Breastfed and grasping at straws

[Anonymous]

We are trying desperately to help our son sleep. During the day he is pretty happy although he is getting more fussy these days-is the reflux peaking?? Anyway, he can hardly take a nap because he wakes up after a 1/2hr or so as something just attacked him. I watch him on the monitor and what wakes him up seems to be pain and he usually starts to move his arms and then maybe groan and awake as if something poked him, it doesn’t seem like reflux at all. At night he is a little better, he goes down around 9:30 for 4-5 hrs and only move a little. But then after he goes down again after his bottle, burps and walking around for 30 mins, he moves constantly. Mostly he turns his head furiously from side to side and lifts his legs up. He does this for about 3 hrs and I replace the pacifier about every 1/2 hrand then he finally can’t take it anymore and starts to cry out and wants to get up.

So we decided to try neocate because I thought maybe dairy and soy were hurting him. I did the TED but nothing changed but I was willing to try formula anyway. He didn’t really like the neocate but he ate it-very slowly and last night he started moving after an hour of being in bed (his stroller). So I thought right away that is was the neocate and it was binding him up or making him feel worse than the breastmilk does. So at his 2am feeding I gave him BM and he slept for 1.5hrs and then started him moving again (which I expected).

Does anyone have a similar story or find out that the reflux they thought they had was really a bowel problem?

[Anonymous]

why do you think its bowels? did he not poop in a while? neocate has been a Godsend for us…
and it can take up to a month for it to work, because all the milk proteins and other things have to clear out of their system.
he maybe having reflux flair ups at night? have you considered giving some zantac or pepcid complete?

[Anonymous]

To me it sounds like reflux pain, but it could be gas – it’s so hard to tell.

How long has he been on 15 mg Prevacid twice a day? Are you giving it to him on an empty stomach and following it up with a feeding 30 mintues later? Or, are you using the compounded version? The compounded version does not have to be timed around meals but it often is not prepared properly by the pharmacy and then it loses it’s effectiveness.

As far the as Neocate goes, you really have to try a formula for at least two weeks to get an idea if it’s going to work or not. How long did you do TED? I think you have to do it for three weeks before you can tell if it’s going to work or not.

Natalia’s idea of an H2 blocker or Pepcid complete before bed is good. I’ve read of a few babies on this board who did best with Prevacid or Zegerid during the day and an H2 Blocker like Zantac at bedtime. If you want to try that just make sure the H2 Blocker is given several hours apart from the Prevacid.

I hope things improve soon. I remember how hard it was, and I really feel for you.

[Anonymous]

Your baby sounds like Brianna exactly. I thought that maybe it was just gas pains and not reflux at first. I know I read here that gas can be a symptom of reflux or the other way around or something. Medicine helped Brianna some, but the only way we got her to sleep at night (she never really was a good napper until about a few months ago, but I think that was mostly due to habit), was to avoid all dairy and soy(well Brianna could handle the soy oils) in my diet (including hidden). I agree that only one night of neocate might not be enough to really determine anything. Also, we started giving Brianna an h2 blocker at night (zantac) and that helped her as well.

[Anonymous]

Alana did the lift the legs up in the air…turn head from side to side before her reflux was controlled. Also we went to a low allergin formula at the same time.

I think that reflux and gas pain are related a lot of the time…I know Alana’s gas got so much better when her reflux was controlled.

It is a very personal decision to switch from breastfeeding to neocate. If you wanted to go to neocate and try it for a little while maybe you could pump for awhile? so you could go back if you wanted?

Have you done the 30mg split 3 x…a few mums seem to have done this with more success.

BTW….Alana takes 3 x 45 min naps every day. She never naps for longer. She also doesn’t wake in pain though. So I would say the reflux may not be controlled yet…or he is MSPI and the milk proteins are still in the system?

Gee this stuff is hard

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the responses, I really appreciate it. The reason I thought it was bowel related is because he sometimes looks like he is straining when he pulls his legs up. Although he has never had a hard time pooping it was just a theory and I thought the formula would bind him up as is body was getting used to it.

I am so confused and every day I come up with a new idea or theory on how to cure my son. Some days though I really don’t think it is reflux because he makes such painful movements. His classic movement is when he is sitting down somewhere, seemingly content, he will all of sudden start to move his hands, bring them to his face and rub them on his face and spit out his pacifier. It looks like something is attacking him from the inside, he is always upright it doesn’t seem like it can be reflux. Plus I when I hold him I can feel his stomach churning and moving. At this point I think I think it could be anything like an ulcer or some other issue down below. Sometimes I wonder if the prevacid is actually hurting him because w/o the acid in his stomach, maybe he is having trouble breaking down the milk.

I really want to keep breastfeeding so I have given up dairy and soy-even hidden and hope that helps. I do give the meds on an empty stomach, 30 mins before meals and he has been on 30mgs for almost 1 month.

One last thing to mention is that my son is very active and NEVER stops moving. He is always moving his hands and legs and most of the time he looks uncomfortable and then of course like I said when he is “refluxing” he curls his body and sucks really hard on the pacifier and turns his head to the side and back. I have an appointment with a neurologist in 2 weeks to ruls otu anything in the brain. My next step will be a ph probe so I can confirm that we are dealing with reflux.

[Anonymous]

It is actually enzymes that break down food in the stomach, so I wouldn’t worry about the Prevacid causing any problems in digesting his milk.

To me it does sound like some of his movements could be reflux. I’ve had reflux for the last few months and sometimes the acid just shoots up my esophagus so suddenly and so swiftly that it nearly takes my breath away. It really burns badly. And it does happen when I am upright, although it’s more frequent in bed. I could see how a baby might spit out his pacifier and rub his face when this happens, or turn his head back and forth (I think that’s what you said in another post).

30 mgs for a month seems like it should have done the trick, though. Is it the solutabs that you are using? If it’s the compounded version it could be losing it’s effectiveness if it’s not being prepared properly.

I guess I’d probably do a strict TED for at least three weeks, or try Neocate for at least a few weeks to see if some or all of this may be related to food intolerances.

I wish I had better advice. I hope and pray you find the answer soon.

[Anonymous]

masasee wrote:

The reason I thought it was bowel related is because he sometimes looks like he is straining when he pulls his legs up.

I thought this initially too. But my pead suggested it is actually a pretty common “symptom” of pain. This was confirmed to me when Alana had a UTI (which must have been very painful) and she was moaning and groaning and doing this constantly.

I so totally understand the “coming up with a new idea…thought…cure” everyday. I did this too before Alana’s reflux was controlled. The money i spent on stuff I used once….. But I think it is something that we have to do…

Goodluck at the neurologist…I hope he finds nothing…if you now what I mean.

Also…sorry to ask again but do you do 2 or 3 times a day?

[Anonymous]

I think I was the queen of “coming up with new ideas”. Everyday my husband would come home and I would say “OK, I read about this today so this is what we are going to try. I can’t even think about the money I spent, but you know what…I would do it again. It must be the mommy in us. I hope you are able to find some answers soon.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again everyone for your responses.

My son takes 30mg solutabs and we split it 2x day. We tried 3x day but it made no difference. I can’t understand how the acid can’t be controlled yet plus he sleeps upright in his stroller and still moves ALL night long and I have to keep putting the pacifier back in all night so he can calm down.

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