Acid Reflux - Katy, TX

HI A.. MY SON HAD REFLUX THREE YEARS AGO AND WE TRIED MEDS, BUT DID NOT WORK. HE PRACTICALLY INHALED HIS FOOD AND RETURNED IT TO US WITHIN MINUTES. THE ONLY THING WE COULD DO TO HELP HIM WAS FEED HIM SOY MILK SITTING STRAIGHT UP (NO SLOUCHING)AND BURP HIM FREQUENTLY (EVERY COUPLE OF MINUTES). DOCTORS COULD DO NOTHING FOR HIM. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT COUGH WITH FLEM AND RUNNY NOSE.....MY DOCTOR TOLD ME (SEVEN YEARS AGO) BABIES' EUSTATION TUBE RUNS HORIZONTAL FROM THE BACK OF THE THROAT TO THE INNER EAR. BABIES GET FLUID IN THE EAR EASILY BY IT TRAVELING THROUGH THE EUSTATION TUBE, ACCOMPANIED WITH RUNNY NOSE AND COUGHING. AS THEY GROW THE EUSTATION TUBE WILL EVENTUALLY BE IN A SOMEWHAT VERTICAL POSITION AS ADULTS DO. WHEN THE EUSTATION IS MORE VERTICAL IT IS HARDER FOR FLUID TO TRAVEL UPHILL TO THE INNER EAR CAUSING EAR INFECTION ETC. DOC SAID IT WILL TAKE AROUND TWO YEARS FOR THIS TO DEVELOPE. SO MAKE SURE YOU FEED HER SITTING UP, NOT LAYING DOWN. MY DAUGHTER WAS MY FIRST BORN AND WE NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH HER, BUT MY SECOND BORN IS A DIFFERENT STORY. I HOPE THIS HELPS!!! :-)
DEBORAH

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My oldest went through this as a baby, but after she yurned a year old she started outgrowing it. She's 8 now, and hasn't had more than occasional heartburn in years. My advice would be to follow the doctor's instructions. Also, I found that giving her a bottle while sitting her in a mechanical swing (or other upright position) helped tremendously.

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Have you considered food allergies may be contributing to this? I have the book Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp. Might be something to look into before adding more Rx.

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My daughter is now 5. She was not diagnosed with Acid Reflux until she was 2 and was old enough to have an Upper GI done. I was never told anything about it being related to coughing, phlegm, and runny nose. But, she did have those symptoms, along with ear infections the entire first year of her life. She still has problems on occasion, but it does get better. She never took more than a five ounce bottle. The best thing we ever did was put her on a hypoallergenic formula. It is expensive, but so worth it. She was on Alllimentum. Atleast she kept it down, everything else came back up. Maybe ask your doc about that. To this day she is a very weak eater. She will be 5 next month and only weighs 32 pounds, but she is healthier now than before. I think as they get older it gets better. I don't know if this helps you at all, this was just my experience. Good luck.

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Dear A.,

All I can say is Been there and done that! My son is now 8 mths old and he began his acid reflux when he was born. There is a prescription that your doc can prescribe. It's called Reglan and you can give it up to I think 4 times a day as needed of course. And then they have a prescription for Zantac that can only be given twice a day. On the reglan we only gave him I think .8 ml per time. But it controls his reflux and soothes the indegestion. Also it helps if you stick something like a pillow underneath the bed to help elevate alittle bit and that way she sleeps at slant rather than have everything drain into her lungs. She will cough it up, no worries on that. But this is very common in some babies. Baby cereal and baby food should ease it up a bit. Not recommended that you put it in the bottle. My son spit that up quite often. Don't worry this isn't permanent, she will eventually grow out of it. My son is 8 mths and doing so much better that he's not on any meds anymore. Just check with your doctor. And think of it this way, she's kind of got indestion like me and you, only baby version. So what would you give yourself in reverse in giving or doing with her? Hope this is helpful.

L.

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My daughter did the same thing, and she had to outgrow it, she had terrible colic as well, but the doc told us that it was a problem with her pancrease and it would heal on its own as she got older, and it did.
Needless to say she wore a bib all the time.

Have you tried soy formula?

Dr. Barbara Reid at Texas Children's Hospital in the Gastroenterology department in Houston. We went thru it and no one at UTMB will recommend anyone at UTMB for Gastro Pediatrics. She's known as the best and we love her. You can find her and info on their website.
Good luck to you and your baby!!

Hello A. I know what your going through my baby girl was born with the samething.. She is now 2 1/2 yr old she out grew it when she turn a year old the problem faded.. She started showing signs at 3 weeks old.. I stop working because we did not know what was going on.. When she went for the test an they did a active X-RAY you could see what she was going through.. I promise you it will get better I hope you have great DOC.'s like we had.. We just moved here 6 months ago still looking for a DOC. for her.. I know all will be well let me know how everything goes..

S.

Hi A. I have a 3 1/2 month old little girl who has bad reflux. They did an upper gi and said she infact had reflux. If your daughter has not had a proper diagnosis get it and fast. Has she had an upper GI? Is she on meds? I was told that there is another cause called Pilorix Stenosis that causes reflux and projectile vomiting and it happens right after eating. Is she gaining weight ok? I have never heard anything about the cough but that doesnt mean it isnt possible I know that acid reflux can cause some damage, but to what Im not sure. The pilorix usually is more of a problem for babies in the first 2 months but I dont know anymore than that. I give my girl soy formula mixed with rice cereal(per DR orders) and she just recently is not responding well to the Zantac I have already called to doctor and they will be giving her a new med. Stay on top of it for your sake and hers. Please keep me posted with what you find out. If you have any more questions you think I might know please ask. Good luck I know it is a "bitter" situation.

top symptoms of reflux:

1) spitting up after EVERY feeding
2) spitting up in excess of 20 times per day
3) never out growing the spit up stage
4) frequent hiccups
5) frequent "wet" burps
6) refusing to eat, or "suck-swallow-scream" syndrome
7) eats frequently to soothe the esophagus
8) head/neck/back arching during or just after eating
9) night wheezing/coughing
10) chronic stuffy/runny nose and cough
11) sudden bursts of crying for no reason(colic)
12) poor sleeping habits

my daughter had ten of those twelve, so I understand your pain. In children under two the medicines they use for reflux must be adjust quite frequently because of weight gain--so please up the dosage as suggest by your pediatrician. If you are formula feeding instead of breastfeeding, PLEASE switch to a read-to-feed or concentrated formula if you aren't using one already. To be honest...after all our troubles, when we switched to the concentrated formula at 6 months old, she was like a different baby---cut the spit up in HALF. Also, if you can use the enfamil gentlease or the carnation good start formula, you would be in a better situation--it really is easier on their tiny tummies.

Keep your baby upright for at least 20 minutes after every meal.

Ask your pediatrician about reglan if you aren't using it already--it is a motility drug--meaning that it speeds up the rate at which food moves from the stomach into the small intestine---less food in the tummy means less spitting up and therefore less heartburn for baby.

If you've tried all of those, you might ask about thickening formula/breastmilk with rice or oatmeal cereal since your baby is older now...we had my daughter eating 5oz bottle with 5tsp of rice ceareal in them at about that age---and my daughter NEVER took more than 6oz in a bottle at any age, and NEVER had more than 28oz a day of formula---which is on the low end for any baby.

feel free to email me at ____@____.com if you wish to chat more

And please visit http://www.reflux.org for more information about your child's condition

my son had reflux (partly my fault) from the hospital till he was about8 months... they had me add cearial to his feedings... had him on the nuetramagine.... I got sick of it all and told the GI specialist that i was not noticing any difference between thenuetramagine and the regualr and I wanted to put him back on...he told me to keep him on it for 6 more weeks and come back.... I got home that day called the pediatrician's office, told them I wanted to put my son back on regular formula because I wasn't noticing any difference...and with in a couple of weeks there were no more problems...that was just my experience... but have you tried to put rice cereal in the feedings to thicken it?

Hi A.,

You know what? you are not alone!!, My daughter also had reflux until she was 9 1/2 months, now she is almost 11-months, and she is doing well. She is skinny but in good healt, she only eats 6-8 onz and solid food, my previous pediatrician (in Mexico) told me that this condition is ok, seen she is in good health and now she only splits some time but not every time like it was before I can tell you that this is gone, now that we live here at Houston , I will have to find a new doctor, but well this is now my new issue, but I just wanted to share with you my expirience and tell you that you are not alone!!
Regards, L.

Hi! My daughter had reflux as a baby. She also took the Zantac daily. We were instructed to add rice cereal to every bottle too (she was bottle and breast). We didn't have to change formulas or anything, but I did have to watch my diet and keep it clear of gassy foods. What helped her was sleeping on her tummy and raising one side of her crib (we just placed my husbands programming books under two of the legs of the crib to prop it up). Keeping her upright for about 20 minutes with minimal activity after each feeding also helped. She DID outgrow the reflux and the needs for meds. by the time she was 10 months, but the worst was around 5-7 1/2 months for us. Hopefully yours will grow out of it too.

I didn't read all the responses, so may be repeating what you've already read. My daughter had reflux until she was almost a year old. She was miserable, so we were all miserable. She was initially on Zantac 3xday, but it didn't help and we were constantly having to change the dosage. It wasn't helping. A few friends suggested Prevacid and I got the doctor to change her Rx. It was like a new baby! I'm not sure of the dosage, it was in powder form with little granules in indiviual packets that I mixed with water. It was strawberry flavored which she preferred over the Zantac. I also changed to the different formulas and tried rice cereal, but the change in meds is what really helped. (Plus it was only 1xday, which is a little easier). I weaned her off when she was almost a year old and she's been fine ever since. It might be something to try until you can get her to that Jan appt. Good luck!

A.,

My daughter is 21 months old and is still treated for reflux. Before you get alarmed, she's the exception and not the norm. Most kids do indeed grow out of it around 1 year. She does not yet sleep through the night, crying like clockwork around midnight, 3:00am and 5:30am. She takes a 15mg Prevacid solutab in the morning along with two Tums and two more Tums before bed. Catherine never, ever took more than a 4oz feed and only 1-2oz at a time until she was 6 months. Have you tried a hypoallergenic formula? Alimentum worked best for us as Catherine is MSPI.

We use Dr. Ben Elizondo, who is a pediatric GI. His main office is in the Methodist medical complex, but he's also in Stone Oak every other Thursday. He uses the Goodnight Urgent Care office. His number is ###-###-####. That's his main office, but they can schedule an appointment at either place. I'm not thrilled to death with his nurse practitioner, but I LOVE him!

You might also want to check out a website at www.infantrefluxdisease.com. It's a support board with an awesome message forum. You can get advice on everything from reflux itself to feeding to developmental delays. I'm a moderator on the board (sixdogssixcats) and it's helped me keep my sanity on really bad days. I'm so thankful that I found it when my daughter was just a couple of months old.

Good luck.

L.

Are you still breastfeeding or does your baby drink formula? My daughter was lactose intolerant & experienced quite a bit of spitting up. Since I was breastfeeding, I cut all dairy out of my diet and the vomiting subsided. I would imagine the same goes for formula fed babies, using soy based formula instead. Also, she was highly sensitive to the tomatoes in the food I consumed as well.

You could also try keeping her upright for atleast 30 minutes after she eats. Practicing attachment parenting will reduce infants crying, which in turn will decrease reflux. Have you tried wearing her in a sling? This will keep her upright and comforted while you can go about your daily routine. My daughter's now 17 months & we still use ours. I actually sew them if you're interested. Regardless of where you get one make sure you get an ADJUSTABLE ring sling. The pouch slings you find at regular retail stores arent adjustable and don't secure the baby against you. They also don't allow the baby to be positioned upright which is exactly what you need with reflux.

I don't know if your familiar w/ Dr. Sears Books; they are amazing & provide many alternative suggestions in childrearing. They have a series of books from the Sears Parenting Library & you can always find them at Half-Price books. They're written by William Sears, MD & Martha Sears, RN. They are mother and father to eight children (who are now pediatricians & family doctors) so they have TONS of experience & know what they're talking about. I refer to mine on a daily basis. Look for The Baby Book, it's thick & purple. I hope maybe some of this will help. Best wishes to your family.

L.

My son is now 12 but he had/has acid reflux. For the first 3 yrs of his life he was constantly sick with fever, ear infections,pnuemonia etc. Finally the doctors at Wilford Hall did an acid test which is how we found out that his acid reflux was off the wall. He had a "nissan" done when he was three and he has never had another problem. Change my life and his dramatically. I would invest in a good gastro specialist.

I have three children 9, 5, 3mo. They all had reflux when they were babies.
Each one was different. I understand your worry. There is a website that has a forum
about reflux and lots of input. Forgive me, I can’t remember the name but you can
type in infant reflux forums and find it. My 3 mo old coughs often and has a nasal
congested sound all of the time and the doc didn’t seem too concerned. I relaxed when
I realized he is gaining or holding weight not losing. And he does seem happy.
At night when he sleeps, he rustles around alot. But he seems to work it out.
Hang in there it should go away by about a year. I could talk all day about how the experiences of each child was different. We use the doctors at Little rock childrens clinic.
My favorites are Stewart and Thompson. They seem to be detail oriented.