Food intolerance? Help troubleshooting please

[Anonymous]

First, sorry for the constant questions, but I find you guys are a better resource than any doctor I’ve talked to and their (non)answers, so I really appreciate it.

DS is nearly 15 weeks, and here’s a quick background:

– Diagnosed with reflux at 2 weeks after he started screaming after eating and not eating much

– He was put on Axid, which worked and wore off, switched to Prevacid, which worked and then wore off, and then upped his Prevacid dosage, which also worked and then wore off.

– His pedi. wouldn’t up his Prevacid dosage above 15 mg. a day, but i wasn’t convinced it was all reflux, becuase it seemed more digestive, so we started on probiotics about 4 weeks ago.

– Probiotics made a BIG difference and he stopped waking so much and crying in pain so much. Not 100% perfect, but a big improvement.

That brings us to about 2 weeks ago, (12 days into probiotics) when he he stopped having (TMI) one big poop and multiple small, loose poops daily that were almost like wet farts. Now he’s gone to having one big poop every other day. A few days after that, we started supplementing with some formula (one bottle a day, but not even every day). First we tried Good Start Proctect, and he had trouble with that (gas and pain), so we switched him to Similac Sensitive (with the more broken down proteins). He’s tolerated the Similac well, although seems more gassy than on breast milk alone. Then, about a week ago, after getting formula for a few days and being on probiotics for 3 weeks, he started getting horrible smelling gas – like something that could come from a 40 year old man! He doesn’t seem to be in any pain, but is still pooping only every other day and has bad gas multiple times daily.

So, here are my questions and thoughts that I need help with:

1. Is it normal to get bad smelling gas like this from probiotics, and that’s what is causing it?

2. Could the addition of formula be causing the bad gas because he’s intolerant of something in the formula? Currently I eat a very small amount of dairy (coffee creamer and a yogurt). I switched to soy milk and am avoiding cheese, ice cream, etc. So, I’m wondering if it could be an aversion to dairy.

3. Last week was his first week of day care, which threw off his schedule, naps, etc. and he got a cold – could that be a factor?

4. What should we try to do next to figure this out? He hasn’t had formula in 4 days now, but still has the stinky gas. Should we try soy formula?

I need to figure out a formula eventually because I just went back to work FT and have too demanding of a job to pump twice day for the next 8+ months so he can be EBF, let alone do a TED. (I have to be realistic here, because while I know it’s possible, it will make me crazy in the long run, which isn’t good for anyone).

I’m sure I’m forgetting to mention something about the situation, but any thoughts would be helpful. I have an appt. with a GI dr. next Friday, but I feel like he won’t be much help anyway, so I’m trying to trouble shoot before then.

thank you!!!

[Anonymous]

Also, I forgot to mention, that while I didn’t see most of his poops last week, the one I saw yesterday was much thicker and more like formula than breast milk at all, which I thought was odd because he hadn’t had formula in 3 days at that point.

[Anonymous]

Who is taking the probiotics and how many? You or son? And I assume you are taking enzymes also, so I will refer to it as if you are taking both and call them “supplement”.

For you as the nursing mom (assuming you take the supplement)…I would recommend that you be sure that you take a supplement every time you eat any kind of dairy on top of what you take already. When nursing and just the mom is taking the supplements then it can take quite a few to be able to get to the baby.

Formula is much harder to break down than breast milk. One of the reasons is that breast milk was created for babies that weigh very little compared to formula that is derived from cow’s milk that is created for a calf of a couple hundred pounds. The proteins in breast milk are much more broken down in breast milk than cow’s milk.

When a baby is born all their organs are just learning to function including the pancreas which is what produces enzymes. So as a tiny baby it’s pancreas only produces a small amount of enzymes but when formula is given then the pancreas has to really kick in gear and try to produce more enzymes than it was designed to. Many babies are fine with this but if a baby has digestive problems anyway they may have been born with a pancreas that is slow on producing enzymes. So for these babies formula can be especially hard for them to digest.

When food (milk/formula) enters the stomach the stomach will excrete a small amount of hydrochloric acid and this is to activate the enzymes. But there is little or no enzymes in it, then the stomach will continue to keep producing this acid to try to activate the (non existant) enzymes.

When there is not enough enzymes to break food down properly then the food (Formula) will stay sitting in the stomach for too long. This along with too much acid can create bloating and gas. Finally the food is forced out of the stomach and into the intestines where it is still not properly broken down. It will stay in the intestines too long too. And the more that “food” stays in the intestines, the more “dehydrated” it gets. And this creates constipation.

I assume that at 15 weeks your child hasn’t had any solids yet, but the same thing can happen when solids are introduced. If the food that is given the baby is cooked or processed, then the enzymes in it are killed. And it too can cause a baby that tends to have digestive problems anyway to have even more problems.

So, if you are not giving the supplement to your son, I think they could help him.

Here is what I would suggest…

If I was you, I would either stop eating dairy or take an extra supplement with it. Maybe even 2. I would still stay away from dairy as much as possible though for awhile. With a probiotic and enzyme supplement, it can take up to 60-90 days to take repair the system. The more you avoid hard to break down foods during that time, the better.

When your son has formula, I would give him a 1/4 -1/2 pill before he drinks it. Some moms mix it with the bottles but if you are using the Digestive Health brand like we use then it is possible that the little specs of stuff in the powder can clog up the nipple. It might be better to just mix the powder with 2-3ml of water or milk/formula and give with a dropper.

I personally wouldn’t give soy formula because the proteins in it can also be very hard to break down. Soy formula is normally used for babies who are lactose intolerant which means they can’t break down the sugar in milk. Also I have heard numerous moms say that soy formula can cause constipation. But if your son does better with it then other formulas then I wouldn’t switch. You could try Nutramigen or Alimentum. They are quite expensive but they have the proteins extensively broken down in them. Technically I doubt your child would need this formula if he would take the probiotics and enzymes but it the supplement doesn’t help him, then I would try one of these formulas.

I would try really hard to give his pancreas a break by not eating dairy for awhile and giving/taking more probiotics and enzymes. For some babies (and adults too), when their pancreas is let to rest it can help it to start working better again.

I believe that with my oldest child, his pancreas is pretty damaged because he didn’t start taking probiotics and enzymes until he was age 4. He takes 3 or 4 pills a day and if he drinks a glass of milk, he has to take an extra pill with it or he will have reflux and be restless at night. I feel that if he wasn’t taking the probiotics and enzymes and drinking alkaline water, then he would still probably be on reflux meds, and having to avoid many foods.

My second child Jackson was 2 when we started the supplements. He seems to be able to tolerate foods better without having to take so many pills.

And my little girl Shiloh, has had probiotics and enzymes since conception. 🙂 I am no longer nursing her and she is almost a year and I give her 2 pills a day. I don’t really know if she needs that much or not as she rarely has any kind of digestive problems at all. Most of the time she sleeps 12-15 hours straight all night long with never waking up. I feel that she will never struggle with digestive problems like her brother because we have been on top of it since the beginning. But I fully believe that had it not been for the probiotics and enzymes she would be just like her brothers were if not worse. She would be drinking Nutramigen, be on reflux meds, and never sleeping through the night.

OK… enough from me!! I am not a doctor or any kind of professional and I am not trying to diagnose or cure anything. What I have written is only what I have personally learned from reading, listening, and my own experience. Some of what I said could even be incorrect.

Feel free to ask more questions if you have them.

Happy Mom2012-10-15 16:58:24

[hellbennt]

yes! Stinky gas is a sign of intolerance! Please find and read ‘erin’s sticky!’ go to the upper right hand corner of this page & the search button is there

[Anonymous]

Here’s just another thought… Have you been eating any forms of corn lately? Even with the probiotics and enzymes, my little girl has a REALLY hard time breaking down corn. I have heard many other nursing mothers say the same thing about their little ones. And I have heard that corn is one of the hardest things for the human body to digest. I bet that corn was probably just created for animals and not us humans. 😉

Beings that Shiloh normally sleeps all night long every night, I was trying to figure out what was causing her to cry out and be restless. I finally decided that maybe it was the cornbread we had had for supper. But I am still not sure.

You may want to cut corn out for a while and see if that makes a difference.

[Author]

Posts