New, Stressed Mom!

[Anonymous]

Hello – I have a four week old that went on Zantac a week ago. I had mentioned to my pediatrician that my baby seems to cry all day and screams, grunts and arches his back a lot. She said it sounded like reflux. I went back for a follow-up this week and another doctor in the practice said it sounded like we were overfeading him – my son gained a pound in less than a week and is about 10 1/2 pounds. He also gained a pound in less than a week before that…so he is gaining about 3 times more than the average newborn (what the Doc said) . The doc suggested we put him on soy, try glycerin suppositories and make sure he eats 3-4 ounces each feeding. So far, I am not seeing any results from the medicine and am very worried about my son since he cries a lot and seems to be in pain all day.

Here are his symptoms/our problems: squeals with pain at each feeding, spits up at each feeding and throughout the day, wet burbs, cries when spitting up or burping, seems to be in discomfort all day, has a grimace look and grunts like he needs to have a BM but never does. Has a BM once a day. He pants like a puppy dog when he is awake – almost seems like he is hyperventilating. He needs his pacifier in his mouth or someone holding him or a combo of both in order to not cry like a crazy monkey. He coughs during feedings. He sounds gurgly/congested.

I am not able to get a glass of water or take a shower during the day b/c I am constantly trying to console him or because I have to hold him tummy down on my chest all day to let him sleep. I feel like I’m not getting any help from the pediatricians and I hate seeing him suffer with no relief. I also worry about his breathing/hyperventilating and wonder if this is normal. If someone has any recommendation on what I should do next, I’d appreciate it! I’m so tired and overwhelmed!

Mother to Nicholas, born 6-25-09, taking Zantac, .6 ml a day

[Anonymous]

Hi there Stressed Mom,

I used to live on this forum about six yrs. ago when my younger son had terrible reflux. I really feel for you.

Our Specialist told us the hard thing with Zantac is that you would have to keep going up to higher doses, because the body builds up a tolerance to it.

I had to push really hard to get my son on Prilosec, and then had to push hard to get him on an adequate dose.

Just my $.02 here, but if your baby is still in this much pain, chances are he is not dosed properly, or may need something else, besides the Zantac. It is heart wrenching to see your child suffer and feel so helpless. I would call his doc and tell him/her that the med is not helping!

Hang in there,

[Anonymous]

Your story sounds IDENTICAL to mine, except Sam isn’t on meds. The dr feels he should be ok as long as he is gaining weight.

But he is in SO much pain and I, like you, can’t even PEE b/c I am consoling him and his wee tummy all day. He also seems to be trying to BM but never does, usually once a day, but he seems like he wants more to come out.

How did your dr decide meds were the way to go? We are only using standard over-the-counter meds (gripe water, Ovol and Infacol)….

[hellbennt]

welcome! you’ve found a great place!

the key to all of this is RESEARCH and, of course, support!

http://www.marci-kids.com is at the FOREFRONT of research of PPI use and dosing in infants/todders. You can check there to learn more.

then, hop back here to learn HOW to get that proper dose, if need be, and what FORM of PPI and HOW to administer…

Prevacid 101(last post on the page): https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1936&PN=0&TPN=1

unfortunately the majority of drs & pharmacists don’t know…babies metabolisms’ are much faster than adults, so the drugs work differently with them…

after medication, you might then want to look at diet…

I have a LOT MORE TO SAY! and most of it is here: Groupie Intro: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853

it’s looong, but PLEASE read/skim/scroll through it & refer back to it, as it TRULY will help you!

so glad you found us!

~laura

ps: when you get a moment, please go to the upper right-hand corner of this screen and click on ‘settings’ and from there you can edit your signature and let us know how old baby is, what formula or breastfeeding, MSPI or not, what meds and what doses and form of meds and how you’re administering-thanks!

[Anonymous]

Welcome! To start off w/…Zantac alone usually isn’t very effective. It does need to be increased as weight increases. You mentioned you have a chunky monkey, so more than likely that initial dose is way to low now. I’d look into switching to a PPI(prevacid, prilosec, zegerid, nexium). Also, what formula is your LO on? How are his stools when he finally does poo? He may have an intolerance/allergy issue.

He’s probably a comfort feeder(eating to kill the burn). The fact that he’s “over-eating” should be a red flag for reflux given all his other symptoms.

HTH!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your message. He is actually breastfeeding, not on formula. I have also wondered if he eats to “kill the burn” as you say. He is now almost 10 pounds (went to a well-baby clinic yesterday) and he is still gaining 2 oz per day.
I will call the dr today and see if we can get him in again and see if he can prescribe something. Nights seem to be the worst – is this common? He just screams and does this “nnn’geh!” sound over and over and over again with his legs stiff as boards, its disrupting his sleep for sure!
When he poos they are normal, yellow and seedy.
I’ll keep you updated.:)

[Anonymous]

It can be common, especially when they’re that little. Unfortunately a lot of the time LOs are misdiagnosed w/colic. My poor DS was misdiagnosed. Looking back I now know he wasn’t “colicky,” it was reflux. He had those same horrible cries at night for what seemed forever. Luckily, for me(since I was a 1st time mom), he outgrew it by about 9mths. I never would have known had it not been for my DD. She was so bad off I knew something was wrong & luckily our Ped was familiar w/reflux. Anyways…It’s a good sign that his stools are normal bf stools. More than likely MSPI isn’t an issue and it’s solely a reflux thing. Just a suggestion, but don’t ASK if the Dr can prescibe something. Politely TELL them what med/dose you want. Not many Drs are familiar and they are very reluctant to do anything. So, we have to DEMAND sometimes. Good Luck!

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