Gp says not such thing as Reflux

[alana1]

Hello I have a 11 wk old daughter. She was diagnosed at birth with a floppy larynx & was seen by a paed for this at birth - follow-up is April (earliest appoint). She has been extremely unsettled since birth pulling away from the breast, catnapping, refusing to feed, screaming ++++ intermittently ect. I took her to the GP today for a r/v with my mum quering whether she may have silent reflux. We explained all the above to him. But was told that the diagnosis of refux is overused. He said that all babies cry & to learn to walk away ... i repeated myself several times explaining how bad it is & how she appears in pain but he kept saying that I had to desensitise myself.

I don't know what to feel. I have a 4 y.o whom was just also unsettled at this age. But I do not feel like I can cope any longer. NOTHING i do does settle her - I have started to worry even more this week as she has real tears when crying.

Is there anying I can give her over the counter??

Please please help - I am going crazy :crying:

thanks

[RISA]

Oh my goodness, you poor thing!!!! It sounds like you have done everything right, yet you still didn’t get the support you needed. Very often when you have someone to back you up too, like your mum, a doctor will put more credibility into what the mother and the other person is saying. As a reflux parent myself, I cannot say that yes, your child definitely have reflux, but there are certainly enough signs there that make me wonder and I think you’re right to trust your instincts.

So… things to do now- please continue to pursue this. If it isn’t reflux, then surely it is something, and if your instincts are screaming at you that it’s more than normal baby cries, please follow it up. I firmly believe that a mum’s instincts are essential and need to be listened to! I have been right far too many times, and heard the same from other parents that it is simply not worth ignoring them!

Have you tried to ring your paed to beg for a closer appointment? Sometimes they have cancellation appointments you can grab, and failing that, you may be able to talk to the paed over the phone. Even if they are busy, they can generally make time to talk to a patient then- saves a lot of backlog too if they can do that. Use your stress to your advantage and cry on the phone if you have to. Let them know how desperate you are and how bad things are, and it is amazing how quickly appointments have been known to open up.

Other things that may help, if you want to stick with your same GP (or even for the paed to be fully prepared), is to keep a diary of her days- record feeds, behaviours, her sleeps, any obvious reflux, crying, screaming, etc. sometimes in writing it somehow makes it more true- don’t know why but I have used that one myself with great success. Alternatively, video tape her so they can actually SEE what is going on. Seeing is believing, they say, so it may help to give that a try.

There are things you can do with over the counter medications, but please talk to the pharmacist first for direct information. Mylanta is an antacid and can be given before or after a feed, or to help her settle at other times or help her sleep. Infant Gaviscon is a thickener so you may be able to add a little of it to her milk and spoon it in before or after a feed. They both work completely differently, but both may be able to help her feel more comfortable. If you notice a response to that, perhaps he would take it all more seriously then as well.

I don’t know if it helps, but my son also had a floppy larynx from birth. From everything I have read, reflux is very closely related to laryngomalacia so perhaps that is another angle you could talk to your GP on. Either take some research about it in to him (have also done that) or mention it to him and ask him to look it up. If you type those two words into google, you will be amazed at how many sites come up. Some figures quote 80% of bubs with floppy larynx have reflux, while others I have seen quote 100%. Maybe that will further confirm for your doctor that it really is a problem. Even if he is right and it is over diagnosed, it doesn’t mean that reflux isn’t a problem for your bub!! OR if he is right and it isn’t reflux, then has he told you what it is, as it still doesn’t sound ‘normal’.

In his defence, there have been some recent medical articles that dispute reflux, which just totally amazes me. Thankfully there are a lot of doctors around who do believe in reflux, and who are willing to treat it aggressively if necessary. It can be a stressful and overwhelming experience that can tear families apart!

Please hang in there and try and take it day by day, or moment by moment. Please don’t look too far into the future as that can make it much too hard to cope. I hope you continue to get support from your mum and I hope you are able to look after yourself too.

Do what you can to get your doctor’s attention (within reason of course LOL), but if necessary, continue to hassle them until you get through.
Do you have the possibility of getting another doctor’s opinion?

Glenda