Baby badly constipated after starting infant gaviscon

[K2012]

Hi posting here for more traffic. I posted in the children’s health a few days ago https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/childrens_health/5397604-acid-reflux-gaviscon-infant?reply=146636351

but I need more advice please. So my son is 4 months old and got reflux. He’s not vomiting but has milk coming up after almost every feed and untill it comes up he’s very agitated. Doctor prescribed infant gaviscon and he said to take 1 sachet at a time and I mix it in his milk. He normally has a poo 2-4 times a day and has never been straining or been constipated. He’s been on gaviscon since Sunday and while there’s a slight improvement (he still has milk coming up) he’s now badly constipated. Didn’t have a poo all day Monday, Tuesday was straining so much to get it out, yesterday and today the same and only had 1 poo a day since Tuesday. Doctor prescribed 2.5ml Lactulose morning and evening which he started on Tuesday afternoon. Now my question is, he’s had gaviscon 3-4 times a day but I’m worried about increasing the gaviscon dose to 2 sachets at a time (baby is more than 4.5kg) because he’s going to get more constipated so what do I do?

Thank you in advance.

our HV advised us to skip gaviscon and go to Lansoprazole due to the constipation- sadly the lansoprazole only reduced didn’t stop the reflux. Perhaps discuss alternatives with GP?

Hi @Nynm23 thank you for your reply. I have an appointment with GP next week and will discuss it.

Both my DC had infant gaviscon and we never ever gave the full dose. I did half of one sachet and it worked well on stopping the reflux symptoms whilst not causing any massive constipation issues. This was on the advice of my brilliant HV. Try cutting it back and seeing if it makes a difference.

Same as above our health visitor said that gps love Gaviscon because it’s cheap to prescribe but an omeprazole would be better. We did use Gaviscon for a bit but not in every feed, maybe 1 or 2 sachets per day?

Can you try giving some pre-made formula if you are formula feeding? This always helped my baby go.

Oh infant gaviscon is the devil just swapping one issue out for another is how I felt! We saw a difference in DD when we were prescribed omeprazole, but the biggest change was changing formula to HIPP Organic on recommendation of a few others. Is your DS formula fed? If so which is he on? Might be worth a try.

Also gripe water is your friend! Worked wonders for my daughter almost instantly after taking it!

Thank you everyone for the replies.

@CrispAppleStrudels he hasn’t had the full dose and yet he’s so constipated.

@Pinkstuffs I will try ready made formula. How long did it take omeprazole to
work? Did it stop all the reflux or just reduce it?

@wineosaurus4 I feel exactly the same, what do I choose reflux or constipation? Yes he’s formula fed, he’s on Kendamil goats milk. I’m reading all these scary things on Google that you can’t take gripe water with gaviscon so that’s why I haven’t tried that yet.

Omeprazole should significantly reduce the reflux as it stops the stomach producing acid.

Kendamil was so awful for my baby it didnt agree with him at all. We tried all sorts and even started down the path of CMPA until on a whim I stopped the Kendamil and bought some Hipp Organic. He was like a different baby!! Definitely give that a go.

Reflux is a cmpa symptom. I'd switch milks and if that doesn't help ask GP for a dairy free one (Not a hydrolysed one)

This was our exact situation! Suspected CMPA and had already tried many prescription milks to no avail. Stopped it all and switched to HIPP organic - game changer!

Thank you everyone for the replies.

@Pinkstuffs Thank you I will try.

@Bodyshopdewberry he’s on Kendamil goats milk so not cows milk. Sorry for being ignorant but if he had cmpa wouldn’t he have other symptoms? He only has reflux nothing else.

@wineosaurus4 when you changed to Hipp organic how long did it take before you saw a change? Days, weeks or..?

The protein in goats milk is similar to cows milk so if it is an allergy it would give a similar reaction. However in my case I think some formula milks just don’t agree with some babies. When we switched from Kendamil to Hipp I saw an almost instant change. He finished a full feed without screaming with wind, and he had awful mucous nappies which stopped overnight.

Days, as in 24-48hrs

Hi @Pinkstuffs and @wineosaurus4 which HiPP formula did you buy, organic or anti reflux?

https://www.hipp.co.uk/shop/formula-milks/anti-reflux-milk

www.hipp.co.uk/shop/formula-milks/first-infant-milk

Try and see health visitor. Mine ended up on special prescribed milk due to allergies.

@Walkerzoo Thanks I have contacted the health visitor and awaiting a call back.

I just bought the normal milk!

Hi all, we are really struggling with our 5 week old bay boy. He has been really unsettled during and after feeding for the last 3 weeks. health visitor said it could be

Has it only been for 3 weeks @SEO26? How was he before the symptoms started? Had he had an illness?