4 Mo w/Severe Reflux-Gasping?

Just wondering if this gasping sound happens only after she spits up? It sounds like it just started, but my daughter has reflux and also a condition call tracheomalacia. It is the softening of the trachea which makes her breath very loud. I started noticing it when she was about a month old and it freaked me out!!! Everyone who held her wondered if she was ok and if she was having trouble breathing. It turns out that it was not her breathing that was the problem (her lungs are good and she is getting enough air), she just has a soft trachea. The doctor said she would grow out of it. She is almost one and it is much better, but there are times when she still sounds like a freight train. You might want ask your pedi about this.

If you have already has a swallowing study and it was found that your child is not having aspiration then I'd say it's time for a second opinion. Something is going on with your little one. Are you seeing a pediatrician or a specialist? Sometimes seeing a gastroenterologist makes all the difference. I would recommend Dr's. Whitney, Brown, or Argao. They are in Medical City but also have an office in Frisco. Their office number is ###-###-####. They are good with reflux babies and I know alot of people who have had great luck with these doctors.

Hi R.

Have you ever taken your baby to a chiropractor? I am a Chiropractor and I have helped a lot of babies/infants with reflux. I use a very gentle technique and they respond very quickly! If you are interested in giving it a try, let me know where you are located and I can try to recommend a doctor in your area. I have a office in Plano and in Mesquite if that helps.

Dr. Sandra S.

Is your pediatrician taking care of your daughter, or have you seen an allergy/asthma, gastroentrologist or pulmonologist yet? I'd say start getting her seen by several different specialists if you are not getting a solid answer - or get some second and third opinions. -JM

R. - My daughter Emily has severe reflux still at age 3. Although Emily has many other issues. Part of her problem was that her stomach just couldn't hold as much food partly due to the fact of her heart resting on her stomach. We cut her feeds down to smaller and more frequent. Which helped and continues to help with meals. Emily is on adult dose of Prevacid twice daily once when she awakes 1st thing 30 mg tablet and the 2nd dose late afternoon. Emily still needs Maalox on occasion as well. We didn't like Reglan, the side effects were scary and it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Carafate helped, but the feeds and prevacid worked the best. Emily was on Neocate, then switched to Nutramigen then switched her formula to Carnation Good Start. Her Pedi GI Dr is Jack An at Medical City he is an absolute wonder and worked and worked hard to find us a solution. Emily also slept at an angle on a wedge pillow from WalMart. After each fed we held her upright for a 1/2 hour to ensure things were settled. Check out Emily's webage at caringbridge.com/visit/emily I wish you the best as that is so scary to have happen. By the way Emily's little 7 month old sisters name is Kate

The Dr. needs to know about this and should order a swallow
study to see if she is aspirating. Continued aspirating can
lead to aspiration pneumonia. Sometimes the gasping is just
because, like all of us, when we choke on something it takes a minute to catch our breath. Babies are not usually put on heart
monitors or apnea monitors for reflux. Have you elevated the head of her bed? Does she sleep on her back or her side?

J.

R.,

I went thru all the test with my first born. She had 'reflux" and was on regalan and all the meds too. None of them worked of course. Not until she was 18mo did we find out that she is allergic to milk and soy and that was the cause. Try baby on nutramagen enfamil formula(hypoallergenic) for a week and see if it makes a difference. It may not be allergies, but it is worth a try.

I feel your frustration!
L.

R.,
The Apnea Monitor does not keep them from the gasping, the monitor alarms you if your child stops breathing or their heart stops. My daughter was on one for 4 1/2 months after birth due to being a premi and her lungs were underdeveloped. As for the formula, we tried milk, soy, and MANY formulas...all caused her severe reflux, she would turn purple, then vomit so violenting she couldn't breath! It was not only awful but painful because I felt helpless. Then my pedi suggested Alimentum by Similac, WOW it changed our lives. If you haven't tried this formula, please try it. I hope this helps and good luck to you.

My one son had horrible reflux. We had to give him Zantac 2 times a day and reglan 30 minutes before each meal. we also took him off of all the regular formula and put him on lactofree so that he was reciveing no milk products. You may also want to try soy formula since that was what we had to switch to eventually. My son was actually hospitalized for apnea from the reflux. You may want to try this combination of medicines. Also, I don't know if you have tried Axid but be careful with that one. Two of our kids was on that and it made it even worst so we switched back to the good ole Zantac. If you have tried Zantac and it didn't work you may want to try the combination of it and the reglan to see if that helps. It could be an allergy to the milk and if you are breastfeeding it could also be an allergy to something that you have ate. I have 3 children and all three have had bad reflux. We almost lost both our son and middle daughter because of it and it is one of the most scariest things when they can't breathe. If you need to talk about it you can email me and I can try to help you. ____@____.com

Hi R.. I am a Doctor of Chiropractic in the lakeland area. There are a number of safe, gentle chiropractic techniques (including craniosacral) that are available and could make a world of difference. Let me know if I can be of help or I could refer someone to you.

My first daughter, who is now 4, was put on an apnea monitor at 8 days after she had a bout with reflux and gasped for air. The gasping is due to not being able to breathe after spitting up then finally catching a breath. We were living in CA at the time and I immediately called the pediatrician, who wanted her to have testing done. The testing was done in the hospital and required an overnight stay. They detected some reflux and the doctor prescribed the apnea monitor in conjunction with medication. I also started putting her to sleep on her stomach, in the event she aspirated and couldn't get it out of her mouth. I must say the monitor gave me some peace and we never had another major incident. I would definitely ask your doctor to put your child on a monitor - insurance covers it! Good luck

R.,
We used Alimentum too. Good stuff but also we went to Integrative Pediatric Therapy and got some Craniosacral therapy. Google it and reead about it. Its awesome and NONINVASIVE. The kids love it. Its not a massage its a light touch with energy . Too complicated to explain but read about it. It is becoming mainstream and helping many. The conjoined twins )remmebr on the news awhile back) went there and got this treatment while they went through their ordeal and the doctors were amazed. I have a son with ausitm and if you only knew the things medicines do to our babies, you would try anything else first! I sent our friends there who had a baby with extreme reflux and they couldn't believe how in 3 times he was all better. If you decide to do it ask for Suzanne. They are in Plano & Dallas, The Plano number is ###-###-#### an dallas is ###-###-#### She is the BEST.
Good Luck
L.