Silent reflux- who's dealt with this?

slwprincess

Doc gave us an Rx for Zantac today. I'm not entirely convinced she has this but we agreed that she has enough symptoms to give the meds a try. Basically she is fussy during the day and seems uncomfortable. She has started fighting bottles. She arches her back when we hold her... But not necessarily while eating or just after a feed. She has "wet burps" but nothing comes up. My description is that she's definitely not colicky- I can soothe her eventually (human pacifier). But she's not exactly "happy" either. She sleeps great at night but days are really rough and she's mostly just pissed that she's NOT asleep.

Anyway, I remember my nieces having reflux and it was obvious they were hurting and well... They spit up a lot. So I guess I'm just second guessing b/c it's not so obvious? Anyone have any insight? Also, how long before the Zantac works? She said if we don't see improvement we could also try a new formula too. I combo feed so she only gets a few oz of formula per day so we don't think that's it.

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slwprincess

@Madisonpenny‌ - we do the incline thing but I can't say that it helps which is another reason I question whether she has it. I guess time will tell. I know some of the ladies here are really struggling with severe reflux so I hate to even post this since I feel like this is a mild case :-(

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slwprincess

That's what's bugging me. I don't want to medicate unnecessarily if she's just going through a fussy phase... But then again, my mommy gut says something is off here.

Soap1

slwprincess said:

That's what's bugging me. I don't want to medicate unnecessarily if she's just going through a fussy phase... But then again, my mommy gut says something is off here.

tbh, like I said in the other post, I'd wait it out.  I was shocked at the volume and forcefulness of spitup DS2 had; I was sure something was wrong, but since he was growing and not colicky, the pedi said don't worry about it.  I go to a DO - they are less likely to prescribe stuff, so that might be why.

DS2 spit up all the time until he was about 14 months old!  SO when DS3 started spitting all the time, I didn't bat an eye.  Just more laundry

slwprincess

Soap1 said:

slwprincess said:

That's what's bugging me. I don't want to medicate unnecessarily if she's just going through a fussy phase... But then again, my mommy gut says something is off here.

tbh, like I said in the other post, I'd wait it out.  I was shocked at the volume and forcefulness of spitup DS2 had; I was sure something was wrong, but since he was growing and not colicky, the pedi said don't worry about it.  I go to a DO - they are less likely to prescribe stuff, so that might be why.

DS2 spit up all the time until he was about 14 months old!  SO when DS3 started spitting all the time, I didn't bat an eye.  Just more laundry

I get that... But in this case, if she's in pain or uncomfortable, I don't want to ignore it either. The fussiness and lack of naps all day is pretty concerning to me and the pedi. It's like she starts to fall asleep and then something wakes her up. That's exactly how my reflux was while pregnant and it is AWFUL. I wouldn't want my newborn dealing with that pain if there is an easy fix.

Soap1

slwprincess said:

slwprincess said:

That's what's bugging me. I don't want to medicate unnecessarily if she's just going through a fussy phase... But then again, my mommy gut says something is off here.

tbh, like I said in the other post, I'd wait it out.  I was shocked at the volume and forcefulness of spitup DS2 had; I was sure something was wrong, but since he was growing and not colicky, the pedi said don't worry about it.  I go to a DO - they are less likely to prescribe stuff, so that might be why.

DS2 spit up all the time until he was about 14 months old!  SO when DS3 started spitting all the time, I didn't bat an eye.  Just more laundry

I get that... But in this case, if she's in pain or uncomfortable, I don't want to ignore it either. The fussiness and lack of naps all day is pretty concerning to me and the pedi. It's like she starts to fall asleep and then something wakes her up. That's exactly how my reflux was while pregnant and it is AWFUL. I wouldn't want my newborn dealing with that pain if there is an easy fix.

Of course if you think there's a problem, she's your baby!  You and your doc know better than internet strangers

littlepig2

I say give the Zantac a try. it can't hurt LO and you can take her off at any time. DD is on it now and it has really helped her but my pedi said we can take her off whenever we want if we feel like she may not need it any more. (she's 5 weeks and get 0.7 ml 3x's a day.) I think it's a good step because if it doesn't help then you know to look at something else and you're not so in the dark about what could be causing it. the arching definitely sounds like reflux and I have heard of babies refusing to eat because they figure out that eating causes pain so they fight it. DD's took about a week until we saw the big improvement but within 2 doses we could already see minor changes. I hope she's feeling better soon!!

cynthi213

My LO was diagnosed with silent reflux at 3 weeks old. He was given a prescription for Zantac and has been much happier since (he is now 6 weeks old)! It took about a week for the effectiveness to kick in. Before the Zantac, he was crying a lot after feedings. He would cry while the bottle was still in his mouth. He very rarely spit up, so at first we just thought it was gas. However, after seeing how much better he's doing since being on the Zantac, I'm convinced he does in fact have silent reflux.
I say give the Zantac a try! It won't hurt LO, so IMO it's worth a shot :-)

cdsmith714

My 4 mo preemie (adjusted 2 mo) has severe reflux, Zantac isn't helping.  We add 4tsp oatmeal cereal to a 4oz bottle ever feed, then once a day she gets 1oz juice to combat the constipation.  Her bed is inclined, and also we have to hold her upright for 30 min after each feeding,

jpoindahouse

This sounds a lot like my child who has been diagnosed as having reflux. I believe now that he does have reflux because he improved markedly while on zantac, but then zantac stopped working and now we have had to move on to prevacid. Anyway, our LO began by spitting up forcefully and crying, but now what we experience is more of the "silent" type reflux where he doesn't spit up at all. If your LO is crying frequently and the doctor suspects reflux, then I would go ahead and try some reflux meds. 

slwprincess

anji1820 said:

I am wondering if LO has reflux, too. For example, right now she is crying a very unhappy cry, arching her back, and has had a couple of wet burps. She will then be fine for about 5 minutes, but suddenly start crying again. it's a pretty heartbreaking cry and seems like she is in pain. She sometimes spits up, other times does not. Sometimes is just fine after eating, sometimes does the arching and crying. Almost always at night she is just fine, no crying at all overnight. Does this sound like reflux, or maybe just gas? Am I just being paranoid after reading about so many babies with reflux?

This sounds a lot like what we are dealing with. Talk to your pedi and see what they say.

slwprincess

So far, I can't tell. She slept GREAT last night- 7 hr stretch +3 hr stretch, hello- new woman! Woke up happy. I gave her her meds but not sure if it went down? I think she drooled it out. Anyway, she nursed and then slept on DH for 2.5 more hours! But since then, she's been super fussy again- refused her bottles but wants to nurse. Basically there is no "play" in her day. She sleeps, eats, fusses, repeat :-(

mamacrunch

DS1 had silent reflux. He was exactly they way you described your lo.

It was a confirmed diagnosis by an ENT Dr. They looked down his throat with a mirror. They prescribed zantac 2w later he was pain free from what I could tell in his personality. He was 8 m an they finally diagnosed him, because they didn't catch it since he didn't spit up.

GL I hope your lo feels better soon. Also most pediatricians are reluctant to jump on the rx path with reflex unless they feel very strongly that it us indeed the problem.