I've had enough.

[Spod]

I would really appreciate your advice/opinions please. This is really getting me down. My dd (just turned 1) has had sever trapped wind at night since about 6 months... here's our thread if you wanna read... a brief history of wind!
So, basically, every night, dd wakes several times with trapped wind, some nights worse than others, she really screams in pain. We have tried everything.. going dairy free, wheat free (still doing this as it seems to help a bit), cranial osteopathy, fennel and camomile tea, not giving fruit after meals, massage, warm baths... you name it we have tried it. Nothing works. I took dd to GP last month who told me that nothing was wrong, that her waking was probably behavioural at her age and that i was contributing to the problem by going in everytime she cries. Obviously the GP is talking crap as dd doesnt cry, she SCREAMS... sometimes in her sleep, she stands/sits up in her sleep too as she is uncomforatble. She isnt comforted by coming into bed with me... some nights she wont even let me hold her as the pain is too bad... she just crawls round the room screaming and farting... eventually when she manages to get rid of all the wind, she sleeps.... But she loses hours of sleep every night. Just to be clear... this is not getting me down because it interupts my/dh's sleep... its getting me down seeing her scream in pain every night, knowing that she just wants to sleep. I am still bf'ing at least twice a day... people also seem preoccupied with me stoping this, but i don't see how that will help. I am in the process of trying to change GP (not easy round here, as most registers are closed). What can i do about this.... is this normal? should i just hope she grows out of it? should i be seeing a peadiatrician (sp?)? dd is on a reticted diet too, which I feel I need advice about re: is she getting all that she needs, and is she really sensitive to these foods. In the daytime, dd is happy, laughing, very bright, chirpy soul. your opinions would help. tia.

y can i never spell severe?

I would ask for a referal.... sounds not right!

i'm really not experienced about these things at all Spod but feel for you so much that i wanted to respond.
If I suggest anything that you've already tried please forgive me.

Have you looked at what is different for her at night than during the day? Where does she sleep during the day? Does she go to sleep as soon after a feed at night as she does during the day? Does she sleep flat out during the day or at a slight incline in her pushchair/car seat perhaps?

Even without hcnagiong Gp, have you tried demanding a second opinion? Can you afford if not to hike yourself off to your local private hospital and pay to see another pead.doctor?

Does it happen every single night? If there is ever a night when it doesn't happen, what was different during that day/evening/night?

Do you keep a diary of what and when she's eating and drinking?

Does she ever stay at Grandma's house or similar?

Possible alternative tack - ask hv if you can be referred to a sleep 'training' centre. This is nhs where we live - and might help to ensure that you are taken seriously about screaming, rather than just crying, in the night.

pupace... what do you mean by doesnt sound right?
McKEnzie... thanks for the suggestions... i have altered her nightime routine and for last 2 weeks has had her last milk feed at least an our (usually more) before bedtime. It seemed to help for a few nights (when she would still wake a few times) but thats it. In the day she sleeps in her pram... practically flat, bit inclined (sleeps for 2 naps of an hour each, thats only recently though... used to be 40mins). Her cot is inclined slightly too. She always sleeps here (no family around). This does happen every night... maybe once a month she sleep through and I cannot pinpoint what is different on these days. I do keep a mental diary of what she eats and I can't really see what affecting her. The only food group I havent tried excluding is veg. I have read up on all the so-called windy foods... she has been less bloated since being wheat free... thats the only difference i would say. I havent demanded a second opion yet (waiting to see if we can change doctor) but i think i should. I just have no other experience of this so cannot gauge what is normal for a babe her age....?

anyone else's children have this problem at this age? how easy is it to see a pead? what are they likely to do?

(shameless bump)

I think a sleep clinic might help as Jamiesam suggested - not cos they will help but because then you will have evidence (from an unbiased source iyswim)

My daughter used to wake up at exactly teh same time each night at about 6 months screaming. I worked out it was Weetabix. She also had a problem with banana. But I suppose you've looked at things like this?

I can't imagine my doctor would even of heard of a sleep clinic... but actually, its help for the wind that we need, as she sleeps perfectly when she's wind free.

Sympathies spod, your poor dd.
No experience, just a thought, have you altered your diet to eliminate wheat from your breast milk?

hi bizzi... yes I've been wheat free as long as she has... actually my diet pretty much resembles hers in most other repects! altho i dont puree mine!

The only thing i havent trried is stopping breast feeding... surely it would be very rare for this to be a problem? and wouldnt her reactions bedifferent, ie vomiting rather than trapped wind?

My mil is convinced that she had no good 'windy milk' for her children, particularly her 1st, my sil, as soon as she was off breast milk the colicky problems stopped. I've always ignored this statement of hers but hey, who knows?

Could you stop for a reasonable period, I would have thought at least 2 weeks, but continue to express, until you can disprove the windy milk theory?!

we had night screaming - my mil said my milk was no good too - in end, I demanded that gp send us to paediatrician - turned out little son had bad reflux (sometimes they dont throw up) - paed put him on special formula & now sleepsmuch better

what milk would i giver her instead though? wouldnt it be risking upsetting her tummy with cows milk or formula... people tell me formula can bung them up and she's never had cows milk either..... and i cant see her being happy about taking milk away

Sorry for being confusing - I was not suggesting putting her on formula - just saying that in our case, it wasn't wind but reflux and needed to be treated by a paediatrician - and in our case, that treatment just happended to be formula - but I still breastfed also!

I guess what I am saying is, if you are worried, go to a specialist - if nothing else, they can set your mind at ease

got a letter today saying that we can register at a different doctors surgery, so will do that monday and make an appointment to discuss seeing a specialist. i really hope they can help dd.

poor you spod. It could well be hidden reflux (i.e. reflux where they don't puke but the food comes up and irritates them). Both mine had reflux and it did really upset them. Good news if it is that, is that they do eventually outgrow it. There are some formulas you can get (without prescription) that are thicker than others if you wanted to try one out as a last feed. A key point you made was that when you moved her last milk feed to at least one hour before she went to sleep, she slept better (if I read that right). I would mention that because with reflux it's key that they don't feed straight before bed - you can imagine what it's like lying down on a full tummy straight away! Anyway, I may be jumping the gun and it's not that - but I would certainly mention the fact that it's crossed your mind to GP.

Trying to see it from the doc's point of view, I guess they will be thinking that if she's OK during the day, then it's unlikely to be something she's eating because she would have those problems throughout the day (unless it was something she had for tea but it sounds like you've moved the foods around and seen little difference). I wouldn't restrict her diet unless you were absolutely sure what you were restricting was making a difference.

Anyway, good lucj. Hope it goes well with new doc.

so what is reflux then? any other telltale signs i could look for... i thought reflux was only for small babies.. shes now a year old... she has only ever vomited twice

no reflux isn't only in babies though it is normally present from pretty early on. Both mine were born with it though it definitely worsened when they were weaned (although this isn't supposed to happen, the solid food is supposed to sit in their tummies better). Neither of mine had to see a paed for it specifically (just for other things) and the doc was very hesitant to do anything about it (until I blew my lid). They all outgrow it at different rates.

Did she not suffer at all before 6 months? Was 6 months when you weaned?

ok spod, had a quick read of your old thread (the one you linked to). Have got to throw kids in bed in a min but for what it's worth, wriggling about whilst feeding is a reflux sign (as the feed doesn't go down nicely), arching back, taking little and often.....the problem is those symptoms can also mean the little ones are just being little monkeys! One of the keys to reflux is not to overfeed as that really upsets them. Anyway, I've done a link to some reflux stories - don't be put off by the first one - that lady's baby had a very severe case and had some other windpipe problem as well but just for your info.

We could be completely barking up wrong tree tho! but the link's there for your info...

reflux experiences

i started weaning at 6 months, yes. Fully breastfed till then. I have always put the wriggling that she did (doesnt do so much now) down to wind, as farting always accompanies the wriggling. Thing is everytime she wakes screaming at night, she does fart, and is fairly quickly asleep or at least calm again. Maybe the change in bedtime routine is simply allowing her more time to get rid of wind before bedtime. You're the first person to mention it could be reflux... i'll do some reading up