New and need help please!

[Anonymous]

Hello, I’m not sure if this is the right place to post but I am hoping some of you experienced moms can help me.

My name is Jen and I have a 6 week old with undiagnosed reflux. I also have an almost 3 year old who also had reflux as a baby (which was easily treated the minute we tried .4 ml of Zantac!).

We are having a very hard time with my 6 week old figuring out how to treat him and I am at my wits end. Every time we feed him it is a nightmare. I dread every feeding and want to cry. Here is my background:

– My son is on formula. He was taking Similac for about 4 weeks when we switched him to soy (Isomil) to see if that would help. It helped for about 3-4 days and then back to normal.
– “Normal” feedings for us are that he takes 1-2 ounces without a problem, then burps, then starts wincing and crying when he tries to take more of the bottle. He arches his back and is very stiff. Classic reflux symptoms to me! He then stops and that is the end of the bottle.
– He burps a lot and spits up a lot too. He may wake up after an hour after his bottle screaming with another burp.

We have tried:
– Zantac for 2 weeks, we didn’t see much improvement (.8 ml two times a day)
– The switch to Isomil for 2 weeks
– Gripe water
– We are now on Prevacid (1/2 dissolved tablet once a day) for the past 4 days and have seen no improvement and things have actually gotten worse.

We DO have an appt. scheduled with a pediatric gastro doctor, but it is not for 3 1/2 weeks. Our regular ped wants us to stay on the prevacid for 2 weeks and doesn’t want us to switch formula again (she wants us on regular similac) until the two weeks are over. I don’t think I can bear to deal with these awful feedings for two weeks like this.

Any advice on what to do? How long should it take for the prevacid to work? Should I just jump to a Nutramagin-type formula now and forget my ped’s advice? Should I forgo the Prevacid and go back on Zantac? (At least on the Zantac he was taking 2.5 to 3 oz, now it is barely 1)

I would appreciate any support. I am so sad about this. I just want my happy sweet baby back, and I want him to feel better.

Thank you.

Jen

[Anonymous]

Jen,

Welcome to the board! First of all here’s a BIG ! This is so hard but you’re here and that’s great b/c these moms have gone or are going through the same thing so they know better then doctors sometimes what works best.

I have a couple thoughts: The prevacid can take two weeks or sometime longer to work. i would really reccomend you go to http://www.marci-kids.com . They are really up to date on the research about infant reflux and they have a dosing calculator to figure out what the appropriate dose is for your lo. That can help speed things up if you do that in the beginning. Also make sure if it’s the solutabs that you’re using that you give them on an empty stomach and follow up with a feed 30-60 minutes later. That’s SUPER important b/c the med won’t work to it’s full capacity if you don’t. We were never told this untill I came here so Kate suffered for a LONG time when it could’ve been avoidedYou could also try some Mylanta cherry supreme before a feed(1ml to start?)to see if that helps him eat a little easier. It coats the throat and is impossible to overdose on it just causes the runs and some cramping for some babes.

Your baby also might have MSPI? Milk and soy protein intolerance. Alot of kiddos with reflux do so you might need to go to an elemental formula but I don’t know that much about that stuff so I’ll let another mommy chime in with info about that.

Lastly, hang in there! I UNDERSTAND completely about difficult feeds. That was pretty much my daughter’s main problem, still is to a point, so I know how heart wrenching it is to feed a writhing baby. It’s not fair that a little person so small should have such a tough time doing something so simple that should come so easily. We’re here for you and you are not alone! This is such a rolercoaster, which you probably know b/c you’ve been through this before but it doesn’t make it any easier. Things will get better I’m sure. My prayers are with you and your family tonight!!!

Kate’s Mommy2007-07-28 17:42:55

[Anonymous]

hi and welcome, you sound similar to me. We breastfed for 3wks, then soy for about 4 weeks and then switched to Nutramigen and I got a semi-new baby with that change. Started Zantac for about 3 weeks and finally when Cooper was 10weeks old we started Prevacid 7.5mg/day. then after 2weeks went to 7.5mgs/2xday and then after about 3 weeks went to 15mg 2x/day and until we started teething everything was great. Mylanta Supreme can help until the meds kick in which is usually 2 weeks, you probably need a higher dose of prevacid but you can try to stick it out until you see the ped gi. If I were you, I would go ahead and try Nutramigen or Alimentum as it sounds like your lo has MSPI and soy will not help that. Best of luck, keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Welcome! What Claire and Beth have mentioned covers it mainly, but I also wanted to add that if you stopped the Zantac when you started the Prevacid, that may explain why your LO seemed to get worse. It can take up to two weeks for the Prevacid to really kick in, so in the meantime, I would keep giving the Zantac along with the Prevacid. Just be sure to space them at least 4 hours apart so they don’t counteract each other. I hope that you are able to find some relief for you and your little one.

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome,

Ditto to what the others have said. I’ve been in your place twice with reflux babies who hated to eat. It’s a nightmare and I fully empathize with you.

I’d put him back on Zantac for the two weeks it usually takes to see results with Prevacid. (It’s perfectly safe…many babies on this site have been on both meds at the same time…just be sure to space them four hours apart.) Also, I’d check his dose at http://www.marci-kids.com and try to talk your doc into a higher dose for him. If he won’t do then hopefully the gi will. My son was miserable until we finally got him on the marci-kids dose.

It’s usually best to make only one change at a time, so it’s probably reasonable to stick with the formula he’s on now because if you make too many changes at once you won’t know what’s working and what’s not. However, if you’re like me you might just want to go ahead and start him on a hypoallergenic formula and then sort things out later when he’s feeling better. If it were me I’d try Alimentum RTF (not the powder). The powder has a high corn content which some babies react to. Nutramigen also has more corn than Alimentum. (You pick these things up when you hang around the board as long as I have).

Oh, and like Claire said, make sure you are giving the Prevacid on an empty stomach and following it up with a feeding 30 minutes later.

Hang in there. It really will get better once you get his meds and formula worked out.

You might want to look through Laura’s Intro link (stickied in the Introduce Yourself Forum). Lots of valuable info there.

Good luck. I’m glad you found us and I hope your little guy is feeling better soon.

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for your advice so far, I really appreciate it!

We spoke to our ped over the phone and he said we should try 1 tsp. of Maalox to help coat his stomach and help him calm down. He also wants us to use the Gerber liquid lites for 12 hours since he has barely been able to take anything. He said we are welcome to try the Alimentum or we could also try our regular formula thickened with rice cereal.

I think our plan right now, for the night, is to continue to Liquid Lites (he had a 3 oz feeding, then a 4 oz feeding on it, which is the most he has taken in a few days) and to try the Maalox for the next day or so to see if we can calm down his reflux. I will stick with the prevacid as well. I’m not sure what to do with the formula… I really do believe it is reflux and not an allergy, so I sort of want to hold off on the Alimentum. I just don’t know. I don’t want to change too much at once. (As an FYI, after the first Liquid Lites feeding, he burped up some milk from the prior feeding, so we definitely think that was a good sign that he has reflux)

Any other advice is appreciated through this roller coaster. Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous]

Hi. Welcome to the site. I agree with the others, so I won’t repeat all their info. About the maalox, you might want to try the mylanta cherry supreme instead b/c it’s aluminum free. Just make sure not to give the antacid near the prevacid or it won’t work as well. It’s really hard to distinguish reflux and milk allergy- the symptoms are almost interchangeable. A baby with milk allergy will show all the signs of reflux as well, and sometimes nothing else.

Good luck.

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