Theresa's Page

Hi all,

Just joined, I am probably one of those really unlucky people who have had two kids with really bad reflux. Eleanor is now 4 (and a half) and William who is 5 months.

We 'get through' every day one at a time.

I will update this page as soon as I have the energy!

Hope to hear from others like me...especially if you are around the Cheshire Oaks area.

Take care

Tracy

Hi Helena,

This is going to sound really hard line, but I was given this advice and it really helped.

Health visitors - great for babies with minor problems, as much use as a chocolate fireguard for anything else. Don't expect too much and then you wont be dissappointed. You will have one of two types, "Well see your GP", or "Put up and shut up", the opinionated type who knows everything. The last one is the type that moonlights as a pediatric specialist in their spare time (well they must as they know everything).

GP's... a strange breed. You will get, "Hmm, I hear what you're saying but see how it goes"... "If you really feel you have tried everything, have some Gaviscon" (product of the year, saviour of the universe and CHEAP first port of call with GP as it is easy on the budget and shuts you up at least temporarily). Finally you might get, "Ok, if you really think you have exhausted all the options, i'll refer you", followed by "grumble grumble" or "ok".

You need to remember, no-one promoted the GP to status of childrens god. GP equals human...well only roughly, in some cases.

Eleanor saw a pediatrician only when she was ten months old. I had no external family support, Gaviscon by the bucket full and little else. I remember practically nothing of her first year but took lots of photos and video. A lot of what you think is depression is adrenal burnout from the sheer stress of dealing with a baby that doesnt stick to the rules and is really demanding all the time.

Hang in there. I came out of it when I was sent to the counsellor and realised, she knew bugger all about my life, no-one lives with what I do on a day to day basis. My life is damned hard with a baby, whether she is just difficult or otherwise and it wont be forever. You can only do your best and after having a really tough time where I didnt bond with my little girl for a year and a half because I was too exhausted to feel anything, we are now best friends and she is a happy, healthy kid who wants nothing more than to be like mummy.

Helios do something homeopathic called "Rainbow". It lifts the haze you feel and allows you to see clearly. As a complete sceptic, I expected nothing from it and it worked for me.

Take care

Tracy

Well, its been a while since I was on here so thought it was about time I shared some knowldge and some thoughts.

There are a lot of recurring comments on here and a lot of people advising on what worked for them - which is wonderful, any newbies have to rely on people to respond to their queries.

I have been lucky enough to have access to some of the worlds best experts who have helped me understand why my little monkey is now 10 months old and still shoing signs of severe reflux when we try to take down his meds.

I am in the process of finishing off a word document with as much help as I can possibly give to parents like us who find they have a little person who is a refluxer. Having been through first the puke for England type and then the silent type we have been through it.

I have been through the GP from hell, for the record, antidepressants will not fix your child, it just dulls the screaming slightly as parents of refluxers are obviously neurotic a lot of the time.

I have also been educating the next pediatric students in what reflux actually means for families (no its not just indigstion like you get whenyou are pregnant or old), its something that can drive families to breaking point, ruin relationships and cause behavioural problems in the rest of the family as other children dont get a look in. For anyone out there who is beating themselves up over whether they are doing a good job....there are more reflux babies cited in cases of shaken baby syndrome than anything else. Aim for survival, not perfection.

For anyone out there reading this who is sleep deprived, tired, miserable, surrounded by dirty dishes and a scruffy house, has just had argument number 350 with their partner because thats the only outlet you have for the drill like cries of your screaming little person, or hungry as they are still fighting to eat a hot dinner without the screaming baby allowing you a few mouthfuls.....its ok...it really is and it does get better, 10 months is an extreme case.

All of those parents who look pristine and can go out with full make up and do all the normal things that you expect with a baby, good for them, they don't live with what you do. One small goal every few days at first is a great achievement, so you can stop beating yourself up.

Domperidone, Omeprazole and Gripe water are great. Drinking water in babies makes reflux worse, we added cucumber juice to the water we give our little man, its alkaline, it works.

Have to go now, littel person crying. For the record, cranial osteopath is a wonderful person, recommended for all babies to straighten them out after birth. However, if your little one has something more than just reflux (reflux is often a symptom of a wider problem) then it will last for about a week and then you will have to go back, £37 a week is out of most peoples budgets.

My mini-monkey got weighed today 17 lb 10 and 10 months, half pint!

Take care.

T