Houston Babies
kreeper611
member
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Is it just me or...?
kreeper611
member
do a LOT of babies seem to have reflux issues these days? Yes, I know not all babies do but it seems like I hear of it more and more.
It could be that it's always happened and I've been oblivious OR does anyone think there is some sort of cause/effect thing going on?
And, heaven help me, I hope it's not related to the mom having reflux. Cause if so, I'm doomed. I should just call in the prescription for baby reflux medicine now.
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Re: Is it just me or...?
I was wondering the same thing. Especially since my 1st had it too. I kept thinking, "what are the odds." In our case, it's very real though. DH and I also have big reflux issues (during the last month of my pregnancy, it was so bad I had to sleep upright and could barely sleep at all ... but I was PG so it just made it worse).
I have no idea!
I think it could be two things:
1) it's more recognized as an issue now a days, just like "allergies". Back in the 80's, I had a runny nose everyday, but we never called it allergies. But now look at how many people take meds for allergies.
or
2) it's a word that some Dr's like to throw out there. Just like "colicky", it seems like when your baby is fussy, they're automatically colicky.
I was JUST thinking the same thing!
I absolutely think doctors over-diagnose this. My DD was super colicky (or possessed) for the first 3-4 months. My Pedi didn't say "yes" or "no" to reflux she just said it is possible and she gave me the option of putting her on Previcid. Just about the time we put her on it she became a different baby. Whether or not it was reflux or she was growing out of her colicky stage- we will never know.
I am sure that some babies DO legitimately have it...others probably not.
I think that what was known as "colickly" in the past was actually mostly due to reflux. Probably no one knew at the time, though. You rarely hear about colic anymore (not that it was a diagnosis for anything, anyway - just for a "cranky baby") but you hear more and more about reflux.
Hey, if a doc has a medicine for it that helps, then I'm all for it. We were lucky in that DS wasn't "colicky" or had reflux.
according to Dr sears, "colic" was just a term doctors used when a baby was super fussy and they didn't have a medical diagnosis. now, they do know that a lot of babies do have reflux.
however, i also think it is very overdiagnosed. for example, truitt was a little fussy and right away i was given a script for prevacid. turns out he never had reflux but instead had a lactose allergy.
so, i think it's a little of both
I was just about to say the same thing!
I got lucky and Eileen has reflux, but doesn't get "heartbearn" so she never got prevacid. Her pain was always in her tummy so she has stomach acid medicine. It has helped ease some of her pain, but not entirely. It has not helped with her spitting up or crying (TXBELLA--I felt like Eileen was possessed,too) . Even though she's starting to cry less (but still more than the average baby), the spitting up has not slowed down at all. I'm soooo tired of washing bibs.
I digress...to your original question, I also agree with the others that it was the cause of a lot of the babies who used to be described as colicky--the texas children's GI doctor said it accounted for close to 40% of those babies who were originally called colicky. Once they were treated for reflux, it solved the crying/screaming issue.
but isn't "colic" is just the name for a baby that is inconsolable but a dr can't diagnose why. the "colic" itself is not a real medical term
Dx: PCOS and short luteal phase
18 cycles (3 with our RE) - Metformin + Clomid + HCG booster did the trick!
BFP #1 6/22/09 EDD: 3/2/10 DS born: 3/8/10
TTC #2 since Dec 2011
BFP #2 7/8/12 EDD: 3/18/12 M/C @ 9w1d: 8/16/12
My dr used the term colic for Emmy when she was born, but there is a bigger issue than a "fussy baby". Emmy had gas which made her very comfortable. It also happened mostly in the even time and I would cry along with her. We then switched her to Simlac sensitive (Lactose Free) and added gas drop to all her bottles and it made a big difference.
right- which means she was lactose allergic (both my sons had/have this and i have given up cows milk while nursing for both of them) so they may have acted "colicky" but the Lactose Allergy is the medical issue.
I think Rena is one of those babies who truly had reflux. She spit up ALL the time (like 15-20 times a day) and screamed at night and woke up every hour. I was very hesitant to start her on a medicine so young, but we put her on Prevacid when she was about 4 months. It helped her so much....she spit up much less and started sleeping at night. I noticed around 7-8 months that she completely stopped spitting up so we weaned her off the Prevacid.
But I do think doctors are quick to diagnose reflux and write out a prescription.
Good question. Honestly, I'm not sure if it's a medical term. From everything I've read / heard, there are two schools of thought on colic. One is that it's a tummy issue (hence why a lot of babies with reflux / tummy problems get diagnosed with colic - incorrectly in my opinion). The other is that it's neurological - the child is over-stimulation and for whatever reason doesn't have the ability to "calm" himself/herself.
I fully believe the neurological theory is the correct one, given my experience with DD. She also had reflux ... but that was very different. How she responded was very different. The ONLY thing that would calm her down even slightly with the colic was being swaddled, in the swing, with the hairdryer on full-blast. And it stopped almost exactly at 3 months. Our pedi said colic is often overly and mis-diagnosed and very rarely does a child actually have it. Unfortunately, we were one of the "lucky few." lol It's very hard to fully describe unless you've been through it / witnessed it. And I don't wish it on anyone. Except the 14 year olds on Maury that keep saying they want to have a baby.