Reflux Nightmare!! Post Reply

[lunalu]

thanks ladies. i appreciate the comments/suggestions. sunday was our worst day on record! at one point my husband and i were just laughing and crying at the same time. didn't know what else to do. i just thought is this really my life right now? we couldn't even get out of the car to go to the supermarket. he'd vomited literally from morning to night non stop. i just stopped all meds and went back on normal formula. just plain gave up on all this stuff. i've thickened his aptamil and since i've started this i have to say it's gotten slightly better. still vomiting but not like before and screaming a little less which is very welcomed at this point. touch wood this keeps on. anyway thanks for the encouragement!

[Annabel (admin)]

Oh lunalu, it just sounds too awful for words.
There are plenty of mums (including me) here thinking of you.

Annabel xx

[conxif]

I am sorry to hear what you and your baby son are going through. My son suffered from mild reflux and that was long time ago. He is know 11. I think you are right to be concerned about the amount of medication such a young baby is on. My suggestion is you can try a much natural approach like homeopathy. I have used with my four children for different ailments (from reflux, allergies, hay fever, scarlet fever, constipation, ear infections and eczema) it has always worked wonders without the need of any medication not even antibiotics. You could perhaps look for your local homeopath. A good site to look for a homeopath by area is The Society of Homeopaths site. I hope this is of help. The best of luck with your little one.

[lunalu]

Hi Guys thanks again for all the encouragement and helpful comments. As there seems to be a lot of mums around dealing with the issue I thought I'd suggest maybe having a REFLUX group and we can meet up or even be in touch just via email/telephone for support. It's great to have someone to vent to who really understands. I'm meeting up with a mum tomorrow so if anyone wants to join let me know. Otherwise feel free to PM or email me if you're interested in being apart of the group. Any mums who are on the otherside of reflux and would like to share their insight is also appreciated And on a personal note....we're still up to our ears in vomit over here sadly....
xx
Adina

[lunalu]

Hi Mums! We've approached 4 months now and are going to do early weaning as suggested to help with reflux. I'd love any tips/suggestions from you mums who've been through it! x

[alabaster]

We're in a similar boat... don't want to comment on meds etc as still trying to figure it out!?!

Our current lifesavers are...
-the baby bjorn front pack. A walk in that post feed seems to help the pain
-the baby bjorn bouncer. So I can at least have a shower!
-Mum's finger in the mouth. Sometimes (!) can pacify

[ready2pop]

Hi Lunalu
Sorry to hear things are still difficult.

I just wanted to say think very carefully about early weaning because of reflux.

We weaned my son at 4 months on paed's advice because his reflux was so bad and I think it is the biggest mistake we made. Reflux peaks at 4 months so you are introducing food right at the stage where they are gagging and regurgitating most and their throats are therefore most sensitive. Not a very pleasant introduction to food. With my son it ended up with him being food phobic to the point where he wouldn't eat anything but liquified purees until he was 18 months, and only then after months of 'food therapy' with a speech and language therapist. Total disaster.

I know how keen you must be to try and get anything into him that will stay in but unless he is having weight gain problems, I'd really try and stick it out as long as possible before weaning.

Sorry, I know that won't be what you wanted to hear but for us it made the whole situation 100 times worse.

Really hope things get better soon - did you go back to the meds or giv up in the end?

[lunalu]

Hi girls. well he dropped a percentile as of a week ago from 25th to 9th so i was urged to start the weaning early. it's so stressful! still off meds even though it's against what the gp/specialist want. it wasn't making any difference and after 8 weeks of it i really went with my gut instinct. his vomitting has cut down a lot maybe he's starting to grow out of it i don't know. i really hope so! at the moment he's just having 4 bottles with 5 ounces of formula and 1 'meal' of solids a day. he won't have milk at night time. if i try to wake him to feed he won't drink he screams. it's the only time he sleeps (which isn't so bad!?) as during the day he refuses to nap even in pram! he'll dose off for 10-15 mins thats it. so that's our update. i'm supposed to see a nutritionist soon to discuss foods that work well with reflux babies....keep you girls posted! thanks for all the kind words and support and for other mums in same boat i'm thinking of you!!!! x

[ready2pop]

From what I can remember (which is not that much as everything was so hectic at the time)

Foods that can make it worse: citrus fruits, berries, red meat, spicy foods, very fatty foods (cream, butter, oily foods) as they all increase stomach acid production.

Good foods: cooked apples and pears, white meat, fish, past and rice

[alabaster]

Another thought/question...

Has anyone tried prebiotics?

I've heard they can really help and am tempted to try. They sound quite difficult to give a pre-weaned breastfed baby. But it sounds like if I take the prebiotics, they will pass through to baby via breast milk.

Can anyone shed any light?
Thanks

[lunalu]

actually another mum in same boat was telling me she was using prebiotics because apparently the meds (the one that starts with Ome... especially) kill all the good bacteria in the baby's gut so prebiotics is beneficial. but i believe she was giving to baby directly. she got it at the dandelion store on northcote road maybe ask them about it as far as administering it. i didn't get it because i am not on the meds at all any longer. xx

[clare74]

This is a bit of a different solution, but I've heard that cranial osteopathy can be really good for digestive related issues. I haven't tried it myself, but my sister swears by it.

[catty29a]

pre-biotics absolutely helped with my daughter's reflux - she's now nearly 4 and I still give her prebiotics now. Also cranial osteopathy really can help - Adam Beaumont at neals Yard on Northcote road or Jo (not sure of her last name) at the contact centre on Abbeville are both excellent.

[lunalu]

thanks for the info. weaning update: going REALLY well!!!! up to 3 meals a day now plus he's taking in more milk than he normally did. now he's 6 ounces 4 times a day which is great. he burps quite a lot even during his feeds of solids. i have to stop and wind him but all in all it's going much better than expected. sticking to only reflux baby appropriate foods of course but i'm thrilled. he is sleeping more during the day as well. less vomit+more sleep = one happy baby and one happy mama

[alabaster]

So pleased to hear you have found success!