Hello. My name is Stacy and I have a 3 month old son who has been displaying symptoms of reflux since about 3 weeks of age. He spits up quite a bit, has wet burps, hiccups a lot, cries for hours on end, arches his bak during feedings and fights us during feedlings as well. Trips out of the house are pretty much impossible, an outing to the mall turns into a diaster because of the constant crying, life for my other 2 kids have turned into a nightmare. I'm so confused trying to figure out exactly what to do. He was hospitalized a few weeks ago to try and figure out why he was so congested but we came home with no answers. I didn't even think that the crying and fighting could have been due to something other than the fact that he might be miserable because he was having a hard time breathing. Now that I've switched his formula to soy and he's breathing better but is still as or more miserable than before, I don't quite know where to go from here. I went to see the pediatrician the other day and I think he thought I was crazy since I had never really even mentioned the constant crying before, I had attributed all his symptoms to the fact that he wasn't breathing well as I said. The doctor did put him on Domperidone and Oval drops which we've tried for a few days now but to no avail. I am going out of my mind trying to figure out what's bothering my little man so much....Another thing, we were in a car accident on Dec. 14, 2003 when I was 35 weeks pregnant with him. The impact broke my tailbone and I had to have him 3 weeks early by section due to the unbearable pain I was in. I have heard a few times now that it's possible that a chiropractic adjustment might help him also????? I'm unsure what to do with that as I have never been to a chiropractor myself and the thought of them "adjusting" my son scares the hell out of me....but on the other hand, if it will help him in any way.....I don't know, I'm so confused. I have tried the small, frequent feedings, letting him sleep upright in his car seat, burping often etc etc. I'm just not sure where to go from here....any suggestions and support would be WONDERFUL

Just another little bit of info. I had TERRIBLE acid relux myself while pregnant with my son, could my problem have turned into his? Has anyone heard of that kind of relation??

My heart goes out to you, Stacy :cry: I can honestly say that I know how you feel and what you and your son are going through! And yes, reflux can be hereditary, from what I've read.

Hi again Stacy, Its funny, I had severe reflux too when I was pregnant with Adam. It was awful. My hubby also has stomach problems and delayed gastric emptying which often accompanies reflux. He was also FTT and on Periactin until he was in his teens!

I've read that many reflux kids aspirate - they breathe in sometimes when the stomach contents are coming back up. This can cause the congestion that your boy has. My sis is a pediatric RN and she said that you can help him clear out the congestion in his lungs. Make a cup with your hand and pound his back (she does it really pretty hard! so that it makes like an echo sound) Start on one side near the lowest ribs with a few and slowly move up to just under his shoulder. Then do the other side. It really helped Adam when he had a bad cold. I dont pound as hard as my sis - chicken Mom! - but it still helped him.

I dont know if a chiropracter can help, but maybe they can. Reflux kids often have weak trunk and scapula (upper back) so its worth a try. Maybe they would also help with his congestion. If you try it, let us know how it goes!

Can you have him tested more extensively for allergies and h-pylori? This may be affecting him too. If its not allergies, you may want to push for a different reflux medicine. We were using zantac for Adam which worked but only just barely. The slightest upset and his reflux would flare and he'd refuse to eat again. So we tried Nexium which did absolutely nothing for him and went back to Zantac. Just recently we switched to Prevacid and this (fingers crossed) seems to be the one for him!

Anyway, I hope this helps and keep us posted on how he's doing!

Phyllis

Great tips everyone!

Not sure if I even have anything to add, maybe just my thoughts on the chiropractor. Although I'm not sure what my thoughts are on them. We tried it with Shae to no avail...although we tried a lot of things to no avail :? . I've heard a lot of people say that it worked for their kids...I don't know how severe any of their kids were before the treatments though so that doesn't really tell me much. I tend to think that it might be a waste of money although having said that, if you can afford it or it's covered by insurance, I can't imagine that it would hurt so you might want to try it.

Always discuss this type of thing with your ped though before trying anything new. I mean, I already know what the ped will say...I just need to say that to cover my butt :wink: .

Are the Domperidone and Oval the only drugs they have tried? I tend to think that a longer trial of the Domperidone is needed and they should start him on Zantac or a PPI if they haven't already. The domperidone and oval is a bizarre combination for treating reflux.... :? :roll:

Thanks all for making me feel welcome...
I agree that I was a little confused with the combination of ovol and domperidone but I think the doc thinks Branden has colic as well and he said that the switch to the soy formula usually causes more gas....I'm supposed to call the office today to report if there's been any improvement but it's only been 3 days since we started the meds. I may wait till Monday, give it the weekend and keep my fingers crossed. It looks like I'm at the beginning of a very long road and I appreciate all the advice and support. It's been terrible to wake up lately and not look forward to my days....especially when I love Branden to pieces and know that this should be one of the happiest times in my life. Things have just gone so downhill since the car accident...thanks again everyone. I will check back often and keep you updated...

Regarding the cupping of the hand that Phyllis mentioned, there are also small cup/bell-like plastic things available to do this. I would suggest having a physiotherapist show you how to use it on the front and the back of your child first, though, because you need to be extra careful not to do it over the heart--for obvious reasons. We found that this worked really well in the beginning for Evan, but only for a short while. If brief, it would loosen the phlem and help him cough it up.

Hi again all,
Domperidone and the ovol drops are the only things we have tried so far, I am going to see the doc again early this coming week if things don't improve soon. It's so frustrating trying to figure this all out. I just want my little guy to be happy for once, maybe even long enough to get pictures done....I got Branden and my other 2 kids all dolled up in their Easter outfits today (which is no small task to get 3 kids and yourself ready as you all well know), and took them to Walmart for Easter photos. Needless to say, Branden's crying and fussing made it a no-go AGAIN (second time I have tried to get pictures done now). I just wanted to cry right there in the middle of the store...
Anyways, I am going to keep doing what I'm doing for now and hope for the best when I visit the doc this week. I have been writing down names of meds and advice I'm being given so maybe I can bring some things up to the doctor, although I'm sure he won't appreciate me trying to self-diagnose. I'm still not sure which way to go with the suggestions I've heard about Branden getting adjusted by a chiropractor, I'm still a little leary about that but will be bringing that up with the doctor too. I'm pretty sure the pediatrician I was referred to by my family doc doesn't even know we were in a car accident while I was still pregnant. It seems crazy now that I didn't mention it but because he was born so healthy, I didn't really think twice about it until recently. I'm still positive though that it's definantly reflux he's experiencing, along with possible colic and who knows what else. Is an upper GI the only way to tell if it is reflux?? Thanks...

Evan was diagnosed with gastro-esophageal reflux when he physically demonstrated his vomitting to the pediatrician. The ped. was on holidays when the upper GI was ordered by another doctor and wasn't too thrilled that we were getting it done. "It probably won't show anything anyway," was his attitude. Sure enough,...it didn't. Evan only refluxed the liquid chalk AFTER they were done and he was in the waiting room again having his bottle.

Janette is right, the upper GI is not very effect at proving reflux which really confuses me b/c it's the first test done and the most common test done to diagnose reflux... :? doctors...sheesh...I'll never understand. :roll:

Good luck with the Easter photos, doesn't sound like it's going to be an easy task!

Hi again all,
I think I'm going to put the Easter pictures to rest, at least for now. I've been bawling all day because of the stress from trying to get it done, it's all so frustrating that when my daughter was this age, I could take her everywhere with me because all she did was smile but I can't do that with Branden. How I would love to be able to show him off without him crying the entire time :(
I have been reading a lot about failure to thrive. Branden is the complete opposite: he overeats terribly which I have heard can be another symptom since it may help keep the acid down? Has anyone else heard of that?? He's eating anywhere from 4-6 oz every 2-3 hrs but sometimes the feeding take so long b/c he sometimes fights us. He spits up quite a bit, more so lately and gags and chokes on the little amount of cereal I've tried to give him but still he puts on the pounds. Branden just turned 3 months old and is already 16 lbs...my daughter didn't weigh that much till she was 6 months and she weighed more than him at birth...
Everyone I run into, friends, family members, strangers all have a different opinion on what may exactly be going on with Branden and sometimes my head just spins trying to figure out who's got a valid suggestion and who doesn't. Sometimes I think I'm going to go crazy if I don't get to the bottom of this soon. It's starting to take somewhat of a toll on my relationship with my hubby and my other kids as well since I'm always so down :cry:

Sorry things are so tough right now Stacy :( ((hugs)).

We've all been there (actually are still there, come to think of it.. :roll:) feeling the exact same way you are right now. The good news is, it gets easier. The reflux gets easier to manage, and will probably go away altogether for Branden, and it gets easier to deal with emotionally as well. It really does, I've been doing this for almost four years, and if I can do it, anyone can. Trust me, you'll survive, and, you're not alone if that helps at all.[/b]

Hi all,
Thanks for checking out the website Roni and thank you also for your support. It's so weird how much I look forward to hearing from you guys, even thought I just joined the group a few days ago. It's comforting to know that my feelings are shared by others, it's scary feeling the way I do sometimes and it's nice to hear a few comforting words. I think the only people that can understand how bad things can get are people that have been and are going through the inconsolible crying and nightmarish feedings day in and day out. My heart goes out to you and others who have to deal with the failure to thrive issue, I can't even imagine how scary it must be. My rolly-polly guy doesn't have that issue as I mentioned (and as you can more than lkely tell by his pictures :D ). Thanks again for the support all...

Hi again all,
Well, the last few days have been a little better (as I cross my fingers AND knock on wood), Branden's crying a little less but seems to be spitting up a little more. I called the pediatrician today and he wants me to give the domperidone a little more time and come see him on Tuesday. I hope we can figure all this out soon. I feel so bad sometimes, reading all the other stories on the site about those of you who have kids that are older and are still dealing with this, because you've obviously been going through it a lot longer than I have. I feel selfish sometimes. But, I feel like I might just go out of my mind if we don't figure this out pronto. Nevermind the crying, just the stress of not knowing exactly what to do or how to help him is probably more trying than listening to the crying and fighting with him to eat sometimes. Anyway, hope the doc and I can come up with some answers next week.
By the way....I got the Easter pics done finally! I went to a different Walmart and the lady there this time was wonderful and I'll get the pics in 3 weeks. Branden stopped crying just long enough to get them done and they are wonderful...I'll post them on the website when I get them. Take care all and have a good, stress free day... :D

Can't wait to see the pictures! Glad you were finally able to get them done.

Don't feel selfish or bad b/c you haven't living with reflux as long as some of the rest of us...actually, I think in some ways we have the benefit of the time under our belts. I know that I handle Shae's bad days/weeks better now than I did in the beginning and it's only b/c I've been doing this for so long. I've accepted that this is life and understand that's really not a lot I can do about it. Just that acceptance gave me more peace than I could've imagined, but it took me a very long time to get there.

Anyway, glad to hear that things have been better the past couple days, we'll keep our fingers crossed that it continues!

You took the words right out of my mouth Roni. I've finally come to that peaceful understanding (It took nearly 2 years!) and you will too, Stacy. The best piece of advice that Evan's feeding occupational therapist gave me was to allow Evan and ourselves a break from feeding, just a meal where he can have our food and not need to be pushed to eat. This concept has really helped me not to feel so guilt ridden if we eat out and I don't have Evan's many supplements along. It also takes a lot of the pressure off!

Thanks again everyone for all the support...it's been great. Saw the doc today and I told him that things were actually pretty good the last week or so. The crying has been a lot less and Branden has just generally been a lot happier. Feeding sessions are going a little better as well. I really think that the domperidone, now that we've given it a little longer, is finally helping somewhat, but I also believe that a lot of the improvement I've seen comes from me following the suggestions I've found on this site. I'm feeling really optimistic these days that although Branden still seems to be a victim of reflux, maybe his case won't be so bad, and that we might soon get through it (keeping my fingers crossed) :wink: The doc did suggest that once I start more solids, it may settle down even more. So for now, I will continue with the domperidone and pray that it continues to help...Does anyone know if it's possible for this to go away completely on its own, with time, or will Branden possibly have to be on meds always? It was one question I forgot to ask the doc. Thanks... :)

Hi Stacy! As an encouragement, some kids really do outgrow this! We can only hope and pray that ours do...

Glad things are going better Stacy!

The chances are better that he will outgrow it than that he will need meds forever. Actually, only a small number don't outgrow their reflux so the odds are definitely in your favor!