Acid Reflux HELP - Tips and Doctor Recommendations

One of my girls had reflux. We ended up having to let her sleep in her bouncey seat between us in bed every night for about 3 months. She was taking liquid zantac to treat it. We finally had to start working towards getting her to sleep on her back because she was getting ready to start daycare and they put them in cribs to sleep. After elevating one end of her mattress with rolled up towels under it, we were finally able to get her back to normal again. My pediatrician told me that she would grow out of it at some point and it appears that she has. She is almost 6 months old now and there are no signs of reflux. Good luck to you!

Hi I.~
I, at one point, have been in your shoes. My son had awful reflux.. to the point that everytime he was fed he would projectile afterwards. He would even do it in the night, we would go in and it would be EVERYWHERE and stuck through his hair, in his nose, on his bedding. What we found worked well, by dr recommendation is thickening his formula with rice cereal. They also gave us a prescriction for zantac, but he was taken off of that soon after we got relief from the cereal. But that worked wonders for us. We also used Similac Isomil Advance. You may have to play around with how much you put into it also, we had to for a little while. But after we figured it out, it was like night and day. Infact, we are due with our second one and already plan on putting cereal in her bottles as well. He was a big baby, 10 lbs, so I think it helped calm him also. It is awful to see these little ones suffer like that. I hope I have helped in some way. Good Luck!!
H.

Hey there. Sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time. My son who is now 14 started life with a really bad bout of acid reflux syndrome. First, I cannot stress how important it is to get your baby into a good pediatrician. If the one you are seeing now isn't being what you need them to be then switch. Second, is it diagnosed acid reflux syndrome? There are specific tests they can do to make sure that is what the problem is.

What we did to help alleviate the symptoms was this...there is a foam wedge that they make with a cover that has a seat sewen into it that the baby slips into, much like a bouncy seat with more support and that keeps the baby elevated thus reducing the acid reflux. My son basically lived in that thing until he had the corrective surgery. Wait, don't panic cause I said surgery. Most children do not require surgery but mine did for other underlying problems that compplicated his acid reflux. Next the doctor said to thicken the formula with a little bit of cereal. That helped to keep the formula down and not coming back up. There are probably alot of new things they have come out with since then and you can probably find out alot of information if you contact Children's Hospital. The wedge, you can probably get at a medical supply store and Children's Home Care might be a good place to call. Other than that, take a deep breath, relax. This is one of those things that although it seems terrible right now with no end in sight, you will get through. I am always available to talk to if you need someone to vent to. I've been there.

A little about me: Married 7 years to the right guy this time :) I have two wonderful boys, 16 and 14 who have cystic fibrosis, asthma, and other complications.

Ok now I know what you are going through I was just there with one of my twins so
First thing is you should have your babies doctor get an appt with a GI specialist
My twins are doing great now that we talked to one and they are growing like weeds
For formula I tried everything until the GI doctor wanted me to try NEOCATE infant and having the baby sit up for 15 minutes to a half hour playing
Now as for it getting better it will you just have to push your doctor to do more then just telling you it is just refluxs that doesnt help at all
The best GI doctor and you will need to talk to your doctor about him is Doctor Erdmen at Children's hospital he was the greatest doctor ever and he help the twins get better even though we end up in the hospital for a week it was worth it in the end and now the twina are getting ready to turn 1 and I have made it through YOU CAN TOO
If you have any other question please feel free to email me ok I am alway willing to talk to people that are going or have been through what I have with all 3 of my kids
email me at ____@____.com

It will get better I promise
Take care and if you can get her to sleep go to sleep yourself you need it

Hi I., First of all, you're not a terrible mom. You're doing everything you can to help your child but unfortunately your resources have let you both down. Second, My daughter had acid reflux and it took over a year and a 1/2 to diagnose her. We changed Dr's. 3x & finally I found Dr. Mary Beth Cass at Ohio Center for Pediatrics. She discovered the problem and put my daughter on Prevacid for 6 months which worked wonders. Dr. Cass and Dr. Rothermel are amazing. The # is ###-###-####. They're very close to Tuttle Mall. I hope this helps.

I have been there! I suggest going to Children's close to home. They are the best! Ok, so I used to put my daughter to sleep in her Boppy pillow, though it's not recommended, it's the only thing that helped her to sleep. The pediatritian will probably give her Zantac. It didn't work for my girl, so I kept her sitting in her swing or bouncy for twenty minutes after every feeding, and that did help. For the teething, Hylands teething tablets worked wonders, and helped all my babies to sleep. You are NOT a bad mother, just a tired one. Don't be so hard on yourself. By 6 or 7 months, she should start feeling better, and you should start feeling better too! Good luck and God Bless!

Dear I.,

Your poor daughter! Her symptoms sound a lot like my grandson's allergy to dairy products.

Please call Dr. Sandra Pinkham and see if you can schedule an appointment with her. She sees new patients on Thursdays, and her office is located on Club Rd. at Riverside Dr. in Arlington, right across the street from the SW corner of the Scioto Country Club property. I'm also in Hilliard, and the location is very convenient for me.

Sandy practiced Pediatrics exclusively for years, and now practices Integrative Medicine for children and adults. She has made some huge changes i my like (through diet and supplements), and I know she can do the same for your daughter. She really is amazing, and she is the most compassionate, involved physician I have met in a long, long time (since y dad, also a physician, died in 1983). When she was practicing pediatrics exclusively, it bothered her that so many treatments for children involved giving them chemical medications, so she began to study alternative treatment. She has a gift for blending traditional medicine with homeopathic treatment, and understands the value of each.

BTW ~ I happen to know that Sandy is on vacation until the beginning of August. Her sister is a friend of mine, and I am house and pet sitting for her while they are gone. Still, you might be able to make an appointment in the mean time. Her husband and daughter are still in town, and they will probably be checking the office voice mail while Sandy is away. At least call her and leave a message.

I hope this information helps, and that you will be able to find a solution that will help your little girl feel better, and help you get some much-needed rest! :)

Both my son (now 3) and my newborn (4 mo) had/have acid reflux. Both were put on prevacid, which worked better for him than for the newborn, but our doctor says even if she keeps spitting up, the prevacid will make it hurt less, and she rarely cries, I guess its working. Also, Enfamil Lipil AR (AR stands for Acid Reflux) is a formula that many of my friends have had good success with. I feel for you- there is nothing worse that than back arching, tense body scream and you know they are in pain. But, the good news is that it passes and usually peaks in the 4-6 month range when they are still mostly on liquids but are getting more active. Have you tried some rice cereal? All peds are different but mine said ok to start at 4 mo- seems to help food stay down better. My ped is not in Hilliard but is great for reflux babies - Olentangy Pediatrics between COlumbus and Worthington- wouldn't be too far for you. PHone number is ###-###-####- Dr. Rohyans is great but if she's not accepting new patients, Dr. Irene Koesters (pronounced Kesters) is great too, and she's young and very personable. HOpe this helps! Oh- I should also mention that she sleeps in her carseat- we can't lay her down to sleep without the reflux acting up. Our son slept in a swing. The Dr. says both are ok (we had to move him around 6 mo. and expect we'll do the same with the baby)- but for now it works wonders and allows us to get great sleep too.

I don't have any experience that would help you, but I was going to recommend the same group of doctors that Carrie did. I love them. They just seem to be so devoted to our children's health.
Ohio Center for Pediatrics
5040 Bradenton Ave
Dublin, OH 43017
###-###-####
www.OhioCenterForPediatrics.com