Allimentum

mous-2

hi ladies,

my twin daughter is suffering from reflux and it's bad. We're trying to attack this from all angles by weighing down allimentum and Zantac. Not sure if an allergy Is to blame but i already tried enfamil ar and similac spit up formulas. Any advice? Did allimentum work for any of you and how long should I try it for 

PoeMasque

I work with a lot of babies with reflux/feeding tubes and often different formulas help (kind of depends on the kiddo). There’s some new research on probiotics helping reflux, but it’s emerging and likely not something a pediatrician would try on a baby younger than 6 mos. 

is there a feeding clinic you can be referred to? Or maybe your pediatrician can order a swallow study to rule out mechanical issues? Have they tried omeprazole? Sometimes that helps when ranitidine doesn’t. 

Polythene Pam

We used that - my daughter was spitting (badly) every feeding, screaming before feeds, arching back... we thought it was an intollerance so alimentum did the trick after trying other formulas. She’s 4 now so I can’t remember what else we tried. It was expensive and she ended up needing it the full year... but never had issues after that.

mous-2

@Polythene Pam how long before you saw results with the allimentum? It's been a couple days since we made the transition. 

@PoeMasque we gave only a couple of the spit up formulas a try before just trying the allimentum. We are assuming an allergy or sensitivity but really just Basing that on trial and error. Everything feels like a stab in the dark trying to make my baby feel better. I just want a quick answer bc this is breaking my heart in a million pieces

PoeMasque

@mous-2 i know it’s hard to see your baby in pain, but you really do need to talk to your pediatrician about it. This forum is not appropriate for medical advice and if your baby really is having painful reflux, it should be addressed by a medical professional. Especially because this might not be an issue that a change in formula can fix. 

do you have access to an IBCLC? They could evaluate baby’s suck/swallow for excess air that might be causing upset/reflux? 

I find more than half of the families I work with struggle with reflux issues and even though it’s hard to see your baby struggle with it, it will get better with time and there arent any long term consequences. 

Also, if your babies qualify for WIC, you can get the formula covered with a script from your pediatrician (might actually get it covered by insurance with a script too)

Polythene Pam

I agree with @PoeMasque - going to that formula was a last resort after meds and other formulas and our pediatrician was guiding us. I think it was better within a few days but our pediatrician didn’t want us changing before that, too much changing formula can cause its own discomfort. Same with when we tried to wean off of that, and when we introduced cows milk because of the issues- it’s helpful if the pediatrician knows what’s going on as they’ll guide you in those transitions.

ale9687

We tried allimentum and it helped with the congestion and poop but was so thin that when he spat up it went through his nose. If you give it a try go right for ready feed, it’s thicker than the powder. 

mous-2

@PoeMasque our doc suggested probiotics, which we've been giving since birth. Also, our pediatrician is guiding us and I was only asking for some reassurance through this group about when I can possibly begin to see results if she indeed has an intolerance or sensitivity. In any case, we are looking to switch ped doc bc ours googles everything we ask her and I'm already pretty proficient at googling everything on my own. 

PoeMasque

@mous-2 your doc is probably looking at UpToDate, which is the standard practice for evidence based care. It is a database of the most recent research/evidence for medical practice, reviewed by the top practitioners in the field. It’s only available to medical providers and i would actually prefer a provider who used it vs one who doesn’t. 

Even if they are using google, your doctor’s education and experience means they are able to interpret information better than you can. 

Im not saying you shouldn’t switch, just that - as a peds and ER nurse - I look up information all the time, sometimes on uptodate, sometimes in a drug database or, even google. But I’m able to filter and understand that information better than my patients. 

mous-2

@PoeMasque lol thx