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Original poster

Silent reflux

32 replies

SusanAust · 20/03/2007 09:02

Could someone tell me what the signs of silent reflux in a 7 month old might be? How would a doctor confirm it? Thank you.

OP posts:
NormaStanleyFletcher · 20/03/2007 12:24

I am not sure but didn't want to leave this unanswered.
You could look here as kellymom is always good.

SOmeone else will be along with more I am sure

NormaStanleyFletcher · 20/03/2007 14:23

Bumping for you

NormaStanleyFletcher · 20/03/2007 20:36

.

essbeebarmy · 20/03/2007 20:39

Message withdrawn

gillhowe · 21/03/2007 11:28

Hi, my son's showing signs of silent reflux. Basically the only difference is that they're not sick. He's very difficult to feed - screams and arches his back, and wont lie flat.

He's been prescribed infant gaviscon - which seems to help when I can get him to take it..

weezy292004 · 22/03/2007 04:40

hi susanaust lo i look after has silent reflux she's 3 mths old.her syptoms were constanly windy and burping ,hated being laid flat,lots of saliva and bubbling at mouth,she wasn't sick alot mainly one whole feed a day and we could actually hear her stomach bubbling and gurgling in her throat.we saw a specialist as she has multiple food intolerences too and he put us on rinitidene and domperidom syrup and gaviscon for a 4 week trial(currently in second week)and the diffrence is amazing she's alot better already and so much happier.i had never heard of silent reflux and had only had experience of normal full on reflux before.i don't know about diagnosis but we've seen such a huge diffrence with meds.ask your gp if youcould have a trial a meds if he agrees with your concerns, apparently the acid in stomach if left untreated can do more harm to the opening of the stomach if left untreated.
sorry for such a long post good luck

elibumbum · 22/03/2007 09:02

My DS had silent reflux starting when he was about 8 weeks old. He was being fed breast milk in a bottle (wouldn't really latch on until 8 weeks but then the flow was too fast with his reflux so he would gag) - after about half the bottle he would scream and arch his back. As soon as we stopped feeding him he was back to his happy self. He rarely vomited although had a couple of spectacular fountains of vomit when laid flat (before we knew it was reflux and not to lay him flat for at least an hour after a feed). He dropped through the centiles before we could get the drs to take it seriously until he was failing to thrive - he had got a food (milk)aversion. Eventually we saw a wonderful consultant who put him on Losec and after a few weeks it had healed the acid damage and he gradually learnt that milk didn't = pain.

The test for reflux requires a camera and ph probe under a general - they look at the damage and do a ph test. Drs will trial reflux meds first as this is obviously best avoided if possible. We managed to avoid it as the Losec worked. They usually start with the GP prescribing infant gaviscon (this didn't do much for DS) then Ranitadine (antacid) and Domperidone (helps empty the stomach quicker) but this combination gave DS an upset stomach.

Knowing what I know now I would take my next child to the paediatric gastroenterologist at the first signs of reflux as the needless distress DS was subjected to by GPs and a general paediatrician not taking his distress and pain seriously could have been so easily avoided (makes me and to think back to it now). Although DS is one now and has not had any reflux symptoms for ages (and he has been off the Losec for a few months) he continues to have 'issues' with solids. I am left feeling that if we'd had him on Losec much earlier he may not be like this with solids now.

Sorry that was a long one!

beegee · 22/03/2007 09:17

my dd had silent reflux. Symptoms - dry cough, gagging occassionally, gulping loudly and seeming to be in pain whilst gulping, screaming and arching back particularly during/after feeds, would get in a panic at breast feeding times - hated lying back to be fed, lots and lots of painful wind...

It was an awful time TBH. Doctors, in my experience knew very little about it...I learnt to recognise symptoms through my own research.

Tried the Gaviscon - didn't help. Went to a homeopath - desperate to try anything. That really helped. All traces of reflux gone now mostly (my dd is 1 today ) She still has a bit of a problem with solids but nothing like how she was with milk feeds.

elibumbum · 22/03/2007 09:32

Beegee happy birthday to your lo - does she have a sensitive gag reflex? The consultant said this was common after relux probs. He said they take a while longer to get confident dealing with different textures and swallowing etc.

realmummy · 20/04/2007 14:30

Hi,

ds of 3 months had symptoms of silent reflux. I asked my doctor for infant gaviscon which seems to help but I am due to start weaning him soon so should I still keep up the same dose ?

Also, does it work as he drinks it down with the milk or does it build up in the stomach over time ?

Jossiejump · 20/04/2007 17:37

Hi,
both my boys have had reflux, the arching seems to be a classic sign-we initially had infant gaviscon, but that clogged both of them up! So then had ranitidine and Domperidone with DS1, as well as using Enfamil AR formula milk powder with both boys. As the formula contained rice starch, I found it better to wean the boys onto fruit / veg rather than baby rice( my health visitor was very supportive of this)
Both of them now have huge appetities (aged 6 and 3), they are not too liable to sickness even with a cold, but DS1 was a tendency to retch in response to unpleasant smells, which a friend's daughter who had reflux also does!
Hope this helps
I was also lucky to have very good proactive doctors and health visitors

lisasally · 20/04/2007 21:20

HELP
We have a 10month DS and have endured a tortuous time with his silent reflux and his aversion to bottles/solid food! He just about eats/drinks enough to keep going although we are dreading his next weigh in as we're sure he has lost weight this month. We have had Gaviscon, Ranitidine, Domperidome and Losec. The Losec has been the best and he is still on it but his refusal to eat/drink at some meal times is making my DH and I extremely upset and anxious. We note Elibumbum has said that her DS still has 'issues' with solid food. Would really appreciate it if you could elaborate Elibumbum - Thanks.

We are seeing another consultant on Monday but if anyone else has had similar experiences and has any useful information/hints/tips we would really appreciate your help.

Thanks x

Jossiejump · 21/04/2007 17:17

As well as my sons having reflux I had it as a baby-my mum said that she was still giving me 3 month old (smooth) baby food at 1 year old and that I was very underweight even when I went to school (didn't last with the size of me now!)
Maybe try as smooth foods as possible (the lumps made me sick as a baby)

KathH · 22/04/2007 21:09

ds1 had silent reflux till he was about 8 mths - the only real sign we had was that we could never feed him, he used to do the back arching thing & once he strained so much he burst some blood vessels. It wasnt until ds2 had very much unsilent reflux - he used to be sick about 20 a times a day that we realised that ds1 had silent reflux - we'd never even heard of it.

elibumbum · 24/04/2007 16:12

Hi Lisasally - sorry to hear you are having reflux problems. It takes a while for the losec to heal the acid damage then a while for the poor LO to realise milk doesn't = pain.

Is your LO failing to thrive? DS was so they put him on a high calorie formula called Infatrini to help him catch up. He was on the bottom centile when we started the high cal milk and Losec and has now got back up to the 25th.

DS loves his milk now but only eats small quantities of solids. He really only eats finger food - I think he is happier when he is in control. When he was a bit younger he would gag and sometimes puke up even smooth puree! We have recently discovered that DS doesn't like mush for example he is happy to feed himself dry weetabix but would reject weetabix mixed with milk!

I saw his consultant yesterday and told him that DS sometimes spits food out after he has chewed it and sometimes shudders when he swallows food. His consultant said this is very common in babies who have had reflux - they are sensitive in the back of the throat and this can make them panic when swallowing. The consultant said this is something that should improve as he builds confidence.

I know how upsetting/frustrating it is when they don't eat much. I read a great book called 'My Child Won't Eat!' by Carlos Gonzalez, MD. It really helped me put things into perspective and chill out a bit at meal times!

I hope your LO gets better soon.

elibumbum · 26/04/2007 11:22

LisaSally how did your appointment with the consultant go?

realmummy · 28/04/2007 22:38

Hi,

ds of nearly 4 months has started to get bad again, always seems to be a few days after immunizations.

The only time he feeds well is when he is very sleepy at around midnight, or his first feed in the morning about 7am when he is bright and chirpy.

The midnight feed is how they should be in the day:
nice and quick
no struggling
easy wind bring up
9oz !

He seems to get worse through the day.
Fairly happy between feeds but gets in a state after about an ounce and it's a real struggle to get him to have much more, without a lot of dummy swapping going on.

I just hope the gaviscon is not losing it's effect

Jossiejump · 29/04/2007 09:16

Have you tried Enfamil AR Realmummy?

realmummy · 30/04/2007 11:51

Doctor reckons ds does not like the taste of the milk. !

lisasally · 30/04/2007 17:30

Hi Ellibumbum, sorry not to reply before, but the Consultant admitted Max to hospital for observation. They want to do a Barium swallow and took some blood and urine samples. They think it is behavioural but want to rule out anything physical. They may refer him to GOSH to the feeding team, but I know nothing about what help they can offer. Max is very inconsistent with his solids, refuses a spoon and won't take anything to drink but a few sips of water and a couple of minutes on the breast 3 or 4 times a day. He is so tiny and we are desperate. Our life is miserable at the moment and we are so puzzled at the moment. He seems to be able to swallow and chew fine, but just seems to hate eating most of the time. Is that your experience?
Lisa

lisasally · 30/04/2007 17:45

Hi Ellibumbum again, just saw you answered my question earlier!! am new to this site, so not sure how to use it!! I would really like to hear more of your experiences, but I can't get to the computer often! Max was prescribed Infatrini, and we have lots of it here but we can't get it in him. He has been on Losec since November!!! He is 11 months now and just below 10th centile. I will try and get that book you mentioned. I will try and log on soon, I have so many questions/worries. Thankyou so much for your reply.
Lisa x

elibumbum · 04/05/2007 23:24

Hi Lisasally - sorry to hear that things haven't got any better. I understand how miserable it can be. Even though DS will happily guzzle infatrini now his lack of intake of solids (or the new more age appropriate milk his consultant has prescribed) gets me down sometimes. I remember the despair we felt when DS was arching and screaming in pain and only taking a few mls over the course of an hour before the losec started working.

Yes - DS seems to dislike eating most of the time. I think it is behavioural - but probably stems from the silent reflux going on too long.

Have you tried finger foods? There are loads of threads on BLW (Baby Led Weaning) on the Weaning threads. Your LO might prefer to feed himself. My DS seems to eat (a bit) more if I put the food on his high chair tray and then leave him to it - takes the pressure off you both.

I wonder what the GOSH feeding team could do to help? I'd be very interested to hear how they can help.

How long do you have to wait for the test results?

lilolady · 06/05/2007 22:33

We have come through the other side of silent reflux and I wanted to reassure you hang in there because it will get better. We did the whole big struggle with milk (Infitrini)and large doses of domperidone, renitidine, omeprizol (sp?? but heavy duty!) Gaviscon is a waste of time if it is bad reflux.
Definitly get referred to a gastro consultant - I found our GP to be lovely and supportive but they just don't ocme across this often enough to be of enough help. The gastro teams also have nutriton teams so are rally helpful on weaning. In my experience the GP will prescribe Gaviscon when you really need much more effective medicine.
Re weaning, don't rush them and it probably won't be the same timing as for non reflux babies but it doesn't matter - they will get there. We are nearly 3 now and on totally normal diet but at the time I couldn't have imagined it. One of the MOST important things is not to be anxious around them when feeding (and this is REALLY hard) as this is what may casue eating problems later. I happened to watch a Dr Tanya Byron programme where child had eating problems and so saw myself in the mother of shoving spoons of mush towards the child desperate to get them to eat. It really stopped me in my tracks. Therafter I really tried to relax, sing, have little distractions (but be careful not to make eating circus time - tricky balance!)and over a long period of time, little by little you get there. It is really tough and hard going - I so know - but it really is a matter of time of waiting for the stomach muscles and the muscle at the top of the stomach, from where the acid is coming, to strengthen but it does happen. Good luck

lilolady · 06/05/2007 22:37

post again if you wany any more practical help - have flicked through the posts again and see all DS?/are nearly all sub 1 year. Hard to see it ever getting better at this stage but IT DOES!!!!

elibumbum · 07/05/2007 20:12

Thanks Lilolady - I know DS will get better with eating but hard to believe it sometimes - it is good to hear that by nearly 3 your lo is eating well!