Nutramigen?

My son had reflux really bad (among many other problems). He screamed so bad with it the doctors were actually questioning if I dropped him or "accidently" let him roll off a bed or something...Anyways they put him on REALLY thick rice cereal bottles & Nutramigen, but he didn't care for the Nutramigen & beware of the diapers when they are on it. I switched him to canned Goat's milk (baking aisle) & he did alot better, plus he was on Zantac (they didn't have Prevacid, then)& adult Mylanta. The canned goat's milk you have to mix like the "old" formula. One can of goat's to 1 - 2 cans of water depending on the amount your baby is eating. I say this all of the time, but consult with a chiropractor, they have alot of natural solutions & they're usually easier on you and the baby. My son didn't spit up at all, that was our problem, it sat in his chest & just burned. That's why he screamed ALOT.

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My daughter had reflux something awful for the longest time! We did the same thing...took her to the doctor and got very expensive meds and formula and nothing seemed to work. My husbands aunts and cousins kept telling me that they all went to Nestle Good Start formula and it worked wonders. I would listen to them but didnt really think it would help Brooke...until one day I finally hit the breaking point. I went out and got Nestle Good Start, even after one bottle she seemed to be better, but I just thought it was our hopes messing with our heads...about 2 weeks after I started her on it we needed to get her meds filled...we decided to let her go a couple of days without it to see if the formula was helping or not...we never gave her the meds again!!!!! and good start is WAAY cheaper than the specialty formulas (that didnt even work for my daughter)
I hope you find something that works...its awful to watch your baby suffer

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My daughter was on Nutramigen starting at three weeks, along with Prevacid. Nutramigen worked wonders. Ask your ped for some cans. That's where I got the majority of mine and my doctor was more than happy to help out by providing it to us. She was a lifesafer!!!

After several months, we switched to Enfamil AR, and even included additional rice in the bottle. The rice really does make a baby sleep better, too.

Good luck to you.

I feel so much better hearing some other moms call Nutramigen liquid gold. That is what we called it! My son cried non stop from the day he was born. He was said to have colic, but that word does nothing for me. I needed answers not just a diagnosis. We tried several different strategies, but the best combo was Nutramigen, Zantac and Dr Browns Bottles. I have heard other formulas work, but none of them worked for my son. I finally got some free samples and stayed with it for about two weeks and it was a miracle!!! The heavens opend above and my son stopped crying. That formula should be prescription, but my Dr tried to write prescriptions, letters, faxes and he even called United Health Care, but they never would cover it. So we saved and saved and we would have never survived without it.

My advice is to try it and see if it makes a huge difference. If it does, you will know. If not, then try a cheaper brand. But my advice is to skip all the other brands and use it. We wasted so much money and fits trying all the different brands and kinds and ended up on this until he was 11 months old. At 11 months, we introduced solids and he wen straight from the formula to milk and table foods.

Best of luck....i hope you do find a cheaper options that works for you!

Our neonatalogist who treated our preemie never did any of that for us. He said if it made US feel better, fine, but the truth of the matter was, until the flap strengthens enough to hold liquid in, some babies just puke! Ours puked up 5 out of every six ounces of BM or formula we gave him until we startedhim on solid foods. Then it just miraculously stopped. My advice? If she's gaining weight properly, just invest in some/many good absorbant bibs.

Hi B.,

Our son (now 3) went thru the same exact thing. We did both the Prevacid and the Nutramigen for about 4 weeks. We did see significant improvement from when he was on regular formula. However, we then discussed with our Pediatrician because of the sheer cost of the formula. Ended up taking him to a pedi allergist. The result was he stayed on the Prevacid and went on soy milk formula. Overall it improved but it was all with time. I would say that until he was about 4 - 5 months old did the reflux finally stop.

Good luck!

first of all, love love LOVE their names. i have an ella and a carson, but carson is all boy. :) have you tried enfamil AR? the added rice can help "ball" the food in the belly to prevent reflux and not as expensive as nutramigen. but yes, nutramigen works really well. we did tons of formulas and found prosobee and axcid to work for us, the zantac did exactly sh** for her reflux. but the axcid helped a ton and wasn't as expensive as the solutabs...but as a peds nurse i give a lot of those. here's a tip...put it in about 2 ml warm water in a syringe (pill, then water with your finger over the tip, then put the plunger in and shake it up) to prevent choking and gagging the pill back up. good luck!

My son was on Nutramigen for his first year. Worked very well for us. Talk with your doctor. We got a ton of free samples from them. Also, we contacted Enfamil and they were also able to put us on a program where we ordered formula through the mail at a discounted price. Depending on your income, you can really get a good discount if you qualify.

Finacially, it was tough but in the end, very well worth it.

I didn't have the Nutramigen, but my daughter did take the Prevacid for her acid reflux and it made our lives so much easier! She didn't SCREAM every night and we didn't have to wash as many clothes (okay, that's pretty selfish on my part). She still burped up stuff, but not near like she was when she would projectile past me and onto whatever I was near.

My son was on Prevacid as well for reflux...nothing really seemed to help...he just had to grow out of it...that happened around 6 months of age

One of my twins was on Nutramigen and Zantac for his reflux. Luckily we had friends who worked at a doctor's office and they got us lots of the sample cans. It seemed to be the only thing that would help with the reflux. My boys are 19 months old now, so we're past the formula stage and the reflux is gone (thank goodness!)
I know it's expensive, but not having your baby scream and spit up all the time is priceless. Good luck!

Unfortunately Nutramigen was the only thing that worked with our son. We tried the soy formula to no avail. The Carnation Good Start formulas were just being introduced, so I don’t know if that would have solved our problem. It was worth it just to stop the constant spitting up. Fortunately I was nursing too so it was just supplemental and when I stopped nursing we only had a few month’s left that were formula only diet.

Once he outgrew the formula, he’s not had any problems with dairy products or other food issues and he is twelve now. We used to call around to different stores until we found the places with the best prices; also you might try writing to the manufacturer for coupons or samples, it will at least help defray the additional costs.

Good Luck!

We had reflux issues as well, although my son was on Zantac for it, but I was so thankful to have had a medication that helped him! His reflux issues tapered off a lot once he was sitting up on his own, and he was off all meds by a year, so hopefully this will not be a long term expense.

I certainly sympathize with you. My son had severe reflux and after many failed attempts at other formulas.. the Nutramigen was the only one that worked. It was a GOD send.. My son did not spit up nearly as bad. The prevacid worked great too. We got up to taking it 3x per day. Its very expensive, but we didnt find anything else that worked. My son finally stopped spitting up about 11 months old. The combination of the formula and medication helped alot. Good luck

Hi,
I would go to a nutrition store and talk to a nutritionist. I use probiotic and it takes care of me and my husbands heartburn. We use it on out kids and it helped them.

My son had reflux something horrible, he was throwing up in buckets until he was about 5 or 6 months old. I noticed it was worse during growing spurts.

The doctor had prescribed some reflux medicine but it did nothing. Adding rice helped a tiny bit BUT caused him some problems with bowel movements. I just went back to Good Start Natural Cultures. It digests quicker and that helps with reflux a bit. The natural cultures helps with digestive problems as it has 'good bacteria'. I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but it's right next to the rest of the formulas and is in a green package' (good cultures formula made my sons poo look like breast fed baby poo)

The best cure for my son was lots and lots of holding and time. I held him nearly 24/7 for the first 3 months. I even held him at night. I'd lay on the couch and put him on his tummy on top of me. I was nearly sitting up while I slept with him like this. He was sleeping through the night this way. At 3 months he was in the hospital for other reasons and slept well in the crib there so I just started putting him in his crib at home. He did just fine at night but during the day he still had major spit up problems until he was about 6 months old. He's now a little over a year old and spits up rarely.

Good Luck! I'll keep you and your family in our prayers.

Hi,

I don't know about the meds your doctor prescribed and I would never advise you to go against your doctor except to get a second opinion if you are unsure.

I think it might help you to give your daughter some pre- and probiotics like acidophylus and reuteri and there are many other strains of natural flora in our digestive tract that sometimes need to be fortified to help digestion and reflux and other troubles. There are lots of them, usually refrigerated. I love Garden of Life products. They make a powder that you can add to water and it is pretty bland so your daughter will likely drink it down. If you are breasdtfeeding, take the probiotics yourself, especially reuteri. It comes in a pearl form and is made by Nature's Way. You can get these things at a health food store or online. I have found the lowest prices at vitacost.com. If anyone knows a cheaper source, please let me know!!

Good luck! I know how heartbreaking it can be to see your baby suffer!

L. C.

My niece has been on Nutramigen for since she was born and is now 9 months old but her doctor has given her almost every can she has had. Just ask your doctor for more and more samples. THey should have them.

Nutramigen was a lifesaver for our son. I would say give it a try and see what happens. Make sure to get coupons for Enfamil and use them when purchasing to save some cash!

HAVE you tried just giving a couple ounces formula, then wait till u get a burp. Maybe the baby gets way to much air in with the milk, I watched a boy tha would throw up, and I mean it would go 2 foot from you. after I would sit him up to burp after each ounce of formula. it helped a lot.
we also used the baby mylicon over the counter, worked wonders.
talk to ped. see what they say about burping after every ounce

Nutramigen is awesome--given with an acid reducing medication, they are super awesome. It was the only thing that worked for my son. He was so miserable with the reflux that he just almost stopped eating at about 4 weeks old. We were constantly giving him little drinks of formula only to having him screaming a little while later. Then the doctor recommended the nutramigen, she gave us some sample cans (usually as many as they had available at the time--you might want to see if your doctor has samples) and it really worked. He only was on it until he was six months old and then we were able to switch to regular soy formula. But just so you are prepared, it does not smell good and my son tended to have some rather messy and nasty diapers while on it, especially when he first started it, but he was happy and that is what truly matter to me. Good luck!

I hate to tell you this, but it is completely worth the money. My son cried all the time until we got him on the Prevacid-Nutramigen "coctail." About a week afterward, he was happy and slept great!! We called it liquid gold (a name given by my neighbor, who also used it for her daughter). I know it's expensive, but it won't last forever.

My daughter is now 11 and we had to use that formula for her. Yes it is very expensive It was $20.00 a can back then but it did seem to help her out.

Good Luck!

My second daughter, now 7, has reflux very badly. The nutramigen was the only thing she could tolerate. We had tried everything and at 6 mos. she only weighed 9lbs and was failure to thrive because she stopped eating. I could never get her to take more than an ounce at a time and I tried nursing too. I would really recommend trying to get into a GI specialist if she continues to show symptoms after the formula switch. My daughter was hospitalized on 3 different occasions over the first 2 years with problems pertaining to this. But the specialist did say that the nutramigen was a must...of cours prior to him saying that, I remember walking through the formula isle and pointing it out to my husband and saying just be glad we don't have to buy that!! With #3, when he started showing milder signs of it as well, I switched to Dr. Brown bottles and they made a huge difference too. Talk to your pediatrician (or better yet the front desk nurse) about samples they get in the office and also check with the company about samples and discounts. I didn't do that with #2, but was told I should have, that you can usually get some free at least. Good Luck, at 7 my daughter still suffers from bouts of it, but it is controlled by Nexium (Prevacid never helped at all),pepcid and diet. Hopefully your daughter will out grow it.

i used similac sensitive for my daughters acid reflux with axid because prevaid did not work for her. she did really well with similac sentive mixed with a little rice cereal which help sooth the stomach. i know that it has helped and we started with prevacid and it did not work so we went to the zantack and no luck and so finally we went to the axid which has been a great help and maintains her stomach. the simalac sensitive had to be mixed with cereal because she was constantaly vomiting. so try these and see. T.

Hi Brittany,

I am so sorry to hear your little guy has reflux. My son had it from 2 months to 12 months. I have been through it myself as well and know exactly what they go through. We tried every formula out there. My son did really well on Gentlease from Emfamil. We tried Nutramigen, but he didn't like the taste and he digested it way too fast. So he was hungry all the time. Really the best is breast milk. In my case my son had little to no symptoms with breast milk. However he fought breast feeding teeth and nail. So we had to switch to formula at some point. The truth is you will have to go through many types of formula to find which is best for your child. Every case of reflux is different so what works for us, may not be the best for you. When you find one that's right you will know. Your child's symptoms will lesson, he won't be as fussy and he will eat better. I reccomend you see a GI specialist. They can better advise you. My son may have only had it for 10 months, but it was 10 months of agony and hell for him until we found the right formula and medication that worked for him. Many will suggest the rice based formulas. That made it worse for my son. It was explained to me that with reflux infants, the faster the food digests the better so it doesn't sit in the stomach for to long causing an episode. I was then told to either put rice cereal in the breast milk or use the rice based formulas. Rice will digest slower and sit longer in the stomach. Everytime we did this he had the worst reflux episodes. My point is, if you find a formula that works, stick with it. It's worth the price to keep your child from having reflux episodes. Gentlese is pricey too, but it was worth it so my son wasn't in pain. Also it's only for 12 months and then they don't need formula anymore. If Nutramigen is working for you, stay with it. I hope this has been of some help to you. Good luck to you and your family. I pray your son gets through it quickly.

A. H.

We gave our son Nutramigen due to a dairy & soy allergy. It was the only thing he could take. I was told that it can be obtained through a prescription written by a doctor. You may want to try that avenue because, yes, it is VERY expensive!