My daughter is 12 mos. old. Her name is Mimi. As a way to introduce ourselves, here is our abbreviated story (as I could go on for pages) and our questions.

She started crying (well, really screaming) when she was 12 days old. At first the doctor said it was colic. At 5 weeks, the doctor diagnosed reflux disease. It was a diagnosis by chance. In passing I mentioned that I thought Mimi was making a noise that sounded like she was trying to clear her throat. I wanted to know if that was possible. I could see the light bulb going off in his head. He didn't run any tests, just put her on liquid Pepcid. I noticed immediate improvement. Still, she was sleeping at most 8 hours in a 24 hour period and breastfeeding constantly.

When she was 2 mos. old, the doctor added Reglan to the Pepcid and told me that I could also occasionally give her Maalox. She slept only in her bouncy chair or while I carried her in the Baby Bjorn. Also, she needed really, really loud white noise (i.e. the vacuum cleaner, bathtub or hair dryer running on high) to fall asleep and stay asleep. We tried noise machines and CDs of vacuum cleaners, but they weren't loud enough.

I introduced cereal sometime around 3 mos. and she gobbled it up. I noticed some more improvement. Unlike some of the other GERD babies I have read about, Mimi is a good eater. At times she would go on nursing strikes only to chug 4 oz. of pedialyte in minutes. I am guessing it must have stopped the burning feeling.

Around 5 mos. of age, my family moved towns and I had to find another doctor. I decided to also see a specialist. The specialist ordered an upper GI and blood tests. I held off on the upper GI hoping that she would outgrow this. Blood tests showed nothing substantial.

At 6 mos. Mimi went on Prevacid. It made a world of difference. No more having to try new drugs and change doses every couple of weeks. She finally seemed to be in no pain.

From 6-12 mos. Mimi did okay. Developmentally she is right on track. She is a bright, inquisitive baby. She seems to get colds and bouts of diarrhea very frequently. She has 5-9 good sleeping days only to start waking every couple of hours for a couple days. I can't figure out if she is sick or what. The doctor tells me Mimi has a small comfort zone and is emotional. While these personality attributes are probably correct, I think there is also something more.

At 12 mos. she weights 18 lbs., but has weighed that for the last 2 mos. She is a good eater. She breastfeeds four times a day and eats 3 meals and 1 snack (for the most part what I am eating). She has had sleep problems, but I have been a vigilant sleep trainer. My main concern is that she is still throwing up. She throws up continually. At least 5 times a day. Much more other days. Sometimes it is just recently drunk milk that won't stay in, but a lot of times it smells really bad and is partially digested food.

Mimi just had an upper GI. I could hold off no longer. It was a lot easier than I had imagined. Very short. Very helpful doctor and technician. It showed no physical abnormalities. The specialist doesn't want to do a pH probe. She says that we know Mimi has reflux so there is no need. She ran some more blood tests. They took 4 vials, but I guess it wasn't enough to run a full food allergy panel. She doesn't seem to think it is necessary. The specialist's and the pediatrician's interpretation of the results are very different. The specialist tells me that Mimi is IgA deficient and possibly slightly allergic to whey. I have no idea what this really means. She also seemed very non-committal about the diagnosis. The pediatrician says that nothing is wrong and both these results are controversial.

I don't know what to do. Mimi keeps vomiting, but she doesn't seem particularly bothered by it. She simply leans over, pukes, and then continues to play. A lot of times, if I am not quick enough, she starts playing with her vomit. The doctors haven't told me to change either my or Mimi's diet. They don't really suspect food allergies. And haven't suggested for her to see an allergist.

Do I start experimenting with eliminating certain foods, thinking food allergies?
Can I try to wean Mimi from breast milk anytime soon and start formula or milk?
At any time can I try taking her off of the meds. - Reglan and Prevacid?

The doctors aren't giving me any direction. They seem unconcerned because she is basically happy and healthy on the drugs. But the repeated, continued vomiting worries me. I am lacking direction. All along I thought that she would outgrow this and now I am overwhelmed.

Do I start experimenting with eliminating certain foods, thinking food allergies?
Can I try to wean Mimi from breast milk anytime soon and start formula or milk?
At any time can I try taking her off of the meds. - Reglan and Prevacid?

The doctors aren't giving me any direction. They seem unconcerned because she is basically happy and healthy on the drugs. But the repeated, continued vomiting worries me. I am lacking direction. All along I thought that she would outgrow this and now I am overwhelmed.

Hi there and welcome! I too have seen the lack of concern from doctors, including when my son has vomited in front of them and lost weight between visits. I understand your frustration, as will many other parents on these boards.

Since you are breastfeeding, both you and your daughter should start by eliminating any acidic foods (such as tomatoes and citrus) from your diets, as well as chocolate and spicey foods. Dairy has also been know to bother some refluxers, as have fats and mint. I've found that it's more of a trial and error thing with my son than anything.

In my province, doctors recommend switching babies over to whole (homo) milk at one year, but I would check with the doctor to be sure.

I would not try taking your daughter off of the meds. that she's taking without the doctor's approval, especially since you've seem improvement with them and if you haven't noted any side effects.

You're right that many kids outgrow reflux by one year, but some outgrow it later too.

Welcome to the boards!!!

I would also suggest trying to adjust your diet...reflux really does tend to be aggrevated by food sensitivities. Check out the treatments page on the main website (http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/treatments.htm)for a more complete list of foods that can make it worse and start eliminating some of those. You could also try starting a journal of what she eats, when she eats it and when she throws up...this may help you find a pattern. I do not think that switching to milk or formula will help, breastmilk is the easiest to digest so switching to something else will take longer for her body to absorb, leaving it in her tummy longer, giving more opportunity for vomits.

I agree with Janette, going off the meds while she is clearly still refluxing is a bad idea.

I have been told that allergy tests can't be done until they are two...maybe that's why they aren't pushing for an allergist?

I understand the frustration and worry you feel watching her throw up every day, believe me I do but as long as she is happy and healthy there really is little that can be done about it. The good news is, she will stop throwing up eventually, it just sounds like she is going to take a little longer than most kids.

I know it sounds kind of insensitive and easier said than done to watch them puke all day and not doing anything about it but Shae is four and still puking so I understand. This is basically what I was told when she was younger and I wanted to strangle the doctors. She is half the height of other kids her age and tube fed 20 hours a day...even with the severity of her reflux there is nothing that can be done to stop the puking (well except the fundo but we won't go there). And her puking is not easy on her, she chokes, gags and retches violently for minutes at a time. I say this not to scare you, I'd bet my life that Mimi's not going to be four and still throwing up (probably only another six months max), but just to illustrate how much I understand how you feel about the vomiting so you don't think I am trying to shrug it off the way the doctors seem to have.

Here is a link to some info on the IgA deficiency http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/s/selective_iga_deficiency/symptoms.htm, hope it helps clear that up for you.

Again, welcome to the boards! And hang in there, it's normal to be overwhelmed and she will outgrow it.