Infant with Reflux - Wesley Chapel,FL

It looks like this was resolved... but I had to say.. My daughter went through the same thing! She was on all of the Meds, and switched her formula several times, FINALLY the nutramigen, and the axid helped! She is almost 10 months old and hasn't had the axid in about a month, seems to be doing great!! Good Luck!

Hi D.,
My daughter struggled w/reflux until she was about a year old. I would recommend you call
Dr. Thiru Arasu: ###-###-####

3001 W Dr Martin Luther Kng Jr
Tampa, FL 33607

He is a great specialist (pediatric gastroenterology) & will definitely be able to help you.

Good Luck,
L.

Oh D. - I feel your pain. My second child was blessed with GERD at the tender age of 4 weeks. On the same meds as your child along with another one called Reglin (sp?) he would not sleep ever and shook from the Rx.

Just keep your chin up and maybe she is just have an issue to the formula and is gassy. My son had to sleep in his carseat for the first 4 months of his life since he could not lay flat.

For me, (well for him) it lasted until he was about 14 months old and it was very hard on me. I had PPD when he was 4 months old and it seem to never end...it will and when it gets tough, just hold him and say quitely in his hear the shhhhhhhhhhhhh sound and sing a little song. That would sometimes soothe my little guy and calm him a little.

I hope it gets better for you and I'm here if you need.

Hi D.,
My son had really bad reflux almost from day one. He spit up A LOT. He's been on Zantac, Axid, and Prevacid. If your daughter is not spitting up, and you don't think she has reflux, then maybe your doctor should give your daughter the reflux test. Basically, they give them a bottle of this chalky stuff and the X-ray their chest to see if it comes back up. It's not fun for the little ones, but at least you would know. I believe that you should trust your intincts when it comes to these things. You know your daughter best. Good luck to you.

D.,

Since my son was born the Dr’s said he had reflux. The only thing I found to work was finding the right formula for him. I went through about 5-6 before Enfamil Proobee Lipil. I swear that formula worked wonders. Keep in mind that if you change your baby’s formula it takes some time to get into her system. Also make sure your fully burping her, that made a big difference with my son. You might want to burp her longer than usually just to make sure she’s got it all out. I really think it’s a formula issue and I would try to see what a different one does. Good Luck and I hope things get better!!!!

Have you talked to your doctor about the possibility of colic? My cousin has 2 daughters and she said they were/are going thru the same thing. she has to put her daughter down sometimes & walk ot of the room b/c she feels herself getting so frustrated.

Dear D.,

There are two things that you can try which are completely natural. They come from an out of print book titled "Let's Have Healthy Children", by Adelle Davis. This book recommends enzymes. I used them on my premie and it worked. I did 1/4 a capsule opened into her mouth, then waited 12 hours and did the half a capsule and continued until she got a whole capsule. The other thing is acidophilous which is essential for digestion. One is made for small babies and can be purchased at the healthfood store. These products are the same for adults as children. They are water soluable and will not hurt the baby.
With my daughter her stomach problems cleared up on the third day when given the powder from a whole capsule of enzymes. This book said that some babies are born lacking this essential.
Do some research on the internet for alternative solutions for thrush. The internet is loaded with alternative answers. I was terrified when I tried this stuff but my baby had terrible colic and would cry for hours every day. We tried everything alternative and medical and they did nothing. I followed the instruction in the book re; the enzymes and I did small amounts to be safe and when she got all the powder in one capsule all the colic disapeared and NEVER came back. It was such a relief. Nothing is worse than a new baby that is crying and you can't figure out what it is.

I would try alternative. I don't know where you live but if it is near to Palm Harbor, Danusha Jackson is a really good pediatrician ###-###-####

Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

D.

I had the same problem with my youngest who is now 14. I switched her to soy formula and that helped ALOT!!! sometimes they just can't handle the milk based formulas. Have they tested for milk allergies?

I feel your pain! My daughter had Reflux til about 6 months old. The doctor prescribed Prevacid (liquid compound). It wasn't covered by my insurance so I had to pay out of pocket and it was about $100-112 every 2-3 weeks. But let me tell you--IT WORKS!!!! It was like a miracle drug that worked wonders. It was a pinch on our bank account but we ALL got sleep. A few times I forgot to give it to her and you definitely could tell because she would cry ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT! I tried the insurance covered Zantac and it DID NOT WORK so I would definitely as the doctor about PREVACID. You will have to find a pharmacy that does compounding and not all of them can do it. The Pharmacy next to Fossil park on 9th street does it so that's where we had our prescription filled (CVS, Walgreens, Target, Publix etc all do not have the equipment to do compounding). They say Reflux is caused when the little flap (forgot name) between their stomach and asophagus (spelling?) is not fully developed so their food can come back up causing burning in their chest/throat area (heart burn). Also, my daughter used to throw up everything she ate (formula at that time). Once she started eating solid foods around 6 months, the reflux wasn't so bad and eventually was gone. I never changed my daughter's formula (I used Similac Advance) and remember asking the Dr. about changing formula. The Dr. responded to me stating that it doesn't matter what formula you give your child because the issue is Not with the formula, it's the Refulx condition and until the body develops more, the issue will still be there. I'm sure the doctors have already told you this but keep her elevated-we even went as far as letting her sleep in the infant carier because she was upright and snuggled up that she wouldn't throw up as much when she was upright. Even a swing will work on very very slow speed. Also, put something under one side of her crib matress so when she sleeps she is raised up. I ended up buying the sleep positioner that was raised (found it at babies r us) and that worked great too. Anyway- Good Luck! My daughter, thankfully grew out of Reflux by about 6 months (she's now 21 months old) so hopefully your daughter will grow out of it too.

Hi D.,

Funny my son is called Zachary and he's the same age as your son...small world. Sorry to hear of the problems with Alyssa, my son was diagnosed with Reflux just a few weeks after been born. He was fine while I breast fed but we had problems and we had to switch to formula and take Zantac. At first they thought it was colic as he didn't spit up but as it was always after he fed he screamed they decided it was Reflux. We found that the Zantac really helped we tried a few formula and ended up with Nutramigian, its expensive but pre-digested so its way easier on them.

I found he slept much better when sat upright, he spent hours in his swing. I put a towel under one end of his matress so he was never really flat.

If he went too long without feeding he was in pain and if he got too full so I fed him little amounts often. The Nutramigan digest quickly so he had to fed every few hours. He was only 3 months or so when we started putting cereal in his bottle, which also helps and once he was on solids much better still.

We were told he would outgrow it by 6 month, he didn't, then 12 months, he didn't, then 18 months, he didn't. Eventually at 2 we stopped the Zantac and he's not had problems since. PTL.

I would try the Zantac again, it takes a while to help them I believe, try giving it through the day if it bothers her at night. I believe you can give it all in one dose rather than split over two. Then again I remember the Doc saying it can feel like its burning some babies so splitting its best.

Good luck and try not to worry, they pick up on your feelings too.

Hi D.,

I know how frustrating and heartbreaking that can be. My first daughter had the same thing. We used to walk around the house patting her back for hours every evening. the only thing that made it a little better was switching her formula to Enfamil Nutramigen Lipil which is a hypoallergenic formula for collicky babies. It was more expensive but well worth it.

Hang in there - they do grow out of it pretty quickly.

Good Luck!!

F.

My son too had reflux and the Zantac did not help him with the vomiting but seemed to help with the burning or discomfort associated with it. I found that the things that really helped was keeping him in a more upright position and loading his formula with cereal. Hope it helps!!

D.,
Try another doctor. My granddaughter was having trouble with digestive system and had diarhea and lots of mucus. This lasted for about 2 months if not longer. The doctor told my daughter to put Kelsie on Zantac. My daughter refused to do this. She did not tell the doctor that she was not putting Kelsie on Zantac. She called me and we had her go to the health food store to buy acidophilis and probiotic. She also took Kelsie off of milk products. Your child is too young to take off of milk products but maybe try a soy product. I would suggest calling a health food store and getting some advice from them. Chuck's Natural food market is very knowledgeable. My granddaughter was cured of what ever it was after she started taking the acidophilis and probiotic. My mom (she saw some report on this)told me that the Doctors are trying to put kids on Zantac and other reflux medications because they get a kick back from it. Talk to a chiropractor also. I would suggest talking to Dr. Scott of the Living Temple Chiropractic in Seffner. 2101 S. Parsons Avenue. ###-###-####. I urge you to please talk to the health food store and the chiropractor.
Very, Very Sincerely,
L. Jacobs

D.,
My grandson had this when he was a baby they put him on Enfamil Proobee Lipil also and it worked along with adding cereal to his bottles and using a Y nipple on the Dr. Brown's bottles. This helped him hold down the formula other wise it was projectile. The doctor told us that most children grow out of this although a small few have to have surgery to correct the problem. Talk to your doctor before changing the formula. Also the Dr. Brown bottles make the biggest difference. The first time we gave my grandson a dr. brown bottle instead of the Avent, he was able to eat without fussing and able to keep the food down. They work miracles, it may be worth a try if you havent tried them. They run about 12. at Walmart for 3 complete bottles. These bottles lasted thru his whole first year plus, as we gave them to another mother afterwards.

Good Luck,
Kathy

My daughter would grunt and groan all night long, not sleeping well. I had a sample of Similac Soy, and what do you know, it worked wonders! I heard it would take a couple days to fully get in her system, but she had the first bottle of soy at 8:00pm and slept perfectly that night and we haven't had a problem since. She was also able to go to regular whole milk at 12 months, not soy. I would suggest trying different formulas before doing medication. Poor thing, I feel for you guys!

my son would arch his back and cry cry cry.... ended up on soy putting cereal in it to make it thicker. no meds.
T.

My daughter had reflux as well and since I was breastfeeding, formula change was not an option. The first two weeks she slept on me belly to belly. Everytime I laid her on her back she would spit up and start crying. I finally put her on her tummy to sleep and she slept for 3 hours! Grant it I watched her the entire time to make sure she was OK, but it was worth it just to get her to sleep. Though I know it is recommended to put the child to sleep on their backs, after speaking with my pedi, he said it is better to let her sleep on her tummy and all of us get some sleep, than to not get any sleep and worse case, her choaking on her own spit. When my husband weighed the risks of SIDS vs. drowning in her own vomit, we choose to let her sleep on her tummy. She is now two and is perfectly fine and outgrew the reflux.

I feel your pain. I went through the same thing and my baby has reflux (a severe case of it too per the specialist). Zantac didn't do much for my baby, so she's on Prilosec (compounded by the pharmacy) and while it doesn't cure the problem (the underdeveloped muscle between the esophagus and stomach) it at least makes the acid reflux bearable or comfortable. That's about all they can do until she grows out of it. Of course, keep her elevated. My husband and I did a lot of sleeping with her on us too - stomach to stomach or on our shoulders. We ended up sleeping with her on the couch propped up on pillows next to us (which I know isn't recommended by pediatricians, but it was the only way she was comfortable and slept (and us too!). The special formula is at least easier to digest, so keep her on that or Nutramigen (both proteins broken down for their little tummies so you don't have gas to deal with too). Keep her elevated as much as possible, especially after feedings. I have wedges too - but mine still had problems with that (she's almost 6 mo. now) so we've been putting rice cereal in her bottles to help keep it down since 4 mo. and started her early on food too to help with keeping food down. My pedi told me that they used to recommend babies with reflux sleep on their stomachs, but now they can't tell you to do that. So again, that's why she's sleeping better on her tummy elevated on you. Hang in there and just comfort her. Don't let anyone tell you it'll be a bad habit, because they told me that too, but when they're in pain, you can only do your best to make them comfortable and happy. Mine sleeps on her own or with us now - she didn't become dependent. So try not to worry yourself too much and everything will work out in time. Best wishes.