New here, now what?!

[Anonymous]

I posted under feeding issues but I need help-ideas ASAP. Will give quick version. DS is 20 weeks on Tue. he was full-term but had reflux symptoms from very early on it just took me 2mo to figure out is wasn’t what I was eating like my Ped kept saying. At 2 mo I had to stop Bf’ing b/c I have chronic Fatigue and had to go back on my med’s. We put him on gentlease and axid 2x/day and for a month it was great-new baby.

Fast forward, went to ped GI current med’s 7.5mg prevacid 2x/day .7cc axid 4x/day, 1tsp rice cereal/oz formula. This worked ok he was still distressed, had good days/bad days but was a great eater. Then the constipation started, fixed that and then just the past 3 days he sees his bottle and he cries, I can hardly get 4oz in him.

I’ve tried more rice, less rice, slower nipple, faster nipple, adding prune/apple juice, distracting him etc. What I don’t get is that when he does eat and spits up he doesn’t cry or act in pain, the ONLY time he seems in pain is when I try to feed him! What is going on?! He’s not napping or sleeping well b/c he’s not eating enough to be full…..He is 14lbs 5oz I know this is really scattered but trying to go quickly b/c DS just woke up after 20min nap, he’s been up since 4:30 am w/only 2 15-20min naps, it’s now 12:40 here. TIA ANY thoughts would be helpful, I just have no idea what happened to my good eater!

[Anonymous]

Hi, there are a lot of ladies with a lot of great information that I know will chime in soon~

I will just tell you from my experience what I’ve noticed with my dd–when she was not on enough PPI med she didn’t sleep barely at all during the day, terrible napper…she recently did that when I went down a ml with her prilosec so I went back to the dose I was giving her

also I know some of the ladies use oatmeal with the formula for the constipation part that comes with the rice…I like the rice better b/c it stays done in her tummy better, I make a mix of 1 tablespoon per 2 oz. which is 1 1/2 tsp. per oz. from my ped GI–the cross-cut nipples are the best I have found for dd–

good luck! hope Jack feels better!

[Anonymous]

I agree with the oatmeal.. we would switch between oatmeal and rice in the bottles.

As for the crying, I would give him some MYLANTA CHERRY SUPREME before the bottles.. it will coat his throat and reduce the acid in his stomach. This helped with my son.

In the meantime its sounds like he is in pain while drinking so i would try and up his meds.. contacting his ped in the morning.

Make sure as well, that you are giving the prevacid on an empty stomach 30 min before feeding.. and that you are giving the axid 4 hrs apart from the prevacid.

Also, if the right meds dont end up providing relief you might have to change his formula to a hypoallergenic one. I know you said you changed your diet while breastfeeding.. but he wasnt medicated then right? soo he MIGHT need a change of diet with medication to provide full relief.

And just wanted to add that he is adorable by the way 😉 .. and that things will get better once he is medicated right/or on the right formula

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome,

I’ve had two reflux babies so I sure know how hard it is. For both of my reflux babies feedings were a nightmare. I remember many times that they would be fine until I tried to feed them and then they’d be screaming and miserable. They’d go all day without eating because eating caused them pain. It’s very sad.

Things never got better with my first reflux baby but that’s because she was never properly medicated. My son however did get better once he was on a good dose of Prevacid. Most doctors under dose because they are not aware of the current research at http://www.marci-kids.com that shows babies need higher doses given three times daily because they metabolize and eliminate the drug 3-4 times faster than adults. It’s possible that your son needs a higher dose of Prevacid. (My son did not improve until he was on the marci-kids dose of 10 mg/3 times daily). Also it’s very important to give Prevacid Solutabs on an empty stomach and then follow it up with a feeding 30 minutes later. No one told me that and I was doing it wrong for weeks.

The H2 Blockes like Axid/Zantac often work for a short time and then stop working because they are very weight sensitvie drugs. Babies quickly outgrow their dose and need frequent increases. Sometimes they plateau on them and can no longer get any relief. This is what happend to my first reflux baby.

If you get your little guy on a good dose of Prevacid you most likely won’t need the H2 Blocker anymore anyway, but for now I’d make sure his dose is high enough and keep using the H2 Blocker for the two weeks that it usually takes for the full effect of Prevacid.

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

Oh, and be sure to look at Laura’s Intro link (stickied in the Introduce Yourself Forum). It has lots of valuable information which may help you.

[hellbennt]

laura’s intro

Groupie Intro: my intro: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&PN=1&TPN=1

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