Giving Gaviscon to breastfed baby

[Harpersmum]

Hi

I am looking for some advice.

I have an 8wk old baby which has symptoms of Reflux and has been prescribed Gaviscon by GP.
My question is around practicality and i'm struggling to see how i can make up the sachets immediately before each feed. I've been given a syringe and its fine if I'm at home when i need to feed but what if i am out? My son does not really have a feeding routine so it would be difficult to plan. Can i make up a days batch in advance in one bottle and syringe when needed?

Does anyone have any tips?

Can you take water in a bottle, maybe use the bottle lid to mix it up in, the sachet and syringe out with you and make it us as needed?

Sounds like a good idea, I'll try that....I had visions of me never leaving the house ever again

Don't know how you feel about giving baby a bottle but I used to express a little milk mix it with that and give it via a bottle then breastfeed. Complete faff but it did help our DD was so glad when she started solids as reflux vanished thereafter. 6 months of hassle with gaviscon tho!

ds had severe reflux. Gaviscon did nothing to change that. He was weaned at 9 weeks corrected (16 weeks actual but 7 weeks prem). Gradually made a difference.

Hi, I didnt think i could mix it with a little expressed milk, the instructions say that for a bottle fed baby over 10lb it needs to be mixed with no less than 225ml which is an awful lot of breastmilk to express, how did you make it work?

We made up 12 hours' worth of gaviscon with water and used it as and when required. Didn't keep it longer than 12 hours though. This is what they did in SCBU when DD was in (born prem).

I had to do this for my ds from about 8 weeks until 6 months or so and tbh it was a complete pain.

I gave it to him with 10ml of expressed milk in a bottle 6 times a day. I pumped 60ml in the morning and put 10ml into 6 sterilised bottles which I kept in the fridge. Then I shook the gaviscon in to the bottle just before I needed it. If he was going to need it when we were out I took one of the bottles and a sachet and prepared it when needed. This was the method suggested to me by the pharmacist. It was such a faff as I had to sterilise all the bottles and pump and express every morning just to give the Gaviscon.

As MollieO says I don't think it actually helped him much, nothing seemed to except for time. I think he grew out of it by about 9 months.

I don't think there is an easy way to give Gaviscon to an exclusively breastfed baby, I hope you find a way that works for you.

I hope you find Gaviscon helps your little one, you have my symapathies, good luck!!

Sorry to hear your baby has reflux. DD was also on gaviscon from about 5 weeks until she started on solids at 6 months (and in retrospect, I wish I'd introduced these earliear as they helped so much with the reflux).

I was trying to EBF and experimented with lots of different ways of getting the stuff into her. At first I'd take out lots of tiny little bottles with 1oz of sterilised water and make these up as and when she needed them. Like you, we didn't really have a routine at first, so I ended up doing this approx every 4 hrs. I then found (to my dismay) that the gaviscon disolved better when I mixed it with FF. I would just mix it with 1oz of ready made up mild and give this to her before every feed.

It is a faff, but the gaviscon did work for us and the compromise meant I carried on BF her until she was well over 1yr . Best of luck.

Reflux is a pain in the bum all round! I appreciate that Gaviscon doesn't work for all babies but don't be disheartened as it may work for yours - in addition to this there are two other medications that can be prescribed as well as the gaviscon. they are Motillium and Omaprozale (not sure if spellings are right but your Dr should know). My DD was diagnosed at 5 weeks and now 20wks and Reflux is very much under great control, not in pain anymore only perhaps if/when she is a little sick after a feed.
Sorry i can't help with the adminstration of Gavison as DD is FF but I just thought that there is other options for Reflux. Best of luck.

Thanks for all the advice. I cant help but feeling that the whole process pushes you towards formula feeding though. Have tried today and its been stressful including an incident where my son was crying uncontrollably during a hospital appointment just 1.5hours after his last feed. I ended up breastfeeding in a changing cubicle whilst frantically trying to mix up the Gaviscon and then watching him wail as i tried to syringe it into his mouth. I'm sure the majority was spat out. After all that his was sick all over me, it breaks my heart to see him so miserable.

I have persevered today but have not seen any difference yet although GP told me i should see an improvement within 24hours.

I have been told by pharmacist today that i definately cannot make up a batch in advance, she even phoned the makers of Gaviscon to check.

I will do my best though in the hope it makes him better but at the moment he seems even more unhappy than before as you would think i was trying to harm him judging by the noise he makes when i syringe the Gavison into his mouth!

Trytobebrave - Can i ask if the mixture shook up well? It seems rather lumpy without a lot of stirring and i'm wondering if the teats get blocked? Also the packets recommend it is mixed with 5ml of water to make it into a paste then add a further 10ml. Your way would make it more concentrated as volume totals 10ml and not the recommeded 15ml, have i understood correctly?

I did same as trytobe but in different quants only because I could. Iirc I used about 30ml expressed milk put the gaviscon in gave it a good stir then fed LO. I know what you mean about it making you think about ff, I remember thinking at the time that there must be an easier way! It did work for our DD she had silent reflux but I know a couple of mums in the same situation that it didn't work for. If you think it's not working for your LO be persistent with your GP and try to get a referral. Hang in there, you're doing a terrific job and like everything else it will pass....eventually.

Hi the hospital said to mix with a small (5ml ish) amount of cool boiled water and syringe into DS mouth before a feed, every other feed. It didn't work for him and he went onto other meds. Hope it works for you.

Just a though how bad is the reflux? Does he need the Gavison before every feed? My friend's DD had reflux and she only gave it when at home, when out and about she didn't bother.

My DD had reflux to and never had gavison at all, she still gain weight just fine I just had a lot of washing to deal with, and sometimes a fussy baby but most of the time the sickness didn't seem to bother her. She did hate being laid flat though.

Just a though although, I am aware that some babies suffer a lot worse then others. DD grew out of her's at six months when we started weaning.

Hi

My DS has been very sick and is very rarely content during the day. Although my friends babies will be content to sit awake for a while being cuddled or held he wont. Basically he feeds, cries or sleeps unless its first thing in the morning when we get some respite and he is a little happier. Strangely enough he likes to be on his back for a while taking in his surroundings.

I am persevering with the Gaviscon with a mixture of making it at home and giving with a syringe, which he hates and spits most of it out and also adding to expressed milk in a bottle.

I now have a new problem though. After never having a problem with his bowel movements he is now constipated and hasn't had a dirty nappy for over 24hours. I understand that this is a common side effect of Gaviscon but still a concern as i'm now wondering if his crying is because he is in pain through being constipated.

yes that is the side effect we had, DS screamed more due to the coonstipation. My DS has reflux (he is 18 months now but it is easier to deal with now). His symptoms were constant screaming/crying when awake (not consoulable whatever we did), constant choking, stopping breathing due to the choking, violent hiccups, wind and splashing noises from the stomach, never sleeping, feeding every hour...It was horrific and we got no sleep at all for days on end (and we have 4 other DC to get to school etc).

If it is making your DS miserable then worth trying other meds. My DS is on Losec mups and Domperidone. They helped by about 50% which although not a miracle cure that some say it is for their DC, was alot for us as it was so awful.

Hi again Harpersmum,

I'm sorry, I don't have anymore advice but I keep coming back to see how you're getting on. I remember how awful the constant crying can be and what it's like to worry that your baby is in pain all the time. It is heartbreaking, I know.

I just wanted to say it won't last forever, most reflux babies get much better when they develop their core strength and can sit up unaided (usually about 5 to 6 mths). Keep trying to get the gaviscon in any way you can and keep trying to BF. Massaging his tummy lightly in a clockwise motion and moving his legs like he's riding a bicycle might get that poo moving.

Best of luck x

Thanks everyone.....had an explosive poo this morning but thats it for today.

I hear that lactulase is usually prescribed to help with constipation, although 'm hoping that this is easy to give him, I couldnt stand more powders to give him and syringe into his mouth...at the moment its three syringes for every feed, 1 of infacol and 3 Gaviscon, nightmare.

At the moment we give one bottle of EBM for his dream feed at night but tempted to go down the same route as trytobebrave...such a faff!

Hi Harpersmum, sorry I've only just checked back. I'm pretty sure it was 10ml of expressed milk I used but maybe I'm remembering wrongly and it was 15ml. I used to shake the bottles with a lid on and then put the teat on once it was shaken up to avoid blocking the teat with powder. It was a bit lumpy but seemed to go through ok.

How is your ds's weight gain? To be honest, I wish I had gone the same route as MigGril and just lived with the sickiness and given up on the Gaviscon. My ds gained weight really well and so I think this would have been ok for him and the meds seemed to make little difference. At the time though I was scared to stop once we'd started in case it got worse and I thought the GP would think I was being selfish and not giving the meds just because it was hard for me.

Maybe it is worth talking to your GP again to see if ds really needs the Gaviscon and maybe about the other meds that have been mentioned here?

It's so hard isn't it? I hope you are ok.

I also need to give Gaviscon to my 6 weeks old baby and was wondering why we can’t simply give 5ml instead of 15ml. Does anyone why that wouldn’t be recommended? It cannot be because of the consistency given that calpol is even thicker and given with no issues. Thanks