My dd is 5 mo. today. She has reflux and food sensitivities. I cut out dairy at 3 weeks old, soy at 4 weeks, meds at 8 weeks, and went on the elim. diet after that. Turkey, pears, potatoes, rice, millet, boring!
She had green (all colors of green) and mucous and sometimes curdy, sometimes runny, sometimes liquid, sometimes pasty poo. After 2.5 weeks on the diet, she stoped "snarting" and went to perfectly normal yellowish poo w/o curds.
I'm still adding foods in. It's a long process. So far we've discovered that she reacts to raspberries, pork, we already knew about the dairy and soy, cantaloupe, etc.
What I did while I added foods was keep a food journal and chart her moods, spitting up, and poo along with the foods I added. I was generous when adding low allergens (chicken, apples, grapes, oats, etc.) and started w/chicken, then apples, and then oats, with only 2-3 days between foods. When I had chicken and oats, I was a lot happier - I could eat decent cereal again, I wasn't starving for breakfast, etc. and I added a high allergen (corn) and waited 5 days. Then another few low ones (green beans, asparagus) and then a high one (wheat) etc. so that my diet expanded fairly quickly yet I knew if there was a reaction. And one time I had such a bad day that I ate some chocolate (dark organic is usually safe, no dairy in there!)
The reflux is still there, but the screaming is more under control. The poo is normal, regular, good texture, color, etc. and when I have a food that she has issues with, it's obvious how much worse the reflux gets, she also has difficulty having a bowel movement.
So, yes I think that food allergies can impact reflux, but no, I don't think reflux will go away if you remove all the allergens. It's been a rough road, and will continue to be, but I always remember that the benefits of breastmilk are 100000x more important than me having a milkshake. We're finally going to the pedi GI on Friday, a long wait to get in.
She had green (all colors of green) and mucous and sometimes curdy, sometimes runny, sometimes liquid, sometimes pasty poo. After 2.5 weeks on the diet, she stoped "snarting" and went to perfectly normal yellowish poo w/o curds.
I'm still adding foods in. It's a long process. So far we've discovered that she reacts to raspberries, pork, we already knew about the dairy and soy, cantaloupe, etc.
What I did while I added foods was keep a food journal and chart her moods, spitting up, and poo along with the foods I added. I was generous when adding low allergens (chicken, apples, grapes, oats, etc.) and started w/chicken, then apples, and then oats, with only 2-3 days between foods. When I had chicken and oats, I was a lot happier - I could eat decent cereal again, I wasn't starving for breakfast, etc. and I added a high allergen (corn) and waited 5 days. Then another few low ones (green beans, asparagus) and then a high one (wheat) etc. so that my diet expanded fairly quickly yet I knew if there was a reaction. And one time I had such a bad day that I ate some chocolate (dark organic is usually safe, no dairy in there!)
The reflux is still there, but the screaming is more under control. The poo is normal, regular, good texture, color, etc. and when I have a food that she has issues with, it's obvious how much worse the reflux gets, she also has difficulty having a bowel movement.
So, yes I think that food allergies can impact reflux, but no, I don't think reflux will go away if you remove all the allergens. It's been a rough road, and will continue to be, but I always remember that the benefits of breastmilk are 100000x more important than me having a milkshake. We're finally going to the pedi GI on Friday, a long wait to get in.
