Me back again. Last time I wrote on here, I thought I'd found the answer for my daughter who following a vaccination upset began showing symptoms of protein intolerance.
I went on an organic/ additive/ chemical free breast-feeding diet and things were going well. But unfortunately when she got a virus things went completely haywire again and it all just got too hard. So now she's been weaned onto neocate at 8 months old.
I felt comfortable with this decision given that Neocate had been our lifesaver for our son, who mostly grew out of his food intolerances/reflux at 17 months.
But the neocate is not sitting well with her and has been terribly constipating to the point of the BM getting stuck on the way out. Paed thinks this is because the neocate is such a low residue diet that there's not a lot of bulk to travel through and has suggested pear juice to combat it.
I've only just begun the pear trial, she seems more colicky, as my kids seem to take along time to tolerate solids.
I just don't have a good feeling about the neocate, she's been on it for 4 weeks. She took to it well to begin with but now gets big pockets of trapped wind, has started silent refluxing and is really constipated. I'm in two minds what to do? Should I persevere with it longer.
So my questions are. Has anyone else been in this position before and found a successful alternative formula? I'm not sure what she is intolerant to, we haven't had allergy testing because we've found it to be unsuccessful for food intolerance's. So it's just going to be trial in error. Can anyone recommend a good dairy free formula.
Can these sensitive babies tolerate lactulose? Personally I'd rather get the diet right than have to medicate. But in the short-term what else can I do to reduce the pain she is in with fissures and hard stools. I will look into suppositories as a last resort.
Any advice or experiences greatly appreciated.

Hi

I sympathise with what you are going through. Both my children get constipation and really bad wind from neocate. What we found worked was giving prune juice once a day so we used 50mls water with 50mls prune juice and it really helped. There is another natural product that someone on here used from the chemist but I cant recall the name of it but you if you type in constipation in the search part Im sure it would come up.

As for any other dairy free formulas there is soy from the supermarket but some people dont like soy. You could try a ha formula which is partially hydolised. What I dont understande is low residue food is meant better for constipation and to help things moving. Completly different I know but my dog gets shocking constipation and it has costs us thousands in vet bill and she has been put on a low residue diet and has no problems since so thats why Im confussed about the neocate being low residue and causing the constipation.

My two have been very colicky babies and dealing with number two at the moment and cant seem to work out whats causing it. He is 4.5mnths old and on neocate...will only poo every five days but doesnt seem distressed about it when he goes but is at nightmare at night with his sleeping because of his colicky tummy. Im now starting to wonder if its the pear we use to give the losec with.

Good luck I hope she gets better soon.

Thanks Melissa, is always comforting to know you're not alone!
Will try and search for the natural laxative. I wondered if rhuger would help?
'Low residue' - not sure if those are the right words (mine rather than the paeds). He just said the neocate doesn't have a lot of bulk. I think he means most of the neocate is absorbed by the body and there isn't a lot of waste meaning less frequent bowel motions.
It sure is a battle, the constipation is just awful. I think yesterday I would have to say was the lowest I've ever felt being a mum so far. Broke my heart to see her in that pain and feel so helpless.

Hugs Abbs! It's a mighty lonely & exhausting journey ahead!

Sorry, no experience with constipation with Neocate. You could always give Nutricia a call and see what they suggest?

This is really interesting Abbs. Thanks for posting. My little girl (4 months) is on neocate and her bowel movements have been getting more and more distressing, plus more wind.
I tried infacol but the second time I used it, it seemed co-incided with her trying to poo and lots of distress so have completely gone off the idea of infacol! esp as I don't know if it can be used with losec/omeprazole (which, incidentally, we don't give with pear)
So it's reassuring to see that what we are seeing may be neocate-related. We'll try some prune juice. Wizz851; are you saying half volume prune/half volume water to make up neocate formula with? or just as a between feed drink?
Also, if you interested, there is some debate as to whether to give low residue or bulking diets for constipated dogs... I did some reading on this once, and to be honest, I personally usually recommend bulking diets or oils but all vets do things differently.

Thanks so much for your replies.
I think we may be getting there. While the pear seemed to cause colicky pain to start with, once she had emptied out her bowels she was such a happy little lady. We still struggle with the wind. DS was also very windy on the neocate so yes I think it is related. But I do swear by neocate so we are going to stick with it for now.
Jenni, have searched back on these forums for natural remedies to help with constipation. We are trying "Digestodoron by Weleda". It is made from willow leaves and is meant to get things flowing more. The first day I gave her an adult dose by mistake (woops!) and she slept through the night so I think there must be something in it that works!
We are also using 'slippery elm' powder which helps relieve constipation also.
http://www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz/AlternativeTherapies/SlipperyElmFood.htm
The last few days have been promising and perhaps I've been a bit quick to assume the worse with her given that DS was such a nightmare. Onwards and upwards aye!

I've heard that Weleda one is good. Never knew about it when I struggled with constipation with my first. We used Iberogast drops which worked really well for ages then didn't work. I actually think it was the losec that was causing the constipation for DD1, pretty much the day we dropped started weaning her off it her poo returned to being much much more regular.

Hi, I am new to this site but have found your responses to help me a little already. We have been advised by our GP to start our 18 week old on Neocate LCP. He is also currently on Gaviscon infant (1 sachet). We were given a tin to trial (only lasts like 2.5 days). His skin cleared up dramatically after the first few feeds, but the milk seemed to be coming up constantly either spilling or vomiting and he even refluxed while sleeping. He also had terrible (wind?) pain that made him cry. He was previously on a lactose free formula (we tried it without advise from a doctor as the doctor available at the time couldn't help us)and the spilling had reduced quite a bit (but then had to deal with constipation) so this was all a bit of a shock and a worry to be honest. We went to the doctor because we didn't want our son to be on a LF formula without confirming he was indeed lactose intolerant. He did not recommended testing as the stool sample was 50/50 accurate and it would be too painful to try and find the vein for a blood test. So he recommended the Neocate. I emailed the Neocate Nutritionist and she advised that it could take weeks and weeks before we see a difference. I am just not sure if I have what it takes to leave my boy in pain and constantly spilling while we "see" if it is going to work . We tried the Weleda digestodoron 3 x last night for the first time (after reading this thread - thank you :)) and it seemed to have eased his pain but it was horrible to watch. I did massage his belly which helped to relax him a little, I guess what I want to know if anyone has had a similar experience and whether the spilling (like water flowing constantly) will lessen over time and whether the crampos will stop? I just do not want to experiment needlessly with my little boy's digestive system! All advise its much appreciate. Sorry for the long thresd. Still waiting for my GP to ring back. I am so confused and now do not know which formula to try next! Thank in advance and sorry for the long-winded message!

HI Worrymum

Welcome to the board. Has your dr talked to you about trying losec because it sounds to me that the reflux isnt under control. Have a look at the cryingoverspilmilk website it gives you all info you need on reflux including medication. Also beaware that losec wont stop the spilling. Also 1/3 of babies with reflux have a milk allergy/intoerance that they grow out of by age 5. It sounds like an allergy to me if he has bad skin. Lactose intollerance is very rare in babies. Gaviscon also casues constipation. Maybe discuss with your gp about trying a food thickner instead of gaviscon to help with the spilling. Other things you can do to help with the spilling is to hold upright for half an hour after every feed. No tight pants around the waist. Bed raised at a 30 degree angle. Trademe or para rubber sell wedges that go under the cot matress to raise it 30degrees. The cramps may take a while to go. It sounds colicky to me. my five mnth old is up all night with cramps still. As for the neocate I believe the wait is worth it. When I was breast feeding my son would wake every ten mins and would take forever to resettle he can noW sleep for two hrs before waking up. Neocate is one of the best formulas to be on for allergies. Do you have medical insurance because it sounds to me you could benefit by seeing a private specialist who deals with reflux/allergies. Its sounds like your dr doesnt know to much about it. Where abouts are you? Also you could try going on facebook gastro page for more info and support.

The spilling lessens once they can sit up on there own or once the start walking. Good luck

Maybe the Karicare thickener would be better than the Gaviscon (If that is what is causing the constipation). Neocate is thinner than regular formula which is probably why you are seeing lots of spilling now - he is probably heavy enough for 2x sachets of gaviscon but I wouldn't go there if that is already causing constipation. The wind pain is most likely from the constant refluxing, that might settle down if you can thicken the feeds up a bit so they aren't refluxed so much. Other thing could be that he is jsut getting used to the new formula and it will settle down. Constipation will be adding to all of the issues.

Is he in pain with the reflux or is it more lower gut, colic type pain?

Hi worrymum. Sorry to hear you're having a rough time of it.
I started this thread a couple of weeks back. I'm pleased to say we've seen a dramatic improvement in DD since then. So yes, it can take time to see the benefits of the neocate. Both DS & DD, took 6 weeks before things became easier. So from my personal experiences, my advice would be to stick with the neocate. It's the least allergenic formula they can have.
Both my babies went through a very windy, refluxy patch when they first went onto it. I'm not sure why this is. The formula is very thin, so would agree a thickener may help? I don't have experience with spilling though as my babies were silent refluxers.
The other thing I found, is that we had to reduce the concentration of the formula. DD is meant to be having 7 scoops of neocate a bottle. We had to take that back to 4 and have gradually increased it to 6. DD is 9 months and we've found that having solids has helped things heaps because she's now having regular BMs.
Syringing water into bubs throughout the day seemed to break up the pockets of wind too.
Hang in there, you're doing well to have your hands on a tin of neocate and to of found this forum! Those two things are what got me through. It can only improve from here.

Thasnk Wizz851 - your post has been helpful . We have thought of seeing a specialist so if things do not settle will do so. Will try sticking out on neocate for now. Will try the thickener. Have raised his bed and do try to keep him upright for as long as possible after feeds. I am really glad to have discovered this forum - it is really helpful and I am grateful to all the wonderful mothers. I have found the cryingoverspiltmilk website very helpful and informative too. Have an appointment with dr this week so will discuss options. Thanks again!

Hi Wuz, will definately try the thickener.I will persevere with the Neocate. The pain is more lower gut.He is still having less that the recommended amount of milk in order to have 2 x sachets so will need to stick to 1 sachet for now if I continue to use gaviscon. Will see how the K. thickner goes. Thanks for your wonderful advice .

Thasnk for your very helpful info. I will perservere with the Neocate. He already seems better since I posted my cry for help. Spilling not so bad (bearable) and the digestodoron 3x has really helped so far. My bubs is not too far off starting solids/sitting upright so I am looking forward to seeing the difference. I will try syringing the water. I have tried water in a bottle but sometimes he will drink it and then he won't. You are all wonderful - thank you!

I've had two children with intolerances and reflux both of whom have ended up on Neocate and I highly recommend it. I also use a pro biotic and find slippery elm in powder form great for settling reflux. Leila Masson is my childrens Paed and she is wonderful. I went to many Dr's before finding her. She is a life saver for parents/children with intoleranes.

Hi Worrymummy
My little girl is 16 weeks, she's also on Neocate for the last 6 days and has been on Gaviscon since she was seven weeks with various formulas. It took until week 10 for the Gaviscon to work, as I wasn't adding enough. I was adding 1 sachet to her 150 mls bottles as her feeds weren't big enough to justify 2 sachets. I found a forum where one of the mothers advised adding Gaviscon exactly as per the instructions. So for 3*150mls = 450mls, then add four sachets (2 per 225 as per instructions). Gaviscon didn't work until i used these combinations exactly and then it was amazing, she still had issues with the various formulas, but honestly has been smiling since I got this right. Took about a day to see the improvement. She also has difficulty bringing up wind and volumes needs much more regular feeding, but no more crying with reflux and miserable face everytime she tastes the acid when refluxing. You might already be doing this and I know it means making more than one bottle at a time but it really worked for us. Also she's slowly but surely improving on the Neocate and is sleeping for longer spells at night. Fingers crossed it keeps improving.

Hi there,

i have a natural formula that I bring in from the states called colic calm. Im on my 2nd reflux baby and with my first it seemed to help him with constipation and the second helps with wind A LOT.

both my kiddos were also (still) on 20mg losec and neocate on top of using the homoeopathic for other residual discomforts.

I have another product you can get locally called iberogast. didn't really seem to help heaps for my 2nd baby but have heard it works well for constipation.

good luck to you -