Reflux doing my head in!!!

[PhAnToM]

This is my second child and BOTH have had severe reflux.
I was hoping that I had paid my dues with DD, but NO... DS is serving it up too. :thumbsdown:

He seems to be increasingly bringing up his feeds.
I am so stressed about changing my clothes and his clothes (not to mention scrubbing couches and carpet) 3-4 times a day EACH, that I'm getting to a point where I'm just miserable.

I know that he can't help it, and I'm thankful that he doesn't appear to be in any pain, but I cracked it tonight.
I put him in his highchair and gave him his dinner so I could just put him to bed before I totally lost it. He kept looking at me and smiling, but I just felt so angry and exhausted at all the cleaning up after him today, that I couldn't take the frown off my face.

He suddenly slowed down the eating (usually lunges at the spoon) and wouldn't blink. He actually had tears welling up in his eyes because I wasn't smiling at him. I feel so bad at making a 6 month old so emotional. It shocked me. I didn't think he could understand and react like that at such a young age.

I feel awful. :crying:

When will his reflux go away so I can relax and enjoy holding and playing with my little man, like I used to?
(rhetorical question really. I know nobody can really answer that. :no: )

Just had to get it out I think...

[mumof5sarah]

I know how you feel!! Out of my 5, 3 have suffered from reflux. My son was put on a medication called Prepulsid (I think thats what its called). With the others I did my best to keep them upright for at least 1/2 after each feed and also used Karicare Food Thickener in thier bottles and in thier food. But all of mine got better once they were more mobile and could sit up on their own

[PhAnToM]

hi mumof5sarah- uuuh... 3 of them. :eek: Hats off to you.
I used the thickener with DD and actually expressed for 5.5 months because i didnt want to stop giving her BM because of the reflux. But having to express meant the obvious, reduced supply, so she was being supplemented with formula(well, by the 3rd or 4th month, it was actually more a case of the BM supplementing formula).

My little man took the BF much more than DD. She never missed it, but he is not interested in drinking milk from anywhere else. And I don't want to force it on him either.

Aaaah... he has just started to sit up unsupported. I pray he starts to keep his feeds down more, but today was the worst so far. :banghead:

DD's reflux had stopped at 8 months. Another 2 months of this and I could be institutionalised!!!
I need to go go to bed, but i can't do that til i shower and I can't do that until at least one set of my pjs comes out off the dryer! :(

[nemosmum]

Hi

I so know what your going through, ds had severe reflux (which went undiagnosed until he was 7mths:banghead: even though I kept telling my GP and CHN something wasnt right!!!!)

Anyway I erge you to go see a natropath, we did and things improved 110% for ds

Natural therapies can work, try and get a recomendation for a good natropath in your area and just give it a go.......it cant hurt and may save you your sanity!

Good luck:hugs:

[PhAnToM]

Hi

I so know what your going through, ds had severe reflux (which went undiagnosed until he was 7mths:banghead: even though I kept telling my GP and CHN something wasnt right!!!!)

Anyway I erge you to go see a natropath, we did and things improved 110% for ds

Natural therapies can work, try and get a recomendation for a good natropath in your area and just give it a go.......it cant hurt and may save you your sanity!

Good luck:hugs:

Thanks nemosmum. I think I'll look into that today.
Not sure I can take much more of this. :no:

[iluvella]

hi all,
i completely understand the frustration and heartache that's felt when ur bub has reflux. my daughter suffered from it since she was born - luckily it was diagnosed within the first few months and she was put onto zantac (which she hated!). We had her bed elevated, she was never laid flat on her back and i also tried the food thickners...which is definately difficult when u breastfeed.

In the end my community nurse recommended a nearby osteopath. I'd never even heard of it for something like reflux - but after she told me she'd recommended this osteopath to 8 other mum's of newborns in the previous months and had checked back with each of them on their bubs progress... and they'd all shown massive improvement - i decided to give it a try!

We went for about 6 sessions and after the 3rd i could definately see a huge improvement, enough that she was taken off her medication. She was sleeping better, throwing up half as much and was generally a much happier baby. By the last session both the osteopath and my husband and myself were satisfied that the problems causing her reflux within her body were corrected and she was over her reflux :smiliedance: .

My husband and i can definately recommend an osteopath because the difference it made in our darling daughter's life - and our own - was incredible!!! The sessions were very reasonably priced (we don't have private cover), they only took about 20mins each and they are totally gentle ...kind of like a soft head and back massage...where he softly touched the pressure points. Most of the sessions our daughter slept through - it was very relaxing.

Please keep it in mind because he was a miracle worker for us!!!

Me -26
Hubby - 27
DD - Ella 10months

[iluvella]

hi all,
i completely understand the frustration and heartache that's felt when ur bub has reflux. my daughter suffered from it since she was born - luckily it was diagnosed within the first few months and she was put onto zantac (which she hated!). We had her bed elevated, she was never laid flat on her back and i also tried the food thickners...which is definately difficult when u breastfeed.

In the end my community nurse recommended a nearby osteopath. I'd never even heard of it for something like reflux - but after she told me she'd recommended this osteopath to 8 other mum's of newborns in the previous months and had checked back with each of them on their bubs progress... and they'd all shown massive improvement - i decided to give it a try!

We went for about 6 sessions and after the 3rd i could definately see a huge improvement, enough that she was taken off her medication. She was sleeping better, throwing up half as much and was generally a much happier baby. By the last session both the osteopath and my husband and myself were satisfied that the problems causing her reflux within her body were corrected and she was over her reflux :smiliedance: .

My husband and i can definately recommend an osteopath because the difference it made in our darling daughter's life - and our own - was incredible!!! The sessions were very reasonably priced (we don't have private cover), they only took about 20mins each and they are totally gentle ...kind of like a soft head and back massage...where he softly touched the pressure points. Most of the sessions our daughter slept through - it was very relaxing.

Please keep it in mind because he was a miracle worker for us!!!

[PhAnToM]

hi all,
i completely understand the frustration and heartache that's felt when ur bub has reflux. my daughter suffered from it since she was born - luckily it was diagnosed within the first few months and she was put onto zantac (which she hated!). We had her bed elevated, she was never laid flat on her back and i also tried the food thickners...which is definately difficult when u breastfeed.


My husband and i can definately recommend an osteopath because the difference it made in our darling daughter's life - and our own - was incredible!!! The sessions were very reasonably priced (we don't have private cover), they only took about 20mins each and they are totally gentle ...kind of like a soft head and back massage...where he softly touched the pressure points. Most of the sessions our daughter slept through - it was very relaxing.

Please keep it in mind because he was a miracle worker for us!!!

Me -26
Hubby - 27
DD - Ella 10months

aaaah... could you be sent my way to save my sanity???? :fingerscrossed:
Are you by ANY chance from Melbourne??
If you are, can you PLEEEEASE PM the details of this osteopath please please please PLEASEEEEEEEE!!!! :crying:

Nemosmum recommended we try a naturopath, and i've been asking around. Nobody on Bubhub can recommend one in Melbourne, and the ones i've tracked down won't touch babies! :confused:
I even asked someone on Bubhub from Melbourne earlier tonight if she knew of a naturopath and she didn't know of any either.
If an osteo will work, i'm willing to pay to save my sanity. it's just getting ridiculous. Now he is teething, so i don't want to have to keep putting him on the breast to fill his tummy up, cos he is making me bleed (he is obviously unaware of his little chompers coming through!

I'd really appreciate any help here iluvella! :o

[Ky]

My ds had severe reflux until he was almost 12 months old.

We tried the osteopath ... it would get worse immediately after treatment but got a bit better after a few days. We persisted for months and then decided to let nature take it's course (with the aid of his medications!).

We used infant gaviscon in his bottles and ½ an hour before his feeds we would give him a dose of Merbentyl which is an anti-spasmodic drug that helped him to keep some of his food and formula down.

All of his fluids were fed to him in jelly form until he was over a year old as he would throw them up straight away if liquid and I was worried he would dehydrate during summer. I got really good at making my own "fruit gels"!

One day ... he just kept everything down! That spelt the end of the usual 19 bibs, 7 towels, 8 cloth nappies, 4 changes of clothes (him), couple of changes of clothes (me) and spotty carpet each day!

Now, when I get asked about his medical history, I often forget that he had reflux as the relief of it's ending must have erased it from my memory!

My biggest piece of advice to anyone with a "chucky" bub is ... cut or tie up your hair! I finally got sick of washing the puke out of mine after about 6 weeks ... I'm a slow learner! Needless to say ... all baby photos have me with short hair ... I grew it again between babies and have it long again now ... oh well, if I have another bub, hopefully no reflux this time and I can keep my hair!