Tummy ache, wind and Constipation

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on May 2, 2008 at 23:45

Hello Caroline, my 10 week old little boy suffers with your little ones' symptoms; Charlie doesn't have any regular bowel action and his wind means it is impossible to settle him at times for two hours or more post feed (I'm also doing the 4 a.m. thing...fun isn't it???) but there have been improvements. After Gaviscon constipated him I found that Ranitidine has helped to get things moving, but this could be down to a reduction in pain etc.I'm like so many mums, just learning/making it up as I go along! He is also on Nutramigen formula, which is hypoallergenic etc. and he has been far more regular since he settled on this, alongside regular water intake. I give him little and often, as the wind obviously gets worse when he guzzles it down, which is rare with reflux anyway.I could be mistaken, but I believe that lactulose can sometimes not be well tolerated and make reflux a little worse? Certainly Charlie was not great on lactulose (which is a stool softener and not a laxative) but this is all relative and you get told so many opposing things by so many professionals. Have you tried baby tea? Charlie is still quite small so I am careful, but have done a bit of research and I think Ulula do one on the net, and this can help wind etc as it is a fennel/carraway seed mix .Weleda chamomila drops are also meant to be good for windy babies. I did find cranial osteopathy helpful; I was sceptical, but found a good practictioner and after two sessions found Charlie's stomach less distended by wind and he was a lot better at getting his own wind up and not crying in pain trying to get it out of the other end! I give Charlie a warm bath at bad times and attempt massage techniques (also on the net) unless he lets me know he is too tender.I also am seeing a Paed. who scanned and x-rayed Charlie to check there was no deep lying problem internally, which there wasn't, thank goodness.I'm probably telling you a lot of things you already know, but maybe it helps. Have you tried different bottles? I have tried anything and everything on the market and didn't find a solution, but on the forum you can see different debates regarding bottles. Dr.Browns get a good write up, and may work for you.

Good luck - your little ones will be both be fine I am sure, and you are doing all the right things.

Sarah x

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Permalink Reply by rachael on May 3, 2008 at 9:00

Hi,
You might find cow & gate comfort helps with constipation. It helped a bit too well with my baby, so he's not on it any more, but it's meant to imitate breast milk very closely and be better for their digestion.
Rachael

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Permalink Reply by Helena on May 3, 2008 at 10:32

Hi Caroline

My little mite is on omeprazole and domperidone too. She used to be on gaviscon (is your baby on it too?) as well but it made her really constipated and every bowel movement meant lots of pain and pushing- honestly it was more like she was in labour!.
We used to give her lactulose but it's effectively undigestable so it was irritating her little digestive system.
Once she started on solids- she's now 8 months and still managing ridiculous amounts of solids- we weaned her off the gaviscon and we noticed some improvement on the poo front.
But what I find has helped her more is giving her quite a lot of water with her omeprazole. We dissolve the tablets in cooled boiled water and syringe it straight into her mouth and then give her some extra water.
Wind too was an added problem too. We found the Dr. Brown's bottles to be perfect for her as she takes hardly any air and the milk flows out steadily, and the teat does not collapse. She seems to drink from these bottles without too much effort.
Bearing in mind that each child is different, there's no guarantee it will work for your baby, but it might be worth trying as you've got nothing to lose.

Good luck and keep us posted on your little's man progress.
Helena X

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Permalink Reply by sally on May 3, 2008 at 11:32

Hi caroline
My son got terribly constipated too, and now that we are weaning and the milk is thickened by the food im gradually cutting right down on the gaviscon. He's only having the odd dose now. He has a poo nearly everytime he feeds now! another word of caution with the lactulose, as Helena said it's indigestable but this can irritate the digestive system and make the wind symptoms worse. In our case Rohan was later diagnosed with milk intolerance ( lactose is from milk sugars) so it was making his symptoms even worse. A soon as we started early weaning and cut right back on the gaviscon his bowels have been really good. Oh and lots of water too! it's been a bit of a battle getting water into him but all of a sudden he's accepting it now, this definately makes a difference.
I hope things improve for you very soon.

sal x

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Permalink Reply by Caroline Robinson on May 3, 2008 at 20:07

Hi

Thank you so much for all your replies and helpful tips. Matthew isn't on Gaviscon we dropped it quite early as it had no effect. I take on board what everyone is saying about lactulose. I think we might drop it and just give him the water. We have had difficulty getting him to take lots of water but we'll keep trying. The tip about giving him the omeprazole with lots of water is really useful because he hates taking it. So we'll definitely be trying that. He's on the suspension version at the mo.

I'm also going to try him with Cow and Gate Comfort. We did try this really early on when he wasn't on omeprazole and domperdone and it made him sick but we might have more luck now.

So thanks again to everyone. I've gleaned so much from this website. I fell onto the site when Matthew was first prescribed Gaviscon. I'd gone to the doctors once we realised that Matthew wasn't suffering from something more than colic. The doctor prescribed it without mentioning reflux and I'd 'googled gaviscon' when I got home. I've successfully implemented lots of things that desperate Mums have suggested.

Life is definitely hard at the moment and each day is a struggle but we hold on to the thought that it will get better.

Thank you again

Caroline

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Permalink Reply by Kelly on May 3, 2008 at 20:39

Hi Caroline,
If you don't have any luck with the other milks then it may be worth trying pepti junior as wind can be a big indication of a lactose intolerance. If you go on the Cow and Gate website it gives you symptoms to look for with lactose intolerance. Or I just rang them. Or failing that, you can put drops in his bottle, they are called colief, they contant lactase that breaks down lactose. They are expensive but if you try them and they work you can get them on prescription. kelly

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Permalink Reply by kati on May 12, 2008 at 0:44

Dear Mathew
My 7 weeks old son also has been on Gaviscon with similar side effects of constipation which in itself is quite distressing when the poor little one has to go on the 3rd or 4th day. I had to have Lactulose myself when I was pregnant and although it moves things along, it can itself cause abdominal pain and discomfort. I had some advice from my local chemist which worked for us and it may be worth trying. It can help to apply some Vaseline to the rectum area using a cotton bud as this softens the area and can ease the pain (which can cause them to hold back ). Also we used Glycerol Sepositories which are really easy & painless to insert and worked really well ( available over counter ). Hope you find this useful.

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