Acid Reflux - North Hollywood,CA

Acid Reflux is a symptom of allergies. NAET.com and Say Goodbye to Illness by Dr. Devi Nambudripad.

Be well.

N.

Hi S.,

Please research "chiropractic care and reflux"......The chiropractor I see treats infants for reflux, and he said within a couple of visits, their nervous system is functioning regularly again.

All the best,

N.

My daughter had horrible reflux. Screamed all day. Zantac did nothing for her. Through other moms, I found a medication called Zegerid. My doctor researched it and then prescribed it for her. It seriously change her quality of life so much. You can get more information about it here: http://www.marci-kids.com/ It is more similar to Priolosec which is in a different category than the Zantac and Prevacid (which are definitely the first step and if they work then you can stick with either of those!)

Hang in there, I remember those days of a baby just screaming all day and they are very tough, but you will get through it!

Someone recently recommended baby chiropractors for acid reflux... I would think that the rice cereal would be a bad idea, too young to digest it properly.
Also, if you are formula feeding maybe he is allergic to the formula?
Good luck
R.

Hello S.,

My son has this as well, but was not so bad, he did not cry as all, just choked on the reflux. We put him on a special formula, now I can't think of the name, but it was Enfamil and the most expense one of it, I believe it was a pink colored label.

Anyways, I am not writing about my son, its my brother who I will tell you about. My mother went through the samething as you. My brother just turned 28 on the 9th, so the medical profession has changed very much. But, my Mom and brother went through this for about 2-6mns. The doctor told my Mom that it was because my brother's esophagus was not fulled developed and that once it closed he would be just fine. And you know what, it was.

But, I remember my Mom before bed, would lay out blankets, towels, pj's for her and him so she could be ready for the night of throwing up and crying. I even remember not just my brother crying but my Mom as well.

The only advice I have is when my son had his, sucking always helped, so the pac was in his mouth alot and the doctor has us change the formula to the expense one (my brother had to be on pro-sobe, now where I spelled it right I don't know) My son's doc also told us to let him drink a bit of water, yep water about 3 oz. a day just to help smooth the soreness of his throat.

I know my Mom feels your pain and tell you, "You and your child will get through this, and happier times are on its way."

Best of Luck,
M.

Hi S.,

Reflux is becoming a catch-all term for colic these days. It may not be enough to treat the problem symptomatically -- it might be necessary to dig a little deeper and try to figure out what's causing the refulx.

Allergy is frequently at the root of infant reflux, and cow's milk allergy has one of the highest prevalences. If you're feeding your son a cow's milk-based formula try switching to a soy or hypoallergenic formula (soy is also a major allergen, however). If you're nursing, try eliminating dairy, eggs, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, corn and wheat from your diet, one food type at a time for 2 weeks at a time. If you see improvement in his reflux, keep that food type out of your diet until you're finished nursing. Another, but harder, way of handling this is to eliminate all of these groups at one time for 2 weeks. If the reflux improves, you can then start adding foods back in to your diet one at a time. If the reflux resurfaces with reintroduction, eliminate that food from your diet until you're finished nursing. Current understanding would also suggest that you avoid introducing that food to your baby until at least after the first year, too, and be watchful for an allergic reaction. Recent research may eventually change this opinion.

Other things you can do to help with reflux are to keep your baby as upright as possible during and after feeding so that the stomach empties more efficiently.

I hope this helps -- I know it's hard to see your little one in pain and unhappy!

At 2 months my daughter was put on Zantac and cried for 2 hours after giving the first dose. It was like she was drunk, flailing around inconsolable. I thought it had something to do with the alcohol in it. I will never know for sure. I never gave her another dose and returned to my doctor. They changed her to prilosec and she did much better and I stopped using it around 4 months of age. Good luck

Hi,

Prevacid was great for my son! His reflux was so bad we had to do an upper GI test, and go to a specialist. She also prescribed another medication. I can't remember what it was called, but it was a think pink liquid, and I think it was actually an anti seizure med that they found to work for reflux. He was a different baby after that. I never knew how bad the reflux was until it was fixed. He was off the meds completely by the time he was 10 months.

Quite a few italian studies have linked acid reflux to increase in ear infections and ear tubes. The studies also indicated that although the children did not test positive for dairy allergies, once dairy was removed, their symptoms improved. Are you breastfeeding? Probiotics are great and there are some good homeopathic remedies as well.

Good luck,
D.

You are clearly not alone! My daughter really suffered, until I convinced her doctor to prescribe something. What worked for us was Pepcid, not Zantac. She still spit up,but not nearly as bad. Also put her on Enfamil A/R, which helped keep the food down. Good luck - all I can say is, they grow out of it eventually, and all you can do is try to stay sane.

Yep! That was my world. Keep up the Zantac! It doesn't take effect for a little while. But once it does, AMAZING!

Both my girls had it. The doctor made me change my diet because I was nursing, etc. None of that worked. They also wanted to say it was colic. Nope. I actually think that is what was wrong with me when I was a baby. Same exact thing. My poor mom would sit on the front porch crying because she couldn't figure out what was wrong!

Anyway, Zantac is a miracle. I had my girls sleep in their bouncies because that kept their head up and somewhat more comfortable than lying down. Also did well in the swing. Propping in the cradle was hard because they slid. Side to side swing works amazing with Baby Mozart DVD.

There really isn't much you can do except not tip him or lay him flat. Keep him upright so that the acid doesn't ride up his throat. Keep up the med. I nursed and ate what I normally ate and they were fine.

At 3 months I took them off the meds per Doctor to see if they had outgrown it. They didn't. Put them back on until 6 months. Took them off and both were fine. My girls also had the undeveloped spincter muscle or whatever it is called. So, if I tipped them it would all come out and they would cry harder. But the meds really helped. Helped them, helped me actually get some sleep and not be as stressed as a new mom normally is.

So, Swing doing the cradle rock motion (side to side) NOT front to back, and baby einstein MOZART DVD. Those things are really what saved my sanity and seemed to help them.

I'm really sorry to hear you are going through this. Just remember that the baby zantac needs time to work. It isn't overnight. I think it takes about a week or so (your doctor can tell you).

Oh, I also found it easier to squirt it down their throats by placing the syringe to the side of their cheek. You'll figure out what is best for him. I'm sure all kids are a bit different. I also did this BEFORE feeding them. That way they wouldn't figure out to spit. They just wanted to eat. Then I would feed immediately after the meds.

Take him to a chiropractor. He will get better. You could also give him probiotics but I am not sure how much for so small a baby.

My son went through it at 3mo. but, wasn't a crier just seemed to choke then spit up. My Dr. wasn't really into giving medication right away so she suggested Enfamil gentlease. She recommended I feed him 2-4oz. in the beginning then gradually increase the fomula but adding some of the rice into his bottle to thicken it. By the time he was 6mo she had me switch to the Enfamil A.R. with the recommend oz. per his age and the reflux slowly was no longer promintent in his feeding. He is now 14mo and I do not have any problems nor did I have to give him any medications.

Don't know if this will be of any help but, I really am not a fan of giving infants meds unless it is the absolute last resort.

Good luck to you!

I feel for you son. Look into a tea called Kombocha, it has helped me with my stomach issues, and I'm pretty sure I read that babies can drink it in small doses. It's terrible tasting at first, but it has probiotics that aid in digestion. Please do your research on this before you try. You can find it at whole foods. I like Synergy. The grape flavor is the least yucky. Good luck!

my daughter had reflux because she was a preemie. she came home on tagamet and reglan which really helped. also burping every ounce helps and keeping upright for 20-30mins after feeding and head slightly elevated at night. good luck!

My twins had acid reflux. We tried different formulas. Nutramigen from enfamil was the one we stopped on. what we also did was give my boys gas drops. that seems to help them alot.

S.,

Is he breastfed or formula fed? My now 2.5 year old had terrible reflux as an infant. He was breastfed. Turns out he's allergic to dairy and soy proteins. Once I did an elimination diet and got my system clear of dairy and soy he was like an entirely new (and happy and sleeping) child. Treating his reflux did absolutely nothing until I eliminated the food allergens causing the problem. Once I eliminated dairy and soy, he was noticably better within a week and much better within a month. At that point we were able to cut his prevacid dose in half. It took a couple of months for his GI tract to totally heal but after that we were able to eliminate the medication entirely.

If you are formula feeding, I'd start by trying Similac Alimentum (the first "level" of hypoallergenic - there is nothing completely hypoallergenic, just more or less allergenic)- you can get that in the grocery store. If that doesn't work (or you can order it online from http://www.i-medica.com/ - it is a bit cheaper if you buy it that way by the case), I'd try Neocate or Elecare (you will need to order that online or order it through a pharmacy).

Some foods - like dairy- take quite a while (weeks actually) to leave your system ofter you quit eating them. So you need to make sure that if you change your diet (if you are nursing) or change your formula, keep it up for at least a week before you decide if it is helping.

Seriously though, before we good the food allergy thing under control, treating my son's reflux was like throwing a bucket of water at a forest fire. Basically it was a nice thought but didn't help at all.

Also, Zantac has quite a bit of alcohol in it. For a kid with an inflamed belly it can be quite painful. You might want to ask your doctor about Axid or Prevacid or some other type of medication.

From what I've seen a lot of "colic" and "reflux" is actually food allergy or food intolerance related (allergies and intolerances are both immune responses but different types of responses).

Good luck,
T.

Make sure when you feed him you keep him as upright as you possibly can, and continue to keep him upright for 20-30 minutes after a feed, using his car seat can be good for this too, or a swing, it sometimes helps to put a rolled swaddle blanket underneath to prop him up a little.

Hi S.,

My daughter had the same problem. When I didn't see positive results or changes, I went back to her pedi and requested that she do something else. We started with rice cereal in the milk, then went to zantac which didn't help, then went to reglan which also didn't help, and now she's on prevacid which has been AMAZING - night and day difference. Now that she's walking, we have been decreasing the amount and she's doing fine. We're hoping she'll be off the medications by 18 months since the problem has been resolving itself. I TOTALLY understand the frustration and sadness to watch your baby cry in pain every time they eat or lay down. Hang in there - remember that you know what's best for your baby and advocate for him. ;) Good luck, let me know if you have any questions.

I am going through the exact same thing with my 9 week old baby girl. I will be interested to see your responses as I've been looking for answers too. She is now on Prevacid and Zantac. I believe it is helping her acid reflux some but she seems to have intestinal issues also. She cries very hard before bowel movements and has had diarrhea the last few days (I was breastfeeding with an acidic free diet). I just changed her to soy formula yesterday and will let you know if I see improvement. Good luck - this is the hardest thing I've ever had to go through in my life!

Have you checked for allergies? If you are breastfeeding he might be getting a reaction from something you eat. (e gassiness) If he is formula fed you might try switching formulas to see if it helps.

I went through this same thing with my daughter who is now almost 3. She has outgrown the reflux, and took Zantac until she was about 8 months old if I remember correctly. They didn't suggest the rice cereal thing to us, just different ways to hold while nursing, burping often while feeding, holding her slightly upright when feeding, and keeping her upright for at least 30 minutes following each feeding. We also elevated the head of her bassinet/crib so she wouldn't be laying flat. I also did massage on her tummy- took a class on infant massage, and that helped many of her problems- opened her clogged tear duct, and helped the tummy issues as well. I found that she did well being held upright, or just slightly reclined- I carried her a lot in carriers, or just in my arms. She had a tendency to cry when she wasn't being held for the first few months of her life, so I wore her a lot in a sling, or other carrier. Now at almost 3 years old she'll play by herself for an hour or more at a time, so it's not forever! :) Hang in there- it's rough in the beginning when their little tummies aren't cooperating.

keep him up right for like 1/2 and hour after eating. also maybe try a different formula if possible. i suggest good start formula. also have you tried colic tablets these may help. also it helps to have him sleep proped up too. my twin nephews slept on pillows in the corner of the of their crib. we did this untill they started rolling then the pillows came out for safety reasons. good luck!

Hi!
In my experience (2 kids with reflux) the Zantac doesn't work. The dr. just has to try that first. Hopefully they'll give you prevacid or something stronger next--those usually work. And, have hope--reflux gets better when your child is able to be upright more often, so in a month or two, when he is sitting up, things should start to get better. I also found that solid food helped. Hang in there!

My daughter started to throw up almost every feeding around 4-6 weeks. Her Dr. prescribed Zantac .5-.7ml twice a day and we switched her to Enfamil A.R. (Acid Reflux) and it seemed to help. The Zantac definitely seemed to help, before she started the medicine, she was grunting from the discomfort all the time, now she is no longer in pain. Dr. says that babies usually outgrow the A.R. around 6-7 months once the flap closes. Acid reflux happens when a flap in baby's stomach/esophagus does not close properly and thus allows milk or stomach acid to come back up causing discomfort. By 6-7 months it also gets better as they are upright more and they start to eat baby foods also, so that helps the A.R. go away too. I have friends whose babies had acid reflux also, some did not want to give Zantac and just kept their babies semi upright as much as possible, like keeping them upright for 20 minutes after any feeding, and at night they let baby sleep in the carseat or bouncer so that they were semi upright. I also had a very experienced live-in baby nurse with us for the first 8 weeks and she pretty much said the same thing as the Dr. Hope this helps.

I have 7 mo b/g twins. My son had bad A/R. Elevate head of crib by putting something like towels UNDERNEATH mattress. Also feed less food more often. Don't let stomach get too full. In addition helped to burp several times during meal. Ours hated it and screamed everytine but it helped. Try not putting them down or like 20 min after feeding. In addition we used ENFAMIL AR formula for a while and then Gentlease. Liked gentlease better. Still needed Zantac but worked like a charm in combination with these other things. We were able to very quickly give smaller than recommended Zantac dose if we did all of these other things. Good luck!!!!

Hello, I am a mother of Two boys, (ages 7 & 2) both suffered from reflux. My first born had something called pyloric stinosis(projectile vomiting, stomache muscle doesn't work right) which lead to extreme reflux. My second born, suffered from extreme reflux alone. It was awful,I used to cry because I could not stand seeing them in so much pain.I felt so helpless, all I wanted to do was comfort them & make the pain stop. They both had it as very new babies. They both used to cry ALL THE TIME and would tense thier bodies so that they would look like a stiff board. My oldest took Zantac, My youngest took Previcide.I don't know if you are formula feeding but we had to switch to INFAMIL AR (acid reflux).It is a thicker formula especially for reflux.It made a huge difference as well as some exercises,(with the baby laying on thier back(slightly upright, a pillow works great to raise thier top half) and you sitting in front of them, slowly pull thier legs down & push one up & down at a time bending at the knee, to thier chest & then straighten. Alternate & then gently pull on both thier legs at the ankle and then holding the ankles, slightly raise the legs together & move in a circular motion.Try doing this throughout the day, not right after feedings though. I don't know why but this really helped and was recomended by a docor. I was lucky enough to be sent to a great pediatric doctor who specializes in this exact problem. EVERYTHING changed after seeing him with both my boys. Here is his info:

Dr. Ron J. Bahar, MD
Pediatric Gastroenterologist
Pediatrician
Address:5363 Balboa Boulevard SUITE 540
Encino, CA 91316
###-###-####

I really hope this helps you. My heart goes out to you and your sweet baby. I know first hand,(twice over) how difficult this situation is. There is nothing as heart wrenching as seeing your child in pain and hearing that screaming cry. Best of luck to you, you will be in my thoughts. :) S.

My son had reflux and he was on Zantac. When I started the treatment I saw an improvement about a week later. Once I was consistent he didn't get any reflux. The minute I would forget a dose (or not give it to him because it was too close to the feeding) his reflux would be back. After a couple of months on Zantac, I started reducing each dose a little bit. A month later I droped the lunch dose and a few months later slowly he was off the zantac. You should see an improvement with consisten treatment. Sometimes the dt will adjust the dose. If you don't see an improvement, it might be a protein/milk allergy. I had my son on Neocate, a special formula with a good taste (much better than alimentum and the other one out there). I put oatmeal in Neocate as well, but my son was about 5 months old when I did that.

I feel for you! I have been dealing with this for 5 months and only now seem to have a ok baby. Mind didn't cry all the time, only during feedings and at night. Screamed at night. It was so horrible. Anyway, the Zantac combined with another med helped a little bit but not enough. We started prilosec last night and already last night there was a difference. And this morning, before taking his meds, he drank 4 oz of formula! We could only get 2 oz in him before and that was a drama. Amazingly, he's still a big boy. He was nursing but was nursing every hour and my milk supply went to hell and I was exhausted. We supplimented at 4.5 months and I just stopped... I'm curious now if I would have waited if the new meds would have let him nurse... Anyway, get Prilosec or any other PPI. (Proton Pump Inhibitor) They would much better than H2 blockers, although dr like to start with H2 blockers. I only gave my little guy a couple days on the new medicine to see if it worked. If it didn't make things worse, I gave it a couple more. Don't be afraid to call and tell thim it's not working for him

Rice cereal only irritated my son. Even now at 5 months it gives him gas. I really don't think weighing down helps and the specialist we just saw said the same thing. Insist on what you know is going on. They don't spend 24 hr/day with your baby.

And know there are people who have and are experiencing what you are. You will be ok and so will he! It's horrible to have your baby in pain and not be able to stop it. I'm so sorry you two have to deal with this!

Hi my son had it as well. I called him the unhappiest baby on the block! But, one I got him on Zantac it really helped. I also let him sleep in his swing so that the acid did not slosh around in his stomach like when he was flat. It seemed to help. I must admit that once we got him on the zantac he was a new baby, so hopefully it will help you too. It really sucks, and is very draining when all they do is cry, but it does pass. Good luck, he will grow out of it :)

Acid Reflux is not a baby disease yet so many babies are getting it. You do not say if you are breast feeding or not. If you are, start removing things from your diet starting with dairy, soy, eggs. If you aren't then try Neocate formula www.neocate.com as many babies with food allergies (where are these food allergies coming from...) will use this one with good success.

Be careful with the vaccine schedule, delay most, spread out the ones that you feel are needed and do not use Tylenol when giving shots as it puts the immune system on vacation whereas Motrin does not (use dye free). Read Dr. Robert Sears, The Vaccine Book asap.

Zantac has worked well for the babies and children on the autism spectrum.

Hello S.:
I had the same problem with my son - he is now 12 - but I still remember the constant crying. When my son was almost 4 months old we finally had to take him to a pediatric GI specialist and discovered he had a fold in his duodenum which was pushing the food back up creating the reflux. We tried Zantac but the only thing that worked was feeding him solids which the specialist told us to do 4 times per day. I would urge you to ask for a referral to a specialist. Your baby and you should not suffer like this.

PROBIODICS, powder. HEALTH FOOD STORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It works!!!

Oh, your poor little guy. Both of my kids had reflux. Once they started the Zantac, things got a lot better. It does taste pretty bad but they got used to it. You can't get it flavored either. I checked. I even tried a compounding pharmacy.
Other things I found that helped was always keep them somewhat upright. I would put my kids to sleep in their car seats (the infant carrier one), or the bouncer seat. For the crib they sell a little wedge that you put under the sheet. Babies R Us has them.
It will get better. It just about goes away when they are sitting up on their own and eating solid foods. My kids are 3 and 4 now and one plus is they never give me trouble taking medicine. Good Luck!

My grand daughter was diagnosed with acid reflux at 17 days old. They advised us to put a small amount of rice cereal in her formula bottle, just enough to make the formula heavier. She was also on a medication twice a day but I do not remember what....this finally went away when she was about 8 months old.