Son not sleeping--silent reflux

[lmodur]

HELP Please... .

Our 7 month old wakes up every 90  minutes due to his silent reflux.  The Axid and Prevacid both made his stomach upset worse.  So now he's only on Nutramagin formula, rice cereal and fruit.  The pediatrician says to make his formula extra thick. His little voice is hoarse all the time.  He doesn't have colic.  Our lil one is sooo happy until he goes down for a nap or night time sleep.

Is there anything else out there?  His upper GI was normal.  We are very very tired parents with a tired baby.

Lisa

[peasantgirl]

Hi Lisa,

I'm sorry to hear about your son. That's tough. My youngest daughter woke up every 1-2 hours due to reflux until she outgrew it. It's so hard not getting much sleep for extended periods of time.

I agree with Cheryl, try Mylanta and also I would look at different medications. Prevacid Solutabs and Prilosec both contain dairy lactose. Was he on the Prevacid Solutabs? That could have been what was causing his stomach upset. A lot of children react badly to the dairy lactose in those medications. There are other medications out there. Zantac, Pepcid, compounded Prevacid, Zegerid and Nexium. I would see about trying another medication. Most children seem to do better on one over all the others, it's just depends on the child and finding out what works for them.

Also, I agree with Cheryl about the rice. It actually slows down how fast the stomach empties and can cause more issues (gas, constipation) then no rice. Babies with reflux generally have immature digestive systems and a lot of the time solids make things worse and not better. I'd try taking rice out of his diet for a while and see if things get better.

April

[momoftwo378]

Please see the comments that I wrote to Me2mommy2b.   It's pretty long that way I don't have to retype.   I talk about my 3 1/2 month old, what the dr's told me to try and what I found on line to try.   You'll see I talk about Colic Calm-I swear by it and it's the best thing that has happened to my son.  Hopefully it could help your son.

[jeowen]

Cheryl gave some great info!

We used the tucker sling (actually made my own when my sewing machine was working) with one of my boys and it worked pretty good.  With my youngest we use the amby baby hammock.  That really changed how well he slept.  Nathan (my youngest) was unable to tolerate soy or dairy protiens.  He was on Neocate formula for the longest time.  He didn't do well on solids.  We also had to thicken his forumla so he could keep it down. He was my silent refluxer as well.  We used Earth's Best Oatmeal or mulit-grain.  I always sent the DRY cereal through the blender and made up all the bottles the night before.  I know at one point he needed it so thick it was like sludge going down. We thickened well up till he was one year old.  Then we had a HARD transition to unthickened but we took it really slow.

Jennifer
mom to Noah 10, Matthew 9, Jacob 6 & Nathan 4

[ChitChatNine]

Hello Lisa,

I have a few thoughts as I read your post.  I am sure others will jump in and maybe have other ideas, advice, too.

This is so frustrating and very difficult for you to see your son suffer like this and then he must be cranky from not getting naps, etc.  It is a viscious cycle.  

Will your Dr. allow Mylanta before he goes down for a nap?  Hefty doses help sometimes at least for a bit to get him to sleep.  Coats the esophagus.

Has your Dr. suggested another med to try?  There may be inert ingredients such as lactose fillers that he may be having issues with and not the med itself?  There are many many other meds out there to explore with your Dr.  But, sometimes these Docs are set in there ways and are non-believers that this can be the case .. BUT I have seen many many thru the years post that they have issues that disappear with the right med.  There are other meds out there (not sure if they are all FDA approved for infant usage, though so you must discuss with your Dr but when the risks outweight the benefits they will oftentimes use the med) .. Zantac and other supressors are a thought .. they can be given up to 3X a day with Mylanta inbetween if your Dr. agrees ..

A Pedi GI may be the way to go at this point .. this is there speciality and they are more liberal with the meds working with you.

How are his poops?  Constipation can cause worse reflux.

Silent reflux is awful.  It can do more pain/harm then regular bcz it isn't coming up and out but is making the esohpagus raw.  I'd cry out in pain too!  You are your son's advocate .... I am so glad you found this community to speak for him so we can help you with some ideas.

UPRIGHT SLEEPING SEMI RECLINED:  There is a tucker sling that many use.  It is used in hospitals and helps .. http://www.tuckersling.  I'm not promoting this or trying to sell this item .. it is a type of item I refer to so you can see how it works.  It helps keep the reflux from coming up.   Discuss with your Dr. if it is ok to prop up the mattress (from underneath) so the mattress is semi-inclined for naps.  Mine would nap in a semi-reclined stroller and I'd stroll him from room to room with me.  Infant carrier worked wonders as well as a swing not moving in semi recline position.

One last thought on the weighted formulas.  It is thickened to help slow things down but oftentimes it is too harsh for the baby to tolerate the solid foods.  Any indication of more gas since rice has been added?  The added gas causes reflux flares, too.....

If you go to the health pages at the top of the right side and click it on and then go to an entry about STARTING SOLIDS ... this may help you, too as your baby is at that age and it can get worse or get better when solids are introduced.

OR here is the link for you to the Starting Solids Page:  http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Gastroenterology/A-Mothers-Experience---Starting-Solids-with-a-Reflux-Baby/show/102?cid=182

Hope this helps!

Cheryl
Mom to 3dd's  17, 15, 10 & ds 9, who was my reflux king