My 7 week old has really bad reflux, she's on 1.5 mil. of zantac 3xday & Nutramigen. Very fussy, worse than colic for hours at a time, 2-3 times a day. I just upped her dose of zantac and she seems more comfortable and able to sleep but every time i increase the med. it only last a dday or two then she's screaming all day again. Any suggestions?
Let me explain a little more....Maci was hospitalized at 10 days old for dehydration. They did xrays, ultrasounds, and a barrium swallow. It is definately gastroesophogeal reflux. She is on Nutramigen formula which is for babies who cannot tolerate anything else. No lactose, no milk protiens. She only sleeps in a carseat or sitting up being held. The is on the max dose of zantac 2 ml 3 times a day and we finally got a referral to see a g.i. specialist, but we haven't see one yet. She doesn't throw up too often anymore, but she constantly screams and cries and never sleeps during the day, b/c she is so uncomfortable. She has a hoarse cry and stuffy sounding nose (which I've heard is common with reflux) I was wondering if anyone in the area has been to a specialist that they would reccomend or tried anything that i haven't.
Thanks, Frustrated Mom
IT HAS BEEN 11 WEEKS AND ALL IS WELL. Believe it or not she's drinking goats milk w/ rice cereal and loving it. God i hope i don't jinx myself. I bought some poly vi sol vitamins just to be sure she's getting everything she needs. She's still one prevacid twice a day but i will take her off of it gradually if everythingkeeps going well. Of my 3 children, none of them tolerated formula very well. My son was on cows milk by 3 months, and now maci...hmmmmm. My mom read in a magazine that the same "pharmaceutical" company that makes infant formula also makes most of the medicine that has been prescribed to maci. Makes you wonder huh. I haven't told the g.i. or the ped. what i have been giving her yet, I'm waiting for her next checkup so they can see how well she is doing then i will tell them what she is drinking in her bottles. she has gained 2.5 pounds in the last week and a half. when she was 2 months old she weighed 10.5 pounds now she is 12.5! yeah!!!
My daughter Layla is 2 months. She had reflux problems for the 1st 6 weeks. Her peds wanted to put her on meds but I choose not to because she was to little to start all of that stuff. Anyway, we changed her formula 3 times until we found one that agree with her. She takes a Lacto-Free formula. Have you tried other kinds of formula?
oh, i'm sorry! my little girl (now 21/2) had it and threw up all the time and it came out her nose. we gave her maalox or mylanta, and it seemed to help a little, and we tried prevacid, but it was impossible to get it down since she was nursing for 6 months. she didn't sleep through the night until 9 months, so i hope yours does. also, we raised her head of the bed with phone books, and held her for 15-30 minutes after meals, but i have to say, it DID spoil her. she always wanted to be held after that. good luck. just remember it will pass, and try not to get frustrated. i say that but my daughter still throws up anytime she cries too long or hard which is hard, because of course she does a lot at bedtime, and sometimes we have to run to the toilet. again, good luck!
Try one of those wedge pillows you get from Babies R Us that will put the baby at a lean. My nephew had this problem and the pillow was a life saver for his parents!
My son has has reflux since he can home from the hospital and was finally diagnosed at 9 months. They gave him zantac to begin with and it did very little. What they did do that seems to work very well is along with th zantac they gave him reglan. he takes one ml a day of each(together) and he doesn't have much of a problem at all. Our case was different though, even though he had reflux he never lost weight, he gained it, and he was never dehydrated. He just left huge puddles of milk every where. We tried him on every kind of formula you can think of and the doc finally sent him for tests at 9 months. he is 17 months now and I only have to give him the meds occasionally. I hope this helps. good luck.
I would think the reflux would be due to lactose intolerance. Even if you're breastfeeding, your baby may be lactose intolerant and might need a lactose-free formula to ease the discomfort. I would try that before trying any medication changes. Especially since the changes only last a day or two, I would try to find out why your baby has so much reflux. If the change in formula doesn't work, I would ask to see a GI specialist. They can do an endoscopy and see if Maci's esophagus is working right. Maybe she doesn't have the peristalsis that she's supposed to or maybe the opening into the stomach isn't closing. These are both possibilities with her being so young. Hope I've helped!
E.,
I am so sorry to hear about your baby. I know she will probably grow out of this.. Another medication of possibility is Reglan. Zantac is to "buffer" the acid so it does not burn her throat. So upping the does is probably okay but make sure you check with your doc. Reglan is prescribed for esophogeal reflux a lot, you might see if your doctor will prescribe it. Also ( I did this with my kids) elevated her head of the crib ( like with a pillow) or let her sleep in her car seat..... this will help with the reflux. Good luck!!
M.
mom of Parker 6, Preston 3 and Porter 19months
I battled with reflux with my daughter. She had it something horrible. We had to switch her formula to lactose free, as well give her milacon drops, plus zantac. it would put her at ease for awhile during the day, but she would eventually end up getting fussy again. One of the things that i tried was a slow flow nipple. that helps for them not to get to much air as they are swallowing. My doctor said that the reflux was caused by her formula and too much air, which is also leads of colic. My daughter did not grow out of it until she was 4 months old. Was something we just had to battle with. Hard to do when you have other children, but just hang in there and try to ease her as much as posible. Some other methods that we tried we wrapping her up tightly in a blanket (kinda like an eskimo baby) which was making her feel close to someone, and the warmth would help ease the tummy. We as well always kept her elevated. That was one of the biggest measures that would help especially after meals. We would elevate the head of her bed, prop her up in a swing (without it moving), and we had one of those older baby cradles that looked like a car seat that we used. That helped her a lot, what is when she got most of her rest. I know it is something very hard to deal with, especially if all your other children were real easy babies. My son was the calmest baby i had ever seen. Then my daughter was really realy fussy, gasey, and colic. I did have to have help with her from other people because once you get tensed up, the baby will feel that as well. So sometimes being cared for an hour or so my your spouse or significant other will help. There are just so many measures you can do. Sometimes there may be nothing you caan do to cure it, but you can just ease it a little bit. I know my advise may not be much but maybe it will help you a little bit. Just remember it may be something she will have to grow out of just as my daughter did.
E.
Have you tried switching her formulas to a lactose free. My daughter has the reflux still it comes and goes and she is 13 years old. So try to change the formula and see how it goes...
For my fussy and refluxed baby, I gave him babies magic tea. This tea worked good and he has no symptoms of acid reflux now.
Hi! My son is 16 months now but for the first 6 months of his life he had awful reflux (GERD)! We did the swallow stick study and the whole nine yards at Children's. He was also on zantac and about every other med for it. First, make sure she is using bottles that don't let too much air in. We loved Dr. Browns bottle. After 6 months we were fed up and the meds would work temporarily so we actually took a nontraditional route. We put him on Goat's milk. Sounds wierd I know but he loved it plus he did a total turn around! We used the powdered form but you can use the canned liquid. You can get it at Wild Oats in Little Rock or any health food store around the state. I will help you find it if you need me to. You can get the liquid at Kroger. Both the powder and liquid are considerably less than the Nutramigen. As you know it is crazy expensive. My son was also on it at first. I don't know if you would want to go so far as to try alternative medicines but we also put him on a herbal supplement. I will swear to all of this. It seems hocus pocus but it was the miracle solution for us. We actually went so far as to go see a holistic doctor and he really helped. I could give you his info if you would like it. He doesn't charge anything either. He actually introduced the possibility that he may be suffering from a hietal hernia (not sure I spelled that right) which has reflux symptoms. It really explained a lot... ie the horrible cries, his "balling" up b/c his tummy hurt, etc...etc...etc...Later we found out that my husband's family actually has a history of hietal hernias and it is often genetic. Another thing that will help at least give her some relief is called Gripe Water. You can get it at most stores (Kroger, etc..)and some drug stores. It should soothe her and keep her comfy for a bit and it mysteriously makes hiccups disappear :). Let me know if I can help and we will talk more. I hope little Maci can find some relief. I know how tough it is on her and how hard it is to watch her in so much pain.
Hello,
My son who is now 8 1/2 had really bad reflux also,and on top of that he was born 3 months early, but u can't tell it now, he has came a long long way since birth, and no major health problems and he has out grow most of the reflux now,or I should say that he doesn't take meds for it any longer it's been a few yrs now since he was on zantac as well.We tryed everything with him, but he was not cranking with his.But the best formal that worked for him was the infamil w iron, for premmiees since it's easier on there stomaches,he stayed on that for the entire first yr and then some.And tolerated it well if the zantac.But I do believe that his dose was a lot higher then yr daughters. and was on it 4 times a day.Are u sure it's not the colic on top of the reflux has well?? Well, I hope u the best.
I am a mother of 2 one son who is 8 1/2 and 1 daughter who is in heaven with her maker.Who would be 9 1/2 now.
J.
My son had that when he was a baby. He took Zantac as well. I stopped giving him Zantac when he was around 5 months, but the reflux has returned (he is 7 months). He is now taking prylesec (not sure how to spell it) that is working well. You could ask your pediatrician if you could try that medicine instead of the zantac. ALSO- are you breastfeeding? or formula? Part of my son's problem was the breastmilk, he actually ended up having to have soy based formula because he was lactose intolerant (they say he will grow out of it when he is around 1 and I can then introduce milk). You can email me with any other questions- as I am quite familiar with this problem.
