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MattysMummy
27-06-2007, 11:01
Hi, I am new to BubHub and have beeb reading through some of the Reflux posts.

Matthew is 11.5 weeks old and weighs approx. 6kgs (born 4.05kgs). He has generally been a good eater (Karicare since 2wk old) and a pretty good night sleeper. We have had diffiulties with daytime sleeping however the last few weeks we have been in pretty much a 3 hour feeding routine with small sleeps inbetween feeds.

He has always been a "windy" baby and has had difficult spells of sleeping due to his wind. However the last few days have been more difficult than most. 2 out of 3 of the last nights he has been waking every 15-20mins crying in obvious discomfort. Every time I put him down to sleep during the day he is difficult to settle and wakes after half an hour then every five mins crying. He has only been drinking about half of his usual bottle at feed times and has been pulling away and arching his back and crying.

When he eventually passes some wind it seems to give hom some temporary relief but not for long.

He is not much of a possetter maybe after one feed a day on average and then only a tiny amount. He has recently started dribbling a lot.

I generally keep him as upright as possible after feeding as he always crys if I put him in his pram/rocker or to play on his playmat on his back. He quite enjoys tummy time so has a lot of it and he is also very settled in his bath. He is generally happy if I sit him up on my knee or on my shoulder.

I took him to the doctor yesterday and he seemed to think it might just be bowel spasms associated with his development and suggested panadol for the pain (this doesn't seem to help).

I am concerned that he may have Reflux and I am not sure how to proceed.

RISA
27-06-2007, 16:56
Hi,
My goodness, you definitely sound like you are having a really tough time! I'm sorry that you don't yet feel that the doctors understand what the issues are, and that you also don't have the answers you need.

It can be a difficult journey, but you are doing a great job- despite the difficulties and the lack of sleep, you are trusting your gut, and continuing to look for answers. It's not the easiest road, but the best for your baby, so I do hope you can appreciate that, and give yourself a pat on the back for it. Well done!

Does your doctor know yet that the Panadol doesn't seem to help with your bub's so called 'bowel spasms'? If not, it might be worth letting him know, so that he can consider other options. Also, did you raise the topic of reflux, and if so, what did they say? Did they consider it as a possibility? Even if you did,it may be worth raising the possibility again.

What you may be able to do in the meantime, is keep a diary over the next couple of days. Record everything you can- feeds, sleeps, difficulty settling, crying/screaming/irritability, any posseting, dribbling, or other signs you may consider to be reflux, and even passing wind (and settling afterwards). - anything at all that seems relevant in his day. For some reason, it seems to be easier to believe if it is written down, and I also found that it helped make things much clearer- it was much clearer than my memory, which was very jaded with stress and sleep deprivation. It can be surprising what patterns jump out at you too.

Also, if your doctor doesn't really seem to be grasping the situation, it may help if you take a close friend or family member along with you, who can verify your story. For some reason that also seems to help.

Some refluxers seem to dribble a lot, and I think it's because it hurts to swallow (I also have a friend who had severe reflux and she said the same thing).

Sometimes food sensitivities can be an issue, (and cows milk protein and soy protein seem to be the most common), and they can also cause the signs you are describing. It might be worth discussing with the dr, especially since the Panadol didn't seem to help. It may also be worth asking if you could trial an elemental formula such as Neocate or Elecare? (this could determine whether food sensitivities are an issue or not)

It may also be worth talking to your doctor about using Mylanta or Infant Gaviscon, to see if either of them help a little. If so, it might help them put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Whether the issue is reflux or not, the best thing you can do is to continue to believe in yourself, and not fall prey to doubting yourself like you may be starting to do (it is very common for parents in your position to start questioning themselves). Trust those instincts, and keep pushing for answers, and I'm sure you will eventually find them.

I hope that helps

Glenda

MattysMummy
02-07-2007, 16:19
Hi Glenda and Thanks for your help.

We saw a different GP today and he suggested that it may be reflux and has prescribed him Zantac to try.

I gave him the first dose 30 minutes ago - he did not seem to enjoy it at all - so we shall see.

We will be following up with our GP in a weeks time to see how it works.

Thanks again,

Michelle

RISA
02-07-2007, 17:00
Hi Michelle,
I'll keep my fingers crossed then (and did you taste the Zantac? you'll know why he didn't seem to like it if you do!!! It's baaaad) :)

Glenda