Problem with reflux....need Advice!!

Hi Nancy, I go to a chiropractor who is great with kids of all ages! Dr. Ronson Dykstra is a firm believer in helping patients get well without drugs. Please contact him at
###-###-####, Dynamic Chiropractic, Grandville.

L. Manning
Arbonne Ind. Consultant
###-###-####

My son has reflux and was on Prevacid as soon as he was born. He has an intolerance to dairy and soy. I don't use formula so I don't know a lot about it. What about Nutaramigen AA or Similac Alimentum? I would look at changing formula since that is the only other thing you can really change. I've heard that rice in the bottle helps. You can also give him Maalox - 1cc up to 4 times a day. I do that before naps and bed to help ease the pain. Is he spitting up the prevacid? I started feeding him solids at 4 months and that seems to help keep the food down along with sitting up after eating. Other than that I think it just takes time to grow out of. It's been very difficult and he doesn't sleep well. If you google it there are some good websites out there...Good luck!

a few things... first he is acting hungry all the time because when he eats it sooths the burning that he feels while hes eating. He will overeat and then vomit so dont continue to feed him every hour. Have you tried cereal? this usually helps IMMENSLY and NO hes not to young. Also there are formulas that are naturally thicker and not as expensive as nuetramagin... this formula is more for babies with allergies. most likley he needs things thickened. Enfamil A.R. is good and again if its not enough you can mix with plain single grain cereal... about 1 teaspoon per oz to start. Good luck I know how frusterating this is but these are the best things you can do for him for now...

i know the heartache of watching a child in pain for months on end not knowing how to help. after our own experience i agree with the woman who recommended a natrural path/ wholistic doc. Those meds just mask symptoms and don't fix the problem. Find out what is causing the reflux and treat that...not the symptoms!

This is scary, for a doctor to push meds onto a baby!

Okay, think alternative now. You've tried conventional and are not happy. So think outside the box now. Mint has a soothing, calming effect on indigestion. So does ginger (like with gingerale? you drink it when you have stomach flu to calm things) Those are two things you could try.

Next, find someone in the alternative world of health who knows how to adjust stomachs. Yes, adjust. Like getting a chiropractic adjustment, sometimes the stomach gets a little out of place and has to be "put back in place" by manual manipulation. I can attest to the fact that for over 3 decades I was constantly having dinner over and over, unless I used some sort of mint (gum, toothpaste, whatever!) to make it stop. When I got my stomach manipulated for the first time, the difference was unbelievable. Spaghetti was the worst offender and I had some that night without any repurcussions. Difference between night and day. I can offer a phone number to the lady who occasionally manipulates my stomach. But left undone is what causes reflux. It's called a hiatel hernia. And ultimately you can learn to do it yourself.
Let me know.

Nancy I feel your pain all 3 of my kids had terrible reflux with my third child being the worst. He was also on Zantac and Prevacid and I also supplemented breastfeeding with formula-Enfamil AR which is much cheaper than Nutramigen or Elecare. Did your DR give you a script for the Prevacid capsules that you have to dissolve in water or for the liquid form? It REALLY makes a difference because with the capsules it is near impossible to get all of the medicine in the baby(I am an RN and still had a terrible time). To get the liquid form you have to find a pharmacy that will compound it-Target does and any hospital pharmacy will. It cost us $15/month but it really did help my son. Also I am sure you have tried keeping him upright for at least 30min after every feeding, wedge to put under the crib mattress. My son is 11 months and has just went off meds and is finally not puking as much but still does occasionally. It does get better but it is so frustrating and no one truely understands unless they have had a child that has reflux. It is so hard to see your baby so miserable and there is nothing you can do to help him. Let me know if you have any other questions unfortunately I have a lot of experience with reflux. Take care.

My youngest daughter had infant reflux and was diagnosed at one week old. Our doctor (we use a family doc) did the official test and then gave us some meds. We had two - Zantac (or maybe it was Prevacid I don't recall) and then another that I can't remember. We also had to have her sleep at a 45 degree angle and keep her upright for about 45 minutes after feeding. We did not change the formula. At her four week check up, we had seen little improvement (she still had projectile vomit the entire length of a king size bed) and that was visible in the lack of weight gain. Our doctor then told us to us to add a tablespoon of rice cereal at a time until we saw less vomit and saw our daughter more comfortable. We had it up to a 1/2 cup of rice cereal per 8 oz. bottle - it looked like a shake. But it did work.

I would talk to your doctor and give him your opinion of the specialist as well. Good luck!

Hi,
First congrats on the arrival of your little one. My comment is taking into consideration the baby's milk. When my little one was newborn he couldn't hold down his milk and it took me weeks to realize that it was what I was eating (I nursed my son). Anytime I ate foods like onions, peanuts, and some other foods it caused my baby a LOT of grief. Other's babies have similar issues with certain formulas. At night we had our baby sleep in his bouncer rather than the crib to keep him in a near upright position until we got to the bottom of things. Good luck!

Nancy,

My daughter had all the same things going on with her. She was diagnosed with GURD. We too also couldn't afford all the things they wanted us to do. Right away they put her on lacotse free formula, which didn't help. We tried putting a little cereal in her formula to help it stay down and that did work a little, she didn't throw up as much. We also did the burping over the shoulder with some pressure on her tummy and that seemed to work some too. When she was about 9 mths old we decided to take her off of formula and put her on 2% milk and guess what......NO MORE THROWING UP! I know your baby is so young, and needs the formula, but just try the little bit of cereal in the formula, not so thick that it won't come out of the nipple. But that did help her. Good luck to you and your little one. Hope this helps you some.
M.

Nancy,

While my kids didn't have a serious reflux problem, my daughter did have a mild reflux issue. Her doctor told me to mix no more than 2 ounces at a time and after she had sucked three or four times to pull the bottle out for at least 30 seconds to a minute and go through the burping motions with her and if she kept it down, to give her the rest of bottle; stopping every three or four sucks. It helped. Good luck!

All 3 of my children had reflux. Zantac worked for them, but it took a while with all 3 as their systems were so aggravated from the reflux until we got them on meds, it took a while for their throats, etc to heal. Also, you need to remember that the meds will not stop them from throwing/spitting up, it will just make the acid content lower to ease the discomfort. All 3 of my children continued to throw up until they were old enough for solids, and we still had some issues then, so they were all on Zantac for 1 yr. I nursed all of my children for 1 yr, so I have no experience with any of the formulas, etc. You need to give the medicine time to work and their little bodies time to heal. I'm sorry that you had such a poor experience with the ped.gastro doc. It's unfortunate. I know the meds can be expensive, but if you find one that works (which often takes a while) it is very worth it. My children all started eating & sleeping better, and their overall temperments improved once their bodies had a chance to heal. Good luck.

My Daughter was like your son, its hard, but as long as he is gaining weight he will be ok :-)
Here are some of the things we did, elevated the matress in her crib (she was a tummy sleeper) It helped with night time, started cereal in her bottle at 4 weeks old, a tsp. per oz of formula, and that helped some, then switched her formaula to Enfamil AR. All of these things helped, but didn't solve it, there were still days where she would be like a little excercist,I felt terrible. We also started her on stage one foods early too, just to get some weight in her stomach. She handled it well (it was Dr. reccomended). Our Dr. didn't reccomend Med's becuase she said in some babys they can be mood altering, and we didn't want that. He will grow out of it :-) I am happy to report that at 8.5 months we switched my Daughter back to regular Enfamil and stopped the cereal in her bottle, she is fine :-)

Good luck!

BLESS YOUR HEART...I know right where you are coming from. It will get better. You did not mention if was gaining weight. Keep bugging your gastro & Ped Dr. I have had the same problem. Now she is 8 months and still hasn't doubled her weight. It took her 8 weeks before she gained an ounce. yes I said ounce. That being said I now sleep at night - so does she.
what I have tried: I will give you list:
Worked: Similac Isomil & Enfamil Prosobee.
NOT Working: ANY, HYPO type of formula - tried them all.
At 8 weeks she was up to 4oz of isomil/prosobee and 2 t-spoons of rice cereal in bottle. 1/2 previced pill in morning & .07ml if Zantec 3 times during the day & 1/2 previced at night. It took about 3 days and she actually kept more than 1/2 of her food down it was a incredable.
Good luck - try a free cycle or craigs list & ask people for help on free formula or coupons. If you ask people will help.
My daughter had an upper GI and it told us what we already knew - she had reflux. Had an ultrasound, all else was normal.
However she is now 8 months and yes she still spits up - pretty much 1 out of every 6 ounces of formula. She is now on a whole previcid in morning & one at night & 1.0 ml of zantec 3xs a day. Yes she is very medicated, however we get to get some sleep & she is gaining weight. Now when she spits/throws up she will smile after it. Now she is no longer in pain because of it.
Just hang in there, it may take some time & KEEP Calling your ped. DR.

Two things: 1. My daughter had problems keeping food down until she was 6 months and 1 week old. The flap between her esophagus and her stomach was not fully develped at birth and then finally did at 6 months and 1 week old. Many reasons why I remember this day. Anyway has any doctor suggested this might be the reason vs. acid reflux?

2nd All of us need acids in our stomach to digest food. So reducing versus eliminating the acids would be ideal. Try natural enzymes and/or probiotic. I have used both and get great results.

Okay there is a third...Have you tried a soy formula?

It always breaks my heart when I hear about people with reflux who are put on "acid-inhibitors". It is very well documented (yet not always mainstream accepted - follow the money to drug makers) that reflux and acid indigestion are quite often as a result of the lack of enough stomach acide to digest what is put into the stomach. If you think logically, it makes complete sense that if you put food in there and there is not enough or too little digestive juice to break it down and move it on, then it will stay there.... and repeat.... My suggestion would be to find a holistic doctor who specializes in infants to attend to your child. Once the balance of digestive juice is correct, I assure you the "reflux" will stop. But whatever you do - don't continue giving your child medicine that will inhibit the production of something that is absolutely vital - i.e., stomach acid. Without stomach acid, your child can't digest anything.

Some people may argue against this, however I know from experience and results don't lie.

I wish you the best.

Hi Nancy-
I have a foster child (soon to officially be ours) whom we received at 2 days old straight from the hospital with the very same symptoms you're experiencing with your son. Now 17 months later (and on every imaginable med there is for reflux) we are looking at surgery to repair where the esophogus (sp.?) and stomach muscle meet (called a nissen fundiplication). For formula, we used Gentlease & Nutramigen (and I have a few extras you may have if you'd like them). We have also had to add Thick-It (a thickening agent) to all of his liquids to a nectar-like consistency to help with swallowing ease. You may want to try some of that as well. May I ask with GE doc you saw? May I recommend another? Email me at ____@____.com if you'd like more info. I'd be happy to share!

Good luck!
K.

Both my kids had reflux. My daughter started on Zantac at 2 months and it helped her a great deal. she was a very fussy baby befreo the zantac. She stayed on zantac until 6 or 7 months and then she started eating cereal and she was fine.

My son started zantac at 2 months it did nothing for him. We tried prevacid.. it did nothing for him and it cost $57 a month. I only gave him 1 month of prevacid.

My son was happy but he puked every day for 14 months. he gained weight fine and was happy but he would just spontaneously puke.

He gradually got better and is fine now..

Your son will get better as he gets older and his GI tract matures.

If the zantac isnot helping and prevacid is not helping then stop the med..there is no use paying money for drugs that are not helping.

He will grow out of it.

I feel for you. My daughter had all of the same issues as your son. She was on Prevacid also. It was so expensive. The dissolvable tablet worked the best for her. She was just on Gentle formula because the more expensive kind just did not make a difference. We pretty much held her the whole first 5 months of her life. That was the only way she would stop crying. The helplessness that you feel when your baby is in pain is just horible. She is now 7 months old and is crawling and standing up and she is as happy as can be. We took her off her medication a month ago but still have her on gentle formula. She sleeping through the night yet but only gets up once. You can occassionally hear her stomach gurgle and you can tell she is in pain while she's eating but she is doing great otherwise. Sorry but I have no advise except to hang in there!

Both my children had this in fact were still suffering with it with our youngest. Nothing makes is perfect, but he is on Gentle formula, reglan 4 times a day and there is a homeopathic colic formula made by hylands and those help. also keep him elevated bedtime playtime and especially after feedings. hope this helps...