Choking Reflux Issue- Need Advice…..

[Anonymous]

This is my first post so I’m hoping for some good Mommy advice!

Our 14 week-old daughter has been struggling with what I call a choking problem between bottles. She will vomit a mucus like substance that will block off her nose and throat, wave her hands in the air and CANNOT breathe…it will last for a few seconds until she can finally get her breath and then she will just start crying. My doctor said this is part of the reflux issue. I have quit my job to stay home because it is a really serious problem and VERY scary at times…….does anyone else have this problem and if so, what does your doctor say?

[Anonymous]

Poor baby!

I can really sympathize. My youngest had apnea episodes (stopped breathing) with his reflux. He would spit up large volumes and try to swallow them and it would overwhelm him. Then he would choke and turn blue and there would be a long pause in his breathing.

does your baby always sound congested? Landen always had nasal congestion when his reflux was at his worst b/c his reflux would come up into his nose, ears, etc. This might be what is happening to your LO.

Also, if there is mucous in your LO’s vomit that could be a sign of intolerance. Is there mucous in her poop (sorry!). What does she eat? Formula? (what kind) breastmilk?

[Anonymous]

I agree with Jill the the mucous could be a sign of an intolerance. And it does sound like she is having apena episodes which are very scary. We luckily never had those but we did have vomit come out of his nose on a very regular basis until we got his formula and meds right.

[Anonymous]

My son had apnea episodes early on & very labored breathing throughout the day (even when upright). At night he had so much mucous & congestion that he was choking, etc.

Once I cut foods out of my diet (I’m breastfeeding) the congestion & mucous stopped almost immediately.

I agree that it may be an intolerance of some kind.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this site is sooo wonderful. Lots of good advice from all of the mommy’s out there. She does have mucus/spit up coming out of her nose and mouth at the same time. It is extremely scary! My pediatrian seems very passive about the whole issue and doesn’t act like it is very serious.

How do I get my doctor to realize how serious this is?

[Anonymous]

We give Addie formula…. after having major breast feeding/weight gain issues at the beginning. I have to constantly suck her nose out to get all the excess slime out. (sorry!) I haven’t really noticed it in her poop but will check tomorrow….very carefully! :o)

The intolerance and apnea sounds right. We’ve had some very scary times where she has turned blue. She sleeps in her bed, propped up on her boppy. During the day, I let her sleep in her swing. We have a 4 year-old son who NEVER had any of these issues. She has had an upper GI done and it was normal. She seems to be better when she sleeps at night and is still. Her episodes are during the day usually ranging from 1-2 episodes a day.

[Anonymous]

Something I have found to work with my son (thanks to these lovely ladies) is to not suction too much. When my ds was younger, I was constantly sucking him out (like 6-8 times per day). It just seemed to never end. What works great for us is to only suction him out once in the am and once before bed. In between we use saline and just spray it up his nose and let it run down the back of his throat. IMO, too much suctioning can make it worse. Also, a good cool mist humidifier works great, especially for nighttime.

[hellbennt]

The Upper GI, (also called a barium swallow?) is good to look for structural abnormalities,
it is *not* good to verify reflux: it is a snapshot in time if you were, so if baby doesn’t happen to reflux at that particular time of the test then a dr might be quick to dismiss you & tell you reflux isn’t there/isn’t bad- the way to show reflux is a ph probe, where the actual length (duration) & frequency (how often) of reflux episodes are recorded (I think actually the acidity is measured as well? Thus the ‘ph’ part of the test?)…

[Anonymous]

Wow, I think I’ll call the dr. today and ask about the PH Probe. Her Upper GI was noraml and they said everything looked normal as she took the barium. Sooooo, I really appreciate the advice and I’ll ask my peditrican about this and see what he says!

Thanks guys!

[hellbennt]

there’s a:

ph probe

bravo probe

impedance (sp?) probe

not sure which one to ask for? bravo & impedance (sp?) are more recent/up to date

[hellbennt]

oh & if there’s choking and you’re worried that maybe liquid is getting into the lungs/aspiration, then demand a swallow study!

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