Reflux mama's: How did you know baby needed meds?

pinkyxboo

I'm struggling with the decision of whether to get a prescription for Zantac filled for my baby. The reason being that I'm not sure if she actually has GER or not. Sometimes I think yes, she must have it. She spits up A LOT. Wet burps are a guarantee after eating. No matter how long after a feeding, if shes laid flat on her back she will spit up. Sometimes she will be completely calm and will randomly cry out, and lately at night she has been crying and inconsolable. But these crying fits dont coincide with feedings. When feeding, as soon as i pull the bottle from her mouth she does start crying, and the same goes for after shes done the bottle...but it doesn't seem like her "pain" cry, but more of a "hey I'm not done with that cry"......... so then I look at the symptoms for reflux and she hardly exhibits any of them aside from the spitting up and being irritable. She doesn't exhibit pain when spitting up. She doesn't refuse to eat and she's still gaining wait. I don't want to give her medicine that she doesn't need.. but at the same time I'm so confused because maybe it is what she needs??? Ugh... help! How did you know your baby needed the medicine?

peanutmuse

Refusing to eat is not the only way it manifests itself -- my son actually wants to eat all of the time. The sucking is soothing to him. He also gurgles and grunts at night. And has clear spit up if his stomach is empty.

peanutmuse

Also, his cries are similar to hunger cries, not pain ones. Exactly like you described. Zantac has made feeding less stressful and he sleeps better. I had to experiment with the time of day that it is most effective, but I think we're in a groove now.

worleygirl

DD didn't spit up much but she arched her back and cried a lot about 20 mins after eating. She also gagged a lot. I'm STM so I felt pretty confident bc DS never exhibited any of the same issues and I just knew something wasn't quite right. I doubt your pedi would have given Rx if they thought she didn't need it. Did she/he look in LO's throat?

pinkyxboo

I suppose that's part of the reason I'm hesitant is because the pedi was pretty nonchalant about the meds. He suggested rice cereal first and if that didn't work then to fill a prescription for Zantac. He didn't inspect her throat. .just prescribed based on what I told him. I did try the rice cereal for a few weeks and it hasn't really helped. I'm just having FTM anxiety and worried I'm making something of nothing. @peanutmuse‌ .. could you describe what made feeding stressful for your baby? I almost dread feeding my baby because EVERY TIME I take the bottle out of her mouth to burp or when she's done, she starts screaming. I have to immediately put a paci in her mouth after shes done in order to keep her calm...that kind of sounds like what you described... sucking to soothe the pain maybe? But then when she spits up she doesn't ever seem in pain...which is what confuses me.

worleygirl

Ugh that's frustrating. Well maybe you could take it that since he prescribed without much fuss it isn't a big deal for her to take it even it's a mild case and she doesn't necessarily need it. I would try the meds.

pinkyxboo

That's what I'm thinking as well @worleygirl‌ .. since he prescribed it to at least try it and if it doesn't work then it doesn't work.

mrsbeers

We were at the ped about this yesterday. Baby girl does just about the same as what your baby is doing. The ped questioned it could be a few different things. He did give us some formula for sensitive tummies (she gets about 1/2 BM 1/2 formula throughout the day) and a prescription for Zantac. He wasn't so sure of reflux to give her a true diagnosis, but we clarified with him that if she really doesn't have reflux that taking the Zantac won't hurt her. So I filled the Rx and we're going to see if it helps her. IMO, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try if you don't really know if baby has reflux or not!

munchkinrhodie

My 9 week old cries when I take the bottle out as well and sometimes when he is done. I try my best to not take the bottle out unless I absolutely need to (I hold off on burping till the end, Ive noticed he does better that way instead of having his feeding interrupted). And I let him keep trying to drink until you hear air so he knows nothing is left. When I took him to the doctor because he spit up through his nose and mouth and was crying (usually he was just a happy spitter) They said he had reflux and prescribed me meds but said to only use it if he was having trouble eating. Since he is eating I haven't given him the meds. If he cries at the end of the feeding I gave him his pacifer and calms down after a little bit. When he cries awhile after a feeding I tilt him sideways and hold him so our tummies touch, I notice that calms him down pretty quickly. My dr said for reflux it's normal for the baby to spit up and not feel pain, they said reflux is caused by a valve in the stomach not being fully developed (does not develop fully till about 6 or 7 months) so some babies have milk sit right above the stomach and they spit up when they move around or are lying down. 

mommabird77

Arching his back, crying a lot like he was in pain, being really hungry but only able to eat a couple ounces at a time, and hated being on his back are the main ones.  Having him on meds made him happier.

Sweetiejules12

Grace was gurgling at night then around 630 pm would smack her lips like she was tasting something. We started with the bassinet elevated, all the things pp mentioned. Then last tues she started screaming like I pinched her and after an hour of settling her down she was whiny. I took her to the pedi only four days after her two month check because I felt her pain. We decided silent reflux and opted for enfamil AR. If this doesn't work then medication. This formula has rice starch so it's thicker and stays down better.

jeslillyn

Feeding time was super stressful, hed push the bottle out of his mouth start squirming halfway through the feeding followed by arching his back and screaming . He would spit up so much & it would smell awful & he would cry after/during spitting up. He also couldn't lay flat on his back without crying & being uncomfortable. He just seemed miserable, hes currently on Zantac and we thicken his bottles with oatmeal and hes a much happier baby.

pinkyxboo

Thanks for sharing everyone. Hubby and I decided to fill the prescription. She got her first dose tonight so hopefully it will help her. Fingers crossed.

km_md

My DD has been on meds for a while now. She takes 2 different ones that each have their own function. She is generally a very happy baby, but there were times when I could tell that she was in pain. She still spits up (sometimes more than others) but she is now a happy spitter. The reason that I initially talked to the doctor about medication was because she was gulping a lot when I laid her down - it was affecting her sleep and she wasn't breathing properly. Shortly after, we had a scare that involved her stopping breathing and us having to call 911, so I knew that we needed to do something else. I am now pretty happy with how things are going. No more of that nasty gulping, she is happier, and she eats better. I didn't want to have her on unnecessary medication either, but it is so much better to see my little girl happy and not have to call 911 again!

laowaigringa

My DD is just suspected reflux but not really diagnosed. She was a very fussy eater; would get red in the face and scream and cry while on (EBF), but scream harder when I took her off. This didn't happen with every feeding but enough that it was starting to be upsetting, for me as well as her. She was fine otherwise though, a good sleeper and gained weight with no problems. It seemed like reflux to me though and I decided to try going non-dairy to see if that helped and it has! It made a difference almost right away and she doesn't have fussy feedings anymore and doesn't spit up as much (though she still does after pretty much every feed.) I'm glad we've been able to make things better without meds, but if going on-dairy hadn't worked I would have asked the doctor about meds next for sure. 

amt0312

Gagging, refusing to eat, crying during feeds, copious spit up hours after a feed made me think something more was going on than just simple spit up. Zantac has greatly improved feedings and as she has gotten older, spitting up has decreased. She is also sleeping a ton better. We are getting now on average 8-10 hours straight a night. I don't know if I can attribute that to getting her reflux managed or just simply her getting older. Whatever it is, I'm happy that things are going better. Zantac is annoying to give since it tastes so terrible and it weight based, but I will happily give it to keep the status quo. Good luck

CopperT0p

DS2 started around 4 weeks with gagging and choking fits a few times a day.  He would wake up from sleep within a few minutes of being laid down.  Even if he was upright after a feed and asleep, I would hear him swallow down wet burps then he'd wake up and cry.  Elevating his bed only helped a bit.  

We started on Zantac, but it didn't help much at all.  Likely because he was gaining weight so quickly that he needed his dose increased at least weekly.  He also fought me every time I gave it to him and would spit some out, so he was never getting a full dose. 

At his 2 month appointment the pedi decided to switch to Prevacid because it isn't a weight based dose and the taste is not as strong.  He has been on it since March 10th and is doing a lot better. 

I also had to cut out dairy. I'm hoping to slowly try to reintroduce it after his 4 month appointment if the pedi gives us her blessing. 

dltate29

We started the reflux medicine around 2 months old because our son was extremely fussy, gassy, spitty, etc.  But what really made it clear he needed the meds was him arching his back after feedings and the crying out he would do after a burp or spit up.  It didn't happen all the time but he got much happier after we started him on the ranitidine.  He will still spit up but he isn't in pain anymore.  The other thing we did was to make sure that we had the "flavored" meds as the minty stuff just doesn't go down well.  The extra few dollars for the grape flavoring was well worth it!!

AustinLover

My LO had exact same issues as yours. I tried compounded reflux meds for a week with no change, so I quit that and tried cutting out milk (not dairy altogether) and that did the trick!!