We seemed to have a different diagnosis each time we went!

Luckily, it eventually went away on its own, after drastically altering her diet - small amounts of dairy, low fat etc. I was so relieved when she finally stopped, as it was a royal PITA. She even stopped eating her school dinner as she was scared she would simply be sick

I really hope you get further than i did with a diagnosis - and that its not too distressing.

Anon, thats interesting about the low muscle tone. DD has suspected aspergers, and her OT has just mentioned low muscle tone which she is starting assessing next week. I will ask her about it

jetcat, reflux is common in children with autism.
Also if ds2 is ill his reflux is always worse, i think it is a weak point & any loss of strength or illness makes it worse iykwim.

I postd a while ago about my 6 yr old daughter who has constant reflux/posseting.We went to see the GP, who promptly sent us to the hospital, after DD was sick 4 times during the appointment! The hospital considered possible brain tumour, intestinal twists/tumours (had x-rays), but did not have a definite idea at the end - great few days! BUT, DD is hypermobile, so that may have something to do with it, - they looked for an hiatus hernia, but couldn't see one. We are currently trying her on Ondansetron, and things have improved a lot.