Home › Forums › Infant Reflux Information › Miscellaneous › To let her choke, or not??
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February 19, 2008 at 1:33 pm #48353AnonymousInactive
My baby is a month old and has been choking at night due to reflux since she was a week old. We ended up in the ER at one point and they admitted her for 4 days to do tests to make sure it wasn’t something more serious. (everything was fine other than that she has reflux and a milk allergy)
She sleeps on a Tucker Wedge/sling so she is practically standing up at night, but still chokes, refluxes, grunts, etc. most of the night. I am at a point now where I don’t sleep at all- ever. I can barely take care of her (or my older child) due to exhaustion.
What I want to know is- should I just try to sleep through it and assume that she is going to be ok, or do I need to grab her and hold her (or let her sleep on me) every time the reflux comes up? The GI Dr told me in the hospital that she won’t suffocate or die if the choking happens and that I can pat her on the back but she should be able to clear it. He was very non nonchalant about it. I called his office today and spoke to a nurse who said to keep doing what I’m doing. But that means no sleep! I can’t go on like this. Any advice?
Thanks!!!February 19, 2008 at 2:16 pm #48355AnonymousInactiveGosh… I’m afraid I don’t have that much advice.. just sympathy. I know you must be exhausted. Just thinking about those early days makes my stomach turn.
I do have a couple of questions for you though.1. She’s on the wedge at night, but is she on her tummy or back? Many refluxers end up sleeping on their tummy due to the choking factor. Both of mine did, as it freaked me out to hear them struggle at night. I know that tummy sleeping has its own worries, but after I watched both of them like a hawk the first few times I put them on their tummy, we all slept much better. There’s the angel care monitor you can get too that senses if they should stop breathing, etc.2. What is she eating? Breastmilk/formula? If it’s formula what type? I would assume it’s Neocate or Elecare, if it’s formula due to the milk allergy, right?3. Is she in pain from the reflux? Is she on medication for it?If you could let us know, perhaps we can come up with more ideas.Hang in there, mommy!Bensmama2008-02-19 14:18:32
February 19, 2008 at 3:46 pm #48360AnonymousInactiveThanks Naomi! She is sleeping on her back on the wedge. I am so nervous about SIDS- I honestly don’t know if I would ever sleep if she were on her stomach. Maybe it’s something I should talk to my Dr about though…
She just went from Alamentum to Neocate.
She is on the max dose of Pepcid for her age/size. Do you know if she is too young for Prevacid and would that possibly work better? Though it seems that no formula or medication is going to prevent her from refluxing. she doesn’t cry when it happens. Just struggles and chokes, etc.February 19, 2008 at 6:53 pm #48374AnonymousInactiveNo, reflux meds typically don’t help with the actual reflux itself; they just manage the pain from the acid. She isn’t too young for a PPI at all. My son was put on one at 1 mo, and many other babies on here have been on them even sooner than that. If her pain is being handled by the Pepcid, then I would stick with that, but if she starts to hurt from the reflux, starts to have trouble eating, arching, stiffening, shrieking, etc. then she is probably in pain and needs some different meds.
You might want to check out the stickied post in the Intro section. In it, Laura (hellbennt) goes through just about everything you need to know about reflux, meds, etc.It’s great that she is now on the Neocate. It can take several weeks for the milk proteins to clear her system, so I would guess that you should see at least some lessening of the reflux soon. Some babies reflux only because of a food issue while others reflux due to an immature LES.I agree that SIDS is very worrisome, and it is a decision you will have to make for yourself, but our doctor finally suggested it after we finally reached the breaking point with no one getting any sleep. The angel care monitor can be very helpful, as it would alarm should she stop moving or breathing in the night. Again though, it is a personal decision.Best of luck to you!February 19, 2008 at 10:29 pm #48388hellbenntKeymasterhi & welcome!
I have a LOT to say & (most of) it’s here:
Groupie Intro: my intro: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&PN=1&TPN=1
so glad you found us!
~laura
This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics & how they recommend that tummy sleeping is best for GERD babies. http://www.aap.org/new/sids/question.htm (thanks Sherry & Christine!)
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