Noah's reflux and question

[darateacher]

Noah has had bad reflux since we brought him home in February.

The pedi has put him on Zantac 3x a day, and upping his dosage as he gains weight. We've also been to the pedi GI and he says that there's nothing we can do, except to let Noah outgrow it.

Well, I know that Noah has to be even more tired waiting to "outgrow" the reflux than we are...the poor baby! He not only spits up, but winds up foaming at the mouth at times, turning red and spitting up mucus along with the formula.

I've asked the pedi about switching formulas from NeoSure to GentleEase or something like that, because Noah's been gaining plenty of weight and is growing just fine. He keeps telling us that because Noah's a preemie that we can't change formulas on him to a 20 cal/oz. I don't think it'd hurt, but what do I know???

What do you think? Do you think it'd hurt Noah if we tried the Similac stuff for reflux and spit up? We're getting pretty desperate!

Thanks!

[jamie w]

You might ask if they would let you use the GentleEase but mix it to 30 cal/oz. We had to mix our formula that way because of Anna's failure to thrive. If they aren't ok with that you might ask about switching from Zantac to Prevacid. We had great luck with Prevacid. Reflux is so frustrating!!

[darateacher]

Jamie- I'm right with you on trying the prevacid. Unfortunately, neither my pedi nor the pedi GI are pro prevacid or prilosec. Totally stinks! They both say there's no documented scientific proof that prevacid or prilosec work in infants. Ugh!!!! We had an upper GI done, so we know it's only reflux, thank goodness. Also, no esophageal tears. How do I mix formula to 30 cal./oz? I'm ready to do anything!

[jamie w]

I will look and see if I still have the calculations for how many scoops per oz of H20 to make it 30 cal/oz. The dietician at the hospital where I work gave it to me. We went through every formula imaginable before fianlly ending up on Elecare. I am also not sure where you live and I am sure you are already sick of Dr. appointments but it might be worth getting a second opinion from another pedi GI. Sometimes if you can find one who is less about research and more about real world experience they might be more willing to try. We tried the prilosec but the Prevacid worked far better. I think sometimes there is too much research going on for certain topics and that Dr's need to do what works and quit trying to reinvent the wheel if you know what I mean. Good luck and I'll look tomorrow and see if I can find those papers.

[julieb]

I don't know much about reflux but Mason has been labeled failure to thrive because he is so tiny and doesn't like to eat so I know all about the nutrition and calorie stuff! You could ask your GI to be referred to a dietician who can help figure out how many calories Noah needs to be taking in and can tell you how to mix different formulas for different calorie amounts. Maybe if you do weight checks every week or every couple weeks to make sure he is still gaining weight your GI doctor would feel more comfortable trying a different formula with Noah. The Neosure not only has extra calories but there are extra vitamins and nutrients so you may have to give a vitamin daily if you are not already doing that. Good luck, I hope you find something that works better for Noah!

[kara]

Dara,

We had to push extremely hard to get any medication at all for Avery. The last straw, I took my husband in to the pedi with me, fed Avery 10 minutrs before we saw the doctor, and let him watch her scream and vommit. Zantac did nothing for her, so we ended up on TWO other RX's. One was prevacid, and was amazing, and the other was Reglan (metaclopramide) which helped keep the reflux down. There was a huge decrease in her refluxing and screaming. The reglan does have side effects, so we were very careful about that one, and watching for signs of problmes. The prevacid can take several weeks to work, but we found it helpful even after a few days.

Avery did end up on a prescription formula due to dairy and soy protein intolerance, which contributed to her reflux. You might call the NICU and ask for a recipe for increasing calories using a different formula. That's what we did.

[missgamecock]

Ok we got a surprise diagnosis of reflux on Cate last month and the ENT dr started her on prevacid. It has cleared up most of her congestion. She wasn't a baby to actively spit up. Her ENT described it as more of it coming up and then going back down. She is going in for a bronchoscopy and a scope of her nose and upper airway to check her adenoids (radiologist said they were huge) and they suspect she has tracheomalacia. The tracheomalacia can be confirmed with a bronchoscope.

She will be having an official reflux test done on Thursday. Another friend of mine whose baby has bad reflux is on prevacid as well. In fact, she gave me advice on how to administer it. Cate LOVES the med. I have to say it has done amazing things in clearing up the severe severe congestion and mucous she had.

[missgamecock]

Hey Dara, try an ENT dr instead as that is who prescribed the prevacid for Cate and my friend's baby (two different ENTs).

[darateacher]

Sabrina- Good idea...but, won't an ENT question why Noah needs to see him/her? Noah has zero breathing issues, nor does he have any ear issues. What do I say?

[missgamecock]

Hmm, not sure. We got referred to an ENT immediately after Cate's neck xray showed her adenoids were so large they were narrowing her airway. The ent was the first one to say reflux! She is actually going to do a reflux test on Cate Thursday in the office (something that involves her laying down and the dr feeding her and them watching what happens?)I'm not sure how to get him in. It seems if they can do a reflux test, prescribe reflux meds (she had to get authorization from my health insurance co), and doing a bronchoscopy and stuff, they can treat reflux. She hasn't referred us to a GI specialist. The only other specialist we have been referred to is the pulmonologist. That is for the tracheomalacia and the asthma. I can ask my friend how she got her baby into the ENT? He was born 2/5 full term. That's how we got referred. The allergy docs wanted her evaluated immediately. So we got an emergency referral. Cate was so congested she could barely breathe, not too mention the asthma, adenoid, and tracheomalacia issues. I'll ask her and see what she says. Also, we see the ENT on Thursday. I can ask her how you could get a referral for reflux... I won't be able to update till that night. Her appt is at 3:15.