Diarhea on Alimentum

[Anonymous]

I have been doing an Alimentum trial since last Wednesday evening, so almost a week. Sarah has been on 100% Alimetum since Sunday (gradually mixed it with other formula). Anyway, I went to pick her up from daycare today (which is going SO MUCH BETTER by the way) and the sitter said she had watery diarhea THREE times today! She said there was no substance to it at all and most of it was absorbed by the diaper like urine. YIKES! I wanted to continue to try the Alimentum for two more weeks but I wasn’t expecting the diarhea!! Is this a sign of intolerance? How much longer do I keep her on it if she continues to have diarhea? I don’t want her to be dehydrated!!! She has been VERY gassy since starting the Alimentum, but I figured that would get better with time.

Now I’m not sure what to do! I know it’s so hard on their little bodies to switch formulas all the time, but if this is making her sick then I don’t want to continue. Should I gradually switch back to a milk-based formula (or Soy or Lactose free???) or just start giving it to her outright? Should I keep trying the Alimentum?

If it’s not one thing then it’s another!

I also want to update that since I started separating her medicine and formula again until right before feeding…things have been WONDERFUL! Sooooooo, Sarah was basically without her medicine for a few days when I was mixing them too far in advance! Wooops! I guess I’ll add that to the list of reasons why I should NOT win “Mother of the Year”. Haha!

Thanks!
Amy

[Anonymous]

diarhea is common when switching to alimentum.

r u using powder or RTF?

[Anonymous]

Amy- We experienced the same thing with our son when we started Alimentum. Keep her on the Alimentum, it should gradually get better. It took Evan a few weeks before his body got used to it, however, his stools continued to be very loose and watery. We eventually started thickening Evan’s bottles with cereal twice daily and it helped.

Just as Natalia said, it is normal to have loose stools while using/switching to Alimentum.

[Anonymous]

Ok, thanks. I am just concerned about her being dehydrated. She also has a nasty diaper rash (her first!) I guess I should feel lucky that this is her first one in four months but it’s pretty bad and seems to be bothering her. I’ll stick with the Alimentum if you ladies say it’s normal. Sarah has never taken more than 4-5 ounces at a feeding and tonight she had almost 8…she just kept on drinking so I kept making more! I wondered if that was b/c she was dehydrated???

So you think after two weeks her stools will even out? I’ll start adding some rice cereal to a few of her bottles in the meantime.

Does insurance ever cover Alimentum? I’m guessing not but man is it expensive! (I know…I’m thankful it’s not neocate…but still!)

Thanks!
Amy

[Anonymous]

if you qualify for wic they can provide you with alimentum.

also, i noticed my son stools were always too loose on the powder
because of all the corn syrup i think. when we switched to RTF his
poops went back to normal.

but give it two weeks and see if things improve. if not you may need RTF.

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear things are going better at daycare!! That is such great news. As far as the loose stools go, I agree with everyone above that it is pretty normal. Even with the rice cereal, hers tended to be on the loose side (applesauce) but the doctor said that as long as she was drinking well to not be concerned and it was better than being constipated. At 4 months is when we started Abby on the Alimentum thickened with 1 tsp rice cereal per ounce.

As far as help with paying for formula, do you have a Children’s Miracle Network hospital in your area? We do not qualify for any financial assistance but through them, we were able to get $500.00 to help with paying for formula. You could check out their website to see if there is one in your area and get in touch with them. As long as a child has a qualifying medical condition (and reflux is one), you may be able to get a little help. Also, I just made my first formula purchase on Ebay and got Alimentum for $14.00 per can (including shipping) which I thought was a great deal). It doesn’t expire until the end of next year so hopefully it will work out.

So overall, is the Zegerid working well for her? I sure do hope so!! If you have any other questions, just let me know

Robin

[Anonymous]

And by the way, any mom who deals with a little refluxer, in my book, deserves “Mother of the Year”, even with all of the mistakes we make (and believe me, I’ve made a few!!)

Robin

[hellbennt]

for thickening- watch for milk & or soy in the cereal- beechnut brand does not have milk or soy

also, you might want to try oatmeal or barley bcse maybe you’ll find the rice goes too much the other way & is constipating…

[Anonymous]

Brodie also had loose stools on Alimentum and they were greenish, which his ped. told me was noramll since the formula was pre-digested. I think others will tell you this is normal too. That’s a great sign that she took almost 8 oz.!!! YEAH!! And great news that daycare is going better, it’s as much of an adjustment for them as it is us. Also, I used to buy Alimentum powder on ebay. You can get some really great deals even when you figure in the shipping. Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller. Once we switched to RTF, I didn’t buy it on ebay, becasue it is too expensive to ship. However, they frequently sell coupons or vouchers and I used to get those too, to help defray the costs. It used to cost us about $70 a week!! But, it’s well worth it when they are comfortable, you’ll pay almost anything! Hope things keep going well!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the tips! I do not qualify for WIC, unfortunately but I’ll look into the Children’s Miracle Network. I live in southern (rural) Illinois but we’re about an hour from St. Louis. Maybe there is one over there?

Sarah is on the powdered Alimentum. She had diarrhea twice again today and the diaper rash is only getting worse. Maybe I’ll try the RTF and see if it helps. Does it hurt their bodies to switch back and forth from RTF to powder if it’s the same formula?

Zegerid is WONDERFUL! I used to work in the EI program and I called an OT that I was really close with to give her the marci-kids and Zegerid information as a resource for other parents. I just want to tell the world about how great it has been for Sarah! AMAZING!!!

I love e-bay! I have already been scoping out the Alimentum and I agree there are some good deals. I was hesitant to buy 6 or 8 cans just yet until I know it is what we’re going to stick with. Believe me, if we stick with Alimentum…that’s where I’ll be going!

Thanks again!
Amy

[Anonymous]

i think you should stick with either one or the other, because they
have different ingredients in them and you never know ,it could
potentially upset the tummy.

[Anonymous]

Some insurance companies do cover alimentum. My cousin got his company to pay for it. I think that it had something to do with the state that he lived in. The company normally wouldn’t cover it, but Massachusetts had some sort of law that required them to.

[Author]

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