Infant Reflux - Milford,MI

Try the Allimentum or Enfamil version. Although you say she has no milk allergies, switching may solve the problem. My daughter didn't have any 'allergies' either, but when we switched her to Allimentum, the reflux vanished! She was clearly 'sensitive' to one/some of the dairy components (sugars/proteins) and switching to it was the trick. It is expensive, but it is just until 12 months. BTW, she had NO problem switching to whole/DHA organic milk at 12 months.

Hi B. -

Has your Dr told you this was reflux? My daughter had reflux and this does not sound at all like what she went through. She spit - A LOT - and every feeding. She also screamed and would arch her back while she was eating - it really hurt her. We used prescription zantac and reglan to help control it until she started with more solids. We had to feed her 'upright' and prop her bed.

I would be hesitant to use anything over the counter unless your Dr. calculates the dosage amount for you. Most of these meds are based on their weight.

Good luck

J.

Both of my sons have acid reflux. One with silent reflux - he didn't projectile vomit but would cry during and after eating. Both have intolerances to milk and one to soy. They're not allergic just intolerant. My older son took Zantac and my younger takes prevacid. My youngest has it much worse. He slept in his chair for a long time because laying down would cause too much pain. I also give him 1cc of Maalox - you can do that up to 4 times a day. I would check with your doctor about the medicines. You can also add rice cereal to the bottle and make sure to sit her up after she eats. It's a struggle, but it does get better. It just takes time for that muscle to get stronger.

My daughter has really bad reflux. When she was real little, the doctor prescribed Zantac for her, and that worked really well. Now she is 5 months and it has gotten worse, so the doctor prescribed prevacid. It DEFINITELY makes a difference!!!

Reflux generally is accompanied by projectile vomiting - it doesn't sound like that's what she has. Sounds more like a gas thing to me. Try stopping her mid feed to rub her back and burp her to ease the build up of gas or try a different bottle/teat - some make babies more gassy than others. That seemed to help with my son. Finally, try smaller feeds more often - it may be that when she feeds she is so hungry that she gulps the food down quickly along with lots of air. Smaller, more frequent feeds may help this!
Good luck..

B., my daughter is now 10 months and 90% recovered from reflux (G.E.R.). At about 3 weeks of age she started screaming out in pain after meals and had difficulty sleeping. All the doctors said that it was colic, but they were wrong. Severe reflux can sometimes be hard to diagnose and doctors can easily make mistakes. They made several very painful mistakes with my daughter, so be attentive in dealing with this illness.

Anyway, I went to see the pediatrician right away at 3 weeks when my daughter started having problems. I told them it was severe, but they said that the symptoms of reflux are normal and not to worry. Three weeks later my daughter was suffering so badly that none of us could sleep. I was sure that it was not just "gas" or "colic" as the doctor had assumed. She was screaming most often after meals, pulling away from the breast and crying even when hungry, she would cry suddenly and painfully for no apparent reason, she had terrible, rotten smelling breath, wet burbs, gurgling sounds in her throat, and have what looked like sleep apnea (She never did have severe vomiting as most doctors thought she should with reflux. It would come up into her throat and she would swallow it back down...this is common with some infants.) We didn't know what to do, and again the doctor said she was normal! I was furious. The doctor would not take me seriously, so I took her in to E.R. They could not figure out what was wrong, so they put her on an apnea monitor and kept her for observation overnight. Numerous tests were done and nobody knew what was going on! Finally, I took the initiative and searched online for an answer. I discovered Infant G.E.R. and told her pediatrician about it. He hesitantly acknowledge it and started her on treatment. She started out on Zantac, but after a few days she was severely constipated and could not make a bowl movement for several days! This can be very dangerous for a baby. He told me to use laxatives, which seemed crazy for and infant, but I trusted the doctor. They did not help. She was also having these terrible attacks that looked like small seizures...which we now know to be Sandifer's Syndrome. The doctor said that he "didn't know what else to do. She is already on the full dose of medication." This went on for over a month when I finally took her to the E.R. again! She was convulsing in pain and could not sleep! She was so ill and in the hospital for two days with what we thought were seizures. More testing was done. It was so frightening. At the children's hospital in G.R. she was finally diagnosed with Infant G.E.R. and Sandifer's Syndrome. Well, long story short, I found out from the children's hospital's pediatrician that our pediatrician in Grand Haven had over medicated her by about 4 times the amount recommended! He had started her out on the highest dose of this medication first! A dose that would be given to a 250 pound man! We immediately called her pediatrician to complain and told him that we were taking our daughter out of his practice. We immediately found a new pediatrician in Muskegon who switched her to a low-dose of Prevacid.

Long story short, after about two weeks on the low-dose medication her reflux symptoms started to improve, her constipation went away, and her "seizures" were minimal. I know that this is kind of a horror story, but by the time my daughter was 8 months, she no longer needed the medication and she began sleeping almost normally. Now, at 10 months, she rarely has symptoms and we have not seen the Sandifer's since she was about 7 months. She still wakes up during the night sometimes with gas pains from her reflux, but it is minimal.

If you really believe that she has the symptoms of reflux, you should take her in to see a pediatrician ASAP and find out if she needs to be treated with medication. I recommend Dr. Jennifer Hultman at Hackley Community Care Center (2700 Baker St). She is an excellent pediatrician and she is very good about listening to parents' concerns and acknowledging them. You are doing the right thing by putting her more upright when she sleeps. Make sure that you keep her up right in a bouncy seat or something for at least 1 hour after meals. My daughter could did not do well in a back and forth swing, so it is possible that if you put her in a swing, you may want one that swings side to side, as the back and forth motion tends to force the acid up into their esophagus. As for medications, you will have to ask your pediatrician, but I think that there really is only Zantac or Prevacid for infants. Please make sure that your doctor starts with the LOWEST dose and works his/her way up the dosage chart as discomfort persists! This was the biggest mistake with my daughter and caused her extreme pain and discomfort. If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Please check out this website to learn more...

http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/infant_acid_reflux/ind...

This is the BEST site that I could find and it really explains things well! Hope this helps!

(P.S. - Sometimes switching to a Lactose Free formula can help, as it is easier for most babies to digest. You can also give a small amount of cereal before meals to help prevent additional acid in your baby's stomach. Ask your doctor first though.)

Those are classic symptoms of an imbalance of gut flora. Antacids would make the problem worse.

Here is a probiotic that is clinically proven to stop colic:
http://www.childrensprobiotics.com/ColickyBabiesStoppedCr...

There are other probiotics that can help restore the balance of gut flora. Bio-Kult has 14 strains of bacteria and is safe for any age.
http://biokult.org/

Infants normally get the friendly bacteria from the mother. But, if the mother has an imbalance, then the baby will have an imbalance. The immune system is seated in the gut, 70%-80% of the immune system is based on the gut flora. So, if the mother has ever had antibiotics, or taken the Pill, or antacids, or eats a lot of sugar, then she will have an imbalance of bacteria.

My 6 month old was the same exact way. I even changed her formula a few times, which just upset her more I think. Finally we ended up back on the stuff we started her on at birth! (Similac Advance early shield)
One of the ones I tried was the Good Start Natural Cultures, and omg the dark green stinky poop was just awful - so I took her off that one! lol
Now she is fine, it was just something that she had to outgrow. The Doctors kept telling me that but I just wouldn't listen. Welllll, they were right after all.
Mine also did not (still doesn't) spit up at all (unlike my 5 yr old, she was horrible puker/spitter upper).
My 6 month old just had the same things you describe. I even talked my doctor into putting her on Zantac. It didn't really seem to do much. I started going to a new pediatrician when she was around 3 months (ours passed away). The new Doctor pulled her off the medication and told me she thought that she did not need it, she was right... it didn't change anything. It was just gas, not reflux and something she had to outgrow. Some babies just have an under developed digestive system and they have a hard time digesting formula. This sounds like its the issue with your daughter too, not reflux.
Couple things that may help: Try putting gas drops in EVERY bottle. It won't hurt her, they don't absorb into their body. Another thing is something called Colic Calm(its like a gripe water). I bought some, but never ended up using it. My neighbor swears it works great though.
And one more thing is to lay her on her back feet by you and bicycle her legs (then pushing up and in toward her tummy), that helps to break/release the gas.
Good luck, it'll pass. I know it seems like time moves in slow motion when they are miserable though. Sucks :(

My baby is 16 months old and has had reflux since he was born. I started giving him infant mylicon before every feeding (you can only give it every 4 hours) and it really helped with gas. I also took him to a pediatric gastroenterologist (AKA stomach doctor) who put him on medication for it as well. I wasn't sure about putting him on medication so young (he was 3 months) but it made an instant difference. Just so you know, I use the Target brand of infant gas drops, they are the same as mylicon but cost half as much. Good luck

Yes there are medications! You need to demand that your doctors help her!!! Our son has severe acid reflux and did some of those very same things you are describing. We thought he didn't spit up a lot either. He was hard to feed. He would arch his back a lot and cry like he was in pain! He was put on zantac 2 times a day. He is now on it 3 times a day and he is 13 months old. Go back to your doctor and ask for help!

both of my kids were reflux babies.

There are no antacids that are safe for tiny babies. They do prescribe zantac and prevacid for reflux in babies.

The best advice for reflux is to wait and it will get better. My daughter took zantac from 2 montsh to 6 months. Then sshe started on cereal and was fine.

My son was on zantac and then prevacid. Neither medicine helped him. He spit up every day.. every feeding for 14 months. He would be sitting totally upright or even standing up and he would spit up. He was happy and gaining weight so it was nothing to worry about.

I never tried gripe water. I did try gas drops and they did nothing.

infants GI tracts are very immature and they often have trouble with formula. their tummies eventually mature and then they dont have such distress over a gas bubble in their tummy.

I am sorry for you son. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. That has to be the awfullest thing to go through. For your daughter there is medicine for reflux. You need your dr to write the perscription. From what you told me it doesn't seem like she has reflux. She might have a gas bubble or something. Make sure you burp her in between an once or two. Reflux usually has alot of spitting up. Like after she eats she fuses and than spits up almost all or half of what she just ate. I know this formula is costly but try Nutrigimen from lipil or there is another one my daughter was on from good start. There both aroun 30 dollars a can. I ended up having to use it because two or three had it and one the other formulas didn't agree so I ended up spending alot of money on formula. Try it and see its worth a try good luck

I have twin boys -- as infants, one had reflux and the other was very gassy. The symptoms you're describing sound more like gas than reflux. After trying Mylicon and Gripe Water (neither of which worked) we switched to Enfamil Gentlease formula and it did the trick. We also burped several times during each feeding. Good luck!

Dear B.

My Daughter had to take Zantax till 6 months. She was breast feed mostly. after that it was OK. Talk to your doctor. My doctor was supportive about medicine though we were worried giving her that.She is happy baby now.

I feel sorry about your son. He is in heaven with lots of flowers around him.

Take Care
C.

I have a 13week old and we use colic calm and it really seems to help. The only thing I don't like about it is that it stains so be careful of that - the liquid is charcoal black! Be careful of the other gripe waters out there, make sure they don't contain sodium bicarbonate because it can upset the pH level (acidity) that occurs naturally in your baby's stomach and thus make the problem worse...colic calm was the only one I found that didn't have sodium bicarbonate.

Try babies magic tea. It will help your baby's all tummy problems including tummy gas, colic, reflux and constipation.