Silent Reflux

[Nathans mun]

Hello to everyone,
I've been read the other posts on reflux and would like to ask a few questions, most post seem to refer to the reflux with spit up.
Is anyone else experiencing silent reflex where they don't throw up?
My son is currently 10 weeks old and was diagnosed by the pead at six weeks, at first Zantac worked he started sleeping & was a happy baby and began sleeping for eight to nine hours at night (for two weeks) , he is now on 1.8ml Zantac three times a day but still in pain & not sleeping during the day and back to 3am feeds. He is also breast fed. Any suggestions?? :confused:

[JanetF]

Hugs to you, this reflux stuff is awful. We escaped it but I have a number of friends who didn't *hugs* Good on you for bfing so your son is receiving the perfect optimal nutrition. This is all the more important while he's not well. I'm not sure why a 3am feed is problematic, sounds like a normal baby to me. Some really good things I've seen work brilliantly with reflux of all kinds are:

Cranio-sacral therapy or osteopathy. Sometimes their little spines are shifted about during birth and it causes pressure on their stomach. I've heard of mamas having a complete cure after one or two sessions!

Homeopathy for you and for bubs so he gets it through your milk.

Dietary changes for mama. There are a number of allergens in the food we eat which are more likely to cause reflux so eliminating them from your diet can often reduce it for your baby.

Try this for a huge amount of info.
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html

[Nathans mun]

Thank you for the ideas :) , I have had his spine adjusted and its only seemed to upset him more.
As for homeopathy & diet - I will investigate these further, the more information I have the better for both of us!
The night feeds seem to have reoccured since I tried using infacol, I didnt give him any yesterday & he slept through to 6am again. THe problem for me with the night feeds is I struggle to get back to sleep after them and I am finding that only four or five hours sleep is not helpful to either of us :o , but thats the joys of motherhood.

Karen

[JanetF]

Hi Karen Sleep dep. is a bugger! I hope you all get some rest and relief soon *hugs*

[channy]

I wish I knew the answers! I too have a baby who suffers silent reflux and he is on losec. He is now 6 months old and his cot is still elevated. Do you have the cot raised at all? This often helps keep the milk down a little. Also get a rocker and keep bubs upright for 20 mins after a feed, I found this helped a great deal for my little guy. Never lay them flat, this only makes it worse. Do not introduce solids before 6 months either. This only makes it worse. Hope this has helped a little. :)

[logan's mum]

Hi.

Just wanted to say that I was thinking of you. We haven't got silent reflux but the techni-coloured reflux (especially since starting solids LOL). I know you are tired but only having a 3am feed is actually REALLY good especially for a reflux baby. Logan is almost 6months and we still wake around 2am and around 4:30am. Like you I sometimes have difficulty getting back to sleep, and am in a constant zombie like state. Oh well, that's motherhood and it's all worth it I say.

Interesting someone said that starting solids makes reflux worse. I know others that swear that it has helped their bubs, and a paediatrician told me to start Logan at 3months to help the reflux!! I ignored him and waited till 5months but it hasn't made any difference either way.

Would be interested to hear how other reflux bubs have coped with solids.

Cheers.

[Rell]

I was advised to start my DD on soild at 4 mths because of her reflux and like you it made no difference, just made for some interesting coloured spews. I started my DS on soilds at 4 mths also just becouse I knew he was ready and again it made no difference at all.
Good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel, Nathan is 12 mths next week and his reflux is finaly getting better.

[Nathans mun]

Hi
Its good to know know there are others outhere who are going through the same issues, which is unfortunate for all.
I have spoken to the pead, we are going to try another medication - I cant remember what, but its not Losec :confused: .
The worst of this, I'm sure you will all agree is watch the little ones in pain & not being able to help.

[Heids]

Thanks Janet...... I have found that website very helpful ! Heids

[Horseymum]

Hi everyone

My 5 month old boy also has silent reflux and it has been a challenge I must say. He was bf every two hours day and night up until a month ago until the sleep dep got so bad that I was getting really depressed and not coping at all. We have now pushed the feeds a little further apart but he still wakes frequently - oh well!

He has been on Zantac (awful stuff - made him scream when we gave it to him) and Losec which has definetly provided releif. I have tried a homeopathic treatment for him (mag.phos)which was not only for the reflux but for a colicky baby in general and it did help for a period of time. You have to make sure you follow up with the treatments though - some times you need to change which one you are using to treat a different symptom.

We started our boy on solids (only tiny amounts though) at 4 months on doctors advice and I must say that I feel his reflux has been more noticeable since he has started - interesting...

The most annoying thing about silent reflux though is that other people tend to question whether your baby has it because they can't see the vomit!!!!!!! Very frustrating !!!!!

[logan's mum]

Hi Horseymum,

The are so many b@#$y experts out there who think they know what is or is not wrong with your bub aren't there! I get really cross these days - used to be able to ignore them but not anymore (I think as the months go on and the tiredness increases my tolerance for idiots decreases!). Mum knows best I say and if mum says there is something wrong, then there is something wrong!

Reflux of any sort is horrible to deal with, and silent reflux can be even more traumatic because it generally takes longer to diagnose. Whilst Logan has techni-coloured reflux now, he did have a little silent reflux mixed in at the start and it is just as painful and awful to watch as the messy type.

Just ignore the fools, or tell them to mind their own business.

[Nathans mun]

Hi Everyone,
We have been given a new medication to try and was wondering if anyone has used Zoton before & if they found it effective?
It is sposed to be a bit stronger than Zantac, Its only been two days so I'm waiting to see if anything changes.
I have also been going through other threads & have another question to pose, the main reason we have change medication as because i thought the Zantac wasnt effective, although I have been unable to get rid of thrush (had it for approx 6 weeks :mad: as daktrain does not work on me).

Nathan has shown no sign of it until yesterday when I found a spot in his mouth.

I wonder if I have been confusing the signs of his reflux for symptons of thrush?. Sorry if this sounds bad but I dont want to over-medicate this little man.

Karen

[Horseymum]

Hi Karen

Did you get any response at all when you introduced the Zantac? If not you could be right to look at other causes. We found that Zantac had an imediate effect on our boy but that it lost its effectiveness over time...

I suspected that Jett had thrush in his mouth from as early as a few weeks old and when I asked the doctor about it she said it was just a milk coating. But looking back I think it was thrush (I also had a problematic breast that had a deep pain in it for a long time). I know that thrush can make babies behave a bit off and it did confuse me for awhile as to what was causing the problems - reflux or something else.

It is really hard with babies like this because I think it is a whole mixture of things that are so interelated that it is very hard to pinpoint seperate issues and deal with them - I had to cope with a very colicky, windy, refluxy baby with suspected thrush to boot and it was really trying for a while but the great thing is that they get so much better as they get older and the problems seem to shrink and seperate.

[e01]

Hi there all,
Gee it is so nice to hear others have the same problem as us.. I went through hell before we found out it was SR. We tryed everything gastrogel and thickner in our little boys formula. But he still screamed the house down and decided that feeding was just way too painful so he stopped. After going into the hospital twice I finally got a pediatrician to take us seriously. He had a barrium swallow then was put onto zantac and karicare AR. So far so good fingers crossed it's only been two weeks since hes gone onto the medication. All i can say is yes it sucks!! :( I'm hoping things stay on the improve because we haven't even gone through teething yet... ?? ;)

[Rell]

Did you get any response at all when you introduced the Zantac? If not you could be right to look at other causes.

This is a valid point. I have a friend who's baby was diagnosed with silent Reflux at about 4 weeks of age by their GP, for the next 6 weeks the baby was on Zantac then losec but her bub continualy lost weight and was unhappy. Eventualy she had had enough and took the baby to the hospital where she found out he had a large whole in the heart which had been causing all his problems. Having had 2 kids with reflux I was a bit concerned at how quickly the GP had diagnosed silent reflux and contined to dismiss the mothers concerns. While this an extreme case there other problems that may cause similer symptoms so if you aren't happy with your bub keep going until you find the right answers

[Nathans mun]

Hi
In response to everyones help, thanks for suggestions & support.
Last week I demanded to see the peadatrician as Nathan seemed so uncomfortable, the Zantac did work initally, next we tried Zoton which didnt seem to agree with him and now we are trying Losec - we also have a referal for an ultrasound to check his bladder, kidneys & check for a urine infection :eek: .
I have to call the pead tomorrow with an update on how he is doing, but so far I have managed to get him to sleep at least once during the day.
I must say I have been tempted to go back to the Zantac becuase the change in medications have only made him worse, as he wont sit still during any feeds now which is not good for him & not nice for me because when he pulls away he takes my nipples with him!.
am now keeping a food diary and will see if any day is worse & check what I have eaten. We will keep trying to eliminate all possibilities.

Karen

[Rell]

Hi Karen
Hopefully you will get to the bottom of the problems soon. Its no fun having a sick baby but no one can tell you whats wrong.
Hope all goes well with the U/S, my Nathan had one at 4weeks old after he had had a urine infection, the hardest thing was trying to keep him still.
Good luck

[Nathans mun]

We have been using the Losec for almost a week now & things seem to be improving, we are managing to get some little cat naps during the day & one big hour sleep, I am also giving Nathan two mls of Gastrogel after each feed which may also be helping (Iwill also now cut out onions & capsicum). I tried once before a feed and it didn't seem to make a difference, we did the U/S today & will wait for the results.
Thats all I can do for now - Wait :)

[Sleep deprieved]

So sleep deprived I've forgotten how to spell!!! I'm a first time mum and my 7 week old son was born almost 1 month early. We had initial problems with feeding. Once we began breastfeeding successfully I wanted to stretch the frequency of feeds (less than hourly) and noticed that I could do this if I held him between feeds. When I did this I could get 2/+ hours. I couldn't get him to do this on his own and thought it was just because he liked being held. Also he would scream and be irritable every night between 7 and midnight. As we have trouble successfully burping him I thought it was wind. He also fussed a lot during feeds. I tried infacol but I noticed that he would stretch his legs out groaning like he was constipated. Nappy changes were also stressful as he would always scream - i thought nothing of this - I thought he just didn't like it, Just recently he began spitting up/vomoting but he has stopped this now. I also noticed that his breath smelt like sour milk. He then started gagging and choking when he was put down and would also snort like he had a blocked nose - he would also snort when he got upset. I was told to give him gaviscon - pharmacist gave me the adult liquid form which you can only use 3x/day so it seemed to help but then he wanted to eat more but it would hurt again - it is heartbreaking. I then tried gaviscon infant but he wouldn't take it. I made some environmental changes such as raising the cot (didn't help), used a pillow during changes and turned him to the side to wipe him - nappy changes are now bliss although he does begin to gag near the end. He is held upright 24hrs a day and is never put in his bed. I have also reduced dairy. He is not fussing or screaming as much and seemed much more content but is still constantly swallowing and will gag/choke if laid dow. Dr prescribed Losec (found out that dose was yoo high) - I only gave it to him once - it was difficult to give because it got stuck in teat and when I gave it in dropper a lot is left behind. Because I was really concerned about his gagging and that he always sounds 'chesty' I went to the Dr again (different Dr same surgery) and he gave me Zantac (although meant to be less effective than Losec it is easier to administer). I gave it to him for the first time last night and he seemed worse. I can't keep holding him for 24hrs/day. Any advice? Also it appears that the amount prescribed is again too much - how much do other people give their babies and what do they weigh?

[millersmum]

We're going through the exact same thing. The doc prescribed silent reflux finally and now my bub is having bad wind reactions to every med. Zantac was ok on a small dose which was 1ml three times a day but bub was still unable to nap (just not screaming at every feed). When we increased the dose to 1.5ml the wind pains started. We tried Losec and he screamed even more, last try in Zoton and he initially seemed to improve and now the wind pains have started. The only thing that works is Mylanta and it only seems to work for a couple of hrs. Sorry I have no wonderful insights. I just wanted you to know you are not going insane, as some drs would have us believe. This is a real problem and it's hard work.

Good luck!!!:hugs:

[nikkiiandriley]

Hi every one, I was on last weekend is simular problems, my baby girl 11weeks stopped breathing at 3 weeks because of silent reflux, she was put on losec which does help a little bit, she can have me up for between 2-3 hours in one sit at night. she is also breastfeed. mylanta only works when the pain is minor, but last weekend I cut out all fruit and raw veggies so no salads, broccoli, and all tomato based products. my new best friend is breauers colic relief. i did the dose 4 times every 1/2 hr like they say to start them 4hourly. now she is not screaming when passing wind and even dirtied a nappy at 2am without crying the house down. and we are having lots of smiles:smiliedance:.
so now we will see hows this goes and next week i will intro salads or something minus the tomato and see how we go.

hoped this helped, was almost going to give up bf but decided to try this first.:fingerscrossed:

[relle123]

Hi,

I'm in the similar shoes as I have read. My son is 7 weeks and has been on losec for a week now. I have seen a change but he still only feeds 60mls every 3 hours if I am lucky so he's not gaining the weight. I'm so exhausted and feel like I am going to collapse. When does this all get better? Is there anything else I should be doing?:confused:
Its so depressing when you know your little one is in pain and there is nothing you can do to help. We saw our pead three times and it was only when I said I know he's not crying for no reason he is in pain that he finally said well he could have silent reflux. Also too getting kidneys checked as well. This is all new to me. I have two other children but nothing like this.
After our scare with enalrged ventricles diagnoised at 30weeks that was enough of a scare. Getting through this as well, is so hard. Can someone out there tell me it will get better.

Thanks all.
Rellie

[MadCatR]

Big hugs for you relle123.

Sorry I don't have any answers for you. DD1 is 19 months and still suffering with silent reflux and DD2 is 3 months and suffering but thankfully not as bad. THe knowing your child is in pain and not being able to do anything is the hardest, I just try and be there for them and hold them tight so they aren't going through it alone.

As far as it getting better, it will. Fingers crossed your little one will grow out of it soon, but if it doesn't you will learn how to cope and help your son to cope better. But also keep open contact with the paed and don't be afraid of 2nd opinions if you are not happy.

Hope you get a break at some point, it is extremely exhausting with a baby that screams almost constantly.

[TripleTime]

It will get better, losec takes about 2-3 weeks to kick in & when he starts to sit up it will help.
If your not already try feeding him on an angle, thickened feeds, invant gavascon & mytanta. I use all of that for my 3 & life is getting better.

[relle123]

Thanks for replying guys. We are now trying different formulae's will let you know how that goes. How old are you little one's. I have 3, 7 weeks, 13months and 11 years old. All boys. Love my boys. Just hoping my little one gets better soon, hate seeing him in pain.

Take care all. Better go get some sleep while I can. LOL.:sleeping: