Reflux/colic Advice Needed

[LISAR26]

Sorry if this gets lengthy but I am desperate for advice from moms with similar experience.

My little Nicole is 2 1/2 mo. old. She has been very fussy since she was about 4 weeks old. At that time, we tried different formula and Similac Lactose Free seemed to help. However, never completely did away with the crying and over time it started to worsen.

Last week I had her to the doctor and expressed my concern to the doctor that she may have reflux. Her symptoms include
- uncontrollable crying (any time of day, not consistent with colic)
- frequent eating (4 oz. every 2 hours)
-cough
-spitting up curdled looking stuff
-frequent stiffening/arching her back
-frequent hiccups/burps that seem to cause her pain

She agreed that it could be reflux and prescribed Zantac 1 ml three times a day. She began this Thursday night and Friday was a pretty good day. She still fussed with her feeds but was pretty content between feeds. Saturday was the same except that she began spitting up MUCH MORE! Sunday was not a good day. She was fussy with feeds, spitting up tons (although it no longer looked curdled) and had a long fussy spell in the late afternoon (seemed to be in pain).

We opened a can of Alimentum to give that a shot along with the Zantac and see how she did on that. Today, Monday, after three bottles of the Alimentum she is TERRIBLE. Crying, spitting up tons, and wanting to be held continually.

Any advice? Is it that she needs more Zantac. Does it sound like something other than reflux? Is the alimentum making it worse? why is she throwing up more?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated. I am now going to pick up my baby so we can cry together.:(

Lisa

[mom2]

Hi there,
I only have a minute but I know what it is like to want advice or suggestions!! My daughter was diagnosed with colic and reflux at about three weeks. We first gave her Zantac and Reglan but after two weeks she was not better and actually seemed worse. So we saw a gastroneurologist who prescribed Prilosec and it has worked like a charm! It doesn't help the spitting up but it helped her pain. She did stop spitting up as much though when she reached about 4 months. I know others who have said that it takes the Zantac about a week or 10 days to kick in but it seems like your situation is getting worse instead of better. Have you tried contacting your Dr. again and explaining the situation? I would!! Good luck and hang in there!! I know how hard it is. My daughter is now 6 1/2 months and it has been a long struggle to get where we are!!

[LISAR26]

thanks for your input.

What has been your experience? Does the Zantac take a while to work? She seemed good the day or so after she first started it but now seems worse. Should I keep her on it and assume that after a week or so it will "kick in?"

I tried to get my ped to ask her but she is out of the office.

By the way, today I thickened every other feed with rice cereal and no spitting up with the cereal feeds but she seems that the cereal may be upsetting her stomach but i'm not sure if it is the cereal or the reflux.

soooooo . . . . confused!:confused:

Lisa

[mom2]

Hi again,
We gave her the Zantac and Reglan for a week but she was so miserable and I was concerned about the side effects of Reglan so we asked that she be taken off and given something else. Looking back, I would not have waited that long because it was so obviously not working. She has only been breastfed so I can't help with the question of formula. She has always refused to take a bottle or pacifier. I do know from reading others posts that thickening the formula with cereal has helped. However, the cereal did aggravate my daughters reflux for about the first week she was on it and I started her at about 5 months. I would definitely keep trying to get in touch with your ped. The other thing that really helped my daughter was to alway keep her in an upright position. I would hold her for at least 40 minutes affter each feeding and she slept in her swing during the day until she was about 5 months old. Luckily, she always slept well at night. We did incline one end of her crib.
As I said, she is almost 7 months now and is still taking the Prilosec once a day and probably will until she is 9 months ( according to the specialist). We did notice a big improvement in her spitting up after she started to roll over and move around on her own--it pretty much disappeared.
I know how hard and tiring this is. Get as much support as you can and keep trying any suggestions you get--you never know what might work.
If you are interested in more info about my daughter and I there is a post in this forum called "Words of hope and encouragement". It details my experience and gives the suggestions that worked for me.
I hope things get better for you soon!

[Renee22]

Dear Lisa

Please check with your doc whether there is another way of thickening the feed since cereals seem to be upsetting her tummy. Some doctors and nurses recommend thickening feeds with cereals for even very young infants but personally I don't feel good about this as not all babies can stomach it as their digestive system is still very immature.

Over in Asia where I live, we have special infant formulas which are thickened and are specially for reflux babies (there are a few brands). I use FRISOVOM (Friso line of formulas) which is a thickened infant formula for vomitting, colicky and constipated babies (I mix this with the regular Frisolac infant formula).

I am sure there should be something similar iover where you live. Pls check with the doctor - I would advise that you have a matured doctor who is a parent himself. I have totally given up on doctors who are young and single.;)

Questions
1) How often does she poo? I read that constipated babies cry uncrontrollably (amongst other reasons).

2) What bottle teat are you using? Is the hole too small? I never go by the guideline indicated on the teat as they always seem to be too small for babies of that agegroup indicated. I always cut the hole bigger! My son stopped spitting up after I changed to a bigger hole teat.;)

Please have a look at Blessed's post on this same section in Sticky : Reflux in Infants.

[Amanda226]

My baby who is now 6 wks old was the same way. However, 2 days ago I bought the Hyland's Colic Tablets and they have worked wonders.

I AM TELLING YOU, I AM GETTING SLEEP AND I CAN PUT HER DOWN!! :D

She is a new baby. She has hardly cried in 2 days.

I am sooooo happy.

[LISAR26]

Renee,

Thanks for the input. We gave up on the thickened feeds. The cereal was just too much for her tummy.

We had a real good day today with over 24 hours now on the Alimentum she seems much happier. Plus, I bought the Dr. Brown's bottle to give it a try. The Zantac is still 1 ml three times a day and all this combined seems to be doing the trick. She spit up much less today and was quite happy. She took her bottles every 2 1/2 hours apart (which is an improvement) and was only fussy for one of those feeds.

My doctor did finally call me back today and she was glad to hear we were doing better and asked if I felt the Alimentum made the difference which I do. However, I am a little reluctant to stop the Zantac at this point as I can see she is still refluxing some. She left that up to my discression.

Yes, my doctor is a mature woman. In face, she has two children both of whom had reflux so she is quite experienced in this area both as a doctor and a mom.

Thank you for all your input. I'll keep you updated how my little Nicole is coming along.

Lisa:D

[honeybunny78]

Lisa,
Have you tried soy formula?
Hope can not handle milk based formula with her reflux.

[LISAR26]

We did try soy. She did terrible on it!!! Spit it up continually and just did not even seem to like the taste.

The Alimentum seems to be working well. Each day she is showing improvement. She was still a little fussy with her feeds today but is getting better. She has now stretched her feeds out to 3 to 3 1/2 hours apart which tells me her tummy must be feeling better. She takes 4.5 ounces at each feed.

She was slightly constipated so I gave her 2 oz. of water with 1 Tablespoon of Kayro syrup in the afternoon between feeds and a few hours later she had a good poop.

I'm not sure but I thought I heard someone else mention that Alimentum caused constipation in their baby.

Anyway, I am so relieved to finally have some peace in my household!

Lisa

[peanut]

Like Mom2, the prilosec and zantac have worked miracles for my little refluxer/colic baby. Just wanted to drop this line off to you.