InfantReflux.Org Forums: My 5 month old with infant reflux

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   I am so happy I found this forum.  I've been going out of my mind for two months now.  I have a sweet 5 month old son with a silent reflux.  Apart from the feedings which are challenging at times, as he cries just when seeing his bottle(which is just heartbreaking!!!), he is a happy baby.  He sleeps reasonably well.  Takes about 3 naps during the day (about 45min to 1hr each) and sleeps at night.  We put him down at around 8:30pm and he wakes up about 6 times during the night just for his pacifier.  At around 4am he wakes up for a feeding. He was diagnosed 2 months ago with silent reflux.  We started with Similac Advance but he didn't do well on it.  So we switched to Enfamil A.R, which was better but far from perfect.  Then I read about a fromula thickener called Simply Thick, so I added that to Enfamil A.R.- it actually worked for about two weeks, but he was never completely free of his symptoms i.e: not comfortable after the feeding, desperately sucking on his fingers or pacifier right after the feedings, daily cough and constant hawking (hoarse noises) and three  days ago while I was feeding him, he started pushing the bottle out of his mouth.  At that point I decided to give Alimentum a try.   At first I thought he improved a bit, because he did not fight the bottle but he was still uncomfortable after the feedings and his hoarseness got much worse.  I just started adding Simply Thick thickener to the Alimentum but I am not sure if it will make it more difficult for him to digest it?  Has any one experienced it? Also, has anyone have any luck with anything other than the meds.  (like homeopathy for example.  I hear that Nux Vomica can be helpful or osthiopathy?.  I would much rather not give him the meds.  I think that his reflux is mild.  Is it???
My pedi says that I'm not doing him any harm by not giving him the meds, but I guess I want to be reassured. I'm so concerned about his hoarseness and his cough, will they disappear once his outgrows his reflux? Can anyone please respond.  I'm so concerned for my little boy and can hardly get any sleep just trying to research .

Im sorry for this long post.  I thought the details may be helpful to understand my little one's situation better. 

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marilyn111 Newbie Joined: 06 September 2010 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Topic: My 5 month old with infant reflux Posted: 06 September 2010 at 11:50pm
	I am so happy I found this forum. I've been going out of my mind for two months now. I have a sweet 5 month old son with a silent reflux. Apart from the feedings which are challenging at times, as he cries just when seeing his bottle(which is just heartbreaking!!!), he is a happy baby. He sleeps reasonably well. Takes about 3 naps during the day (about 45min to 1hr each) and sleeps at night. We put him down at around 8:30pm and he wakes up about 6 times during the night just for his pacifier. At around 4am he wakes up for a feeding. He was diagnosed 2 months ago with silent reflux. We started with Similac Advance but he didn't do well on it. So we switched to Enfamil A.R, which was better but far from perfect. Then I read about a fromula thickener called Simply Thick, so I added that to Enfamil A.R.- it actually worked for about two weeks, but he was never completely free of his symptoms i.e: not comfortable after the feeding, desperately sucking on his fingers or pacifier right after the feedings, daily cough and constant hawking (hoarse noises) and three days ago while I was feeding him, he started pushing the bottle out of his mouth. At that point I decided to give Alimentum a try. At first I thought he improved a bit, because he did not fight the bottle but he was still uncomfortable after the feedings and his hoarseness got much worse. I just started adding Simply Thick thickener to the Alimentum but I am not sure if it will make it more difficult for him to digest it? Has any one experienced it? Also, has anyone have any luck with anything other than the meds. (like homeopathy for example. I hear that Nux Vomica can be helpful or osthiopathy?. I would much rather not give him the meds. I think that his reflux is mild. Is it??? My pedi says that I'm not doing him any harm by not giving him the meds, but I guess I want to be reassured. I'm so concerned about his hoarseness and his cough, will they disappear once his outgrows his reflux? Can anyone please respond. I'm so concerned for my little boy and can hardly get any sleep just trying to research . Im sorry for this long post. I thought the details may be helpful to understand my little one's situation better.
	Marilyn

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s&h's mum Senior Member Joined: 30 October 2005 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 5798	Posted: 07 September 2010 at 9:07am
	I'm sorry that I can't respond right now as I'm off to work, but quickly- When reflux affects feeding, then it's not likely mild, and even if it is, it's bad enough to be causing pain. You really do want to get the pain under control since he's showing sighns of a feeding aversion. We had a full blown feeding aversion b/c we didn't get the pain well controlled, and that was a nightmare leading to months of feeding therapy and heartache. I would honestly try the meds at a good dose. I know your apprehension, we all feel that way. Check out www.marci-kids.com for details about meds and dosing. [it's laura, here; try this link> I'd try prevacid, maybe in buffer babies, but that's just my opinion. My DD had a terrible feeding aversion, and was very unhappy. We saw a naturopath and we also did osteopathy and none of it helped. She needed to be medication. The hoarseness/cough will likely go away after, if due to his reflux. If he's coughing etc with feeding, he may need a modified barium swallow to make sure that he's not aspirating, hence the hoarseness. Good luck. Edited by hellbennt - 06 November 2012 at 1:38pm
	LORI, mom to: Sarah-09/03-My sweet princess. Hailey-05/05- My funny little girl. 4 years old, but still my baby. Past feeding aversion. Now typical eater, off prevacid for 1.5 years!
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Cooper's mom Junior Member Joined: 12 May 2007 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 2248	Posted: 07 September 2010 at 3:47pm
	Lori has several good points. The hoarseness if probably due to the reflux and that means it is damaging his esophagus which could become permanent if not dealt with. The meds for reflux are so safe that you really shouldn't be worried. my DS was on prevacid from 12 wks old until he was 16 months old and he is just as happy and healthy now as he could be. His pain sounds pretty severe if it is affecting his intake the way it is. HTH. Good luck.
	Beth Cooper 2/07 (former refluxer and MSPI. out grew egg allergy at 3.5yrs old) Caroline 1/10 Reflux FREE!!!
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hellbennt Admin Group Joined: 28 August 2003 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 13402	Posted: 07 September 2010 at 8:32pm
	if your baby is in pain, then your baby needs medication. sometimes reflux babies start to associate feeding w/ pain and then they don't eat enough and other times they eat a lot to soothe the burn. I have SO MUCH TO SAY, and most of it is here- please read the info from this link & refer back to it often, as it TRULY will help you! http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853
	~laura~ Jonah 7/03:GERDfree@12mos! Silent Reflux@birth(apnea episodes/NICU);Past Sandifer Symptoms, breastfed->15mos Ari 7/06 REFLUX FREE, so miracles do happen!
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