Reflux Relief?

[Louise035]

Has anybody got any success stories about coping with reflux?

Background: My baby is 6 weeks old but was delivered 2.5 weeks early due to a pregnancy related illness that put her at an increased risk. She has suffered these symptoms for probably around 4 weeks now - vomiting (sometimes projectile) after feeds (anywhere upto 2 hours after her last feed) and sometimes even out of her nose, persistent hiccups, choking on feeds and/or seemingly on nothing, clearing her throat often, coughing, twisting when we lay her down, very poor sleep, goes rigid and tries to almost stand up, sounds congested etc.

The sick after feeds, I can deal with because it doesn’t necessarily seem to bother her too much however she will not be put down to sleep. If we lay her down, she is back awake again within 10 minutes, often followed by more sick over herself. In the night if we’re lucky, we might get an hour after putting her down before the grunting starts and the twisting and coughing. Then she’s awake all over again. It’s awful to see ☹️.

Things we have tried:

• Switching milk on the HV’s advice
• Gaviscon - this made her really constipated as did the anti-reflux milk (not given at the same time). She literally was hysterical and passed such hard poos.
• Raising her Moses basket
• Keeping her upright when feeding and for a good amount of time after her feeds
• Giving smaller feeds more regularly
• Infacol and colief (in the early days before the reflux got so bad that we knew exactly what it is)

Nothing seems to work 😔. The health visitor is coming again tomorrow although when I spoke to one the other day, she said that she may recommend Carobel. I’m so worried about giving her anything else to thicken her milk because she just seems to constipate easily when we do that and we’re only just beginning to get her bowels back to normal again. She has good skin and is gaining weight which the HV has said indicates that she doesn’t have an intolerance.

I know it won’t last forever and that her digestive system will mature but I just feel so sorry for her. She does continue to gain wait which I’m so relieved about but it’s still awful to watch her vomiting constantly and being so uncomfortable. We also aren’t getting any sleep because she seems to constantly be awake! We do take it in turns and I’m lucky to have a supportive husband who shares everything. The sleep thing isn’t a big deal, we just want her to find some relief.

Thanks

I don't know if it still exists but try Woodward's Gripe Water. My mother used it on me (colic & projectile vomiting) and I used it on both my DC (colic). It was around 16 years ago!

@squeamishsquamish It does! I should’ve said that we do use that when she is struggling to get her wind up. My mam used to use it on me too! It works great for the wind side of things but not the actual reflux unfortunately!

I would ask the GP for omeprazole or lanzoprazole. Please excuse my spelling!! As far as I'm aware after gaviscon the next step was ranitidine but that has been recalled recently. We're 17 months into our reflux journey and unable to come off meds just yet as our son has had a pretty rough time of it. He also has cows milk and soya allergies. When he was out on omeprazole it was life changing! He was still relentlessly sick after feeds but the pain stopped after about two weeks and he was a different baby. He still sleeps with his cot tilted and we have to avoid certain foods but it does get much better. Just keep fighting for her and back to the docs if they are not listening to you. Good luck mama! X

My DS was sick constantly and had similar symptoms, took him to the Dr who said it was normal for babies to cry.... anyway it turned out to be allergies. Dairy, soya, peanut and eggs so far.
He doesn’t arch in pain and can lie down now, though he does still vomit it is much less frequently.
He is breastfed though, so those foods I just don’t eat but there is a formula he could have.
If there are any other signs such as eczema, slow weight gain, evening screaming etc then I would ask your Dr/HV.

The grunting congestion has stopped for DS too, that’s a common sign.

Reflux and allergies aren't linked.

You need:

• meds. Get to the doctor, film it, keep a diary. You need something to reduce the acid and something to thicken the stomach contents
• a sling
• a dummy. The saliva it produces neutralises the stomach acid
• to sleep in shifts with your partner. I used to go to bed at 7, he'd manage til midnight, then he'd go to bed and I was in charge. that way you both get some uninterrupted sleep
• prop her up (safely) more than you think you need to. DD1 slept almost vertically for a while in a V-cushion and a wedge cushion
• get out the house as much as you can. She'll sleep better in the sling walking about

Hang in there. It gets better about 12 weeks so you've not got long to go x

Thank you @billystrikes2 @Shahlalala and @HeyMicky for your advice! To be fair, she doesn’t seem to have any signs of intolerance but it’s just something they’ve brought up in conversation. I think she is definitely suffering reflux. I started to keep a diary on Friday and have already filled pages 🙈 My HV will think I’m insane tomorrow.
We do sleep in shifts which has been a lifesaver as in the very beginning, I was an emotional mess - probably part hormones bur definitely largely sleep deprivation. It’s hard because I feel like I barely see him with us taking turns in the night and then him at work all day but I know I need to just suck it up as it won’t last forever.

I have this stupid guilt where I feel as though if I go to the doctor, I’m a bad mother for pumping medication into her little body. I know I’m being ridiculous and I know I’m doing it to actually relieve her. A ‘bad’ mother would just let her continue to suffer the reflux.... my rational side knows it but I seem to have turned into some overthinking nutter since having her 🤦🏼‍♀️

@HeyMicky I know reflux can be a stand alone issue, but a lot of the symptoms are similar. They thought my DS has reflux until he was pooing blood, so it does happen sometimes.

@Louise035 I know what you mean, but I always think would I let myself or anther adult suffer it without medication.... and the answer is usually no! I think there is warped idea about children and medicine sometimes, when we know it’s safe.

We've recently been through this. The thing that sorted it for DD in the end was Carobel. The Gaviscon did bind her up but the Carobel bizarrely has the opposite effect. It's also easier to prepare than the anti-reflux milks.

I was convinced that she had CMPA but as she has no other symptoms and has settled well on the Carobel (she's four months tomorrow) I'd admit that it's likely nothing more than silent reflux.

It could be CMPA. My son's reflux was caused by CMPA.

No harm in doing a trial of dairy-free formula to see if it makes a difference.

www.allergyuk.org/information-and-advice/conditions-and-symptoms/469-cows-milk-allergy

Both my DD had terrible reflux. Literally months of us all being covered in sick permanently and so much washing. We had ranitidine and domperidone prescribed, which didn’t really reduced the amount of sick but definitely made it less painful for them. They liked to be held upright and as soon as they were big enough to go in an exersaucer, that was an absolute godsend. They are teens now, and there’s lots I can’t remember from when they were babies - but the hideousness of reflux is still a vivid memory!

Haven’t read the thread but you need to get to the gp and insist on a referral for omeprezole. It’s the only thing that worked for our boy’s silent reflux after weeks of hell. We tried everything. His first dose was bliss.
An anti reflux milk helped ease his symptoms prior to that.
He doesn’t have any allergies although I’m aware quite often this is the root cause (Not for my boy 🙄 lol)

Hi, 11mo DD is on Cimetidine now for reflux. At 6 weeks it changed her life to get proper relief. She was on ranitidine but that got recalled, we couldn't get the Omeprazole into her - the dispersive tablets were a nightmare.

The HV was no help and said it wasn't reflux when I asked if it might be. Had to be the GP.

Reflux is very painful so I wouldn't let her suffer even if I could stick it out. Also HVs have said it can take till 2yo to fully resolve! Much better to get her soothed now than waiting months. 🌸

I feel like i could have written this post myself, we are going through the same thing. Our DS is gaining weight and has good skin colour but the reflux is awful. We are on omeprazole snd gaviscon but recently he has been getting worse, he screams during winding and seems constantly hungry, we went through a period where i thought great its under control but now we are back to square 1

My son started showing signs of reflux at about 2 weeks old. By 4 weeks of age it was unbearable. I went to the GP bad had an emotional breakdown on her office because I just couldn’t cope anymore and she prescribed me so Ranitidine.

It seemed to work for about two weeks but then the symptoms returned and if anything they seemed worse.

I went back to a GP who said that reflux doesn’t just ‘happen’ in young babies for no reason and is often attributed to to a dairy allergy.

He advised I remove dairy from my diet (my
son was breast fed) and after a few weeks he was like a different baby.

Omeprazole and amnio acid formula for cmpa were the only thing that worked for us. Didnt get it until 6 months old :( He still needs it now at 12 months old (we test it occasionally).

I'd forgotten about the terrifying nose vomit :( Ours slept upright on us until we got his reflux under control. He would just scream and vomit laying down. Tough times.