Feeling sorry for myself

i know how you feel….its exhausting. Traces reflux is under control but for the past week he’s been cying non stop. i know he is teething, but its getting to be extreme.

you say youve changed the dose…. are you positive you are converting the mg to ML correctly? just a thought.

I really feel for you and I’ve sure been there. With Eliana things never got better until she outgrew her reflux at 9 months. It was a long, horrible, 9 months. I often say that I survived her infancy, because getting through the day with her was an exercise in survival….and night time was just pure h*ll. She never slept and I though I’d die from the complete exhaustion.

Things were pretty bad with Myles as well. But his pain was controlled once he was on the right dose of Prevacid. He absolutely needed the high dose that marci-kids recommends. It took about three days on the high dose before I noticed any change and then by the tenth day he was a new baby. Perhaps you just have to give the high dose a little more time.

If that fails I definitely agree with Christine…some further testing to find out if something else may be bothering her.

Have you experimented with different forumulas? Or is she breast fed? Perhaps it’s something in your diet.

Please go out and take a break. It will be worth it even if you have to get her to go back to sleep when you return. I made the mistake with my babies of never going anywhere because dh says he can’t handle it. That only makes you feel more overwhelmed because all the weight is on your shoulders. It’ll give him some practice and with time you’ll feel more comfortable leaving him in charge. Even a short break will make you feel so much better.

Hang in there. We understand how hard it is and hopefully better days are not too far off.

Oh, I forgot to mention something else….I’m not sure what medised is but here in the US a lot of cold medicines for infants have a possible side effect in infants and small children that is usually described as “excitability and sleeplessness.” Most cold medicines did have that effect on my children.

Natalie,

From someone whose been in your exact shoes, let me start by saying BIG, BIG, BIG HUGS!!!!! This whole thing can be so exhausting and the sleep deprivation can truly make it unbearable- I know! I swear I think that I once wrote your post myself almost word for word.

I agree with others to try and take some time for yourself. People always told me that, and I never did. I always felt that no one else could get her to sleep, no one else could calm her, no one else could comfort her. Whether or not that was true in the long run, what I never realized was that she would be fine in the short run, and that I would be better for it too. I used to be so scared about the feeding tube, that I was afraid to leave her for fear that any little upset would push her over the edge. In the end, I think I smothered us both a bit. So my point is that if you have the chance to get out for a bit, then take it. Enjoy it, and use it to rejuvenate. She’ll be waiting for you when you get back. Don’t feel bad for getting your boyfriend to pitch in at night even though he works- taking care of a refluxer all day and night long is harder than any job outside of the home, in my opinion.

As for the elimination diet, I have no advice about that. I’m a big advocate of BF, but more importantly of the mother’s right to choose. I had to switch to formula b/c of hailey’s feeding strike, but I never knew about the elimination diet. She hated formula in general, and I couldn’t get her to even take a sip of the hypo stuff. In the end I kept up with breast milk as long as I could, and eventually got her to take goodstart- which has been her nemesis as she’s likely MSPI, but it was literally all she would take. I think that if your gut tells you it’s allergies or intolerances it’s certainly an avenue to explore. Many moms have seen dramatic improvements. I’ve always wished that Hailey didn’t have such a severe feeding aversion on top of the reflux so that I could have gone the hypo route, either by breast milk or formula. It’s worth a try.

Kaylee sounds a lot like Hailey (I know, not what you want to hear) in terms of the reflux and the severity. I’d suggest trying to go back to your GI and seeing what plan of action he has for the future. I was very scared about testing, but now am quite glad that we had the scope done so I know that there’ no damage or deformities.

As for the meds, if she’s on a high dose with the losec in CaraCream, then i would try a switch to the prevacid. Like Laura, we also had no success with losec, but Hailey did much better pain wise on the prevacid. It also tastes MUCH better than the losec, which makes the CaraCream taste very bitter. And prevacid is not your only other option. There are other PPIs as well. I can’t remember the name of the other one that some moms have used, but there are others out there.

As for the cold making it that much worse, the answer is “OMG YES!!!”. I remember when Hailey had her first cold, I started a thread called “why so bad?” and it sounded a whole lot like yours today only a lot more delirious and insane b/c of the feeding aversion. Hailey’s reflux was maginified 100 fold whenever she had a cold and no dose of medication would solve that. You can always try giving breakthrough mylanta and seeing if that soothes her a bit. Hopefully she’ll come back down to a more normal level once the cold passes.

In the meantime, please try to hang in there. It’s so draining. You’re doing a great job. Hugs.

Yes, you can get capsules of prevacid. And it tastes SO MUCH better in the CaraCream then the losec does… it’s such a huge difference. Not nearly as bitter.

Your docs seem to view reflux the same way that docs do here regarding FTT.

I’m glad you got to sleep in…. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! Enjoy yourself tonight, and try not to think of the baby. Like I said, she’ll be there when you get back.

Have fun!

Good luck. I hope you get prescription for a high dose of Prevacid. Prevacid was the miracle cure for my little guy.

I’m glad you went out for a little while. Try to go out regularily so your boyfriend gains some confidence and experience caring for her. You’ll feel so much better if the entire burden isn’t on your shoulders.