Reflux? Am i on the right track do you think?

Hey there,

Just wondering if anyone might have any advice for me?

My little man is 1 month old. From the day he was born i noticed he had a very noticeable "gulp" that i associate with reflux when he fed. I mentioned it to the mw's in hospital and the paed when she did his discharge check, they all agreed it was probably reflux but did nothing further. I was quite concerned because ive not known a baby to be born and start showing reflux symptoms straight away. I remember him being good and settled that first night, but since then hes been hard to settle, wakes as soon as you lay him down, whinges, cries and fidgets and grunts ALOT, arches his back, throws himself around and as time goes on hes getting worse. He's hardly sleeping now, its just cat naps and he wants to feed all the time (like 2 hrly most of the time, hes on formula). He only settles when he is upright on us, generally over my shoulder, against my chest or in my arms but upright. Ive spoken to my health nurse about him several times now, in fact shes seen him unsettled and doing his back arch and throwing himself around the place and she told me its cos hes a boy, boys are like that, he just wants to be close to me and cuddled. I said to her "what all day and all night?" cos thats what its like now. I asked her if she thought reflux, she told me not to try and "medicalise" the way he acts, hes normal and he will settle. If he will settle, why is he getting worse?

Do you think this might be silent reflux? If so, what do i need to do to help my little man?

hi kristi,

our boys are the same age. i worked out last week that my lil man has silent reflux and it sounds like urs does to, very similar symptoms. i went to the dr and told him what i thought and then he checked him out listened to his belly etc so we have jack on zantac

hope this helps
xoxox

Talk to your GP, make sure he listens to your concerns and if he doesn't see another, it's not like you have jumped on the band wagon of reflux yestersday, you've been thinking about it for a month and as things haven't improved you need to trust in yourself.

My Ella had the same symptoms and more i told the doctor my suspistions he listened to her belly and put her on zantac it has made a big difference she still has her moments but is much more relaxed and calm if i were you go back to the doctor and tell them you want something done.

My #3 is now five months old and we went through exactly the same thing with her. I never remember experiencing anything like it with the boys but we kept going with it for 7 weeks before i finally took her to the dr's because similarly to you i kept getting told by the MCHN it was 'normal'. Like you say she never really slept nice big chuncks even on odd occasions and she was feeding 2 hourly for the first 2 months.

What did it for us was the episods that could be also called the 'witching hour' where she'd scream and throw herself around exactly like you describe until about 11pm then she'd sleep okish through the night. This was getting way too much to be just an unsettled bub though, it started off as maybe every second night but then after a full week of screaming every single night i'd had enough. I knew something wasn't right and i just wanted to help her.

She did almost exactly the same as you describe, the throwing herself around wanting to be upright and and the constant swallowing. Another thing i noticed with her was that she never ever vomited. We were prescribed Zantac and we now have a different bub. The Zantac does take a few weeks to fully work so if this is what you're little one is suffering from and you do get prescribed Zantac also don't expect an immediate change. Also depending on how long your little one will be on it the dose is given as per weight so you may find after a month or so of use the symptoms come back which will mean that you'll probably need to see the dr again to up the dose.

DD is now almost 5 months and she's doing great, she was a different bub once the Zantac kicked in, she was sooo much happier and we eventually begun to get some smiles. We have been back to the dr to up the dose 2 times i think but when i do notice the symptoms they aren't anything like the early weeks thank goodness. The dr's have said that it may not go away until she is atleast sitting or walking around. We'll just have to wait and see.

Do you have the cot/basinnet elevated? This can sometimes help.

I hope that was helpful in some way. It drove me crazy to have people tell me her behaviour was normal. Yes i agree we don't want to medicalise everything but reflux clearly isn't that unusual in little ones and i just wish dr's/nurses would listen a bit better. I hated having to put anything other than DD's milk in her mouth but it's made her so much happier so it's worth it.

Good luck and i hope your little one settles for you soon xo

Thanks so much for your replies, i really appreciate it. I will definitely take him to the drs, do you think i should do it today or can it wait till tomorrow? I did some research on the symptoms of silent reflux last night and he has so many of them, more than i realised, like coughing alot and sneezing alot and others as well. Ive been starting to think what ive done wrong to have such an instantly unsettled baby right from birth because out of 7 of them, he is the first ive had thats been like this. I feel awful for him if this is what it is as i had severe reflux when pregnant with him and episodes where i was vomitting blood from it, so i know the pain and feel bad for him and want to fix it right now for him.

Iona Macca- Funny we had the same revelations at the same time really for our boys. Was your lil man unsettled right from birth all day and all night?

EJ- Thanks, that was very helpful and comforting to read. Like you, i have been trying to ride out this supposed unsettled period that is meant to pass, but i dont see it easing, just escalating and getting worse. Im sick of people telling me his behaviour is normal too, particularly my MCHN. I couldnt beleive she saw how he behaved that day and saw that as ok, he was fidgetting, grunting, crying and arching his back and i said to her this is what he does allllll the time, she said he wants you to change his position (i had changed his position several times since we had been with her, but at the time she said that he was laying in my arms semi upright) so i put him over my shoulder and of course he settled so she saw that as thats all it was because that seemingly fixed it as far as she was concerned so she didnt take any of the other stuff into account then. And the feeding sooooooo much, it really isnt normal for a formula fed baby to be feeding 2hrly 90% of the time, which he is, yesterday morning between 2am and 10am he had 4 bottles.

I will let u know what happens at the drs.

If today's not good for you tomorrow will be ok i'm sure. Having seven makes it hard to just drop everything and change your plans i'm sure.

What a terrible experience you had with your own reflux. Did it pass once you had your little one?

I've never experienced it myself and like i said earlier i never found the boys to have it but my DH does seem to have a sensitivity to some acidy foods. I wonder if her condition and his are related at all??

I think we just know Kristi14, so many people tell you to just trust your motherly instincts but then you have 'health professionals' making you doubt yourself. We're the ones with them 24 hours so you'd think they'd listen to us a little more.

You'll probably find that being upright will be DS's favourite position, it is for DD for sure.

Two hourly feeds on formula is quite a lot isn't it?! I'm pretty sure the regular feeds is all part of it also. DD is breastfed but that sounds like one of the very few differences between the two :D

Losec and chiro were our saviours here! My DD was diagnosed by our GP and Paed at 6 weeks old. She grew out of it at around 5 months old.

Hope that your little one gets some relief soon :hug:

Wellllllllllllllllllllllll

I managed to get lil man into the dr yesterday and thankfully got a good dr that listened to me straight away. I told him what hes been doing and mentioned that i also suffer from reflux myself. As soon as i said that he sprung into action. He's put him on losec (im on this myself for my reflux too) and gave us a referral to a pead as well just to make sure its only reflux. I can say though, it is reflux for sure cos ive given him 3 doses so far and the change in him already is unbeleivable!! The 2hrly feeds have now dragged out to 4 hrly like they should be and hes actually sleepingggggggg!! Hes nowhere near as agitated as he was either. He's not completely settled yet but we are definitely getting there.

EJ: My reflux hasnt settled yet since having him, i tried coming off my meds but woke up choking on stomach acid again so back on them i went. I am starting to think there might be a genetic link with it all because of how the gp acted the minute i said i have reflux myself. I totally agree with mothers instinct, i only wish i had pushed for answers sooner than now. I feel bad that he's been in pain for so long and that i havent really had a chance to enjoy him thoroughly yet because hes been so unsettled. That should all change now though hopefully.

Thankyou so much all of you for your advice and support, i really appreciate it :)

Glad to hear that the losec is working well for him! :)

It might take a few more days before you get your happy sleeping bubby back. Took 10 days for it to properly kick in for us xx

That's so good to hear Kristi, i'm really happy for you guys.

I understand exactly what you're saying about finally being able to enjoy him. I noticed a difference straight away also but then it wasn't all good for a few weeks but still she was happier she began to smile and she was a different bub.

Enjoy getting to know your little man :)

Thanks ladies :)

Yes, thats it, ive noticed a difference but hes still unsettled, im expecting it to take time to work properly for him to the point where hes fully settled, but the change already is remarkable. Even just the change in how much he was feeding is awesome, with him feeding 2hrly and then taking time to settle, all i seemed to be doing was feeding him. I realised yesterday that he had been going through 11 odd bottles a day. And he only woke once overnight, not 4+ times, i felt heaps more refreshed this morning when i woke up.

Glad you got results!

The Losec hasn't kicked in for DD2 yet...still demand feeding (formula) anywhere from 2 hours to 3.5...can't seem to hit the 4 hour mark.

We're SO tired and she's so unsettled poor little mite...huge bags under her eyes.

Is your DS on the Losec suspension? If so, how many ml?

Thanks angelartstudent :)

I hope the losec kicks in for your little one soon, what dose is she on? The constant 2 hr feeds take their toll dont they, we couldnt get anywhere near the 4 hr mark, i felt like all i did was feed him. I understand the tiredness for sure too. Have you seen any improvement? Even if its small? My DS isnt on losec suspension, hes on tablets, losec suspension would be awesome. I see your in Perth too, where did u get the suspension from if i can ask? Was it PMH? The GP told me only PMH do the suspension which is why we have the tablets for the moment. I have to take DS to the paed at the end of the month so i might ask him about losec suspension then.

DS was unsettled again today, went shopping and he just wouldnt lay in the pram, i had to keep picking him up, he wanted to be over my shoulder. I had the back of the pram elevated but it didnt help.

Kristi, so glad u got a dr that listened and that the losec is starting to work. I think jack had it pretty much from birth but I really didn't take much notice as I thought he was unsettled due to wat I was eating. I do recall a nite in hospital where he wouldn't go down but would sleep on me but I also put that to the rough start he had


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ANY compounding chemist will do the Losec in a suspension for you...I go to Pharmacy 777 in Applecross, becuase it's my closest compounding chemist.

If you can find a Pharmacy 777 that will do it for you, they also deliver, which is great becuase the suspension take 24 hours to get made up.

Heaps of pharmacies do compounding...if you Google it ("compounding chemist perth") you'll get heaps of results :-)

No, we're not seeing any result yet at all. One feed last night was only two hours apart again...and yep, out in the pram yesterday she just wanted to be held over a shoulder.

She's on 3ml of the suspension which apparently is a very small dose, but Dr said it'll increase as her weight does.

My DD2 had it from birth as well...she was puking so much in hosp that she stopped having wet nappies and no one could settle her...I just kept asking and asking if a Pead could see her and I finally got to see someone...so she was diagnosed before we left hospital.

Hope it goes well for you...if you ever need to vent to someone locally about having a reflux baby, you know where I am!

Just some info about the dosages it depends on how the suspension is made up and how the prescription is made.

For example the Losec Tablets we have are 10mg per tablet and we would give one morning and night so 20mg of Losec a day.

The suspension we have is the equivalent of 5mg per 1ml (the equivalent of 1/2 the above tablet of Losec), so if we use the suspension she is on 2ml per dose, morning and night. The suspension allows you to make slight alterations to the dosage that are much more difficult with the tablet, we were able to have DD2 on 1.5ml morning and night (15mg equvalent) for a period of time before we had to increase it back to the 20mg a day.

Generally with Losec id the 20mg a day doesn't work then administering more than that won't help as it is really the limitation of the medication (I am not a Dr, but this is what we have been told by our Paed and GP), all medications have their limitations.

So I would just be careful about how you share the dosage information because it isn't just an amount it is the concentration of the medication in the bottle as per the prescription, so 1ml for one person may be a different dosage compared to another prescription, and that Losec suspension only lasts about 1 month and it needs to be refrigerated all the time.

In addition we have found that using the infant gaviscon with the Losec works best, Losec neutralizes the acids in the stomach so when they do throw up it isn't burning their oesophegas (sp), the Gaviscon is a thickener which makes it heavier to hopefully keep it in the stomach.

After Losec the options are limited to another medication which basically stops the stomach from producing acid (which is a very big step).

I can recommend reading Colic Solved: The Essential Guide to Infant Reflux and the Care of Your Crying, Difficult-To- Soothe Baby By Dr Bryan Vartabedian, don't let the title confuse you it is really about Reflux and a very good read.

Great thread guys,this answered all my questions that I have about my bub. I think she has reflux,but doc says it's too early to diagnose.

Kristi,how's your bub doing now it's been a few weeks?

Summertime reflux can make things really difficult so i hope you can sort something out soon.

I'm not sure if it was this thread or another but i saw a reccomendation from someone for the book - Colic Solved, The essential guide to infant reflux and the care of your crying difficult to sooth baby - by Dr Bryan Vartabedian. I just recently got it and reading it has made so much sense of DD early weeks for me. They were some crazy weeks... I wish i was able to read it earlier so it may be worth going to your library or looking online to see if you can find it, it may help with your DD also.

My DD is still on zantac now and a week or so ago i tried to wean with no luck. But providing she's on the zantac she's a happy little bub :)

Good luck and enjoy your precious little princess :)

Thanks EJ. Will definitely give that book a read and see if it is what DD is showing symptoms of.
Glad to hear your DD is being treated and the treatment is working for you.

I hope tonight goes a little better than last night!

Hi Summertime,

Pleased to hear this thread helped you out, its so hard those first few weeks when your sleep deprived and they are so unsettled and you have no idea what is going on with them.

An update on my DS now...........hes 9 wks old, started losec at 4.5wks, pretty much straight away i saw an improvement but he was still unsettled a little bit. Got to 6.5 wks and his symptoms went back to the same as before he started the meds, so i took him back to the drs and they doubled his dose from 10mg a day to 20mg a day. After doubling his meds he was a TOTALLY different baby, started sleeping 6 to 8 hr nights and has gotten into a good solid daytime routine. But then he started vomitting :S when previously he hadnt vomitted. So ive tried a million AR formulas now and last week we got onto Nan AR and far out, i thought he was a totally different baby before, well hes even more different since starting the nan ar. He's slowed right down on his spewing, just little spit ups here and there and he is so relaxed now, hes also now started smiling all the time and talking to us, previously he would just look at us. So i think we are on the right track now..............Nan AR and losec. Far out the nan ar makes them poop alot though lol, but thats slowing down now.

Are you breastfeeding? If you arent, try the nan ar.

I hope your DD settles a bit over the coming weeks but if she doesnt, dont hesitate to get her seen to.

Wow Kristi what a process of trail and error but thankfuly you got things sorted to have a happy little boy.

We're breastfed here but my DD went from never spitting up at all to (i suppose what you'd consider to be quite normaly amounts) spitting up aswell. I thought the never spitting up was quite unusual to be honest. I can't change the brand of feed :lol: but it's not causing any issues as such. It really does show though that some of the symptoms that the little ones get aren't necesarily something you just have to put up with and there is help out there for them. So happy you've found what works.

And so happy you have a smily little boy, DD didn't smile until quite late either as she was quite miserable at the 6 week mark.

It's great that we could all help eachother :)

Update about dropping DS down to half his meds................no can do, hes been feeding 2 hrly again and fidgeting and unsettled again over night, so going back to the 2 tablets a day (20mg).

EJ- Yes its been a very big process of trial and error thats for sure but i feel we really are on the right track now. Isnt it strange how they go from not spitting up to doing it a little way in? DS started vomitting too much for my liking, i was changing his clothes 4 times a day and soaking a bib at every feed. Yes, u cant change ur method of feeding absolutely :) I tried bfing him but wasnt successful, i see now though its been hard enough getting him sorted out and settled that hes better on formula and that makes me feel a bit less bad about not bfing him (i did beat myself up about not bfing him for quite awhile), thats so good that ur bfing isnt causing issues with ur little one though :).

It sure does show that some of these symptoms are always something we should just "put up with"..................well really, its our poor little ones that are the ones putting up with it and its not fair on them. So many medical professionals saying its normal.......i knew it wasnt, but because they kept saying it was, i kept moving my focus away from reflux. I know there is some element of normality with unsettled newborns, but the ones that go into the next level should be looked at properly. Thank goodness for this wonderful network of mums who have been through or are going through the same things, otherwise i think i would still have an unsettled baby. I agree, it is so good that we can all help each other :)

OMG thanks so much for this thread ladies. I have been in the verge of tearing mg hair out for the last few weeks now over my unsettled bub & you've all just confirmed my thoughts that this isn't normal. I've also had the same feedback from my mchn, that all is well & just keep doing what I'm doing.....and its just gotten worse. My poor little DS has gone from what presented as wind pains to throwing most of his feed up most feeds or pulling back from the breast half way through a feed and screaming. Everyone kept saying its normal & something he'll grow out of. After reading this....he has the same symptoms you've all mentioned....I'm taking him to the Gp tomorrow & not taking no for an answer!!! I'm not having my baby screaming in pain when there's no need.

I just started DD on 1mg of Zantac but now I am thinking the low dosage is just my gp humoring me. He didn't really want to prescribe anything but I insisted as I can't keep sleeping upright with DD on my chest.

has anyone here used Zantac? And what was your experience? Did it make any difference? What was your dosage and how long did it take?

Any info would be great!

Lissy it's good to know that you're not alone but not so good to know that so many mums/dads and bubs are suffering :) DD was our refluxy one and she was #3 and we were struggling to accept what she was doing was normal.

njon2 we were on zantac. The dose is prescribed by weight, my DD started taking it at 7 weeks and she was on less than 1mg in the beginning. It does take a little time to really kick in (they say twoish weeks). Depending on the severity of your DD's reflux you may find as she grows the dose will become ineffective and you will need to increase it. I'd call the nurse at our GP when this would happen. It helped us for sure. I have just taken DD off due to a whole other issue (not her own) but i do see the signs a little still as a 7.5 month old, the good thing is they just aren't effecting her like they did in the beginning.

lissy & njon2 Big hugs to give you strenght to get through, Reflux can be a really horrible thing to deal with.