Baby with Silent Reflux?

[libby517]

I have a daughter who is almost 4 months old.  She is having a very difficult time feeding.  She wants her bottle, but after an ounce or two, she constantly moves her head back and forth, eventually pulling away from the bottle.  She then fusses until you give the bottle back and the process continues over and over until she just pulls away completely.  We had a barium swallow test done yesterday and it showed a small amount of reflux.  She had not eaten for nearly 12 hours and had a completely empty stomach.  Couldn't this fact mask the severity of the reflux?  Her doctor said no.  Though her symptoms seem to worsen as the day progresses.  Because of this, we now have an appointment with a neurologist to have an EEG.  I am not sure she does not have reflux because this behavior only occurs during feeding.  There may be neurological issues, who knows.  But should silent reflux be completely ruled out?  By the way, she does not spit up much, but swallows a lot of air (seen also by the barium swallow) and burps a lot.  The appointment is not for another month (??) so I would also like to at least try medication such as prevacid.  Should I ask for that option?

[lmodur]

I had my son in Sept.  From day one he's had silent reflux.  He's on Nutramigen and lots of solid foods.  We have our good days and bad.  Both of my other children were the exact same.  Both grew out of it by 1yr of age.  It is a tough year though.  Hang in there!

Lisa

[Renwick2004]

My daughter is almost 6 months old.  She was "colic" as a baby and has been uncomfortable since about a week old.  I stopped nursing her at 6 weeks because she would only scream.  Doctors said she would outgrow it.  After 8 formulas and a ton of gripe water, I told the docs to do something.  They put her on Nutramigen which helped with her severe stomach problems when she ate.  Almost immediately afterwards symptoms of reflux started to show.  Since she's been on the hypoallergenic food she screams when she spits up, chronic runny nose (since birth really), has days where she refuses to eat and is now getting double ear infections.  Her new doctor (switched again) dismisses most of it and says she got a cold or a bug.  He put her on Prevacid which worked for a few days and she's back to the screaming and spitting up.  On Saturday she spit up blood and the doc said to relax and that if it keeps happening we'll see her.  Well after 9 days of her screaming I am going BACK to the doctor again.  I asked them to bump up the dose of Prevacid and he wants to make sure nothing else is going on.  I want to know what is wrong with my baby for her sake and mine.  It's been the longest 6 months of my life and all she knows is pain.  Sometimes she pushes the bottle away so forcefully and other times she screams just looking at it.  They dismiss a lot of it because she is growing and reaching milestones.  They aren't with her when she's shaking, choking and crying from her spit up.  At least ease the pain!!

[taman]

Doctors may be reluctant to diagnose or investigate too much, as your baby may grow out of it. Often collic and stomach pains are seen as something they will grow out of, perhaps as their internal organs continue to grow and develop the problem with trapped air will be aleviated. The most important thing is for you as her parents not to get upset or stressed. Keep trying to eliminate what could be the cause and watch for normal growth patterns, weight increasing etc. It could be the formula needs to be changed, with my daughter I was breast feeding but she still suffered stomach pains and trapped wind. I also tried cutting out all dairy which had no effect but maybe changing formula or at least investigating the possibility that this is a reaction to her food.

[KRasmus]

Have they tested her for lactose intolerance and tried switching her to a soy based formula to see how she does? If she is drinking regular formula, it could be causing her extreme gas pains when she tries to eat.

[libby517]

She has not been tested for celiac disease.  I guess we are just beginning to explore all possibilities.  I will research that and keep that in mind.  thanks so much for responding and your input.  We are so frustrated and frightened...not to mention the frustration and pain our sweet baby girl is having to go through.  How do you test for celiac disease?  I know it is a problem with absorption, but that is about it right off the top of my head.

[CalGal]

Is there any history of celiac disease in the family? Has she been tested for that? Babies will often show symptoms similar to reflux when the problem can actually be celiac disease.