LittleRefluxers

I am so glad that I have found this website. Maddie was born 9 weeks ago and has had reflux almost from when she was born. I have tried different milks, Gaviscon (didn't work and made her constipated), Zantac, putting rice in her milk to thicken it (made her constipated), am now giving her Domperidone (no immediate improvement) and have been advised to give her Cow & Gate Instant Carobel. Apparently, this thickens the milk and helps it to stay down and doesn't cause constipation (I'll let you know how it goes). I am at my wits end with it all. Maddie is a happy chucker most days but some days is really irritable. She is also very greedy and is already on 5.5oz (she is only 9lb 13oz) and this is gone within minutes and she is still not satisfied and cries until I give her more. At first I thought she was just sucking on the bottle for comfort but when I give her her dummy she spits it out and cries until I give her food. She spends the whole day wrapped in a muslin and I go through at least 2-3 muslins per feed. The doctor told me to feed her little and often. This makes no difference. I gave her 1oz once and she threw that up!!! I now feed her on demand and she seems to last about 3 hours. The only good thing is that she has consistently put on weight (not a lot, she is still below the line in her red book). If she started to lose weight then I will probably lose it. That is the only thing that is keeping me going at the moment. In the morning I am quite relaxed about it all and think "oh well, never mind", but by the end of the day I am at the end of my tether. I hate going out with Maddie and I feel like I have to explain the situation to everybody I meet. I don't know what to do for the best for her, the HV's really don't have much of a clue and I feel really alone and sometimes think that I am making things worse for her by trying different milks and medicines, etc. If anybody lives in the Bromley area I would love to meet up for a chat as I don't know anybody with a reflux baby and up until now I have felt very isolated. I also keep thinking "I can't wait until she can sit up, walk, etc." just so this passes and am wishing her baby time away which is awful really. I am a first time mum and have no confidence as it is and even though it isn't my fault that she has reflux, I just feel guilty all the time!!! Anyway, I really needed to get all that off my chest and already feel better for it. I'm sure as the weeks go by I'll have more off load, but I will be sure to keep you all informed if anything works!!

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Thank you for your kind reply. Be sure to let me know if anything works and I'll do the same.

All the best and good luck.

x
Hi Donna
i tried the carobel stuff as the pediatrician recommended it. It was a nightmare. Totally impractical. Then again i was exclusively brestfeeding and it may be easier when you are bottle feeding. I would give it to Max half an hour before a feed, but then because it is so thick, half an hour later he didn't want to brestfeed as he was full from the carobel (even if i gave a minute amount. it is like glue so he just filled up on it). Then 1 hour and a hlaf later he would scream in hunger but i had no time to prepare the carobel and so would just feed him.
Also, what i found was that the stuff was so thick he still had reflux and wind issues but was just more uncomfortable with it all. As though his burps hurt him more. So his whinge, a constant UGH UGH HUH UGH HUH (all day every day) was louder and worse than ever. he just seemed so in pain, that even my mum who was always convinced "its not reflux he's just a high needs, spoilt baby. let him cry" said "i think he has tummy ache"
Let me know how the carobel works for you but if not, seeing as it does the same thing as gaviscon i would go with gaviscon
I live in Streatham so fairly (in a manner of speaking) close to Bromley. if you want to meet up maybe we can arrange an easy place to meet andhng out. I was house bound for the first 4 months so i know what it is like to be isolated!
take care and chin up. it does get better
xxx
Hi Francesca

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

I have heard good things and bad things about this stuff, but I really need to give it a go even if it just to put on my list of things that didn't work!! Maddie is bottle fed and I have read that you have to use it sparingly otherwise it can make it too thick so I'll be making up a few tester bottles before I give it to her.

How old is your little one now? Is he over the reflux now?

It is reassuring to know that it does get better. At the moment I just can't see any end to it.

I am going to an NCT meeting tomorrow and am already dreading it. Sometimes I feel like wearing a t-shirt saying "Yes, my baby pukes a lot but she has got reflux and can't help it". I have also got a constant smell of sick up my nose even when she hasn't been sick which is a bit worrying!!

Anyway, I'll let you know how the Carobel experience goes.

Thanks for the advice and taking the time to reply to me.

Take care and would love to meet up at some point in the future.

xx
Oh no, I hope you figure it out. It's just so frustrating isn't it. When I hear other people's stories I think that Maddie's reflux isn't as bad others as she sleeps ok most days although during the early hours of the morning I have noticed that she is quite unsettled and groans quite a lot but her eyes are closed and she is asleep. She also had a bad night last night as woke up choking on her sick which scared the living daylights out of me!!

I only give Maddie milk at the moment but today she was sick all day long! Even her dad was shocked as he doesn't see her during the daytime during the week! She has also started sleeping through the night which is a worry because she is losing a bottle of food.

Maddie very rarely cries for long periods, but I have noticed that this week she has been having outbursts of crying where nothing settle her. It has been since I have been giving her Domperidone. It wasn't making any difference anyway so I have stopped giving it to her.

I hope that you get back on track. It is very disheartening when you feel like you are just back to square one. I don't get my hopes up anymore with any remedies or medicine I am given. I just expect her to throw up and if she doesn't then it's a bonus.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to reply to me and reading the success stories on here is what keeps me hopeful. I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight.

Feel free to e-mail me anytime you just want to offload.

Take care

Donna
hI Donna

Welcome to little refluxers, i too let out a huge sigh of relief when i found this site. I then realised my childs behaviour was all completely normal for a child with reflux. Baby Dom also moans constantly, even cries before he has woken up. He can be really difficult to settle. Our only saving grace was that he was not sick often. He is breastfed and is now on a dairy free diet which is definately helping. He is on Omeprazole (losec) which i think helps and Domperidone. I am not convinced the domperidone does anything so i am going to see about stoping this next time i am at hospital with him. If things dont improve maybe you should ask your GP for a paediatric referal as maybe Maddie (lovely name) needs Ranitadine or Losec. Anyway this is a great place to get advice and support so keep in touch.

Michelle and Dominic x
Thank you for your message. I have been using Cow & Gate Instant Carobel now for 3 weeks and it is like having a different baby. Maddie is thriving now, is lasting four hours between feeds and has put on 17oz in 2 weeks which is unbelievable. She is so much happier as well and sleeps for longer during the day. This is a thickener and unlike Gaviscon it doesn't make her constipated. I am so glad I kept researching until I found a solution. Maddie is still sick but it is only little bits and because it is so thick it is easier to manage. I now only go through 1 muslin a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to use 6 month teat as it is so thick but now it is just part of our routine. You can get your phamacist to order it in for you as you cannot buy it in the shops. Anyway, good luck with it all and perhaps you should give it a try.
Hi Donna - that Cow & Gate milk sounds great. I will suggest it to the paed on Tuesday and see what they think. At the moment Fraya is back on Pepti as she was way too sick on SMA.
Hi Emma

The Cow & Gate Instant Carobel is a thickener which you just add to her milk before each feed. You need to leave it for 5 minutes before giving it so you need to take that into account. Hope the paed says it is ok. Maddie has been having it for weeks now and is absolutely fine. Good luck.

x
Helo how strange i am in biggin hill too and am at my wits end, my little lucy is my second baby and she is sick all the time - sometimes straight after a feed - or i can sit her upright after a feed for an hour tehn pick her up and she is sick!!its just so hard getin out espciallyt as i have a 2 year old too and people say dont worry shes only a sicky baby and i want to scream. the amount of washing i am getin through is crazy. however she is a happy baby and she sleeps but during the day after any feeds she is sick, i have started to wean her and she loves her food but the reflux seems to have got worse, have tried different miks, sma hungrier, gold, gaviscon, rantidie - but nothing works and i too worry about keep messing her about with different milks, treatments etc. she has been gaining weight really well but has now started to slow down. so glad i have found this website and realise i am not alone as i find the doctors and health visitors useless!!
OK, my situation is EXACTLY the same as yours. I too am weaning Maddie early as I just want her off the milk as much as possible. Let's meet up. Are you free at all next week? We could meet at Waitrose for a coffee?
Hi - your story sounds very familiar (apart from the greedy feeder bit as Fraya has never been bothered by food). I have tried so many different milks and gaviscon as well which made her constipated. I tried feeding little and often she was still sick. Fraya is on the 9th centile and she is 5 1/2 months old. Today she was weighed and only out on 2 ounces in 2 weeks. The HV's response was "she hasn't lost weight". It is still such a worry though! Often she doesn't put any weight on and one week she lost an ounce. Luckily that is the most that she has lost. I was desperate for Fraya to sit up and she can now and I thought that this would improve the sickness but she is still sick a lot. We have to feed her sat next to a bucket with a plastic sheet on the floor - 5 ounces coming back out is not good for the carpet! I find it lonely as my friends with babies don;t understand and they say that their babies are sick when they actually mean that they have had a mouthful of sick come out! Not quite the same as 5/6 ounces! I am also a first time mum and I find it hard as there seems to be such a pressure as to how much your baby weighs! As Fraya is sick such a lot she only weighs 13lb 9oz at 5 1/2 months. I feel like people judge me that I don't look after her properly as she is small and then I feel obliged to explain that she has reflux even though no-one understands what that is anyway! Then of course they say "my baby is sick as well" (when they mean possetting) and it makes you feel worse because they think that you are exaggerating! Often it is easier not to go out at all. How are you feeling lately?
Hi Donna, hope your little one i getting a bit better...am sorry as I am about to go out so will not be able to fully reply to your post but I live in Chislehurst near Bromley and my son Jude who is 12 weeks has Reflux. Would be happy to meet up for a chat ..Victoria x

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