Joshua has been doing this on and off for a while now...some days he eats great, others it is such a struggle! For the past few days, he really fights his bottle. Once the liquid goes down his throat, he starts to scream! He acts like he is hungry but almost seems in pain to eat. He will go as long as 8 hours without eating! This is somewhat the norm for him at night, but normally he eats every 3-4 hours during the daytime - 4oz each time.

He's been on Prevacid for a while now, and we thicken his formula with rice cereal. We go to the Ped this week but I thought I'd see if any of the wise Reflux Mommies had any advice!

Thanks!

Have you tried Maalox or Mylanta?? We use it for instant relief, it might help... or there is a medication called Carafate used to coat the esophogus.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the response - yes, we just gave him Maalox tonight. We used to give it to him more often but our Ped said not too. I'm going to ask her about that again when I see her this week.

Seems like all he wants to do is sleep...maybe it makes him feel better? I just feel so bad for him.

Joshua has been doing this on and off for a while now...some days he eats great, others it is such a struggle! For the past few days, he really fights his bottle. Once the liquid goes down his throat, he starts to scream! He acts like he is hungry but almost seems in pain to eat. He will go as long as 8 hours without eating! This is somewhat the norm for him at night, but normally he eats every 3-4 hours during the daytime - 4oz each time.

He's been on Prevacid for a while now, and we thicken his formula with rice cereal. We go to the Ped this week but I thought I'd see if any of the wise Reflux Mommies had any advice!

Thanks!

How old is Joshua? And how long has he been on prevacid? Any other meds tied out prior to prevacid? How long have you been thickening?

Sorry for all the questions, just helps me figure out where you are. Thickening may be a problem as not all children do well with it. I never did it when my kiddos were younger and my youngest son was not diagnosed until 14 months of age for reflux so they told us to thicken then and it made things much worse for him.

It sounds like regular reflux fun. :cry: You are fortunate that he eats in the day and has not resorted to sleepy feeds. :D The important thing is the overall amount of ounces in.

I would make a log of his behaviour and take it to the ped next time you see her, even if it logs only a few days it may show a pattern.

http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/journal.htm

Regarding the maalox, often peds or GIs do not recommend regular use of it as it can cause damage to the kidneys, absorption problems, etc. Sorry, I can not remember all of it, but it is not to be used for more than a two weeks I think unsupervised. Talk to your ped about using it as a helper for breakthrough reflux or ask for zantac. It is possible to run both zantac and prevacid together... I do it for 2 kids! :wink:

Be sure to let us know how it goes at the peds visit. Mark it on the calendar if you have not already, please.

[/quote] How old is Joshua? And how long has he been on prevacid? Any other meds tied out prior to prevacid? How long have you been thickening?[/quote]

Joshua is 4 months old, been on Prevacid for about 8 weeks. He was on Zantac first, but we didn't see any result from that. We started thickening about 8 weeks ago also. He gets 1tsp per oz.

I've been keeping a log the past few days so I can show it to the Ped tomorrow.

Seems like it hurts to swallow? He will take a drink and then I can hear it travel all the way down to his stomach...sounds like a big glug then a hud as it hits is stomach. After that, he cries and doesn't want to eat anymore. Last night, he didn't eat anything after 5pm, until 6 this morning - then he was ok for a 930am bottle. And he's in another long stretch right now. Hasn't eaten since that 930am bottle, just a few ounces about 4pm! He did take some water and Maalox by syringe so we'll see.

His mood seems good, though. He's in his bouncy chair, watching Baby Einstein, kicking and babbling. :)

I'll let you know what I learn tomorrow. Thanks so much! This group is such a lifesaver!

I'm going to ask it...even though I know it is a no-no...have you tried feeding him in his sleep? That is the only way we can get more than an ounce into Samantha lately. And today has been a really good day...she's taken over 3 oz 3 times today! (of course, all in her sleep!) When she goes to sleep for the night around 8pm, we give her a bottle at 10, and then at 1am. We usually can get a total of 5 oz or so into during the night.

GL! Gees...are we all fighting the same battle? lol.

Looking forward to seeing your update and hope it is a very positive and progressive visit!

LOL! Samantha's Mom! We all do plenty of "no no" things around here. :wink: Sleepy feeds were a life saver for Iain and still help him out for calories, especially when he is sick.

Sometimes they need an adjustment in their med- like an increase in the dose or changing to another med to see if it helps. I know some people have had luck with prevacid while others do well on prilosec. I also do sleep feeds :oops: It's the only way I can get calories in her. She will take a couple ounces then stop. She also seems to take large gulps that seem painful. Have you tried a slower flowing nipple? Sometimes Sarah seems overwhelmed by the liquid and would rathr have a slower flowing nipple especially when she seems to be having a flare of reflux.
Karie

We had the same problem, suck, scream, suck, scream with Noah at that age (and earlier and now :roll: ). Maalox and Tylenol seemed to help. If the bottle was going south, we'd give him a dose of each, then stall for 30-45 minutes, then try again. It helped sometimes. Best of luck!

Well, got some decent feedback from the Ped. today. She has been great to work with so far and I feel like we are getting good care. She thinks that Joshua is at the "peak" of his reflux. She feels that most babies peak between 4-6 months. So, we are going to try a few things for the next week and report back to her:
1. Increase his Prevacid from 15mg/day to 30mg/day
2. Increase the amount of rice cereal in his formula to 2tsp/oz. (This means we have to stick with the faster flow nipples or the cereal won't get through.)

The good news is that he is growing wonderfully - up to 14 lbs and 25 1/2 inches. We have to get a new car seat by New Years! Ouch!

Of course, he got shots today so he is in a rotten mood tonight. He screamed most of the morning before his Dr. appt anyway...thank god my hubbie is home to help out! It's been a lot of screaming today! :(

Terrific news! It sounds like your ped is great. That is half the battle right there. :D Let us know how the increase in meds work and so glad to hear about the weight gain!

**high five**