Any bubs on neocate (prescription) formula?

Me again!! with another formula question!

Are any of your bubs on neonate formula? and if so did you find an improvement in your bubs settling/crying etc?

How long did your bubs stay on it?

Yup DS2 is on it.

He started on it from about 12 weeks and it took about 3 weeks to have a significant effect. He is still on it now. He is on it as he is very allergic to cows milk protein and also allergic to soy. Yes, it had a big effect on his crying and vomitting and previous lack of weight gains/weight loss, but as I said, it took 3 weeks for his gut to heal and him to improve.

You may already know this, but you need to have a script from a paed for it. My paed said we had to try a different kind of prescription formula first (ours was called Pepti Junior Gold) before he would let us try Neocate (according to the Medicare/PBS rules). To be honest, he was sceptical that DS2 had anything wrong with him and sort of said "well I don't think this will help but try it and see". I was glad I persisted though but it did shake my confidence when he and other people said "oh babies cry all the time that is normal".

What makes you think your little one might benefit from Neocate?

Thanks for replying Bloom,

My DS is being weaned onto it at the moment. Our paediatrician gave me the prescription, he didn't say anything about trying another formula first (I was in his office when he rung up for approval).

My DD was breastfed till 6.5 months- which was a huge challenge due to constant breast refusal. She had severe reflux and was crying 24/7, at first she put on a lot of weight due to comfort feeding but then started to lose weight rapidly and stopped growing in length aswell. She also needed physic as she did not know how to isolate her muscles as she was always tensing her muscles from the pain. Reflux meds have helped to a degree but only ever taken the edge off!
We have just seen a specialist Gastro doc who is going to do an endoscopy in 3 weeks on her as he believes she had a milk protein allergy and this has led to allergic esophigitis. If she had been on neonate he believes she wouldn't still have the issues she has now - still refluxing at 2.5 years, complains of tummy hurting and yucky bits and always been a terrible sleeper.

So with my son I am not prepared to wait for him to get as bad as she was. He def has reflux and started losec at 2 weeks and at 6 weeks I told the paed (who is a different one to who we first saw for my DD when she was a baby - he was hopeless) that he was still just as unsettled with the losec 4 weeks on. We discussed my daughters history and what the gastro specialist had said about her and thats why he has started him on neocate. I have been slowly weaning him onto it the past 3 weeks (have to go slow for myself as I get mastitis very easily). I know he has to be completely off my breast milk and on the formula for a few weeks to notice a change though. Hoping he will be fully on neocate within this week.

Were there any tests they did to diagnose the milk protein allergy? or was it his good response to being on neocate? Were you told he would grow out of it and eventually be able to drink normal milk?

I hear you on people talking about babies crying! Thats why we had so many problems with my DD as I listened to what other people were telling me and thought I was just a person who couldn't handle crying - now I know the amount of crying she did was def not normal.

My son is not as bad as her but I think thats because he started on losec earlier. Just so hard to know if it is just reflux thats causing his pain and distress or if it is a cows milk allergy thats causing the reflux - Im not prepared to take that risk with him this time over!!

We are just about to start a prescription formulas for DS who's is nearly 4.5 months old. He's been bf so far but every time I try to wean him he turns into an unhappy crying screaming and stiff baby. He wakes every hour or so 24/7 and brings up a lot of milk. It breaks my heart and after a trip to ED cause he breathed some I the formula in I asked for the special formula.

Does it work straight away or does it take a while?

ETA he started losec and infacol yesterday. Something seems to be working as he has been happier but tonight he is back to being stiff and unhappy :(

Ryatha I was told by the paed that it will take about 3-4 weeks to see a difference as the milk proteins or whatever is causing the upsets has to be completely gone from their systems, and any damage from reflux in their oesophagus has to heal as well.

I have friends who found their babies improved with losec straight away, not mine though!

Thanks razzberry.

I'm hoping since he was only having a bottle of formulas day it will reverse quickly. I've been told to cut dairy out of my diet too to help his recovery.

As per advice from my dr, I also have given him a few pieces of veges an he has scoffed it down and asked for more. I just hope he feels better soon.

Razzberry - my paed did two different stool sample tests which show if there is inflammation in the bowel (though I understand these tests are less useful if the baby is breast fed). He also looked at the general signs and symptoms including poo dificulties, skin irritations, weight loss/lack of gains, refluxing and how consistently the baby was upset. I remember him saying "Does he have good days and then bad days?" And I said, "No, everyday is just as bad as the previous one".

He also sent my DS for a ultrasound of the upper GI tract (to see if something wasn't formed properly) and for a barium swallow test to see how much he was refluxing up and if there were any structural problems swallowing. Those two tests were not for the cows milk allergy but to rule other things out.

Well done on picking it up so quickly after your DD. I am secretly thinking about storing aside some Neocate for this new bubs just in case he/she needs it.

Ryatha - yup it will take 3 weeks for the dairy to leave your system and for the new formula to take effect for bubs. Good to hear your LO likes their veges!