Reglan saved my sanity! It was reflux not colic

[HopeA]

My son used to scream constantly. For the first 11 weeks of his life he was very unhappy...and I thought I would go insane. Everyone that saw him said that they had never seen or even heard of a baby that screamed this much. I was "captive" in my home for 11 weeks. I was in pajamas for 11 weeks. I wondered if having a baby was a big mistake....cause I didn't know if I could handle the crying much longer. After reading other postings I asked my ped. if he thought Jacob could have reflux? He prescribed Reglan and I started living life again. It took just several days for Jacob to turn around completely. Now he is the happiest baby. He started daycare last week (he is now 16 weeks old) and the ladies brag that he is just always happy. This is definitely a miracle. I prayed and prayed while Jacob would scream. My specific prayer was that Jacob would stop screaming before I had to put him in daycare. God does answer prayers....even if it is by sending us the correct medication.

If anyone else is having a hard time out there.....it will get better!!

I also tried all different formulas. Lipil, Alimentum, Nutramagen....and now we are on Carnation Good Start.....which is where we will stay. He does great on it and it is the cheapest.

[Blessed]

I'm so glad you found the answer Hope. :) I think there are an awful lot of babies out there who have been written off as "colicky" when there's actually a very good medical reason for their crying. Mine was one of them too. I think we figured it out at around 8 weeks but then it took another 4 to finally get him on medication because the doctors were so uncooperative. :(

I'm glad you were able to find something that helped so quickly! :)

[Crystal B]

question, my son got tested for reflux at 2 months and showed up nothing. but i saw one of these post with signs of reflux. he has like 4 or five. we have tried med. very bad never want to do that again just screamed the whole time. but now he is on rice cereal and i even tried oatmill cereal and he had gotten bad actually worse than before. i think he can't digest his food is their some kind of med. for that or not. i am so confussed over all this . he is now 5 months and i am trying to get the doctors to give a buch of test but they keep shrugging it of to be colic and mu gut keeps saying it might be colic but their is so much more to it
is anyone deprest or on med. for depresion. i start councling and go to my ob. tommorow and just thought i would see if anyone else felt like you can't do anything right.
Crystal B:cry1

[peanut]

Yes Crystal-im feeling like a failure as a mom so i told my doctor i needed a difrerent antidepressant because i dont think what i wsa on (paxil at a very high dose) was doing anything. I I now think the best combo would be to see the psychiatrist for the meds but a psychologist for hte counseling. Let me know how it goes.

[Blessed]

Crystal, have you taken your baby to see a pediatric GI? They won't blow you off like the regular pediatricians will.

[mom2]

Hi Crystal,
I only have a minute but wanted to pass along some info. Just because reflux didn't show up on the first test doesn't mean he doesn't have it. The test is very brief and it isn't always clear that reflux is present. We were fortunate ( in a bad way for my daughter) that hers was so severe that there was no question about it. Be persistent with your ped. and ask for another referral to a pediatric gi. We found ours to be extremely helpful with suggestions as well as prescribing meds. I won't say Sophie is a changed baby, we still have some very rough patches. Overall, though she is much better. We get to see many more smiles and giggles than before. She just started rice cereal and has been screaming off and on so I am giving her a very little at at time mixed with water and that has helped.
Good luck to you.

PS-last week I thought I was having a breakdown. My feelings of failure as a a mother and my anger toward my daughter were overwhelming. Just talking to our ped. made me feel better. If felt good to get it off my chest, get some reassurance and feel like I could move on to another day. The same help I get from everyone here. Make sure you see or talk to someone for you. So often we take care of everyone around us and forget that we need help too!!!

[HopeA]

Hi Crystal! Please realize that it is not your fault that your baby is crying all the time. I know it is the hardest thing that a mother can go through....dealing with a baby that screams constantly. When my Jacob was so bad I had come to my breaking point....after 11 weeks of living in pajamas all day and not being able to leave the house (because where can you take a baby that constantly screams at the top of his lungs and a mother who cries constantly too???)) I finally realized that I did have to start taking care of myself again. I started back on my antidepressant (I had stopped taking it when I got pregnant) and that seemed to help me some. Honestly, I don't think you will feel normal again until your little angel gets straightened out, but medication might help you some. Just know that it will get better. Everyone told me that and I just wanted to slap them.....but now, looking back...they were right.

This website helped me tremendously....just knowing that I was not alone (because for a while I thought I was!) Unless you have had a baby like ours, you can not possibly understand....most people truly do not understand the stress that this can cause a new mother. I thought I was headed straight to the insane assylum....in fact...during my "this is all I can take" last breakdown, I informed my husband that he would soon be bringing Jacob to the hospital to visit his crazy mother. God must have known I was at the end of my rope because 2 days later we went back to the ped. and that was when we got the meds that straightened Jacob out.

My best advise.......PRAY PRAY PRAY!!! God will give you the strength that you need. And it will get better. One day you will be able to look back and be thankful that you survived.....

[Crystal B]

hello , thanks for writing such a nice letter. i got put on med. yesterday, luckly mt counsler had a coliicky baby and she really helped me out she was feeling the same way i am. i work with kids all day and i feel i should be able to handle this and i am not. i feel that i am failing. my daughter was nothing like this and it was such a big shock. we go to the ped. today and i have done it their way 5 months now it is going to be our way. i hope
crystal b

[L&M's Mom]

Crystal - If you live in Granbury, you can come to Dallas for a GI. Call the group at Medical City Hospital Dallas - they are Drs. Brown, Whitney and Argoa. Their group is terrific. The group at Children's Medical Center is good as well but they are booked up for at least two months. You will get in quicker with the group at Medical City. When my baby had the upper GI, the radiology tech actually warned me that just because reflux didn't show up on it, didn't mean my baby didn't have it!!! She was very nice. I think the children's portion of the hospital at Medical City is called North Texas Children's Hospital. Also, if your pediatrician is not responsive and concerned with your baby's problems, change pediatricians. There are any number of good ones out there who will listen to your description of your baby's problems and will do all they can to help.

For your baby, try either a soy formula or Nutramigen or Alimentum. See if that helps with the fussiness. Also, Mylanta or Maalox can help - about 1 teaspoon every 4 to 6 hours might help. If your baby is on medicines for reflux, don't give the Mylanta close to the time you give the meds because it will block them.

Don't give up on getting help for your baby. Getting your baby happy and healthy may result in you being happy and healthy again!!!

[suzanne]

Your posting is all my feelings in a nutshell. My doctor was able to pinpoint that our baby had silent reflux immediately. She put him on prevacid. It has helped somewhat but he will still cry all day. There are times where I just cry too. I feel helpless and keep praying that it gets better soon. He will scream for hours on end and cannot be put down. I do not dare leave the house. If I do, it always ends in a huge screaming fit that can last for hours. The doctor tells me he is colic too....but I am not totally convinced. My son is 7 weeks and this started at 2 weeks. It seems like ages with having the most unhappy baby I have ever seen! He has also been put on Nutramigen and we add rice cereal to all his bottles. All he wants to do is eat all day (I guess it is soothing??). What is the difference between Reglan and Prevacid? Does this sound familiar to anyone? I do all the "tricks" that i have read about....sitting upright, burping frequently, rice cereal, etc... I feel like I am going to go insane shortly. I actually cannot wait to go back to work... I am worried though that if this keeps up nobody will take him in daycare. I can hardly handle him myself. HELP!

[j'smommy]

Prevacid blocks acid production so when food comes up the esophogus it doesnt burn. Reglan makes the stomach empty faster so there will be less time for the food to sit in the stomach and come back up. Six-Seven weeks was the HARDEST time for us-lots of crying b/t baby and mom. Jackson is on Prevacid too, though we are doing a trial run without it. His crying didnt stop until about a week after he was on Prevacid-it takes that long for it to really start working. We took him off of Reglan after our Pediatric GI Specialist told us there isnt clear evidence that it is safe for babies. The day after we took him off of it he was more relaxed. I am NOT saying you should do the same. Different doctors think different things. I just want you to be informed-which we werent. Our Ped put him on it and like I said the specialist took him off. if your baby has any GI symptoms of a milk intolerance, you can ask your ped for a Rx of Neocate-a very good hypoallergenic formula. Its expensive, but some babies can go on it just long enough to heal their GI tract then can go back to Nutramigen or whatever works. Good Luck!!!! Jackson is a very happy baby now (15 weeks). Still has alot of gas and spit up, but generally pretty happy. You will make it-it gets better!!!! :party2

[mlo]

My Daugther is 3 weeks today . She has been spitting up for a week now she did have her 2 week visit , I asked her DR. that i was concered about her spitting up ,the Dr. asked me if she was arching her back or cranky well she was doing neither. I notice that she has alot of saliva and sometimes gags she is always sneezing and coughing too . I was wondering if anyone out there is or has gone through somthing like this ? and I nurse her all the time :conf3 HElp!!!!!

[j'smommy]

Your baby could have reflux and nurses all of the time for comfort OR maybe her spitting up doesnt bother her too much and she just likes to nurse? Breastmilk is a natural antacid so some babies with reflux (like mine) want to nurse 24/7. However, if your baby isnt uncomfortable, then she probably doesnt need meds. Meds for reflux are given for comfort. If her weight is good and she isnt crying out or having any of the other bad symptoms of reflux, then consider yourself lucky! I have a friend who's baby gagged and coughed alot, had an upper GI and was diagnosed with reflux. They put her on Pepcid. Her parents kept her on it for awhile then took her off b/c despite the coughing, she never cried or seemed uncomfortable. Anyway, if your baby seems to be getting worse, then maybe you should talk to your doctor again. Do research on reflux (if you havent already). Some babies have reflux from an immature sphincter, others b/c of something in their diet (or the mothers diet). I am off of dairy and it seems to help my baby's reflux some. Good Luck!!!