Reflux ?

golfingdarwinfish · January 2015

S had a pretty bad reflux episode in November, and I think that it's back. He will take about 2 ounces and then start crying, and often the crying begins after he has burped. Sometimes he is completely inconsolable. For DH S calms down if he lays him on his activity mat, for me he will calm down and start eating again after sucking a pacifier while being walked around/rocked. He will literally return to screaming if I sit down, but will take the bottle while I'm walking. And then he falls asleep while eating and won't return to the bottle.

Last time I spoke to my pedi about it she said we could try different formulas and recommended AR (I think it was the AR) and the purple similac - which is for discomfort. I tried the similac but it still seems so thin, and we had 2 episodes (though they were much shorter than before) with it. She also said I could make an appointment, but because it's episodic I feel bad going in for this. I'm wondering if the episodes coincide with growth spurts.

Thoughts? Experience with either formula and reflux? Reflux at all?

ETA: He was on similac sensitive and gets gerber soothe probiotics.

pnwlover12 · January 2015

Same boat. Not positive it is reflux because he rarely spits up. However, last night is a good example of why I think it may be reflux. He got extra fussy (screaming and not able to calm down) and it sounded like he was choking on fluid (while upright) when he wasn't eating. Sort of like a super wet hiccup. Problem is that it doesn't happen all the time. His pedi said we could wait a few weeks to see if it continues, or we can start a trial of zantac to see if that helps. Problem with zantac is that it takes a few weeks to see if it is helping (and we would need to do several doses per day), and with how sporadic his episodes are it might be hard to tell.

His pedi also said that sometimes babies can exhibit signs of reflux, without it actually being that, just because their digestive system is so premature at this stage. In our case, because his episodes aren't really trackable and just sort of happen randomly, pedi suggested we wait a bit to see what happens. He said if it is reflux, it will become more than obvious as time goes on.

MrMrsandBaby · January 2015

With my first, she was FF and had reflux. We did Zantac and it helped but before we started it I changed her to the Enfamil Gentle (purple container) and it helped a ton. I also realized that if I burped her more often the reflux seemed less severe.

Leysin97 · January 2015

We've been on Zantac since her first month appt. Some days though it's bad and she arches constantly and screams when put on her back. Holding her upright when shes upset seems to help. We are on 50% formula and use Earth's Beat organic sensitivity. Oh and we also use Gerber soothe drops.

bumpuser10309732 · January 2015

My doctor mentioned to me that babies who have reflux, their spit up smells acidic. DD does that too on occasion though. Seems like she has days where she does it a lot and then hardly at all.

MuffinMom14 · January 2015

It sounds like APurp does what you are describing, but I just thought it was because she was tired, since the worst of it happens between 7-9 before she goes to bed for the night. She will have episodes during the day, but I can stand up, walk around for just a few minutes, and sit back down with her, and it's fine. In the evening, it's harder to get her calmed down, but the walking does seem to work almost every time.

The one reason I thought it MIGHT be reflux is because yesterday and today she's coughed right after eating in the morning when she's still in bed. I kinda wanted it to be reflux because on the other hand, I'm scared she would be getting sick.

golfingdarwinfish · January 2015

Nicb13 said:

FWIW, I think reflux in infants is over diagnosed and people immediately jump to that conclusion.

@nicb13

I agree with this !!! We were told that the fact that it's worse after he burps means that the acid could be irritating him and lingering, and that he will soothe with pacifier, then drink and immediately start screaming when he swallows it could also be acid related. But, it could be that pedis also just jump there now because parents want answers and, "Your kid is pissed." or something of that nature isn't something parents like to hear.

He will actually push the bottle away and thrash his head until you take it away also. I don't know if he just doesn't want 6 ounces every feeding anymore or what.... Perhaps he is just being stubborn or gets angry at me.

I was attributing the sleeping to the nipple being too slow, so perhaps we will try a larger one tonight.

pnwlover12 · January 2015

Nicb13 said:

FWIW, I think reflux in infants is over diagnosed and people immediately jump to that conclusion.

I agree. That is why we are waiting a few weeks to see if these "episodes" increase before we decide to start any meds. I don't want to medicate unless it is actually necessary. I think I just got myself a fussy little baby.

golfingdarwinfish · January 2015

pnwlover12 said:

Nicb13 said:

FWIW, I think reflux in infants is over diagnosed and people immediately jump to that conclusion.

I agree. That is why we are waiting a few weeks to see if these "episodes" increase before we decide to start any meds. I don't want to medicate unless it is actually necessary. I think I just got myself a fussy little baby.

Last time it was happening I called pedi hoping she would suggest zantac (I was at my wits end), but she won't even discuss medicating. Now I'm glad because it was so episodic, and I really didn't want to give him meds, I just felt like I was feeding him poison and I kept crying over it. I even threw away all the formula thinking it was bad, re-sterilized all his bottles.. i went mad!

golfingdarwinfish · January 2015

6 ounces of his normal sensitive formula with a stage 2 nipple - NO TEARS OR SCREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's hope it's not a fluke!

pnwlover12 · January 2015

You're doing a fucking great job, GDF, I promise! It is so hard to diagnose all the things that our little babies do. S is lucky to have you as his mom.

swise22 · January 2015

DS was diagnosed with reflux a while ago and has been on Zantac since. He has silent reflux but you could hear it and smell it coming up with hiccups and he would projectile spit up when he would spit up. He was on a low dose of Zantac to start and he did great but we did have to increase the dose as he went through growth spurts.

Klavanga74 · January 2015

We switched to a stage 2 nipple a week ago and what a huge difference! All of a sudden she wasn't wanting to finish bottles, which she's never done, she was more gassy and really struggling (kicking, pushing against me, etc.) and I thought the reflux was getting worse again. The ped told me that when they are having to work hard with a nipple that's too slow is that it can make them take in more air, which potentially can mean more hiccups, more burps, more acid reflux into the esophagus. The couple of nights she was up so often to suck on that paci (we all remember my thread on that one, right?

), I think she was trying to soothe the reflux. Switched the the stage 2 nipple and her need to suck on that paci seems to have gone way down.

A little detective work on our own can go a long way. The Doctors know a lot, obviously, and there are lots of times when they truly need to be called, but both our ped and our family doc said the same thing...there's a lot that the Pediatric GI's just don't know about reflux and probably never will because no parent in their right mind is going to let anyone experiment on their baby and babies can't talk. So there's a ton of guesswork and sometimes there's really not an answer. Hope the nipple change continues to help!!

Casey512 · January 2015

Fwiw, my lo has reflux. He suffered almost exactly as described above. He was on similac sensitive, Gerber good start, nothing seemed to help. I finally put him on Zantac 2x a day and switched to similac alimentum. As per ped he now takes every other bottle with 1 teaspoon per 2 oz of formula with organic rice cereal. With the hypoallergenic formula (alimentum) and Zantac 2x a day. He no longer suffers. Speak to your ped. Hopefully he can help you get through this. It's tough. Hang in there, it will get better.

srhoffmann · January 2015

Our lo has an immature esophagus which leads to severe reflux. He has had swallow studies, has seen a speech therapist for a feeding evaluation and a GI to create a feeding plan all in his first month. He would spit up and choke when he was in his crib and scream and arch after feeding. He also got, and still gets occasionally, clear sticky spit that he can't get rid of without a suction thing. We have tried many of the formulas and medicines and found that similac sensitive premade with a tablespoon of rice per four oz works best. We also feed him on his side so that he can swallow at his own pace and isn't forced to swallow too much too fast. He sits up for a half hour after feeding and sleeps in one of those 4moms rockers because he can't be laid down for long periods yet. He's also on first omeprezol mixed in his morning bottle. It's for sure a ton but he's growing and thriving and a pretty happy baby. He's 10 weeks now and still spits up after feeding but not nearly as much. You'll find what works best for you and your lo and everyone says they grow out of it. Hang in there momma!

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