Hi ladies,

As you are unfortunately experts in reflux I wondered if you might be able to offer your opinions on my wee boy.

He is 13 weeks and plunket and the doctor have told us they think he may have silent reflux but I am not so sure that this is the problem so would appreciate any advice/thoughts!

Current issues are:

2 -3 feeds a day go ok, but for the rest he latches off almost every time he swallows, cries then latches back on again. He gets very upset and feeding time is quite stressful. The lactation consultant doesn’t think it’s overactive letdown but said he seems to be in pain in his stomach.

He is usually a bit better at taking a bottle than BF but often also wriggles and pushes the bottle away and gets upset.

He writhes around a lot in his bed at night. He has even rolled over back to front from writhing around so much and nearly come out of his moses basket. He often wakes very upset but sometimes wakes and suddenly starts screaming.

He grizzles and cries with the writhing around at night and wakes every 1 – 2 hours. Most nights I end up holding him and dozing – he still writhes and wakes but settles quicker/doesn’t get as worked up as in his bed.

He usually sleeps pretty well in the day.

He doesn’t seem to have probs with burping but farts a lot and we can often hear his stomach churning.

He spits up a little bit of milk 1 – 2 times a day but doesn’t usually seem upset by it.

Additional info:

Due to feeding and weight gain issues at the start he has been mostly BF but topped up with formula from early on. I have worked really hard with a lactation consultant and he is now getting a total of 100 – 250ml formula top ups daily and still reducing. He has been on a hypoallergenic formula.

I have been gluten and dairy free for the last 10 years or so (no allergic response but have v&d when I eat gluten, dairy or millet)

The doc has prescribed gaviscon to try which we have tried for a couple of days. The first night was the best night we’ve had in weeks – 3x 4 hour sleeps! But last night was bad again.

Sorry this is so long but any thoughts would be very much appreciated!

If the Gaviscon is working for that time I would give it a few days on it. Give it often, up to 6 times a day, and I did it before their feed as they were more likely to take it. It tastes like chalk! Also I am told it lines the stomach. If this helps at all then possibly check with your GP or paed about the next level of medication in the form of Ranitidine or Omneprezole. These take min of 3 weeks to see good results. If you get a reaction from Gaviscon though I would suggest you are looking at reflux. Also because you are dairy and gluten free it is unlikely to be a reaction to those. Unless soy is a problem but others know way more about that than I do.
Especially the churning tummy and writhing and waking. Classic reflux.
I would say that I have had 2 kids with this and I still second guess if it is reflux at all because it is such a difficult thing to pin down. Even with the medication and especially when it is working! Silly huh?

It sounds like silent reflux to me.

Did the Gaviscon end up helping? AmyNona is right to say to give it before a feed, and it only needs to be mixed with about 5 ml of fluid. It forms a gel with the stomach contents making it harder for them to be refluxed.

If it hasn't helped enough, then see your GP again. There are other medications that can help, but there is currently some concerns about these and prescribing practices vary. Ranitidine and Omeprazole can take up to three weeks to reach their full effect, but as your son isn't in constant pain, they may well work sooner if they are prescribed.

Thanks Amy and Roz.

Unfortunately the Gaviscon didn't seem to have any effect after all. Our GP is not convinced our problem is reflux but thinks he definitely has some symptoms that point to it and has given us a script for ranitidine to try. She is really good so I am pretty sure she will do whatever she can to help (she even checked the cryingoverspiltmilk website when I was there).

After reading up a bit and reading other threads here we also decided to try him on a non-dairy formula to see if it helps. He has been on the soy formula since last Monday now and on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights slept like he's never slept before and feeding went so much better. Things weren't so good last night and he hasn't settled well tonight with lots of writhing around so I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not. I'm not sure about him being on soy long term but our GP is supportive of us trialling an elimination and reintroduction of dairy and talked about the option of pepti-junior if dairy seems to be an issue.

So I guess we're still just waiting and seeing if things improve. I feel a bit doubting sometimes, our problem is definitely not as bad as many on here and I have a friend who has said that maybe his night waking is just a habit now/just colic etc. but he just gets so upset so quickly we don't have a hope of any sort of self-settling. It's hard not to feel like maybe I'm just being an over-thinking paranoid mum sometimes though but I guess that's part of the job description...?!

Great that things are improving. Yes, they aren't meant to be on soy until they are on solids. Its a good trial though and seems to have given you some answers possibly.

We found that Gem was okay on soy for a period and then developed an intolerance to that too. Allergies to both are relatively common.

My daughter responded well to soy at first but very quickly became intollerant to it too. Good luck with elimination.

Thanks again, we may be getting closer to an answer and don't think it's reflux...

We haven't seen any changes on the ranitidine, and the wee man was better on soy but still not overly settled, but since we have reintroduced dairy he has been inconsolable, writhing, arching, stomach churning and farting about an hour after he has a bottle and generally very unsettled so it seems we may have some kind of issue with dairy.

Next step is back to the doctor and I'm not sure where to from there. She was supportive of us trying an elimination/reintroduction and I have documented it all so hopefully there's enough there to indicate something that needs further investigation.

Thanks so much for your replies, it has been really helpful to read other people's experiences too.

Sequina, could it be colic? One of mine had this. It tended to be at its worst in the afternoon/evening/night. It would be lots of pained crying (screaming!). Writhing. Then after a while would be farting - then some releif of sorts for a wee while till it started again.

TBH it sounds like colic to me. A dreadful thing - for baby and mum - and noone quite knows what causes it but its generally believed to be an intolerance to a food - often dairy. Its the frigging pits and there is not real 'cure' but I found infacol drops (from a pharmacy) somewhat helpful (helps them bring up wind, therefore preventing the gut spasms that come with trapped wind in the gut).

Hope you get some help from the doctor sequina. It certainly sounds as if dairy isn't a good thing for you wee man. Soy isn't really suitable at this age, so hopefully you can get another formula that is better. Once the allergy is controlled, you may see more improvement from the Ranitidine - or you may find some of the colic remedies useful.
Some recommend Gaviscon in conjunction with Weleda Colic Powder - although I believe the Powder has lactose in it but this may not be an issue.