Reflux-a whine

MommyAtty

DS has reflux. He spits up a lot, and he's started making noise like he's spitting up but then nothing comes out. So I think he's swallowing it back down, bless his heart. Our doc believes that if babies are gaining weight okay, then reflux is "a laundry problem, not a health problem." Ugh!! I love our ped, and he's been a stinking genius about everything in the past 2 years w DD, but this reflux thing is killing me. For the record, the little hulk is 2 mos old and we are starting to buy 6 mo clothes because he's growing insanely fast. (He started out 6#4oz.). So he's definitely thriving. His 2 mo appt is next week. I'm hoping there's something new we can try for the crazy spitting up. Bah!!

Geeps2

Are you breast feeding or bottle feeding?  I had the same problem with my daughter when she was little.  My Dr advised I could add some cereal to her bottles to thicken it a little to help with all the spit up.  I breastfed so I would pump one or two bottles a day and add the cereal.  It did help a little bit.  Didn't cure it but it wasn't as profuse.  I feel your pain.  She shorted out a leap pad activity table with her massive spitting up.  It was annoying but like your Ped, mine felt as long as she was gaining weight he didn't want to put her on anything and I agreed.

Good luck!

Guennie

I wouldn't recommend adding cereal personally.

Our daughter has reflux too. She used to gag a lot like you're describing. Our ped put her on Zantac and it makes a HUGE difference. It truly does. Even if it isn't a health problem do you want your baby in constant discomfort? (No judgement Geeps, you have to do what you feel is best, this is just my opinion!)

MommyAtty

Ugh. We tried the spit-up formula, which has rice powder in it (supposed to be easier than cereal on their tummies), and he got incredibly constipated. Poor little bun. The spit-up was less terrible than the gas and constipation, so we went back to sensitive tummy formula. He doesn't seem to be uncomfortable, but some days when it's bad, he makes throat-clearing noises, so I wonder if it's bothering his throat. I'm asking again at his appointment if there's anything I'm missing.

Geeps2

I used oatmeal cereal in her bottle just for that reason so she wouldn't be bound up.  I would ask the pediatrician what your options are.  I know it is more expensive but have you tried one of the hypoallergenic formulas?  My daughter was on nutramigen and the cereal (again, not in every bottle).  You have to do what you are comfortable with and what you pediatrician advises.  I am not into giving medication unless necessary and my pediatrician seemed to think that kids today are over-prescribed reflux meds and he wanted me to try out some other options before we went down the medication route.  That is not a dig at anyone that has a child on or has been on reflux meds.  It just wasn't right for my child but not to say it won't be right for yours or wasn't the right decision for others.  She puked a TON but was still gaining weight, didn't seem overly uncomfortable and after switching formula and adding the oatmeal to one or 2 bottles a day and keeping her propped up as much as possible we just accepted that she was a happy spitter and just dealt with it. No matter how you slice it it SUCKS.  Good Luck! 

MommyAtty

Thanks, guys. I do tend to think it's mostly a laundry issue with him. He seems happy and healthy, even if he yaks a lot! I hadn't considered trying oatmeal in the bottle I will ask the ped about that. I'm generally pretty medicine-averse. My 2 year old has yet to need antibiotics, for which I am so grateful! But I'm going to ask him at what point we give in and give the Zantac. Because... As we say in the south... Day-um! He spits up a lot!

Guennie

I forgot to mention we also ended up switching to the soy formula because she was super gassy too. We first switched to the sensitive formula but just didn't notice much of a difference. Soy formula plus Zantac worked for us.

And Geeps, you are absolutely right, we all have to figure out what works for our family. That's what I love about this board, we try to support each other without judgement!

Guennie

@MommyAtty‌ if it really is just a lot of spitting up but no drama with it I wouldn't worry. It was the constant gagging that made us start the Zantac. She was especially doing it at night and I would wake up hearing her gagging and in distress. I couldn't let it go on when there was something we could do to help.

10-4LilBuddy

We put our son on Zantac and he slept in a RockNPlay to help his reflux. He is so much happier. He was gaining weight but kept spitting up or even worse, it would sit in his esophagus. He has since grown out of the RnP, but sleeps with a crib wedge. I'm hoping he outgrows it soon.

Geeps2

I was talking with my best friend tonight and her niece, who is about a month younger than my 7 month old was just brought to the hospital this week because they thought she was having seizures.  Turns out it was some wacky form of reflux that makes the kids look like they are having seizures but it is just reflux.  She was in the hospital for 4 days to rule out seizures when they realized it was Sandifer Disease.  Nutty I tell ya.  I'm glad I just had to deal with heaps of puke filled laundry.

shelley1002

Way late to this because I was on vacation and couldn't get on here.

Both my boys has reflux.

DS1 had it bad.  He would spit up a ton, even an hour or two after he ate.  He would arch his back and scream in pain, even in his sleep.  We tried gripe water, gas drops, keeping him upright for 30-45 minutes after he ate, burping after every ounce, bicycles with is left, belly massages, switched his formula to soy (he was FF).  Nothing worked but the soy helped some.  He slept in his swing for the first several months (6 or 7 I believe).  At 2 months he was put on Zantac and within 24 hours that made a world of difference.  He finally outgrew it around 10 months.  He is almost 3 and has no digestive issues.

DS2 had silent reflux.  He didn't spit up much but the formula come back up his throat, you would see him gag, and swallow it back down.  Sometimes you could hear the formula coming back up.  We tried the same tricks as DS1 except the soy formula.  He was put on Zantac before 2 months old.  Again different baby within 24 hours.  He outgrew it by 5 months.  So far no digestive issues (he's almost 9 months).

My pedi said that most doctors no longer recommend rice cereal in bottles.  I don't remember what the reason was though.

shelley1002

Also we tried the Enfamil AR formula designed for acid reflux and that was the worst one we tried.  When he spit that one up it came up like cottage cheese (curdled and chunky).  No other formula came up like that.

shelley1002

(sorry for the multiple posts, my computer won't let me edit)

And both my boys made throat clearing noises and had a cough that was related to the reflux.  Cough wasn't bad almost like a little dry cough.

nikkiuk

DS has nasty reflux which has got progressively worse since his hernia operation on 4th July. He is never happy, fusses all the time, spits up, gags, chokes, arches his back, is seemingly in pain as he feeds - all the usual stuff. But the congestion in his nose/throat is absolutely crazy, like it's permanently stuck mucus that cannot be cleared. He sounds like he struggles to breathe as he's just so completely full of wet muscus. He snorts, sneezes and snores.  I video'd the fussing that happens during feeding and we have a Pedi appointment tomorrow. I am determined to get this sorted.

springbeduk2

@nikkiuk‌ did you get any answers from pedi or find anything else to help? That is so miserable that your little guy's reflux got even worse! (((Hugs!)))) Unless you don't like hugs.

Guennie

springbeduk2 said:

@nikkiuk‌ did you get any answers from pedi or find anything else to help? That is so miserable that your little guy's reflux got even worse! (((Hugs!)))) Unless you don't like hugs.

I was wondering the same thing. Also I was going to ask if you've tried switching formulas. We tried Similac sensitive but ultimately it was switching to the soy that made a difference.

Guennie

@MommyAtty‌ how did your appointment go?

nikkiuk

Ok so I totally forgot to update this, my bad. The video of DS and his fussing/pain helped a LOT so we may have to bore the pedi with a video every time we see something we don't like lol. It's so much easier than describing an issue, seeing as he behaves like an angel as soon as someone 'official' shows up.

The pedi gave us Zantac,  0.75ml twice a day and said to leave him on the Prilosec 1.25ml once a day. This was a week ago. The pain is undoubtedly better although it's still there a little. The fussiness is still there and we get maybe two feeds in 24 hours that are smooth sailing, the rest are stressful. The congestion is worse than ever, it's pretty scary-bad. He is setting off his apnea monitor every night (it's way worse at night) as he struggles to breathe. I'm not convinced that it's all in his nose now and I think maybe some congestion has gone to his lungs. His nose is so freaking tiny, I've even wondered if there is some structural problem up there!  I'm also wondering if the fussiness could be down to the stress of the operation he went through and it has pissed him off so much that he's just struggling to settle back down. Searching for answers is tiring!

We have another pedi appointment tomorrow (his two month check, two days after his due date... blows my mind). He did say, when we see him next, if there is no improvement we need to look at a protein intolerance but I'm not sure it's that and suspect he will suggest a milk change.  I'm going to ask to be referred to the feeding therapist too, that might help I guess. 

springbeduk2 I love hugs, certainly in need of them right now. We are both aging rapidly with the stress of all this after the operation.   

MommyAtty

Guennie said:

@MommyAtty‌ how did your appointment go?

He's stopped spitting up quite so much, but he's eating less right now. Doc said to watch for signs of discomfort, and if he has any, we can go to Zantac. Interestingly for this discussion, he's also congested. But I have a feeling that's allergies!

shelley1002

@MommyAtty I would ask for the Zantac anyway without discomfort.  He could have silent reflux (mentioned in my response above).  If there is no improvement after a couple weeks then you can stop giving it.

@nikkiuk have you thought about asking to see a ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor about the congestion?

nikkiuk

So update following the pedi visit. We didn't see our fave which kinda sucked but anyway. There are growing concerns about DS's congestion, finally. The pedi we saw did give him a good look over and couldn't hear his lungs properly because his noisy snorty nose was so loud. So she gave him a little time on a nebulizer to see if that helped. It didn't, but she could finally hear his lungs after the snorting stopped for a few minutes (it comes and goes) and was happy that his lungs were clear. She then got another doc in to check that he couldn't hear anything on the lungs either and he couldn't. Phew! She was worried about RSV but that was discounted so she thinks it's a little cold making some pretty severe congestion even worse. He isn't coughing or sneezing any more than usual and so I personally don't think he has any kind of cold. He coughs rarely (always after spitting up and even then not much) and sneezes regularly, which our fave pedi said was the reflux - another reason for the congestion.

Then she turned him upside down and gently stretched out his neck - snorting stopped (it then started again when he was right way up) and so she thinks he has a 'floppy trachea'. So I've been investigating a floppy trachea. It's not great news as it takes a long time to firm that up and in the meantime he suffers with no form of treatment, other than the reflux meds. Or an operation, at which point I stopped reading or I'd just freak. We have another appointment on Friday so they can check his lungs again and he needs his 2 month shots anyway. Hopefully our fave pedi will be there to see him.

@MommyAtty - I would really recommend trying the Zantac. There are definite improvements in my DS since he's been taking it. Not with the congestion but his feeding and the spitting up is less traumatic. I was told they are too young for allergies yet - other than milk intolerance but not sure how true that is?

 @shelley1002 Yep, I think an ENT will be next, especially if the fave pedi thinks floppy trachea too. 

Sorry, horribly long post