Silent Reflux - when can I hope for it to end? DD is 15 months and very constipated!

[BlueBumedFly]

DD has had reflux since she was born but it was not diagnosed until she was vomiting every night at 9 months. At the time is was dreadful but as she was failing to thrive we got a referral and she has been on Ranitidine and Gaviscon ever since.

I do try to wean her off one or the other every now and then to see if the reflux is still there, which it is.

Usually after 2 days of not giving Gavi or forgetting the 2 daily doses of Ranitidine (like this morning - please insert any rude word of your choosing) she ends up having 2 or 3 nights vomiting until it gets back under control.

DD is not a big eater (under statement) but still loves her milk, we switched to cows milk about 2 months ago with no apparent issues. However, she is severely constipated and sometimes can pass blood. Doc says give fruit, fruit juice and lactolose. However, with a child that only eats when she is very hungry, does not 'comfort' eat or eat just because it is a nice treat it is tricky to get fruit in at all. She does not have a sweet tooth and will only drink water not juice.

So, anyone have any thoughts on the Silent Reflux and what age it goes? Also could the Gavi be part of the constipation problem?

Many thanks!

I've no experience of such severe reflux in an older child. However, when DD1 was on Gaviscon as a baby it made her poos very hard - even though so was fully breastfed. Other people I know also said that Gaviscon made their babies constipated/have hard poos. So I think it is quite possible the Gaviscon is contributing to your problem.

Also, a friend's DD is a terrible eater - lives on a diet of pasta and bread and eats very little. She only drinks water and milk. However, she has never suffered constipation.

DD had reflux as a baby but not a s bad as your DD and she then went on to have long term constipation issues. She is now 7 and takes Movicol daily for this.

Her refulx went away gradually after she started walking at 13 motnhs. And had pretty much gone by the age of 2.

FWIW when I saw the doc about her costipation I was told to only give her one cup of milk per day and no apple juice at all. But she was older, 5 I think when we finally saw the consultant about it.

Thanks for the input, slightly worrying as I am sure the Gavi is to blame. DD has been walking for 2 months now but no sign of the SR getting any better. If I don't give milk she lives on fresh air, typical day's food is:
Breakfast - perhaps a quarter of toast, 2 mouthfuls of yogurt
Lunch - 8 (ish) bites of whatever is on offer, I make chicken stew, cottage pie etc all crammed with veg and protein
Tea - the same levels again
Milk & Water

She might have a rice cake for a snack during the day or not bother at all depending on how she feels I guess. The good news is she is charming and funny and bright and always smiling so I don't worry about the food thing, no child ever starved themselves lets face it.

The constipation and the SR do worry me though, I did hear that most babies grow out of it by 2 years so I will keep my fingers crossed. We have a consultant appointment on the 1st September for more allergy tests so I am going to see if there is anything else other than Gavi that she can take. I wonder what the link is between reflux and constipation? I wonder if we calm their tummies down so much it kills the stomach acid responsible for breaking down the food into the required format to pass through. But with DD the choice is constipation or vomiting. At least with the medication she is thriving so I guess we stick with it and treat the side effects as best we can.

Many thanks for your advice. bbf

What she eats seems fine to me. I used to panic about the amount my DD ate but was told not to worry as her stomach is only the size of her fist. If you were to put it on a plate and comapre to the size of her fist, it would probably be the same...

I wonder if she is filling up too much on the milk maybe and there isn't room for the food? Just a thought.

My consultant told me that there is a link between reflux, constipation probelms and possibly IBS when she is older.

cece - I did try to cut the milk down the increase solids but it does not work, all that happens is she wakes at 5am totally starving. I am going to let her lead me.

Not good though eh? No one ever warned me of the reflux/constipation link, lets hope the reflux goes soon and we can start to build a more healthy gut.

Thanks for your advice.

When she is older I owuld definitely recommend Movicol. It has turned DD around. Safe to be on long term too. Once we sorted out the constipation she had a much healthier appetite and now is very much average.