Silent reflux or lactose allergy?

[SophieBee97]

Hi all, new mum in need of advice please!

My 3 week old son has been showing a lot of discomfort due to formula - his symptoms have been: sickness, diarrhoea, congested, hiccuping, crunching legs up to belly after feeds (looks like stomach pains), tensing and grizzly. He was previously on aptamil.

My doctor seems to think it’s lactose intolerance and we have been testing the SMA Althera formula for a week but he still seems to be in discomfort. (I’ve just fed him now, I’ve burped him as best I can - this has been harder since on the new formula, kept him upright for 20 mins and now he’s changed and laying down he’s very grizzly as if he’s in a lot of discomfort). He’s still being sick on the formula too. I’ve also put him on Infacol but it doesn’t seem to be helping.

From what I’ve read his symptoms also sound like scilent reflux and other mums have recommended the thicker cow and gate milk?

Has anyone else had this issue?

Also, I’ve been using the tommee Tippee prep machine and the formula seems to be thin and sticky. When I’m out the house I use the a thermos of boiled water and the milk is a much better consistency. What am I doing wrong? I ideally don’t want to stop with the prep machine as it’s a life saver on the 4am feeds.

Thankyou in advance - a stressed out mum with a grouchy newborn x

Hi, my baby had colic and has reflux, it all started at 3 weeks old. It was extremely tough until he turned 3 months and suddenly became a really happy baby. He used to cry all the time and we tried comfort milk, coleif, infacol, gaviscon etc etc. he is formula fed.

In the end a HV suggested omeprazole for his silent reflux (not much was coming up after feeds but he was getting upset during and after feeds all day long, and in the evening the colic crying would start).

The omeprazole worked a treat, it takes about 4 weeks to work but it’s been a lifesaver. It neutralises the acid in the stomach so he still has reflux but it doesn’t upset him anymore and he should grow out of it in a few months once he’s into solids.

Lactose allergy is quite rare from what I gather, and it is much more likely to be reflux and/or colic. I would try out omeprazole before you start removing dairy from his diet but that’s just my opinion. Some GPs seem to go straight down the allergy route when it seems to make more sense to me to try to treat reflux first as that might do the trick. You may need to get a second opinion from a different GP.

I’m no expert but it worked for us. If it is colic there’s not much you can do to make it better, you just have to survive however you can until it goes away sadly. I’ve been there, it’s horrendous, I thought it’d never end but it did and now our boy is a total joy xxx

Also I’m sorry I don’t have a clue about the prep machine. We’ve always made feeds up in advance and kept in the fridge, then used a bottle warmer. We used to take a cool bag which keeps things below 4 degrees for 8 hours for night feeds, I think it’s called a Kudi. So we didn’t have to go downstairs we’d just get a bottle out and warm it in our bedroom xxx

Lactose intolerance is very rare. It is more likely to be cows milk protein intolerance (CMPI). A very high percentage of babies with reflux have CMPI. There are formulas available for this that the gp can prescribe.
Many babies grow out of their intolerance by 4 to 6 months and most are ok by 1 year.
A tiny number stay dairy intolerant - like my 14 year old.
For my DD1, ranitidine liquid helped with her reflux until she was about 1. Then we switched to omeprazole. For DD2, ranitidine liquid and an antihistamine worked best.
I found some GPs are reluctant to prescribe the formula or reflux treatments. Then requesting a referral to a paediatrician might help.

As a poster above said, lactose intolerance is very rare and can make babies very sick quite quickly, so it’s much more likely to be a dairy allergy (CMPA).

Some people think lactose intolerance and a dairy allergy are the same thing and they really aren’t.

My son had a dairy allergy - his symptoms began at 4-5 weeks old and then the suggestion it was CMPA was made.

Although I was breastfeeding, the GP was more than willing to prescribe me dairy free formula if I had wanted it.

Waiting for a Paediatric referral can take month and months and months so it’s a long time for babies to left on milk they are potentially allergic to.

if I were you I would do your research on the signs and symptoms of CMPA and head back to the GP and be very persistent that you want to trial dairy free formula to see if it helps.