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Original poster

Possible reflux?? Ways to ease it?

73 replies

ratbagcatbag · 13/04/2013 01:38

Hiya

Got a dd who's four weeks old, after every feed she's hiccuping and being sick and generally unsettled. Worst thing is I can get her to sleep sat up, or on her tummy on me, but the moment she lays on her back no matter how deep a sleep she's in, she wakes after about ten mins because she's been gurgling away with sick coming up, and you can here it all in the back of her throat :(
I raised the Moses basket with a few books but that seemed to make it worse as she can't spit out what's in her throat.
Anyone got any experience of this?

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Original poster

ratbagcatbag · 22/04/2013 07:55

Haha Dolomites, DH is for the snip. tonight if I get my way I'm still here after zero sleep last night. Sweet pea swing workd as she's upright in it, tummy sleeping is getting massive consideration with a monitor.

OP posts:

Pleasenomorepeppa · 22/04/2013 08:05

Hi. Both by DD's had reflux. It's awful. DD1 was diagnosed at 4 months & we were given infant gaviscon. It was like a miracle!!
DD2 was diagnosed at 10 days as we were very aware of the symptoms (I also think my GP has recently had a refluxy baby himself so is more sympathetic & proactive this time!!).
She was on ranitidine but it really didn't work. Her reflux is quite high up in her throat so she finds feeding really hard. She's 3 months now & pretty much totally refuses to BF.
She's now on Omeprezole & aptimal Pepti. Gaviscon just made her v constipated.
We got referred to a Paed purely because by her 6 week check we'd been to the GP 4 times!!
She is also gaining weight.
Good luck & keep on at the GP .

DolomitesDonkey · 22/04/2013 08:05

I get that. My husband had the snip less than 5 months after our reflux baby was born.

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Pleasenomorepeppa · 22/04/2013 08:09

Also try a stretchy wrap sling. It isn't so tight on her tummy & she seems to quite like it.

MiaowTheCat · 22/04/2013 09:27

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Cuddlydragon · 22/04/2013 11:42

Oh Ratbag. I've pm you. It's hard but you will fund a solution. I'd be asking for an emergency appointment today. It really is hard to fund the energy to keep pushing when you are so tired. You can though x

narmada · 22/04/2013 23:55

Has milk allergy been ruled out?! Seriously, we had MONTHS of what you are describing and eventually the thing that helped most was changing to modified formula (not lactose-free, not comfort formula). Something like nutramigen or aptamil pepti.

You can buy it OTC in boots but may have to pre-order it in.

In meantime the best advice I have is sleep in shifts with your DP. He does 8 pm to 2 am awake, You do 2 am to 8 am or vice-versa.

narmada · 22/04/2013 23:56

When we finally got to see a paed btw, milk allergy was his first suggestion.

MiaowTheCat · 26/04/2013 20:14

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Potterer · 26/04/2013 20:52

Both my sons had reflux, ds1 just vomited with no pain, ds2 arched his back, took tiny feeds, screamed when lay down etc etc The HV didn't care because he was gaining weight but I was exhausted because he was hungry due to the tiny feeds so I fed him about 10 times a day!

With ds2 we had tried gaviscon but it didn't help, so we saw a paediatrician at Bupa who said he would want to try him on formula first rather than meds.

We were prescribed Enfamil AR (anti-reflux) which is a formula that thickens on contact with stomach acid so you can use the normal teat on the bottle ie it doesn't thicken in the bottle. See here

You can get it from a pharmacy (without a prescription) we got ours from Boots. They just ordered it in for us. We were fortunate that we were given it on prescription from the beginning.

I used a sling to carry ds2 around and to be completely honest, in the day he slept semi upright on me (I am a SAHM so this was a possibility) or in the pram if we were taking ds1 to preschool. His cot was propped for night time and the paediatrician told us to give him a dummy to help keep everything down.

We were told to try early weaning at 17 weeks with starchy stuff only like potato or sweet potato but that didn't work for us so we went with baby led weaning at 6 months.

Ds2 was on the Enfamil till he was 14 months old, we kept trying cow's milk but he didn't like it, ditto follow on milk.

I will tell you that he has finally stopped refluxing at age 7 years! It would only happen at night and only once a week or so. I hope this helps.

narmada · 26/04/2013 20:58

Don't waste your time with gaviscon if carobel hasn't worked - they have similar methods of action.

I agree it needs sorting, for everyone's sake - you don' t want to end up with feeding aversions - now that is truly stressful beyond words.

Really, honestly, do explore the milk allergy thing. It's not an airy-fairy thing in the imaginations of lentil-weavers, but an accepted clinical diagnosis. Otherwise you could have months of serious drugs like ranitidine and omeprazole on your hands.

narmada · 26/04/2013 22:09

The dry poos, btw, aren't usual for a young baby - they could be the result of the carobel but (at the risk of sounding like a stuck record) constipation can be a symptom of CMPI. Do you see any stringy bits of mucus in the poo at all?

I hope I didn't sound too negative there, about being stuck with months of drugs. It's just I have been there, twice, and I don't recommend it. It may be that it's just reflux pure and simple, in which case your doc can prescribe antacids (proper ones, not gaviscon) if he or she is so minded. Ours was happy to dish out omeprazole to our 3 week old and for that I wanted to kiss his feet . Most insist on it being done by a paed, which is probably for the best in the long run, but feels like another looooong wait in the process when you're in the thick of it.

MiaowTheCat · 27/04/2013 06:27

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narmada · 27/04/2013 13:15

Well then I am even more suspicious of a cow's milk issue.

MiaowTheCat · 10/05/2013 21:45

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narmada · 10/05/2013 22:09

Good god, you poor thing, that dounds awful. It's so obviously a feckin allergy, why are you primary HCPs being so bloody dense!!?!?

I think it is absolutely disgusting they are rrfusing to prescribe neocate in the quantities needed. You either need it or you don't. You wouldn't say to a diabetic patient that they could have some insulin, but only a bit, because it was too expensive, would you?!?!? I am so angry on your behalf.

Now, I won't lie, neocate is not ever so palatable but there are ways and means. Banana crusha syrup, golden syrup, splenda if you're not concerned about artificial sweeteners.... There are also more palatable, but more reactive, milks like aptamil pepti. Your baby might be able to tolerate those...

Hope things look up soon - is there anyone at all you can hand kids to for a few hours respite tomorrow?!

narmada · 10/05/2013 22:19

Plus your baby is still v young and may well accept the neocate for that reason.

MiaowTheCat · 11/05/2013 16:46

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Gurke · 11/05/2013 20:44

Miaow that all sounds bloody awful. I don't know how you're staying sane.

Suggestions from other people can be the most irritating thing when things are rough, can't they. But if it was me I would try to get my DH involved to take some of the burden off you. Is that feasible?

Also, I think you said elsewhere that your DD1 was prem - did you get to know a pediatrician you trust? I would try to get a referral asap - god knows you have the grounds to insist on that. This is going way beyond what HV and GPs can handle, even if they are otherwise ok (I loathe my GP, so this is my standard response anyway - but it really does seem totally warranted). Once you're seen by a pediatrician you don't have to play the HV-GP pingpong anymore and s/he can order all the tests you need and handle any further referrals to dieticians and allergy people etc.

Really hope you get some answers and solutions soon. Once the allergy tests are done you will be much wiser. Hold on in there!

Cuddlydragon · 11/05/2013 23:01

Miaowthecat I couldn't read and not say how sorry I am that things are so tough. I can only agree with Gurke, stuff, this treatment and HV/GP ping pong insist on a paed referral or even better, are you anywhere near a children's hospital? If so, go to A and E there try to time it to a feed. If you can and get help there. We tried Neocate it smells horrid but we didn't have any difficulties with it for a transient intolerance. The smaller they are the less of an issue the taste will be. Please try not to mess with feed sizes either. This is just so wrong of your GP. If you don't feel like you can go to A&E or push your GP, can your DH come with you to your GP. I found our truly crap ex GP took him more seriously with our little ones health. Good luck.

Original poster

ratbagcatbag · 11/05/2013 23:45

Big hugs miaow, this is so tough, agree with cuddly, go to a and e if needed. :(

OP posts:

MiaowTheCat · 12/05/2013 08:37

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Kafri · 12/05/2013 18:07

Hi.

Not read every post but the OP defo rang true.

DS would only sleep upright on me or DH so we literally did shifts with him. Would not lie on his back at all - just screamed constantly in discomfort
I took him back and forth to GP who prescribed Gaviscon which seemed to help for a few days but then it crept back in and made him constipated which only added to our problems. Then tried Lactose free milk which again helped for a few days and then crept back in

GP then referred DS to hospital where we have a lovely consultant who prescribed Aptamil Pepti 1 milk for him (cows milk protein free) and Ranitdine. Again, he improved for a few days and then it all crept back in. By this point I was getting to the point where I wondered what I was thinking wanting a baby (which I felt awful about as we had wanted him for soooooo many years).

Back at the consultant, he wanted to try gaviscon WITH the ranitidine but listened to me when I said I was reluctant after the gaviscon had constipated him last time and he had ended up on Lactulose to get things moving again. So, he prescribed Omeprazole along with his Pepti 1 milk and, touch wood, we haven't looked back. He's 5m now and has had his dose increased a couple of times when the squealing started to return in the night. All I do is give the consultant's secretary a call and he returns my call after his clinic and increases his dose based on DS last weight check. I really cannot fault the staff we have seen.

The other thing is, which some people will flame me for I have no choice but to let DS sleep on his tummy. He has never yet spent a night on his back as he wakes within minutes of being put down. It took me a long while to accept this and for ages DH and I continued with shifts so that we could keep an eye on him sleeping but gradually I have accepted it a bit more. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer him to sleep on his back, as per guidelines, but he will not do it.

I really feel for anyone not having the same luck as I seemed to have with my GP/hospital. It really is a tough time until you get things under control. My GP did say to me that he didn't know the rules about prescribing formula vs buying it but when I spoke to the pharmacist, she said that yes you can buy it but that it is available on prescription and to get it on prescription because it's double the price of non specialist milks. I have tried to justify getting his milk free by donating the money I would have spent on his original cow and gate food to Ronald Macdonald house which helped my sister out when her little one was born and needed an operation straight away, they gave her a room to stay in so she could be with her DD

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