Reflux - help!

[frisbar]

My 2 month old son had been breastfeeding successfully until he was about 6 weeks, when he started flailing and screaming about halfway through every feeding. We started Zantac, and a few days later he improved. Starting yesterday, he's back to screaming - he gets a good latch, and nurses for about 3 minutes before he starts flailing and screaming. I suspect it's reflux again - are there any tips to make him more comfortable or eat longer? I will try to see the doctor soon (hopefully tomorrow) to see if we can do something with his medications, but it would be helpful if there was something I could do before then - or if there are other possible causes besides reflux, I'd love to hear them. It's hard to nurse a screaming baby!

[PatioGardener]

I am right there with you. My guy has severe reflux.

Do you nurse with him upright and you leaning back? That position often helps. Keeping baby upright for 20-30 min after a feed helps too. and not using a car seat or sitting device where they are bent in the middle helps too.

Also, oversupply and fast let down can add to reflux, so working on that if an issue helps too. I cut out dairy completely and saw an improvement too. We went from really severe (no wt gain, arching, coughing, apnea spells) to "regular" reflux with positioning (for sleep and nursing and after a feed), diet modification for me, block feeding and medication (PPI - prevacid).

at least i know that breastfeeding help with reflux, so even though it is hard, it is helping.

other causes: overactive let dow, dairy/soy sensitivity, ear infection if you nurse with baby flat, gas???

good luck!

nak (with baby upright!)

[Theoretica]

We're inpatient right now because of severe reflux with my 12 day old newborn

It sucks.

You've gotten good advice, I'd encourage you to talk to the MD about Prevacid instead of Zantac. Prevacid works in 80% of patients and Zantac works in 50%. Also try nursing on one side only, then waiting 20-30mins to nurse the other side to give it a start digesting.

Good luck mama, it's TOUGH!

[luckymamaoftwo]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

You've gotten good advice, I'd encourage you to talk to the MD about Prevacid instead of Zantac. Prevacid works in 80% of patients and Zantac works in 50%.

I second the recommendation to try Prevacid rather than Zantac. It's helped us, as has a DF/SF diet. Good luck! It DOES suck and nobody quite understands unless they've had a baby with reflux (we're on our second)!

[sahmmie]

I had two reflux babies. Zantac proved to be useless. Prevacid saved the day for us too!

[Theoretica]

Did you guys have the dissolvable Prevacid tablets for your babies? That's what they have in hospital and they are AWESOME! No risk of babe spitting out unknown amounts of yucky liquid...here's hoping the insurance approves it for home use!

[CoBabyMaker]

Chiropractic care can also help. (I believe I read that it's the cervical vertibrae.) In DD1 we saw a HUGE difference after cranial sacral therapy (chiro didn't help her but this did). We did still medicate but the CST made a HUGE improvement .

[LadyCatherine185]

Another vote for Prevacid.. my DS had horrible reflux, lots of screaming and nursing strikes.. after 2 weeks on Prevacid he stopped screaming and nursed normally/peacefully. Zantac did nothing.

[mama2erik]

my baby was undiagnosed for 4 1/2 months. he didn't spit up, so my GP and ND couldn't figure out what was wrong, it was horrible. I met a lady whose baby also had reflux, and her GP gave all kinds of suggestions that I was never told - never give him ibuprofen, avoid acidic foods (once he's on solids), prop up after eating, put mattress at an incline, etc. good luck, you have my sympathy :-s

[ChiropractorThor]

Try Natural Approach First

I am surprised for a Naturally focused website, the amount of people suggesting medications before many other natural remedies or solutions that are out there.

For a list of the side effects of this medication have a look here.

http://chealth.canoe.ca/drug_info_de...d=38&page_no=2

(NOTE - not to be used for less than 1 years old!!!) - all meds have a toxic effect on the body, simply numbing or blocking the symptoms.

I am a wellness focused chiropractor. I have helped many children overcome many different severities of reflux. Chiropractic focuses on restoration of balance to the nervous system. The nerves that supply the stomach and digestive system can become irritated or interfered with by misalignments in the spine. By removing this interference, correcting the balance in the body, NATURALLY, the body begins to respond naturally, perfectly.

My second suggestion would be to monitor mom's diet. Many foods can "disagree" with baby; dairy, wheats, sugars, soy, certain proteins, spicy, coffee, to name a few....

Just a few simple suggestions....hope this helps.....

[janinemh]

Originally Posted by ChiropractorThor

I am surprised for a Naturally focused website, the amount of people suggesting medications before many other natural remedies or solutions that are out there.

For a list of the side effects of this medication have a look here.

http://chealth.canoe.ca/drug_info_de...d=38&page_no=2

(NOTE - not to be used for less than 1 years old!!!) - all meds have a toxic effect on the body, simply numbing or blocking the symptoms.

I am a wellness focused chiropractor. I have helped many children overcome many different severities of reflux. Chiropractic focuses on restoration of balance to the nervous system. The nerves that supply the stomach and digestive system can become irritated or interfered with by misalignments in the spine. By removing this interference, correcting the balance in the body, NATURALLY, the body begins to respond naturally, perfectly.

My second suggestion would be to monitor mom's diet. Many foods can "disagree" with baby; dairy, wheats, sugars, soy, certain proteins, spicy, coffee, to name a few....

Just a few simple suggestions....hope this helps.....

As a nutritional therapist, I have to agree with this. Stomach acid is essential for digestion. We can't absorb essential nutrients such as B-vitamins, calcium and protein without it. Reflux has many causes such as food sensitivities but it is rarely actually caused by too much acid in the stomach---so acid blockers, while they bring relief in the short term, are actually causing many more serious problems in the long term.

I know that when your baby is in pain, you want to do whatever works most quickly, but the suggestions above will be better for baby in the long run.

[Theoretica]

I disagree that chiropractic care and diet can solely correct this problem in all cases. For one, chiro can be outrageously expensive and is regularly NOT covered by insurance. Quite simply, it's not affordable for many families.

Also, when reflux is caused by the sphincter remaining open, or not closing correctly, it doesn't matter how much you change your diet or adjust the spine...it's still causing a major problem. My newborn has this problem, to such severity that it causes her severe pain, choking, cyanotic apnea, and gagging. Prevacid is preventing her esophagus from scarring from the severe reflux and she's in much less pain. If it doesn't improve by her first birthday they will consider surgery to tighten the sphincter. The medicine doesn't stop the physical act of refluxing though, it only makes the refluxing less painful.

[littlemizflava]

you could try a baltic amber necklace. my ds have reflux very bad from birth to about 3.5 months that is when i got him a baltic amber for teething and his refux stopped. i found out about a year ago that the amber does indeed help with reflux

[janinemh]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

Also, when reflux is caused by the sphincter remaining open, or not closing correctly, it doesn't matter how much you change your diet or adjust the spine...it's still causing a major problem.

Diet can actually be one cause of a malfunctioning esophageal sphincter. Allergenic foods, in particular, can be a cause. An interesting book to check out if you haven't already is "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You"-- it discusses this exact problem and some causes.

My heart goes out to you and you LO-- no little person should have to suffer like that.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

I disagree that chiropractic care and diet can solely correct this problem in all cases. For one, chiro can be outrageously expensive and is regularly NOT covered by insurance. Quite simply, it's not affordable for many families.

Also, when reflux is caused by the sphincter remaining open, or not closing correctly, it doesn't matter how much you change your diet or adjust the spine...it's still causing a major problem. My newborn has this problem, to such severity that it causes her severe pain, choking, cyanotic apnea, and gagging. Prevacid is preventing her esophagus from scarring from the severe reflux and she's in much less pain. If it doesn't improve by her first birthday they will consider surgery to tighten the sphincter. The medicine doesn't stop the physical act of refluxing though, it only makes the refluxing less painful.

[justice'smom]

Originally Posted by ChiropractorThor

I am surprised for a Naturally focused website, the amount of people suggesting medications before many other natural remedies or solutions that are out there.

For a list of the side effects of this medication have a look here.

http://chealth.canoe.ca/drug_info_de...d=38&page_no=2

(NOTE - not to be used for less than 1 years old!!!) - all meds have a toxic effect on the body, simply numbing or blocking the symptoms.

I am a wellness focused chiropractor. I have helped many children overcome many different severities of reflux. Chiropractic focuses on restoration of balance to the nervous system. The nerves that supply the stomach and digestive system can become irritated or interfered with by misalignments in the spine. By removing this interference, correcting the balance in the body, NATURALLY, the body begins to respond naturally, perfectly.

My second suggestion would be to monitor mom's diet. Many foods can "disagree" with baby; dairy, wheats, sugars, soy, certain proteins, spicy, coffee, to name a few....

Just a few simple suggestions....hope this helps.....

I agree, that natural methods should be tried first, but having been there with two babies, I can say they usually don't work for severe reflux. First thing I would try would be an elimenation diet to see if baby is reacting to foods in the diet. Taking dairy out of the diet can be huge. Continue to breastfeed because that also helps a lot. probiotics are awesome and fish oil for mom is great as well. For my third baby we tried a kinesologist and that actually fixed his problem, but he had mild reflux. The chiropractor didn't really help my lo except for his constipation issues. Although I do believe in chiropractics. I think if I had to do it all over again I would try kinesology first.
As for medications if nothing else works, a good ppi works best for most babies. Like Zegerid, prevacid, or prilosec. My favorite being zegerid. If you use prevacid or prilosec, you need to give it on an empty stomach and wait 30 min after to feed baby to get it to work best. With zegerid you don't have to wait at all. As for as h2 blockers like pepcid and zantac, they are very weight sensitive and so do not work well for most babies. There is some advice on marci-kids.com. Marci-kids has some great new research. I would highly recommend checking them out. Had it not been for them, I would have pulled my hair out. I didn't have the research of marci-kids with my first. It wasn't until my second that I found them. My oldest son cried about 20 hrs out of a 24 hr period. He was in severe pain. We didn't sleep and I actually started seeing things that weren't there. Sadly he was on prevacid, but not the proper dose. His teeth are now ruined. Hopefully his adult teeth will be okay. All that to say I would never recommend just letting baby outgrow reflux. My second son also had reflux, but I contined to bf him and that helped. I also found marci-kids and got him on the proper dose of zegerid. It was an amazing difference. He didn't sleep well either, but at least he was happy most of the time. He has beautiful teeth thankfully. With my third son we did kinesology and for him that worked like a dream. I'm not sure if it would have worked for my older two, but it is def. worth a shot. It is most definantly less expensive in the long run that medication. My son only had to go for 2 adjustments and he was better. He still spit up a ton and we eventully went back to the kin. for that and after 3 visits he would spit up like a normal baby if at all.
Having a babe with reflux is much harder than most people understand. Until you are there, it is hard to give advice. I think one of the most important things is to find other parents who are also dealing with it for support. There is a great site called infantreflux.org and those moms are super supportive. They are not normally natural minded, but they are great at just listening when your having a bad day.
I hope this helps someone.

Shelby

[ChiropractorThor]

Esophageal Sphincter

I am sympathetic for your difficult time with an upset child. Every parent has had nights of un-consolable crying yet can't even begin to understand ongoing nights of this. I speak as a chiropractor, who has helped extreme cases of reflux. When everything, (including meds) has failed.

A mother patient from last week, following 4 adjustments of her infant, has been getting great sleeps, including one 6 hour sleep and one 8 hour sleep,(after 4.5 months of not sleeping more than an hour - and this was her third child with reflux, so she was well versed in the experience)...

If you open up any anatomical text book, you will see that the esophageal sphincter is connected to the brain by nerves. Balancing the nervous system can have far reaching effects. I am just speaking of my experiences.

Also, I run a family practice. Affordable care for families is my goal. For the most part children are seen as a courtesy.

And if insurance was designed to be actual "health care" instead of disease management, we would see some major changes.

Things that are good for you are never covered by insurance. Gym pass, bottled water, organic food, etc. etc..... symptomatic drugs and surgery will never be true "health care"...... If more people would get on board with this movement we would see a major change in the insurance industry.


thanks for hearing me out...

dr. e

[justice'smom]

I should give a little more of an idea where I am coming from so it makes a little more sense what i was saying. I believe in all things natural and really wish I knew how to use more natural things. I went to a chiro for my back pain while I was pregnant with my first son. I had never gone before it was a suggestion my midwife had made so we went. The chiro suggested that we bring our son in as soon as possible. I think we took him in at about 2 weeks. I had planned on taking him in earlier, but was too tired to make the appointment. My first sons life is a blur, but at some point the drs. finally dx him with reflux. We told the chiro what they had said and he told us to simply give him hylands teething tablets. I felt like a huge failer because the tablets didn't work and nothing the chiro or anyone else did worked either. I tried believe me I tried. i tried everything natural I was told to try. Then at about 5 months old we found a new chiro who we were told did cranial sacrail (sp) therapy and was sure to help us. My ds was crying so hard the whole time that we were there that the chiro had to schedule our appointments when no other patients would be in. She was an amazing woman and I love her dearly. She was able to get my ds to start having regular bms and that was a huge deal for us. As far as getting the reflux to go away though that did not happen. Again, I felt like a failuar. My ds was waking every 15 min all night long and I had tried everything the natural world had offered to me and I had tried everything the medical world had offered as well and still nothing worked. When my second ds came along we took him to the same chiro about 3 days after he was born. At about two weeks old I knew he also had reflux. It was a few weeks after that I found the infant reflux site and was told about marci-kids. I also did an elim. diet and found that he had a dairy intolerance. Finally we had true relief. We did no dairy and 3 doses of zegerid a day. We still didn't get much sleep, but it was better than we had with our first and my ds was actually happy and didn't cry all the time in pain. We still took him to the chiro. and always did until we found the kinesologist. Someone had suggested I go to the kinesologist to see if he could tell me why my lo's where prone to having reflux. He couldn't really give me any idea on that, but told me if I saw signs of reflux to bring my lo in. I brought my lo to him 2 days after he was born and then again at about 2 weeks when I saw the signs. It was maybe 2 appointments to him, the reflux was gone and I never had to go back for that. We did take him back later on for the huge spit ups and after 2 to 3 visits that was gone as well. It is very possible you practice another form of chiropractics that my chiropractors did not. Maybe something more like the kinesology that worked for my third son. I don't doubt at all that you have helped the babies you have. I only wish it had worked for my lo's. It would have been much cheaper in the long run. When I give other moms advice on what to do I give them all the info I have. I always start with the natural and if those don't work I will give them the marci-kids info. Most people I have met are afraid of natural things, but I do try to talk them into trying. The only reason I said what I did was because after trying all the natural remedies even the medical ones and my son still not feeling well and still not sleep, I felt helpless. In my helplessness and lack of sleep I was a horrible mother. I don't want that for any mom. It is amazing my ds survived it at all. It wasn't until then I understood shaken baby syndrome. It took everything in me to not shake him.
Since then I have helped many moms and truely wish I could convince more to try the kinesology route. I am curious myself if it would work for severe cases. I am curious what type of chiropractics you practice.
I hope all that makes sense. I am a little touchy about infant reflux because I did try a little of everything with all 3 of my kiddos. I am thankful for it all now because I do love to help other moms as much as I can. so anything new you might have I am all ears.