temperment or reflux?

[Anonymous]

For any of you that have colicky babies with reflux, do you ever wonder if it’s the reflux causing the colicky behavior or if it’s also partly their temperment?

Sometimes my baby seems like he has a really short temper, but I wonder if it’s because he doesn’t feel well due to reflux, so he more impatient.

I can’t always tell if he’s fussy due to discomfort from reflux or if he is just a more high need baby or both. I wish I knew so I would know if he is more comfortable on the medication or not.

Of course, he did have 2 weeks of happy behavior which has now gone back to fussy, so I guess I can assume it’s the reflux. I just know there are plenty of babies with reflux that aren’t this fussy, but I guess they all have different symptoms too.

Too bad this is so hard to figure out and treat!

[Anonymous]

My first refluxer (second baby) had a miserable disposition. It was horrible. I couldn’t take her anywhere because she’d scream all the way there, the whole time we were in the store or wherever we were, all the way home, and then she’d keep screaming until all the groceries were put away and I could pick her up. She was miserable all day at home too. I really thought it was her temperment, but immediately after she outgrew her reflux her dispostion began to improve and by a year of age she was a little doll, and she was the most pleasant, happy, easy-going toddler I’ve ever known. And today at age 3, she’s still pleasant and she’s the easiest of my three. So for her I fully believe it was the reflux that made her so miserable and irritable and short tempered.

However, my son (also a refluxer) was also a miserable baby, but not as bad as my daugther. He however seems to have an inborn quick temper and even now reflux free he is a handful. But don’t let this discourage you. Even though Myles has a quick temeper he is not miserable from physcal discomfort and he just has to learn to temper his emotions which I and his daddy will have to teach him as he grows. And honestly a toddler with a quick temper is much easier to deal with than an infant who is uncomfortable or in pain.

So, I think it will be quite some time before you know for sure. I thought Ellie was going to be so difficult longterm but she’s the easiest of my three, and I though Myles was going much easier than he is.

In any case I don’t think you are going to see a very happy baby until he’s on a higher dose of Prevacid. 15 mg is just too low. And even babies with very pleasant dispositions are going to be miserable if they are in pain.

ndrose2007-1-14 21:5:12

[Anonymous]

i agree, i dont think you are going to have a happy baby until he is properly medicated. have you seen the dosing on marci kids.com? i had acid reflux in the third tri of my pregnancy and it made me cry at night-it was so bad. so i can see why a baby would be miserable.
nataliachick72007-1-14 13:51:29

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing your experience and opinion. I agree that even a happy baby will be miserable with this, and I think I was really just “talking” out loud with my post, not trying to say that I’m not empathetic of my son’s pain. My whole goal right now is getting his discomfort under control. My life revolves around fixing this right now.

[Anonymous]

Also, is 15mg always too low for every infant? My pediatrician wants us to try splitting the 15 into 3 doses rather than 2 to see if that helps. He’s cautious, but he did say he would give us the 30 if the baby was still uncomfortable.

[Anonymous]

momof4 wrote:

Also, is 15mg always too low for every infant? My pediatrician wants us to try splitting the 15 into 3 doses rather than 2 to see if that helps. He’s cautious, but he did say he would give us the 30 if the baby was still uncomfortable.

go to marci kids.com
and on the left column they have a dosing link. click on that and on that page they have a dosing chart. they also have a dosing calculator you click on and put in your childs weight and age and pick prevacid, in whatever form you are using. it will then give you the recommended dosage for your child to get relief.

[Anonymous]

I guess I wonder given that 15mg isn’t helping, whether 3 doses will matter. I know a lot of other mums do three doses with success but usually they are on a high enough dose of the meds. If she was on the max marci kids dose and it wasn’t working 100% I might go for three doses, but given she is probably being underdosed (if you presume marci-kids has the most updated info re this- which most of us do) I would really try to get it upped. Now I would just tell the Dr it didn’t help myself, but reading on in this post you will find out why……)

Alana was initially only prescribed 15mg and I actually upped it to 30mg myself (heck if I was going to give it I was going to give enough of it!!)- it sure made a difference. Now the Dr has acutally told me to up it! Not everyone feels entirely comfortable taking the law into their own hands of course (hey I am a rebel, particularly against authority figures!!!!) but I just wanted to share with you the difference 15-30mg would make.

To be honest, Alana gets her 30mg in one dose, in the morning (totally against the whole 2-3 dose a day recco- I can hear you all screaming) and I have now found that I only have to occasionally give her Zantac at night (usually if she is teething and droolin excessively). Of course this might be because she is older and starting to grow out of it, who knows. I am also not saying that the 2-3 doses might not be better for her (if I could work it into the schedule of course) but I suppose I am arguing for increased dosage really.

On temperament- well I am sure that Alana is going to be high maintainance ( a family trait) but medicated she is not miserable and high needs (she just likes her own way).

You sounds like a great mum, I can tell by your qu and posts that all you want is for your little one to feel well. You will get there, I can hear your determination.

[Anonymous]

Thanks evergreenie – your post helped me so much. Caden’s day was a little better today, but I’m currently doing the elimination diet, so maybe something I was eating was bothering him…I guess time will tell. I plan to call our pediatrician tomorrow to tell him about marciskids and what I’ve learned. He’s pretty open-minded, so I don’t anticipate any problem.

[hellbennt]

blame the reflux. I don’t necessarily believe in colic or ‘bad temper’ or anything of the sort with a reflux baby. call me radical, call me opinionated, call me whatever you want…

short temper? how old is your baby?

I suggest http://www.askdrsears.com to read about fussy babies

and then I say BABYWEARING

hang in there!

~laura

[Anonymous]

I wondered about your same question many times myself. When Sarah was dreadfully miserable (in pain) I kept thinking “Oh my gosh, I must be raising a holy terror! What did I do to deserve this?” Now that her reflux is under control, I am humbled sometimes by her wonderful, hilarious, innocent, and very sweet personality!

I hope that you are able to get some answers soon for Caden. I remember all too well how frustrating and overwhelming it can all seem. Hang in there!

amy00132007-1-15 0:29:8

[Anonymous]

To all of you,

Did you also question whether your baby’s discomfort was gas related or reflux related or both??? It’s strange how he will be fussing and grunting and then toot or have a bm and then seem more comfortable, and then I wonder if his discomfort is bowel related rather than reflux related, or is it all tied together?

Thank you!

[hellbennt]

posted over at yahoobreastfeedingreflux:

what’s the connection between gas and reflux?

Gas is created when something isn’t digested properly; for example,
beans are generally harder to digest than other foods, which is why
they are notorious for causing gas in most people (they are generally
not a common problem with breastfed babies through mom’s milk, though;
this is just a common example to help make sense.)

Also, gas puts pressure on the esophageal sphincter (the muscle at the
top of the stomach that helps move and keep things down), making it
easier for whatever is in the stomach to be refluxed.

[Anonymous]

Well,

Today we’re starting the 30mg split into 3 times per day, so wish us luck!

[Anonymous]

Good luck. That’s exactly what did the trick for Myles! I hope it’s the answer for your little guy too!

[Anonymous]

Thanks ndrose. You say it took a couple of weeks to really work, right? I just hope he gets SOME relief before that. At this point 2 weeks seems like an eternity.

[Author]

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