I’m confused

[Anonymous]

Hi,

My son Matthew will be three months old in one week. He was diagnosed
having reflux when he was five weeks old. His ped did not prescribe
anything since his weight gain is normal.

Things started getting little better, now starting 2 weeks ago, we
noticed he spits up more frequently and in large volume, but he does
not look like in pain to me. (He does not cry after spit up). We try to
burp him more frequently, the problem is every time we burped him, we
always get a wet burp or nothing. I also notice that he would
still spit up several hours after we feed him. Could that indicate an
indigestion problem?

I know medicine like PPI could help to relieve the pain related to
acid, but how to control the reflux, because reflux makes my son
uncomfortable and hard to get any sleep during daytime. (It is
hard to sleep when food in your stomach keeps coming back to your
throat) I almost tried every method to make him feel better, it
did not work. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

you are saying the reflux makes him uncomfortable….
that is because its acidic. the PPI will stop the acid, thus making him more comfortable. my sons reflux no longer bothers him now that he is on a PPI.

and yes, if he is throwing up hours after a feeding, it could mean slow digestion. my understanding is many babies grow out of this, you just have to give it time.

i really recommend trying a PPI.

nataliachick72006-9-28 20:45:21

[Anonymous]

Will he sleep better if I put him on medication?

[Anonymous]

oh my god yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think every single mom on here has said her baby slept better once on medication.

[Anonymous]

Until you decide if medication is for you….you could try and elevate one end of his bed this may help relieve some of the burning he may be experiencing due to the reflux. Also try and keep him semi-upright for about 30 min after eating this helps keep his tummy from being scrunched which just increases the reflux. Many parents have used car seat or swings to help with this.

Have you checked out Laura’s (hellbent) Groupie intro? It is full of great info. And Welcome to the boards. Hope your little one feels better soon.

[Anonymous]

Hi there. Sorry that you are still having a hard time with Matthew’s reflux. I do think it’s worth a try to get your doctor to prescribe a PPI. Also, you might want to try to get in to see a ped GI. There’s a clinic not far from where you are at Centennary Health Centre called the Galaxy 12. We went there for a bit, but they weren’t really able to do anything to help my daughter so we ended up at sick kids. They are nice, but very conservative and won’t do aggressive dosing like that suggested on marci-kids (I know because I tried everything to get a higher dose from them).

Hopefully some medication will make him more comfortable. Hailey’s acid is now well controlled for the most part, and she no longer has any irritation to her esophagus that they can see, but she is a terrible sleeper. She wakes up frequently due to reflux coming up her throat- sometimes it comes right out and I find her sheets wet, other times I hear it come up and she cries out, most times she coughs, chokes, and sputters and then sounds congested. So the PPI has helped with the pain, but hasn’t solved the sleep problem.

As I said, I would try and see if medication, either zantac or a PPI, help him. (I prefer the PPI, but protocol here seems to be try zantac first, then they’ll go for a PPI). If not (or in the meantime) you might want to try elevating his mattress so that he is less likely to reflux. This has helped a bit with the night time reflux episodes for us.

If your son is not uncomfortable after he refluxes, but is just “awakened” by the refluxing itself, he may be a happy spitter, and you’re right that medication won’t solve this. But the meds are quite safe, so if you’re not sure if it’s pain or not, then you can always see if it makes a difference or not.

Hailey also has slow motility, and some babies outgrow this. We were recently told at sick kids that some babies always have slow motility, and that Hailey is likely one of these. Here in Canada we have access to a motility medication called “domperidone”. It moves the food along the GI tract by causing the intestine to contract, and thereby the stomach to empty more frequently. When there is less food in the stomach, the thought is that they are less likely to reflux. But use of these meds is somewhat controversial, especially in the US where they don’t have domperidone, which I was told was quite safe (but who knows). We did try it with Hailey, but it’s hard to give as it has to be given many times a day about 15 minutes before a meal. It gave Hailey cramps and didn’t solve her problem so we stopped giving it.

In any case, I think your best bet is to get a referral to a ped GI. They can assess your son and help you to work through some of the issues so that Matthew can get some relief.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

thanks a lot. It is really good to have someone listen to you and give you advice.

The problem Matthew is having is that it’s so hard to burp him, and if
there is a burp, always a wet one. and he does not like semi-upright
position, always tries to sit himself up. (of course, he is not able to
do that). He likes to be held upright, which I’m afraid will compress
his stomach, because he always spit up a little there and a little here.

The other thing I’m worried that if he could not get too much decent
sleep, would that affect his length gain and brain development. He is a
quite shortie in his age group. I know gene might contribute that too,
because both my husband and I are not tall, but I don’t really want him
lag too behind. And also his head circumference is also below the
average, will that affect his brain development?

[Author]

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