Polimi
08-09-2008, 14:37
I need some advice from all you experienced reflux mums out there... please! Apologies in advance for a long post and lots of questions, but am at a real low point and need some help!!
My bub (20 weeks old) has been suffering with reflux pretty much from birth. He's never been as bad as some of the babies talked about on here... but he's been bad enough to bring me to tears and pleading with him to stop crying most days, to make his father virtually hate him, to make his 3-year old sister feel that Mummy doesn't have any time for her any more... etc etc... I think you get the picture?!
Initially, at around 3 weeks, we thought bub was a 'happy chucker'... he vomited loads but didn't seem to be in pain. He did cry quite a lot though... but we just thought it was typical newborn baby crying (my first child was quite a crier for her first 3 months). We tried thickening his feeds, which reduced the amount of vomit slightly - but not a lot. I also took him to a chiropractor for 4 sessions - which didn't seem to make much difference. He then seemed to be getting in increasing pain (screaming after feeds, often bunching up his legs and arching his back), so he got put on Zantac at around 6 weeks. I'd also changed formulas a couple of times (he was then on Karicare HA-AR) and done all the other stuff advised for reflux babies, like keeping him upright after feeds, elevating his bed, etc. None of this seemed really to help him (still crying lots and looked in pain), so went to paed, who put him on to Losec 20mg a day, in tablet form) instead (at around 8 weeks). This seemed to help a bit - but he still was a really whingey baby, crying much of the day and needing to be held/jiggled most of the time. Still vomiting loads too. I also tried yet another formula - Bellamy's organic + Karicare thickener. So went back to paed (who'd said that if the Losec didn't work, then it wasn't reflux that was the problem!) who then suggested we try putting him on to Neocate formula (although he didn't specifically say that he thought bub was dairy intolerant) as well as the Losec. He also told me to stop using the thickener with his formula. We've been on this combination now for about 5 weeks and I still really don't think we've got to the bottom of his problems. What's difficult to know though is how much of bub's crying is due to reflux/another problem and how much is just his temperament (most 2nd babies I know tend to be more laid back and 'easy'!!). One of things that we've never had any problems with is his feeding and weight gain - he guzzles down 6 bottles a day (180ml) and is a whopping 8.5 kg! Am back to paed this Friday, but need some advice as to how hard I should push for further investigations. Here are some of the things I'm unsure about or would be interested in hearing comparative stories...
Bub's behaviour - As I've said, I know he's not as bad as some babies, as we don't have any major sleep problems. He sleeps pretty well at night and normally has 3 or 4 naps a day (some only 20mins or so, but sometimes he'll do up to 1.5 hours). But he is REALLY clingy and whingy all the time he's awake - he generally won't sit or lie on his own for more than about 10 mins before crying (even if I'm right next to him). Even being held sitting down sometimes doesn't calm him - he has to be held and walked around/jiggled or taken for a ride in the car. Going out in his stroller doesn't usually stop the crying. He's actually best when we're out and about with lots going on (not sure if it's a distraction from the discomfort, or whether he's just a baby who likes lots of attention/stimulus). Sometimes he really screams for no apparent reason (has had sleep, feed, medicine, nappy change etc) - and it just goes on and on and on! He doesn't really want to 'play' with anything and getting smiles/giggles out of him is hard work! Surely this isn't 'normal' for a nearly 5 month old baby?
The vomiting - This just seems to have got worse and worse (more of it and more often), esp. since we stopped using the thickener. It can happen at any time - during or immediately after a feed, or over 2 hours later! And not just when he's on his back or being moved. On a couple of occasions, when he's done really big vomits, there have even been a couple of tiny spots of blood. Has anyone else had experience of reflux vomiting getting worse before it got better? Will going on to solids help this (paed has said not to do this until 6 months, but I wonder whether to try them sooner)? When will it end (am so tired of smelling of vomit and having to change clothes so many times!)?!
Losec - the paed told me to give this to him, disolved in water in a syringe, at the same time as he is feeding. He said he didn't recommend using the suspension form, as found that it was often ineffective due to the granules not being mixed in the solution every time. Sometimes I get most of the tablet into bub, but sometimes he spits or spews quite a bit of it back out. Could this be why he is sometimes still in pain, or is it more likely that the Losec simply isn't working? Are there alternative meds? I've also seen it said on the forum that Losec is most effective when NOT given with a feed - but how do you get them to swallow it otherwise, as it is so full of granules??
Neocate - since we went on to this (and stopped using the thickener), bub has seemed to get hungrier sooner between feeds. Has anyone else had this? His poos have also changed to a scary dark green colour - is this normal with Neocate? Talking of poos, he often does about 4 a day (all really 'loose' and often with curd-like bits in and lots of mucous. Again, has anyone else found this? I've read that another prescription formula for allergies/intolerances is Elecare - has anyone found this better than Neocate for their bub?
Mucous - bub is always full of mucous (can hear it when he breathes and he coughs quite a bit) and it's often in his vomit as well as his poos. He did have a cold/cough bug for a while (as did the whole family), so initially thought that the mucous was linked to that - but it just doesn't ever go away! Is this typical of reflux babies or could this be a sign of milk protein intolerance? Bub tested negative at the GPs for lactose intolerance, by the way.
Endoscopy - the paed mentioned that an endoscopy would be the next step, if the neocate doesn't help bub. What I'm not sure of is what this could tell us that we don't already know and what further treatment may or may not be necessary afterwards?
Once again, apologies for the long post... but am in need of some advice! We have no family or close friends in Australia, so have really struggled with not having support or anyone to really talk to about all this. Added to which, I am still not 100% right 'down below' after a hideous birth... so things seem pretty grim at the moment!!
Thanks for any views...
My bub (20 weeks old) has been suffering with reflux pretty much from birth. He's never been as bad as some of the babies talked about on here... but he's been bad enough to bring me to tears and pleading with him to stop crying most days, to make his father virtually hate him, to make his 3-year old sister feel that Mummy doesn't have any time for her any more... etc etc... I think you get the picture?!
Initially, at around 3 weeks, we thought bub was a 'happy chucker'... he vomited loads but didn't seem to be in pain. He did cry quite a lot though... but we just thought it was typical newborn baby crying (my first child was quite a crier for her first 3 months). We tried thickening his feeds, which reduced the amount of vomit slightly - but not a lot. I also took him to a chiropractor for 4 sessions - which didn't seem to make much difference. He then seemed to be getting in increasing pain (screaming after feeds, often bunching up his legs and arching his back), so he got put on Zantac at around 6 weeks. I'd also changed formulas a couple of times (he was then on Karicare HA-AR) and done all the other stuff advised for reflux babies, like keeping him upright after feeds, elevating his bed, etc. None of this seemed really to help him (still crying lots and looked in pain), so went to paed, who put him on to Losec 20mg a day, in tablet form) instead (at around 8 weeks). This seemed to help a bit - but he still was a really whingey baby, crying much of the day and needing to be held/jiggled most of the time. Still vomiting loads too. I also tried yet another formula - Bellamy's organic + Karicare thickener. So went back to paed (who'd said that if the Losec didn't work, then it wasn't reflux that was the problem!) who then suggested we try putting him on to Neocate formula (although he didn't specifically say that he thought bub was dairy intolerant) as well as the Losec. He also told me to stop using the thickener with his formula. We've been on this combination now for about 5 weeks and I still really don't think we've got to the bottom of his problems. What's difficult to know though is how much of bub's crying is due to reflux/another problem and how much is just his temperament (most 2nd babies I know tend to be more laid back and 'easy'!!). One of things that we've never had any problems with is his feeding and weight gain - he guzzles down 6 bottles a day (180ml) and is a whopping 8.5 kg! Am back to paed this Friday, but need some advice as to how hard I should push for further investigations. Here are some of the things I'm unsure about or would be interested in hearing comparative stories...
Bub's behaviour - As I've said, I know he's not as bad as some babies, as we don't have any major sleep problems. He sleeps pretty well at night and normally has 3 or 4 naps a day (some only 20mins or so, but sometimes he'll do up to 1.5 hours). But he is REALLY clingy and whingy all the time he's awake - he generally won't sit or lie on his own for more than about 10 mins before crying (even if I'm right next to him). Even being held sitting down sometimes doesn't calm him - he has to be held and walked around/jiggled or taken for a ride in the car. Going out in his stroller doesn't usually stop the crying. He's actually best when we're out and about with lots going on (not sure if it's a distraction from the discomfort, or whether he's just a baby who likes lots of attention/stimulus). Sometimes he really screams for no apparent reason (has had sleep, feed, medicine, nappy change etc) - and it just goes on and on and on! He doesn't really want to 'play' with anything and getting smiles/giggles out of him is hard work! Surely this isn't 'normal' for a nearly 5 month old baby?
The vomiting - This just seems to have got worse and worse (more of it and more often), esp. since we stopped using the thickener. It can happen at any time - during or immediately after a feed, or over 2 hours later! And not just when he's on his back or being moved. On a couple of occasions, when he's done really big vomits, there have even been a couple of tiny spots of blood. Has anyone else had experience of reflux vomiting getting worse before it got better? Will going on to solids help this (paed has said not to do this until 6 months, but I wonder whether to try them sooner)? When will it end (am so tired of smelling of vomit and having to change clothes so many times!)?!
Losec - the paed told me to give this to him, disolved in water in a syringe, at the same time as he is feeding. He said he didn't recommend using the suspension form, as found that it was often ineffective due to the granules not being mixed in the solution every time. Sometimes I get most of the tablet into bub, but sometimes he spits or spews quite a bit of it back out. Could this be why he is sometimes still in pain, or is it more likely that the Losec simply isn't working? Are there alternative meds? I've also seen it said on the forum that Losec is most effective when NOT given with a feed - but how do you get them to swallow it otherwise, as it is so full of granules??
Neocate - since we went on to this (and stopped using the thickener), bub has seemed to get hungrier sooner between feeds. Has anyone else had this? His poos have also changed to a scary dark green colour - is this normal with Neocate? Talking of poos, he often does about 4 a day (all really 'loose' and often with curd-like bits in and lots of mucous. Again, has anyone else found this? I've read that another prescription formula for allergies/intolerances is Elecare - has anyone found this better than Neocate for their bub?
Mucous - bub is always full of mucous (can hear it when he breathes and he coughs quite a bit) and it's often in his vomit as well as his poos. He did have a cold/cough bug for a while (as did the whole family), so initially thought that the mucous was linked to that - but it just doesn't ever go away! Is this typical of reflux babies or could this be a sign of milk protein intolerance? Bub tested negative at the GPs for lactose intolerance, by the way.
Endoscopy - the paed mentioned that an endoscopy would be the next step, if the neocate doesn't help bub. What I'm not sure of is what this could tell us that we don't already know and what further treatment may or may not be necessary afterwards?
Once again, apologies for the long post... but am in need of some advice! We have no family or close friends in Australia, so have really struggled with not having support or anyone to really talk to about all this. Added to which, I am still not 100% right 'down below' after a hideous birth... so things seem pretty grim at the moment!!
Thanks for any views...