Ever since our 9month old was four weeks old she had TERRIBLE colic. She was diagnosed with a severe case of acid reflux. She's been on Zantac, Reglan, Maalox, and now Prevacid and anything else you can give a baby, we've tried. Her gas pain and discomfort is INDESCRIBABLly painful. It's terrible. It's VERYYY hard for her to pass gas. It hurts her in a huge way. She now sleeps in the fetal position to pass the gas easier. It's never easier though.
She wakes up every single night of the week multiple times screaming in stomach pain. Last night, she was stiffening her body and her stomach was hard as a rock. I've seen Dr's, and specialists. I keep being told it's Gerd! She now is completely resisting food. Though, I'm more concerned about her stomach pain. has ANYONE been through this terrible gas pain at such a late age? My gut feeling is that somethings not right. We're going back to the Gastro specialist on Tues....... any advice is REALLY appreciated!
EDIT:
Thank you so much for the responses so far.... Sorry I missed a few things. Our daughter has been on Enfamil AR for a long time. I stopped breast feeding when she got colic. I tried the dairy thing. Unfortunately, it did nothing. I wish it did! The Gastro Dr. mentioned food allergies, but usually the allergic reactions are different then the abdominal pain she has (at least that's what they said). I'm going back to the Dr on Tuesday to talk about getting a blood test ( why haven't they offered that yet, I have no idea......)
EDIT#2
All I have to say so far is THANK YOU! Some of you have opened my eyes to new things that I'm definitely going to try. At this point, I'm almost willing to try anything! I really should have posted sooner. Darnit! Again, thank you and any other tips, remedies, or advice anybody has is REALLY appreciated here on our end!
Have you tried a soy based formula? My daughter is lactose intolerant and she was on Prosoybe (I don't remember how it is spelled), and she did fine. You might try that route!
Good luck!
M.
Hi there, my son had a lot of problems the 1st year of his life. He also had acid reflux and had terrible tummy problems, throwing up etc. He was actually hospitalized for dehydration when he was 8 months old. At that time, they put him on Neutranamin (excuse the spelling), it is by Enfamil and for baby with feeding problems and milk allergies.
To this day (he is 4.5 years old), we have him on lactose free milk. Every time he has too much dairy, he either throws up or has really bad gas and stomach pains.
I really think it was the milk allergy that did it all along.
It may be formula related......
try this, probiotics are wonderful.
http://www.colichelp.com/shop/biogaia-probiotic-drops.html
Sometimes, you have to ask and look beyond the pediatricians.
Hope this helps......
Hi Christine,
My daughter is almost two now, but as we were approaching her first birthday, we went through something similar. When she was about 9 or 10 months old she was still waking up every hour and a half to two hours and was wanting to nurse. I noticed that she was having more and more gas at night. I soon realized that it was this painful gas that was keeping her up. It got to be so bad that she would no longer let me put her down on her tummy, even in the fetal position. It was almost as if her stomach were percolating, she was in obvious pain. I began eliminating certain foods from our diet, beginning with dairy, but things didn't really change. Soon I took her to an applied kinesiologist (a chiropractor with a kinesiology specialty). He did muscle testing for allergies in both my daughter and me. It ends up that she had a hiatal hernia. Hiatal hernias are a weakening in the abdomen wall that cause the stomach to pull up into the abdomen while the person is lying down. Because her stomach was being pulled into her abdomen, it was twisting a bit and was cutting off the supply of hydrochloric acid that makes food digest. Essentially, she was unable to digest food at night while she slept. The food would just sit there and ferment during the night, causing very bad gas. On top of that, because the food would just sit there, her body began to attack it as if she were allergic. As a result she was temporarily allergic to dairy, wheat, soy, sugar, corn and berries. We continued to see the chiropractor twice a week for about a month with fewer appointments after that. Everything got much better within a few weeks, and she soon began to sleep for longer stints. Her allergies went away and we've been sleeping peacefully through the night ever since.
I don't know if that sounds like what you are going through, or if it helps at all. You might consider an alternative form of medicine such as the chiropractor (kinesiologist). I am so glad that we did. My daughter is a happy and health toddler now, and we are both sleeping much better now.
Not sure what others have told you yet, but allergy testing under one year is not always conclusive. We just went through this with our 6 month daughter. Ask to have an immuno-CAP test (blood test) done, not the RAST test. The immuno-CAP test can test for more things (I think it's like 200 choices) and I think it's a newer, more sensitive test. But please don't be disappointed if they all come back negative. That can be a quite common result apparently even if there is an allergy thing going on in children under one year. That happened to us. So we are still in the dark as to what is bothering our little girl, but the symptoms you describe are different than what we are experiencing. Regardless, wanted to give you the low-down that we got from out pediatrician and a good friend of ours who is also a pediatrician. Good luck to you and hopefully you'll have some relief SOON. :)
Hi there. I just recently read about GERD and everything i read is exactly what our 4 month old has been going thru since birth. Would you mind sharing some of your responses, any suggestions you may have as well as any tips for breast feeding mom's diet. Thanks so much....I'm a first time mom and heart broken when this little guy screaches in pain. Thank you in advance. --J.
Wow, I really think you should try a different formula. My bf used Nutramigen (sp?) with her son bc he had major problems like your daughter. I really feel for you. Have you talked with the doctor about maybe even weaning her off formula early? Good luck!
Stop all dairy products for 2 weeks and see what happens. I beleive that dairy is an underlying cause of colic and can definitely cause other abdominal problems. Also, gluten can cause stomach problems too. Hopefully, this is just allergies. Hasn't any dr. mentioned allergies?
Good Luck.
I went thru the same thing...i stopped BF cuz we thought it was something I was eating or drinking like milk. We switched to Nutramigen Formula & it helped but due to the cost we switch to a soy based formula which also helped just as well. My doctor also put my son on Zantac for acid reflux. You can pump her legs & that will release gas sometimes instantly!! You can also try Hylands Colic Tablets (Babies R Us has it) or a powder called BabyCalm (Whole Foods/Mothers has it) I heard both work like a charm but didn't find out about them until my son outgrew the problem. Good Luck to you!!
Hi Christine,
Both my girls had major acid reflux. I couldn't figure out what the problem was at first because the dr. had me change my diet, etc while nursing. Finally, it was the Zantac that helped. It took about 1 week or so into it before things changed. But I will tell you, that neither of my girls had the gas problem. Their problem was as soon as they finished nursing, they would scream and cry in misery. I had to have them sleep in bouncy seats and the swing so they were upright. At 3 months I took them off to see if they were finished, but they were not. Took them off at 6 months and then they were both fine. You situation really seems different. I would check out another Ped or another doctor and find out what they think. I feel so bad for you and the baby.
Christine,
My advice to you would be to seek out second opinions from Doctors who are willing to listen. It seems pretty clear that your daughter is suffering and that dairy is not the cause. I've never heard of a case of GERD so severe (not that is doesn't exist, but...) and just a gut feeling tells me you are getting the brush off. Is it possible she has some type of blockage? Could she an internal physical deformity that blocks her digestion? We moms are usually right about things when our gut keeps telling us something is off. Be a mama warrior and keep asking questions until you get an answer!!
Good Luck,
T.
Oh Christine,
It makes me want to cry reading your post as we had a very similar experience and it is so frustrating not to be able to take their hurt away. Our little guy was born with severe reflux and threw up about 40 (yes, 40) times a day. His pain was not in the stomach so much as in his esophagus from the stomach acid coming up. It was horrible in so many ways and we truly thought we would never survive it. Luckily I had worked in the medical environment for many years and knew immediately what we were dealing with. First suggestion is to get a PED GI, if you haven't already. I great one I can recommend is Dr. Cynamon at Cedars Sinai. Great doc, very conservative, but very progressive medically; he literally saved us. Next is to change your medicine. We tried everything you tried (Reglan is horrible and should be banned in babies if you ask me) all to no avail. I consulted some of the top experts in the infant GERD field across the country and all of them recommend Zegrid as the drug of choice and it was a miracle worker. Very old school drug and the absolute best thing ever. Lastly, you will probably need to change your formula to Elecare or a similar brand to rule out the food allergies and give your little one food that is mostly broken down already. Sounds like she is getting to an age where she can keep down really bland solid foods so that is an advantage. The only thing I will leave you with is that they do grow out of it. Speak up to the doctors and insist on tests and different medications, otherwise they will railroad you into the textbook path of care, which doesn't work for all children. My son is now thriving and is such a blessing. It was so difficult for a year and a half and now he is just an angel baby. I wish you love and light and if you need anymore advise, please feel free to ask as I am (obviously) quite passionate about this.
Have you looked into alternative medicine...natural cures is the way to go especially with young ones!!! Good Luck
V.
Christine,
My son had the same symptoms and I was breastfeeding and did an elimination diet that started with dairy, soy, eggs, caffeine, chocolate, nuts, peanuts, tomatoes, citrus, fish and shellfish. My son improved dramatically within a week and was tremendously better by the end of a month. If he wouldn't have improved, I would have eliminated corn and gluten next. Since he did improve, I waited until he was healthy and happy and then started adding stuff back to my diet. I was able to add everything back except dairy and soy and eggs. Once we got that figured out we were able to cut his dose of Prevacid by more than half and we were able to eliminate it a few months later. At 2 years old, he's still allergic to both dairy and soy. Since you've already stopped breastfeeding, if I were you, I switch to a hypoallergenic formula. My 2 year old currently drinks Similac Alimentum (he self weaned at 17 months). You can buy it at the grocery store or you can buy it via the internet by the case and save a little $$ on it (if you want the link, let me know). When my son was younger he was too sensitive for Alimentum and would have needed Neocate (which is a more hypoallergenic formula). Neocate is special order and you can get it through pharmacies or online. It isn't unusual for a baby who is allergic to dairy to also be allergic to soy. And many babies who react to formula are actually allergic to corn. Most formulas are sweetened with corn syrup.
I would not give up and I would try a few more different types of formula (especially the hypoallergenic ones, your pediatric GI doctor can give you a few samples). Your baby doesn't sleep because she's in pain. When my son was going through that, as a parent, I found it unacceptable and I kept trying different things until I found a solution. But seriously nothing we did for my son's reflux helped much at all until we identified his food allergies and eliminated them from his diet.
Just for the record, the allergy testing may or may not tell you anything. Allergy testing is notoriously unreliable in babies. My son doesn't show any food allergies at all on the blood tests but I know for a fact he'll scream for 3 days after eating dairy or soy and then have green, slimy poop for a week afterwards. And he gets eczema really bad. And with soy he'll bust out into hives. If he's not allergies, I don't know what you'd call it.
Good luck, food allergies are a pain in the butt and doctors don't know much about them and aren't much help.
:-)T.
Dear Christine-
I believe we are taking this journey simultaneously and I can truly say that I understand. My 10 mth old boy has been doing the exact same thing for about 5 mths now. I have done Zantac (and I dont like OTC meds), gripe water, Mylicon, sitting up after nursing, elevating with pillows when sleeping, suppositories, apple/prune juice (to move bowels), xray to see if he ate something, cutting out all table foods (even though he could get a steak down now-he just cant get it out)...I finally got a referral to a GI after I said Im a danger due to the lack of sleep we are getting with him screaming every hour through the night.
BUT, I had the flu this week (so I didnt eat much but toast) and he slept for three nights straight. So I am thinking it could be dairy or coffee or acidic foods like tomatoes since I didnt eat any of those during that time. (I breastfeed only). at this point Id cut out ANYTHING to end his misery.
Oh, and the probiotics, although Im a fan, one of the side effects is bloating and gas, so I took my son off of them. And my son has excema too so I dont know why allergies hasnt been brought in.
So I tell you all of this to let you know you are not alone. Let us know what the GI says.
Hi:
Because the body can respond to something it considers an allergen in some of the most unique and widely varying ways, I suggest you consult with someone certified in NAET. My grand daughter Gwen, as a baby, was helped TREMENDOUSLY when the primary care physicians were saying cold, flu, asthma and it ended up being allergies. She has been CURED of her allergies to several things, which resulted in her not having symptoms anymore. The procedure for babies is non-invasive. I know my doctor is willing to do a free consultation to educate and answer questions so you can decide if this is an avenue you would like to explore or pursue. I go to Dr. David Karaba in Fullerton; he is with the East West Medical Group, on Commonwealth near Lemon.
Best wishes,
M.
I HIGHLY recommend Dr. David Karaba at East West Medical in Fullerton ###-###-####. He does acupuncture as well as NAET (google this) and has cured many people of serious illnesses. The great thing is he can test for hidden allergies using applied kineseology which is more accurate than blood work and not as tramatic for the little ones. He has done wonders for our family and is the most loving person ever!
In our store, www.bellysprout.com, we sell something called Colic Clam which my parents will drive a few hours to pick up. It can also be used for teething. It is the only homeopathic gripe water on the market and the paretns SWEAR by it. It's worth a shot...
Good luck!
Christine,
I hear you say it had nothing to do with dairy but did you know that dairy is in everything and is digusted by other names. Soy is very similar to dairy as well. Another allergan is eggs so I would take a good look at EVERYTHING. Go to this link that will show the dairy to watch out for
http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/gfcf-diet/unacceptab...
Another thing to look at is doing an IgG blood test for food allergies. Find out what is bothering your daughter's GI.
And the most important thing that I can tell anyone is to do the research on vaccines. There are too many, too soon and if parents take the time to look at the ingredients in them, they would think twice about injecting them into children.
http://www.tacanow.org/vaccines/vaccine-choices.htm
I am so sorry about your daughter's pain. You need to not take this doctor for their word, they can't know everything. You have to be the advocate and do the research and take it to the doctor and your baby being on so many different kinds of medicines... hugs to you and what you are going through.
J.
My son had horrible gas pains since he was just a few weeks old. We changed his formula to Nutramigen, and had better luck. He also had bad excema, and the doctor wondered about a milk allergy. At nine months our pediatrician sent us to an allergist for testing. He did a scratch test for several allergies. Sure enough he was allergic to milk and a few other things. Dr. Dyer is in Laguna Niguel, and he's a terrific allergist. The scratch test isn't bad or painful for the babies. If you have an PPO, I'd suggest going ahead and getting a test. So much of that yucky medicine that you've been giving your baby is not good either. We do what we have to I know - I had to use yucky stuff for excema too. Try something different to see if you can get to the problem. Good Luck. I empathize with you!!
Try boiling Corriander seeds in water and then strain the seeds out. Let the water cool and either give your daughter the straight water to drink or use the water to mix with formula. It sounds weird, but my nanny from El Salvador taught me that they do this there as a way to get babies to pass gas. I checked with my peditrician and he said it was fine. I used it with all three of my children and it worked like a charm and all my friends who have tried it swear by it. Some people say to use Chamomile, but it relaxes the stomach where as Corriander makes the gas come out! Check with your doctor before you try this, to make sure it doesn't interfere with any medicines she is taking. Good Luck!
Check a health food store for probiotics. We have a friend whose baby was having a terrible time, she started giving him this (I think it's a powder, just ask at the store which is suitable for an infant), and he's so much better.
Good luck!
Dear Christine,
I distinctly remember while I was taking pre-natal yoga at The Golden Bridge in Hollywood, they recommended and many mothers swore by this for colic; give the baby the liquid that gathers on top from the best natural organic plain yogurt you can find. I'm not sure about the quantity. Please call The Golden Bridge and they can probably answer your question or put you in touch with someone who will have the holistic remedy.
You might also want to consider their mommy and me yoga program which is so beautiful and bonding and moms are able to share questions and answers to just about everything under the sun about babies! I highly recommend it. I believe it is free for a first time visitor. Worth a try.
GOLDEN BRIDGE
The Heart of Yoga
6322 De Longpre Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####
One block south of Sunset & 1/2 a block west of Vine, just behind the Arclight Cinema
Good luck,
C.
Hi,
My son had acid reflux really bad when he was young. He didn't really cry with it just threw up constantly. After several months he started to cry for no apparent reason. After a few months of testing we found out that the acid caused him to have an ulcer.
Good luck and be persistent with your Doctor!
girl is this you? christine johnson? it sure sounds like you! its S. sherman! tell me if its you or not!
Hi Christine,
Please google "reflux and chiropractic care".......or "colic and chiropractic care"......this could be something related to her nervous system not functioning at its best.
Childbirth really puts our little ones through alot, and sometimes the nervous system is severly impacted.
I do have an excellent children's chiropractor. He has been treating my son. Please let me know if you would like his contact info.
i would highly recommend you see dr.van nguyen, ###-###-####.
Does your daughter have trouble passing stools? When my son was 1 he went through a period where he couldn't pass stool, his stomach was hard and he cried alot...until he got so tired and snuggly (which he is not, very independent)I took him to Urgent Care. He had to have his stomach x-rayed and it turned out he had a blockage that he couldn't pass. He was given a series of enema's to help clear him out and was put on a couple different medicines. For us, switching the formula's around made everything worse. At just 4 we are almost over all of the problems you listed for your daughter. Our GI doc didn't help too much, so I hope yours is better than ours! If it hasn't been done, maybe you should ask if they can x-ray her stomach.
My heart hurts for your baby girl. I hate to hear of babies in pain. I have no suggestions for you, as I have not gone through this, I just wanted to send my prayers for your baby girl. It sounds like the doctors have not ran any tests on her. I cannot believe that. To me it seems that when it comes to babies in pain nothing should be guessed. Take the tests to see whats going on inside. Especially since they can't speak for themselves! I hope she feels better soon!
research research research its the only way to help your daughter, see if others have had this she sounds like she needs more tests, and a new doctor, second opinions third opinions
Have you had her looked at for an umbilical hernia? My good friend had the same experience with her son and kept being told it was just colic and then GERD, and eventually they found out it was an umbilical hernia. The hernia made going to the restroom, digesting and passing gas EXTREMELY painful for him. Check with your doctor to see about that.
My heart goes out to you. Its rough to see your baby in pain. My son is 6 weeks and is pretty colicky. We are having him checked for a hernia to rule that out. I feel for you. We have been dealing with this for 3 weeks, but you have for 9 months. You will be in our prayers.
Hi Christine,
Don't discount food allergies. Ask the doctor to test for them (a simple blood test can be ordered -- your daughter is too young for skin prick testing. Ask for the Siemens 3gAllergy test or the Phadia ImmunoCAP test. The Siemens test is more sensitive, but Phadia has a slightly widerrange of allergens that can be tested for). Food allergy can cause colic and gastric distress, and its association with GERD has been discussed for several years in the medical literature. Also, the doctors should consider eosinophilic esophagitis. This can have similar symptoms to GERD but is probably more directly linked to food allergy as well. It can cause dysphagia (difficulty or inability to swallow), which could explain why your daughter is now refusing food. Treatment for this in adults is the use of corticosteroids to reduce inflamation. Don't know about infants.
You mentioned that you did "the dairy thing." I assume this means you cut out dairy from your diet. Did you know that Enfamil AR is a milk-based product? If your daughter is allergic to milk, this product will not help her -- it will compound the problem. (Worse yet -- it's made with cow's milk, which is one of the most common allergens in children. Try switching to a soy-based formula, but keep in mind that there are thousands of potential allergens, although the most common allergens are fish, eggs, wheat, corn, soy, tree nuts and peanuts. I'm not familiar with the formula you're using (never used formula . If your daughter still has problems with a soy based formula, try switching to a hypoallergenic formula made of hydrolyzed protein. These are usually derived from meat (such as lamb) and the proteins are partially broken down so that the molecular components recognized as the allergen have been destroyed. (They still provide excellent nutrition, however, since the amino acids that make up the proteins have been preserved).
Good luck -- I hope you can find the cause and a treatment for your daughter.
It is important to know what are you feeding her primarily? Breastmilk or Formula. If its breastmilk, you need to cut out ALL dairy from your diet and see if that helps her. If you are giving her formula try Enfamil Neutramagin or Similac Alimentum. (please forgive any spelling mishaps) My daughter was on Neutramagin and it worked like a charm. I was nursing her and had given up dairy and she still had horrible colic. My ped is VERY pro nursing and he told me that she could not handle any lactose including that from me, (which is very rare). Why was she diagnosed with Acid Reflux? Is she spitting or throwing up all the time? The first thing you should do is change her primary food and seriously avoid dairy and see if that change alone will help her. Good luck, I know its just awful to watch our little ones suffer!
Oh, my heart goes out to you guys! I don't have experience with GERD, but my baby was colicy-ish. Something that helped a lot is to carry her in a baby carrier. I know you baby's issues go way beyond this. Something that would be very helpful is some cranial sacral therapy. She may have some birth trauma / locked pattern in her diaphram or in her spine in the area of her intestines and it could bring a lot of relief to release it. (this could be why nothing is helping) I believe there's a national listing for pediatric cranial sacral and if you could find an Osteopathic Dr., they also do the therapy. My prayers are sent your way.
K.
