neocate and sleeping issues.

[Anonymous]

My daughter 4.5 months old. she was diagnosed with reflux when she was three months old (refused to feed, excessive spit up). dr prescribed zantac .6ml 3x/day — she is now on 1.3ml 3x/day. i also eliminated all dairy products from my diet (she was exclusively breastfed). the spit and food refusal have stopped and she began sleeping through the night! i am returning to work soon so i began to ween her and started to introduce formula. her symptoms worsened on nutramigen and alimentum and she broke out in a rash (excema?) on her face and neck which doctors attributed to the milk allergy. i started her on neocate (one bottle a day – last feeding). the rash seems to continue to get better but she has begun to wake up every two hours crying in pain at night. has anyone had a similar situation? any advice? i am trying to get my milk supply back but would love to be able to give her formula!!

thanks,

joanna (mother of nora)

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome,

Hmmm…the only thing I can think of is maybe the milk has caused her reflux to flare up and she is no longer getting relief from the Zantac. Many babies don’t get lasting relief from Zantac anyway because it is a very weight sensitive drug and babies quickly outgrow their dose and eventually plateau on it. Perhaps she’d do better on a PPI medication like Prevacid or Zegerid. Here’s a website where you can read about current research into PPI meds for infant reflux. http://www.marci-kids.com

Also, make sure you take a look at Laura’s intro link. It is stickied in the Introduce Yourself Forum.

Good luck and glad you found us.

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to say that I agree with everything Christine said! I am so glad you found this forum! It has been a lifesaver for our family and I hope you’ll find the support and information you need here.

Good luck!!!
Amy

[Anonymous]

i also agree with Christine.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the warm welcome! I will look into the PPI research but my doc says there is limited research on its long term effects on infants…I’ve noticed that most moms on this website seem to be using it.

[Anonymous]

Two things. First of all there are enzymes in breast milk that are great for babies with reflux and formula does not digest as quickly so it has more time to reflux back up.I say that to say that could be the problem. I do think that if that is the problem here body would eventually get used to it. I don’t know for sure just guessing. I guess I will add a third thing. If I’m correct 4 mos. is usually when reflux hits it’s peak or flares up. I have heard that before. Oh I thought of something else, it could always be teething or sickness. Both of those make reflux worse.

All that being said I agree about PPI’s. I know there are some babies that do great on zantac or H2 blockers, but I think they are few and far between.

Sorry to add so much more. Reflux is confusing. We are now at 7 mos. and still not sleeping more than 2 hrs at a time. Please let us know what you find out.

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome. Laura’s intro has a great section on MSPI (mik and soy protein intolerance). Also zantac is very weight sensitive and the dose can need frequent adjusting. Is she still having feeding problems? If so, then I would consider trying a PPI.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for all your input. So far, Nora’s feeding has gotten slightly worse but is not as bad as it was at onset (she refused bottles and cried horribly at every feeding). I am scheduled to see an allergist on Monday and will report back if I learn anything new. Last question: does it make sense to try Soy formula if Neocate didn’t work? It’s the only one i haven’t tried…unfortunately I am still not making enough milk for Nora (she refused to nurse during the worst weeks of the reflux and now, when her sxs have improved, she will still not nurse).

Shelby, so sorry to hear about your lack of sleep. Nora has been doing that to us for the past fewnights. Have you tried swaddling Justice? Maybe she is too big for that but it has helped Nora.

[Anonymous]

Many babies who are intolerant to dairy are also intolerant to soy.

It usually takes about two weeks to see a difference with a formula switch. How long have you been trying Neocate?

[Anonymous]

We swaddled him for the first 4 months. It helped at first and then it wasn’t helping so I stopped. I can tell something is bothering him. He will be fast asleep and then all of a sudden wake up and toss and turn and then start to cry. Hopefully once his cold is gone things will go back to normal. Thank you for the advice. I think swaddeling is great. Especially for reflux babies. They seem to be even more jumpy than a non refluxer. So I’ve been told. Never had one so I don’t know for sure. My friend had 2 non refluxers and her third does have reflux.

[Anonymous]

actually i was exclusively breastfeeding. when i introduced neocate nora’s sxs returned. i am giving her as much breastmilk as possible — i don’t know if this matters but i do eat soy and it does not seem to affect nora like dairy did…she just seems so cranky and uncomfortable. i don’t know what to do. i guess there are just going to be good days and bad days?

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