Reflux?

JBrooks315

How did you figure out your LO had reflux? What symptoms where they showing?  I think my LO may have it. She has been coughing and choking lately when she tries to eat. She also makes these squeaky noises/grunts; and sometimes she fusses. TIA

amarissa85

I haven't confirmed yet but LO has an appointment coming up. He doesn't take well to laying on his back. If he is sleeping he usually isn't there for long before you can hear him swallowing repeatedly and then he starts to cry. He does fuss at the boob from time to time. Mainly it is the swallowing. His nanny has started to notice and she thinks as well that he may have it too.

JBrooks315

amarissa85 She sleeps better when she is slightly propped up too. Let me know what they say.

carrotcake06

Non stop screaming. Lots of spit up followed by more screaming. Inability to be placed on his back ever. Fussing and repeatedly pulling off the boob when eating. His entire body was tense and stiff when he was crying, with his legs straight out and locked.

Check out refluxrebels.com. Great resource.

NikkiD522

carrotcake06 said:

Non stop screaming. Lots of spit up followed by more screaming. Inability to be placed on his back ever. Fussing and repeatedly pulling off the boob when eating. His entire body was tense and stiff when he was crying, with his legs straight out and locked.

Check out refluxrebels.com. Great resource.

@carrotcake06 You described my LO perfectly! The thing is.. It's not consistent .. I guess that's possible? .. I'll have to check out that website..
Thank you!! And OP thanks for posting.. I had been meaning to ..

carrotcake06

@nikkid522

Def check out the website - it was so helpful for me. I apologize if I'm remembering wrong, but do you supplement? Formula can be a lot rougher on their bellies, so you may see more symptoms after formula than BM. Looking back, my refluxy one spit up more when we had to supplement way back in the NICU. Again, sorry if I'm remembering wrong.

NikkiD522

@carrotcake06 nope.. You're remembering me correctly! LO definitely showed more symptoms when we added the formula .. Then we switched to alimentum and he had the same symptoms and so we switched back to just the enfamil gentle. Anyhow, the more we talk about it, he normally doesn't have the symptoms overnight when I just nurse.. We've reduced his supplementing to only during the day as needed if I can't produce enough.
I just took the quiz and it was like they had been with me the past 2 months!

Here's my question- when is it severe enough to go on medicine for it and is it normally effective? I've been trying to keep him upright and calm after feedings ready, but I'm afraid my doc will just give me troubleshooting tips and we'll be in the same boat in two weeks since we've already been doing it. I want to go to the dr prepared with what might work best for him.

Muffin379

My reflux LO sleeps in his RnP. I keep him upright for at least 25 min after feeding. I feed him on an incline. I used to take more breaks to slow him down and burp him often. His dr put him on Zantac and after a week he was a much happier baby and I was a much happier mommy. I also used gripe water before I had the Zantac rx and that actually seemed to calm the refux down on really bad nights. Good luck hope ur LO gets some relief.

carrotcake06

@nikkid522
When I went to the dr, I told them that I suspected reflux. I explained all the things I had been doing. Then the dr went to examine him and put him on his back to listen to his heart and he screamed so much she couldn't even listen to his heart. She also did the "reflux hold" and he stopped crying roght away. Hold LO facing out and against your forearm with your hand by their crotch while standing. Their head should be up near your elbow. It calmed him instantly.

After all that, she just told me point blank - it's reflux and to put him on Zantac. I'm not a big fan of medicating babies but it made SUCH a difference in him. Significant improvement within a day and a completely new baby by a week later. We went in for a follow up a week later and we tweaked his dosage a bit and he's been good to go ever since.

I hope your LO finds some relief soon!

amarissa85

I will let you know jbrooks.

sfeebs13

I've been worried LO may have reflux because of how often she spits up and "uncomfortable" she seems for a whole after a feeding. My LC didn't seem concerned and the pedi didn't see anything wrong with her esophagus. I'll be interested to hear your feedback @amarissa85.

Eta. Jbrooks I could have written this post myself

LJUTCMommy

I have a reflux baby. She was arching her back, screaming and turning bright red a lot. She frequently fusses during feedings. She only likes to be held upright, not in a cradle hold, ever. At first, I thought the issues were caused by my overactive letdown. However, she had the same issues after bottles of pumped milk.

She was on Zantac, but it hasn't helped much and she's stopped gaining weight. We just switched to Prevacid because we're concerned with her under eating. We'll see how it goes. 

We also continue to hold her upright for 30 min after feedings, limit time spent directly laying on the back, and give the pacifier after feedings.

BlondieBia21

Lo has "silent reflux." She was screaming non stop, choking at the bottle, making gagging noises, arching her back, coughing hard, swallowing loudly and you could hear the gurgles in her belly. She doesn't violently spit up though, it usually just comes out.
I took her to the dr because of the choking and she looked at her throat and said it was irritated. She was already on soy formula because of a milk protein allergy, so we switched now to alimentum. She also prescribed Zantac and lo takes that 2x a day 30 min before a feeding. She's already a lot happier of a baby!

NikkiD522

@carrotcake06 right after I wrote this DS Had a meltdown after eating and I called the ped.. Got in an hour later and he did the same thing when he laid him down. The dr prescribed Zantac and I'm so hopeful it helps the little guy! I'm definitely trying the reflux hold though- thank you so much and I'll keep you updated!

When did you see a change in him? My ped said a day or two..

Edit: never mind I just saw you said a change with a day or so.. Up to a week :-)

Smom901316

Our little girl arched her back and would grab at her chest like she had heartburn and scream ... She refused to lay on her back, even if she was asleep hard and we put her down she would wake up crying . She clear her throat and made faces like she was tasting something bitter. We have been on Prilosec for almost two weeks (1/2 tablet 2x daily) and she is the happiest little girl in the world now. I hope you find relief soon !

JBrooks315

Thanks ladies. LO doesn't really arch her back or scream; she get's kind of fussy but not more than normal. She has been spitting up quite a bit though. And she is fine laying on her back in the boppy or our arms. She's okay in the p'n'p but only for a little while; most of the time she rolls herself onto her side.
ETA: Her stools have also been green lately. Like green bean green. (She is breastfeed.)

sfeebs13

@jbrooks315. The green stools are usually from a foremilk imbalance. I'm
Mobile so I cant link it at the moment but look on Kellymom for information about it.
Occasional green stools are ok. They will work themselves out.

JBrooks315

@sfeebs13 I'm not too worried about them I just noticed they started around the same time as most of the other symptoms(the cough/choking, spitting up, and fussing wgile eating ), which was a couple days ago, and wondered if it might be related. Also I EP.

NikkiD522

@katies7 thank you for sharing your experience! Inclined changing table is something I didn't even think of.. Great idea!

Good luck everyone!

Kebert618

carrotcake06 said:

Non stop screaming. Lots of spit up followed by more screaming. Inability to be placed on his back ever. Fussing and repeatedly pulling off the boob when eating. His entire body was tense and stiff when he was crying, with his legs straight out and locked.

Check out refluxrebels.com. Great resource.

This exactly! My LO has been on Zantac for 3 weeks and is a different baby...she's happy now! It took about 5 days to see a difference though. GL!

NikkiD522

@carrotcake06 @katies7 @kebert618

How did you administer the Zantac? Just in his mouth with the dropper? Or mixed with milk/formula?

Kebert618

Yes- a dropper. Layla was prescribed .6ml every 8 hours. It is helping a ton but she's still spitting up. We just give it to her by mouth before feedings- she doesn't seem to mind the taste. It's peppermint flavored....

Texasmomma13

Believe me you would know with out a doubt that she had reflux if it's bad enough. Arching of the back during a feeding
screaming during or after eating
eating a little then refusing more
Did I mention the screaming?
Crying all the time (like if their not sleeping they're crying)

There's a questionnaire in the baby 411 book. You might be able to find it online.