Choking /reflux /gas

jonesl12

Any advice or similar experiences welcome!

DD is 6 weeks today and since she was born she has had 3 bad choking spells.
She has some reflux and a few times while I was  picking her up or while she was laying on her back during a diaper change she will spit up or make a choke noise. Then her face turns red, eyes get big , and she coughs. Her breathing stops completely!
i pick her up and pat her back and she makes a high pitch wheezy inhalation and coughs a bit then starts breathing again.

i gave her one dose of Zantac and she was up all night (literally maybe slept 2 hours) and acted in pain.
side effects can be headache and insomnia so I haven't given it to her since.

im seriously scared that had I not been in the room during these episodes she would choke to death.

im going to see the pediatrician tomorrow and see what she says.

I EBF , she has a lip tie so she latches just ok and is a gulper so she has terrible gas, I give her gripe water and mylicon plus she sleeps elevated.


what else can I do? Anybody else experience this ? 

shes such a sweet happy baby but unfortunately most of the time she is in pain and it is both sad and exhausting 

mumidi

DD had horrible reflux and Zantac didn't work.  We ended up doing Prevacid and it made a world of difference.  It's my understanding that Zantac doesn't stop the reflux just helps the pain while prevacid helps them not make so much stomach acid.  It may be worth a discussion about different meds.  I would talk to your pedi.  

DS just started Zantac Monday as he has some reflux symptoms and it seems to be helping so far.  We also just started giving him Gerber Soothe probiotics for gas and that also seems to be helping, he's passing gas a bit better.

jonesl12

I forgot to add that I'm giving 5 drops of probiotics a day.
ill ask about the Prevacid 

wildtot

LO does the choking and holding breath thing. Today has been worse and he's been spilling up after every feed. We got a prescription I forgot what but I hope it helps. We also will be getting an US of his esophagus to make sure nothing is blocked. We have done everything you have described but no relief either.

runningwild

My DD1 had reflux. We tried a few different meds with her. The ones that seemed to help the most were Axid and Prevacid. Honestly though, I think time is what it takes. She started to outgrow it around 8 months. 

I'm dealing with a similar situation now with DD3. Not sure yet if it's reflux. But she's terribly gassy a lot of the time. She gulps and chokes a lot when she eats. She also wakes frequently (like every 10-15 minutes sometimes), which is super frustrating. 

It really makes you feel helpless. I hope your pedi can give you some advice.

jonesl12

Update

Dr gave us a script for nexium and she said for her to sleep elevated. The same dr that told me RNP weren't safe to sleep in told me she would benefit from it so I bought one.

she also said if it happens again and she holds her breath any longer than 5 seconds she will need to get some testing done.

ill be picking up the script today and I really hope it works 

DougalMcG

Glad your doc finally came around to the RnP. LO does this, literally, every single feed and if it wasn't for the rnp he would absolutely miserable. He feeds, stops, pulls off, stops breathing for a second or two, gasps/chokes/ dry heaves, screams his head off then he's fine. He is currently on Pepcid but ive stopped it, because it doesn't make a bit of difference. If anything it just makes him gassy/constipated. 

jonesl12

DougalMcG said:

Glad your doc finally came around to the RnP. LO does this, literally, every single feed and if it wasn't for the rnp he would absolutely miserable. He feeds, stops, pulls off, stops breathing for a second or two, gasps/chokes/ dry heaves, screams his head off then he's fine. He is currently on Pepcid but ive stopped it, because it doesn't make a bit of difference. If anything it just makes him gassy/constipated. 

She's done that once or twice during feeding as well. It's related to my strong let down tho.
its scary none the less 

Goldsgirl9

@jonesl12 so we have had a similar issue here as well. I've been bump mia due to never having time. Our little one has suffered 3 choking episodes one that resulted in him not breathing and us calling 911. Thankfully he was breathing before they even arrived. Very scary. 

The reflux has had him waking up choking and gagging. I have him sleeping in a rnp and use a snuza sleep monitor that alarms us if he stops breathing. 

We just started Prevacid which is working better than the Zantac he was originally on. We see a GI tomorrow. He's still spitting up like crazy (nose/mouth) but at least he's not waking up screaming in pain. He's Making a high pitched whistle sound when he eats sometimes which could be a floppy valve. We shall tomorrow. We don't sleep much and our ped doesn't want him swaddled in the rnp so he the longest he'll sleep is maybe 3 hours. 

Feel free to pm me. I know the struggle all too well. 

jonesl12

@Goldsgirl9Why did they recommend not swaddling ? I swaddle her every night now I'm nervous I shouldn't ?
i just bought. A RNP and she had an episode last night in it.
she used to only have them when she was flat  and was always fine sleeping in her mamaroo but the pediatrician suggested a RNP instead.
i almost don't feel it's elevated enough or something.
i keep it right next to the bed.

Missingchampagne

Has anybody had luck with any specific bottle to prevent gulping? My son is a chugger and has recently started having some mild reflux issues. He won't go back to sleep after a feeding, because he's in pain, unless he's elevated and on top of me. I try to prevent the chugging by pulling the bottle away myself, but he is a quick little guy. 

Goldsgirl9

@jonesl12 not sure why actually but i'm going to discuss with the GI today. Our rnp is right next to our bed as well. The snuza gives me peace of mind and let's me sleep. 

@Missingchampagne we switched to dr Browns. Major pain to clean but supposedly the best for reflux. 

jonesl12

Missingchampagne said:

Has anybody had luck with any specific bottle to prevent gulping? My son is a chugger and has recently started having some mild reflux issues. He won't go back to sleep after a feeding, because he's in pain, unless he's elevated and on top of me. I try to prevent the chugging by pulling the bottle away myself, but he is a quick little guy. 

Omg my LO chugs like no other and the only bottle I've found that helps with this is a dr Browns standard size bottle with a preemie nipple.
she still tries to chug but it's a very slow flow 

takes 15-20 min to drink 3.5 ounces with no break

Goldsgirl9

Wow ladies, mine eats so slow and sometimes will only eat an ounce and then an hour later will eat again. But I read smaller meals more often are better for reflux babies so maybe he knows what his body needs??? Thankfully he's gaining weight but it's damn stressful. I get nothing done between hourly hour long feedings and then having to hold him upright for 20-30 min after. 

Missingchampagne

@jonesl12 Thank you, that sounds like exactly what I need. I've noticed him eating more and more each feeding, presumably because he's eating so fast he isn't even realizing he is full yet! 

@Goldsgirl9 Yeah he may be trying to tell you "my tummy can't take it yet mommy!" 

mumidi

DS has reflux (DD did too) and tends to overeat.  I mainly breastfeed but he gets one bottle per day of pumped milk and will easily down 3oz.  We stop him after that and offer a pacifier.  Even when breastfeeding I have to stop him after a while and offer a pacifier because he will eat and then freak out when the flow stops even though he's eaten plenty.  If I don't stop him he'll spit it all up.  

Goldsgirl9

The GI we met with told us we are not putting enough rice cereal in his bottles to keep the BM or formula down. It's so thick we had to go out and buy level 2 nipples but he's definitely spitting up less. They are changing his meds and to a more appropriate dose in addition to ordering an upper GI which he will have on Thursday morning. 

I have already noticed a difference not being on the Prevacid. It was causing some insomnia for him and last night he was back to his normal routine after four days of hell. 

Hopefully upper GI reveals her suspicion that's it's just reflux and managing it correctly but we won't know for sure until the test is completed. 

jonesl12

Hope it goes well @Goldsgirl9