Infantreflux.org | Refusing to EAT...please HELP!!

This topic has 9 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 19 years, 5 months ago by Anonymous.

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April 7, 2007 at 5:29 pm #29836

Anonymous
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He definitely sounds like it’s reflux bothering him! I would talk to the ped about trying a PPI (prevacid, prilosec, etc) or at least a zantac increase. Also, a huge number of babies that have problems with milk also have problems with soy, so that could be part of the problem. Welcome to the site – I hope that you are able to get some answers!

April 7, 2007 at 6:01 pm #29839

Anonymous
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Thanks Kim for responding so quickly! Will any of the other meds help him to where he will be able to eat more? I know that he his allergic to milk b/c he breaks out into a major rash from head to toe and has extremely runny stools tinged with blood. His been on soy for about 4 months. Could he be allergic without any symptoms?

April 7, 2007 at 6:15 pm #29840

hellbennt
Keymaster

he could be intolerant…from here (please read/look at; https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&am p;PN=1&TPN=1) there’s a MSPI link and, from there go to page 2 & scroll down to the ‘google cache’ part and read about the difference b/t allergy & intolerance…

from the main link I just gave you there’s also a lonk to zantac dosing- at 15lbs here’s what his dose of zantac could be;

15lbs = 6.9kilos. so let’s say 9 kilos

zantac dose is 5-10mg per kilo so

10 x 9 = 90mgs total for the day of zantac

the liquid is 15mg/ml so that’s

90 divided by 15 = 6mls totlal of zantac for the day

so I’d give 3 doses of 2mls each…or divide up the 6mls other ways…

disclaimer: I’m not a dr so check out the calculations & the links- the place I gotthese doses from is the pharmaceutical page from the smitho kleine labs or whoever it is that makes zantac…

April 7, 2007 at 7:52 pm #29842

Anonymous
Inactive

Hello and welcome,

I’ve had two reflux babies so I sure know how hard it is.

Zantac and the other H2 Blockers are very weight sensitive medications, so babies will often have some initial relief but they quickly outgrow their dose and many times they plateau on it and get no relief despite dosage increases. This is what happened to my daughter. She was miserable until she finally outgrew her reflux at 9 months.

PPI meds like Prevacid and Zegerid have a much better track record in controlling the pain from infant reflux. Most of us on this board who started our babies on Zantac ended up moving on to a PPI medication eventually. You can read about these PPI meds at http://www.marci-kids.com My son was on Prevacid and he did very well on it.

Generally these medications (PPI’s and H2 blockers) do not reduce spitting up or vomiting. They are meant to decrease or stop acid production so that the baby is more comfortable. Once their pain is controlled they usually will start eating better. Your baby definitely sounds like he is in pain and that’s probably why he’s not eating enough. Both of my reflux babies hated to eat and it was very difficult to feed them. However once my son was on a good dose of Prevacid this feeding difficulty stopped and he began to eat without a fuss.

So, I’d try to get your little guy on a PPI like Prevacid or Zegerid. In the meantime you can try some Mylanta Cherry Supreme before feedings. Many of us have used it and it can offer some temporary relief. I used to give Myles 2 – 2.5 mls up to 4 times per day when he was 16 -17 lbs.

It’s true that many babies who are intolerant to dairy are also intolerant to soy, but it doesn’t seem like he has many symptoms of intolerance right now. I’d probably work on getting his meds right and then if that doesn’t improve things maybe try a hypo formula like Alimentum.

Well good luck. I’m glad you found us and I hope he’s feeling better soon.

April 7, 2007 at 9:25 pm #29847

Anonymous
Inactive

I agree that it certainly sounds like reflux is the problem. When my daughter’s reflux was really bad, she did the same things you describe. She was extremely irritable during feeds, would only drink about 1-2 ozs before screaming inconsolably and writhing, then would refuse to drink any more even though she still seemed hungry. It is also very common for the reflux to worsten when our little ones come down with a virus. We too started off with Zantac, but found it didn’t work as well after the first week, no matter how much we increased the dose. Thanks to the help of the great parents here, and http://www.marci-kids.com, we then asked our doctor for a prescription for a PPI at the marci-kids recommended dosage, and we started to see some real improvement. It took some time though – there was some noticable improvement around day 12, and significant improvement around day 24. Paige has been on Prevacid solutabs for about 5 weeks now, and she will now drink 5-6 ozs at a time with hardly any fussing at all – and she is so much happier! That is a world of difference from just one month ago.

My advice is to visit the marci-kids website and read about PPIs like Prevacid or Zegerid, print off lots of information, and present it to your doctor. Most doctors aren’t familiar with the research that has been done about using PPI in infants, and are hesitant to prescribe them, unless we ask for them. Hopefully you can start your little guy on a PPI, and start to see some real improvement, because unfortunately, Zantac isn’t very effective for most reflux babies.

As well, here is a post about PPIs that I found very useful. I also printed off parts of it to show to my doc.

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6026&a mp;PN=1

Good luck!

MFPIx22007-4-7 21:26:41

April 7, 2007 at 10:37 pm #29853

Anonymous
Inactive

I would get his stool tested for blood the next time he is in the peds office. It’s very simple and they can tell you if it’s positive while you are still there. If it is positive then you know that the soy is possibly bothering him also. After I quit breastfeeding, I went to Alimentum b/c the doctor said it would have so little milk in it that it wouldn’t bother his stomach. We were on that for 6 weeks and I thought I had a whole new baby, and then after that got into his system, he couldn’t tolerate that also.

My son is MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance) and we had to go to Alimentum which works for some babies, but his case was so severe that we are now on Neocate.

He was also getting to the point that he was barely eating and the doctor finally said that he associated pain with food and so he basically was taking enough to survive.

I know the pain of having to carry the poor child around constantly and fighting the feedings and you are soooooo stressed that they feel that too and there is just little you can do.

Best of luck to you and lots of hugs

It’s very emotional for a mom to have a child that you know is in pain, hang in there and keep on the docs. You are the mom and you know your child best!

Erica

April 8, 2007 at 10:59 am #29869

Anonymous
Inactive

Hi there. Welcome to the site. So sorry that you’re having such a hard time. Hopefully we can help you out a bit, so that you can get things back on track.

Here’s a link to Laura’s intro. She’s our forum moderator. It’s full of all kinds of great info (beware it’s LONG!), so you might want to bookmark it so that you can come back to it later. Some particular points of interest might be: finding a ped GI, MSPI, and reflux medications.

It sounds to me like the constant vomitting from the stomach bug may have irritated your son’s esophagus, which is likely why he’s not eating well. You mentioned in your other thread that he is exhibiting some strange movements- like head and eye rolling, jerking etc. These things may be Sandifer’s sydrome- which like others said, is a pain response from the acid burning the esophagus. My daughter had severe Sandifer’s that was so bad that they started to wonder if she was having seizures. We had an EEG which was normal, and that’s how they diagnoses the Sandifer’s. When her pain was better controlled, the symptoms went away. I would personally suggest catching some of the movements on tape and showing your ped.

Also, if your son is in pain, that would also explain the difficult feedings. Many people find that the feedings get better once their babies are on a good dose of PPI. The PPI actually stops the acid production (while the zantac, just blocks it), and have the added advantage of healing any damage that might be there already. My daughter never got any relief and developed a feeding aversion. I don’t say this to scare you, but I think that it would be a good idea to get him on as high a dose of PPI as is possible. I would read http://www.marci-kids.com , and maybe even print off some info that you can bring to your doc. I might also read up on reglan and the benefits vs. potential side effects of that medication if you haven’t already. Now that I think of it, it is possible that some of the strange movements that you’re seeing are due to the reglan, as they can have neurological side effects. So I would call your doc right away and tell him what you’re seeing!

About milk allergy, if your son is allergic to milk protein, I would try neocate over soy. His reflux and feeding problems might stem from the fact that he’s also intolerant to soy. Many people find good relief from the neocate.

Also, if you’re not seeing a ped GI already, that might also be something to consider. Especially since you’re dealing with low weight gain, and feeding problems. They might also be able to refer you to a dietician, who can suggest ways to increase the calories from the formula.

Good luck. I hope that things improve soon.

April 8, 2007 at 7:05 pm #29886

Anonymous
Inactive

I just wanted to first give a HUGE thanks to everyone who has replied to my post. Hearing advice and well wishes has really helped me! Yesterday was horrible, but today was a whole new day and went very well. Bryce has had a total of 32 oz of formula and has eaten some rice cereal. He has kept it all down and he is just really happy today. He has NEVER drank this much formula in a day…ever. I am bringing him to his pedi tomorrow to ask about the PPI meds for him. Are most Pedi’s willing to try different meds if I ask them to? I did ask his Pedi last week about having an upper GI and she said that he will outgrow the reflux in a matter of 6-8 wks so there was no need for one. Any advice? Thanks!!

Jessica

April 8, 2007 at 7:19 pm #29887

hellbennt
Keymaster

advice:

print out info from marci-kids

know going in what exactly you want & TELL the dr, don’t ask. say: according to the latest research, PPI dosing is __mgs per kilo & bryce weighs __lbs, which is __kilos, so he should be getting __mgs a day of PPI. thank you.

if the dr hems & haws, then say: please give us this prescription &, in the meantime, I will try to get in to see a ped GI, who do you recommend? I will keep track of symptoms and, after 2wks of giving the PPI a chance at the higher dosing recommendation, I will try giving less. I can’t stand to see my baby in pain so therefore I want to start on the higher side of things and then decrease if it’s possible.

don’t ask. tell.

good luck.

April 8, 2007 at 11:19 pm #29898

Anonymous
Inactive

and to follow up on Laura’s advice…don’t let the one good day talk you out of being firm about needing stronger meds, needing to get referred to a ped gi, etc. ….and also, push for getting a testing date if you feel strongly that it’s a good idea. Many babies do grow out of this, but in my case and many others on this site that info about growing out of it in 6-8 weeks is total BALONY!!!!! So, you can always cancel the upper gi if the reflux suddenly VANISHES into THIN AIR, but it can take months to get an upper gi scheduled. Be firm, but kind and let the doctor know that you are at your wit’s end– be honest and don’t try to make it look like you are handling it all with ease. The best dr’s visit I ever had was when I was brutally honest and nearly begged my doc to help me– yet I was knowledgeable…and I had print outs from the MARCI kids website with me and a lot of info on my side. I actually got the ped to prescribe the ppi drug (which he’d never done at that time) until we could get into a ped gi’s office. So, it can be done. Good luck! Remember, you are your child’s BEST and ONLY advocate.
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Refusing to EAT…please HELP!!