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290867 tn?1333569278

Question about sons new formula and diagnosis!

As some of you may know my son Julian has had a rough time with formula. He started on Enfamil Lipil with Iron and went to Enfamil Prosobee then to Enfamil Gentlease and today was put on Similac Alimentum formula. I took him in today because he has been coughing and spitting up really bad and she said he has a Milk Protien allergy as well as GERD! I know there is a forum here on that topic but I am hioping someone can advise me on some info and expierances! Also who has used this formula and had a good outcome!
6 Responses
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544341 tn?1234988877
The only thing my daughter could tolerate was goat milk, and it basically cured her reflux...although she still has bouts of reflux when she has colds or a virus....she is thriving!
Helpful - 0
586424 tn?1232176659
How did they know your son has a lactose/milk allergy?  Did they actually run blood or do a scratch test on him?  I'd be skeptical if they didn't.  At first my son did have a minor allergy to these things, but found he quickly out grew it, but then because of such a high pH in his stomach acid he still could not "tolerate" it.  More like couldn't keep his stomach from curdling the milk or soy.  
My son went through so much from 4 weeks on.  Come to find out the only med that worked for him was and still is Prilosec.  It is safer than Prevacid---which has had shotty reviews and even doctors refuse to take it given long-term side-effects.  I'm not saying don't use it, I'd just be more open to find something that works for him.  
We first tried Prilosec pills compounded in a solution...mixed by the pharmacy.  That was working, but not enough.  Finally we found a pharmacy who carried a pre-compounded flavored powder.  They dissolved that in the right dosage to meet his needs and whallah...we have a very happy, healthy child now.  

Some kids don't respond to medicine and need a complete diet change.  We're talking homeopathic to the max.  It's still an option and a lot of mothers rave about the Collic Calm.  We know your son is a Reflux case, but for some reason Collic Calm works for some Reflux babies.  

Don't keep giving your child a medicine you know is still hurting him.  Who knows it could just be the dosage level.  7.5 is a lot for a baby in a single dose.  My son is 2 and is on 5ml at a time 4 times a day.  He gets the dose he needs, but it is spread out so his already overworked and sensative tummy doesn't get more upset by such a hard drug.  When he was 2mo old we only had him on 2ml twice a day to "manage" his GERD not solve it.  We needed him to get relief, but also knew meds like this can also be damaging in long-term cases.  When he adjusted...took about a week, he was a whole new baby.  He could go back to sleeping through the night and really just became happier.  

Have you tried weighing the formula down with single-grain rice cereal?  This can help get relief to the stomach by keeping food in it to give the acid something to break down.  Sometimes when babies are on liquid, the acid eats through it like the baby never ate.  My son would feed round the clock on my boob if I let him!  I was so frustrated that he'd eat like crazy, puke it all up and demand more.  He never left my breast for like 3 weeks.  Then to find out he was a GERD baby...we changed feedings to include rice and stopped him feeding directly from me.  He got pumped milk, but then still couldn't tolerate it and had to be put on powdered Alimentum.  He doesn't tolerate the liquid version of any formulas...probably a thickening agent that does not allow him to tolerate it.  

Keep trying.  One day you will find out what works for you guys.  
Helpful - 0
306245 tn?1244384967
I know this might sound strange but is the formula you using liquid? have you tried powered. My older son was doing the same thing. come to find out he was allergic to the filler in the liquid formula and HAD to have strickly powder nutramigin.

have they actually tested your kids for gas/reflux. or are they just guessing that Chris goes Wed/ to rule out this issue. he is doing a barrium swallow and looking at his throat and his tummy they were going to let him do a probe test but they waited to do this.
If they haven't done any type of test then I would ask for it to be done. What if it is not reflux.
good luck
michelle
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My son is 8 weeks old and has a latose/milk allergy and GERD and is on Nutramigen which is just the Enfamil brrand of Alimentum. They are both hypoallergenic and lactose free. My son would scream for 10 hours a day with gas pain and we also switched from breast milk to gentlease to soy and then finally to nutramigen. Which if medically necessary some insurance cover 100%. We are getting ours for Free. Our Ped GI wrote us a rx for it and it is covered under our insurance.He started prevacid solutabs 2 weeks ago. As soon as we give him the solutabes he has terrible gas pain for 5 to 6 hours after taking the 7.5mg dose. Come find out, the first ingredient in the prevcid solutabe is lactose. My husband and I have been seraching high and low to try to find a PPI drug without lactose in it. Todat we tried giving him a quarter tablet of lactaid before his dose to see if it would aid of the gas but no luck. He is also on Zantac. We tried doing the Zantac alone without the Prevacide and then he was screamig for hours arching his back with GERD pain. It is a double edged sword. Do we want reflux pain or gas? Our poor sin has been through hel; ever since he has been born
Helpful - 0
586424 tn?1232176659
My son had massive issues from about 3 weeks of age and continues at almost 2 years of age!  I'll give you a quick history.

3 weeks:  Took him to the doctor as he was losing weight and having projectile vomitting.  The doc put us on Alimentum thinking it was just milk intolerance.  
4 weeks:  We brought him back to the doc as the vomitting settled down a bit but not by much.  She put him on Zantac (GERD med) and told us to come back the following week.
5 weeks:  He adjusted a bit but the vomitting didn't go away completely.  Figuring it was better than before we were told to stay on the Zantac but we'd be followed twice a week until he was 6 mo old to watch his progress.  He weighed 6lbs 10oz at this point (born at 7lbs 8.8oz).  
6 weeks:  He started small seizure-like episodes and days of crying.  I'm not over-exaggerating when I say days.  He'd cry for up to 8 hours at a time, sleep for 10 minutes and wake up and go back at it.  My husband and I thought we were going to lose it so many times.  He would cry up to 48 hours before taking almost a whole day to pass out and rest.  Then we'd start the vicious cycle all over again.  I brought him into the ER so many times they thought I was paranoid.  They told me it was colic and refused to treat him!
7 weeks:  I was in the ER most every day that week.  I was sent home on Feb 22nd at 7am and told to only follow up with his Pediatrician and to not return to the ER unless it was emergent!  At this point he weighed 5lbs 13oz!  It was emergent.  But I went home and cried right along with him.  At 9pm he ended up passing out.  I placed him in his bassinet and settled down in bed right beside him.  At quarter to 10pm he arched his back so severely (without use of his hands/arms) and was turning blue!  He was dead silent and then he started to get a frothy foam bubbling out of his mouth.  He then fell forward onto his tummy and I grabbed him so fast my husband ran up the stairs to see what was happening.  I told him to call 911 immediately and tell them that our 2 mo old was having a seizure.  He couldn't do it.  He was too overwhelmed by the whole site of it all.  So I grabbed the phone, handed our son to him and shoved his arm in a downward angle to keep the fluid flowing out of our child's mouth.  I ran down stairs to grab the bulb suction while telling the 911 operator what had occurred.  I was clearing out the fluid and he finally took a huge gasp of air and then passed out.  No crying, no noise.  The EMTs arrived and found us already waiting on the porch.  I hopped in the ambulance and for the 25min ride to the hospital my son slept soundly.  His oxygen was returning to normal and his heartbeat returned to normal.  We got to the hospital and I was told what had happened was "normal", but to make sure the Pediatrician wanted to do a Spinal!!!!  We ended up being admitted after he woke up 15 minutes later and was all bubbly like nothing had happened!  The next morning he was put on Prilosec for his GERD and the GI Doc placed him on "weighted" formula.  (Add a ton of rice to the formula to make it like a spoon feeding).  And we were told to start jarred food.  All to help him keep the food in his stomach and keep him full.

Slowly over the next month the crying spells for hours on end stopped.  He started to gain weight.  He started to grow.  At 6 months old he had his last siezure.

At a year old we tried to take him off the meds.  Unfortunately he dropped 3lbs in less than a week and went back to not sleeping and crying round the clock!  So we had to stop immediately and place him back on the meds.

He is still on Prilosec to this day because of GERD cough, and to help keep the stomach acid from eating up all the nutrients in his food.  He's 26lbs and otherwise healthy.  I know a lot of parents don't approve of the meds route or they start elimination diets.  We did not have that luxury at first.  I did take him to an Allergist (to rule out Milk allergy) who ruled that he is allergic to Egg Yolk.  We avoid egg all together, but otherwise he's good.  Although he still cannot tolerate Soy Formulas or Milk.  Funny, but we just roll with it.  Yes he's still on Alimnetum at almost 2 years old!  But it's working.  I thank weighted formula and putting him on Del Monte jarred foods.

I think the important part is to not give up.  Find what works.  If medicine works then maybe that is right for you.  If a natural diet and goat's milk works for you then go with that.  Just don't give up.  You'll know when you find it.  Trust your instincts.

If you have any particular questions or want more info on weighted formula or how we introduced jarred food just send a PM!

Good Luck.  I'm here for support if you need it!  :)
-K
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My son is on Enfamil Prosobee.   He had  Acid Reflux and dig. issues.
He is now 9 1/2 months old.   We started him off as well on Enfamil Lipil with Iron than changed to Good Start than Prosobee.  When we switched him from Enfamil Lipil to Good Start he has a reaction to it.   He couldn't dig. it.   The dr told us it can take up to 3 to 4 days before he adjusts to being put back on another formula.   The only thing that helped my son was Colic Calm.  My son had issues with eating, crying all the time cause he was in pain, throwing himself back and legs to chest.   Besides the Colic Calm, having him lay on left side when sleeping and keeping him upright almost hour after eating helped keep the formula.  But mainly Colic Calm.  He is now off the colic calm and I think he has out grown the Reflux issue.    I did posting about Colic Calm think it's on page 2.  
Helpful - 0
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