Hi Jennifer,
My daughter Olivia, who is now 5 months old, also has reflux. At 6 weeks she stopped breathing, which doctors think was due to the formula being stuck in her airway, and spent some time at Doernbecher's. Since then she has been on reflux medication. She first tried Zantac, which worked but as she gained weight she needed higher and higher doses, so our doctor recently switched her to Prilosec. Although it's hard to get down her because of the horrible taste, we have noticed a difference. Our doctor said that eventually babies with reflux will stop eating completely because of the pain and discomfort, so I would encourage you to get it checked out right away. If you happen to find anything that works better I would love to hear back!
Good luck!!
Jennifer-
I understand your pain. My daughter was born small. She was
6 pounds at birth. Within a few weeks of breastfeeding it was clear she was having problems with the lactose in my milk. We switched her over to lactose free formula which helped only to discover she had colic till she was 5 months. After the colic ended she tended to spit up a lot some nights and complain if she was on her back so again we went to the doctor and they determined she had acid reflux so because she was only 7 months old at the time we got a perscription to a liquid medicine called Cimetidine and she can have up to 2ml every 6 hours.It's a liquid antacid. I give her a dose in the morning and once in her night time bottle and it helps a lot.
Another thing I noticed is when they have the acid reflux they get gassy so I give her a dose of the gas drops before bed and she sleeps soundly and openly accepts her bottle with out problems. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Jennifer -
My 12 week old has GERD and we diagnosed it at 3 weeks. We have had him taking PREVACID Solutab and it has made a world of difference! He is so much happier. It taste like a sugar tab so the kids don't mind taking it. He actually smiles when I give it to him. My doctor was more than willing to give it a try when we asked her about it. She had given him Zantac liquid and he wouldn't take it - it tasted so bad. She was thrilled when someone else recommended this to me as it has worked wonders.
Good luck!
Tara
Don't beat yourself up too soon. If she is adopted get her a complete physical if you haven't already and if the doctor thinks she is fine, than 10 to 1 she is okay and you will just have to see it through. Iive it till she is four months. Keep a diary of the simtoms just in case. It could be a form of colic or maybe the formula is to hard on her little tummy try a few things, take notes and just wait. -Washington
I am so sorry you and your daughter are going through this. GERD does seem like the most likely cause, but be sure to get a prescription from your doctor. I wouldn't do an over the counter medicication for a baby so young. That hazelwood necklace thing sound interesting too - no need for a prescription for that one! Good luck!
XanGo has helped numerous people with GERD. Stay away from meds, too many bad side effects for such a young one.
Dana B
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Do you use a Dr. Brown's (I think it is the name) bottle that helps with reflux? I have an extra one that I don't use...which I could send it to ya. If you want it, I can do that my email is [email protected] Put "bottle" in the subject line. I never have used it...so who knows if it will help or not. Good luck to you!
Both of my children had GERD as infants although my daughters was worse than my sons. The pediatrician treated both of them with liquid Zantac and it worked wonderfully for both of them. My daughter took it for about 18 months and my son took it for about a year. Both of them were preemies and it was surmised that their little stomachs and esophagus (sp) were slightly underdeveloped and just needed time to catch up. I would make sure that you have her checked for pyloric stenosis just in case that is the problem. You also may need to look into changing her formula in case she is having problems with milk proteins and/or sugars. Hopefully you will be able to fix this quickly and not have to watch her suffer any longer. Good luck!
You really need to take your little one to a naturopath. I'd recommend Dr. Molly O'Neill, she's really good with kids. Good luck!
Dr. Molly O'Neill: 503.320.2707
My son had acid reflux when he was little stemming from swallowing placenta at birth. The poor littl guy spit up and had collick for the first three months. He was prescribed Zantac at that early age because the over the counter stuff doesn't work well. My doc said that the Myconsol (sp?) was just like giving him water. It did seem to help him, but he is still a very picky eater. He is five now, so it's a distant memory. :D Good luck!
It's odd that she sleeps fine all night and then wakes up screaming. Most often, GERD is worse at night simply because of gravity allowing a backflow of acid into the esophegous (sp?). But hey, every body is different.
I don't think you'll want to experiment with OTC meds on such a young baby. The reason is they are sized for adults, not children. My son is on prescription Zantac in a liquid form. You can go through a compounding pharmacy and get the alcohol-free kind. Cost is $25 per month (insurance doesn't cover compounding in our case). Really, it's just as cheap as any OTC price. Prevacid is twice that amount, but again, you need a prescription.
My son has reflux - it's not about poor eating, reflux is throwing up after EVERY feeding, crying after eating and when laying down flat on his back. She's too young for over the counter meds - take her to your doctor.
My doctor put my twins on a liquid version of prevacid (sp) it is helping a lot
When my daughter was small and colicky, my midwives told me that baby's digestive systems sometimes take a while to adjust to the world of food, even what is in breastmilk and formula. Figuring out what your baby is reacting to in the formula will probably the most helpful thing. Probiotics are also helpful, although sometimes they can make gas a little worse before it gets better, if that's the issue. My daughter at age two has outgrown most of her allergies, as her digestive system has matured. Naturopaths are really helpful with food allergies (I am one, and I went to a different one for help!)
Good luck,
Elissa M
Jennifer,
GERD is an all to familiar diagnosis in my home. My baby girl was diagnosed with GERD and Failure to Thrive (terrible title for a child who doesn't gain weight, stops growing etc..) due to GERD. It's affected her health and developement tremendously. Signs of severe GERD: Projectile type vomiting at all meals, several episodes of vomiting daily (without signs of fever or other illness), increased swallowing, sneezing (severe sx can reflux into ears and nose), coughing/choking (very dangerous, they may aspirate into their lungs),arching their back to relieve discomfort (my daughter for the first several months of life would just look at the world upside down, cute until we learned why, poor baby!), then the I'm in pain cry or colic type cry (Abby had silent GERD, no crying), last but not least, hiccoughs. An unusual symptom that can be related to GERD: torticolis of one side of the neck (their head will tilt to one side), tilting their head when they eat. My little Abby had all the above symptoms except the crying. Our pediatrician didn't recognize the symptoms right away, she sent us to a specialist about another issue and our specialist recognized and diagnosed her. As a result she was sent through some testing (blood work, swallow study etc...) We were sent to a pediatric GI specialist and she was placed on meds. We had to try a few different meds before finding one the worked for her. Even with the medication we did end up having to have a feeding tube placed in her belly to catch her up calorie wise. We also use Gripe water, recommended to us by our lactation specialist but just more recently tried and it too has seemed to help. She's a different kiddo these days at almost 2 years old. With all that said, I just can't stress enough that you speak with your pediatrician and have your little one examined to rule out anything else that could be a cause of her symptoms. As I understand it most kiddos grow out of GERD by the age of 2 or even sooner. Your little one doesn't, from your description, sound like an Abby and Thank Goodness for that!! Also a little note for you GERD and Colic symptoms are very stressful for all involved, it's normal to feel stressed and to feel guilty. Remember to take time for yourself, relax and breathe.
All My Best,
Karrlee
My baby was doing the same and was diagnosed with reflux. I used babies magic tea to get him soothed which worked.