My son is almost 6 months now. He was taking 3 oz at a time, which went down to 2 oz and now will barely take the bottle at all. He arches his back, and grunts. He sucks a little bit, and then turns away from the bottle, and cries if you force the bottle on him. I am desperate b/c he is losing weight, and the ped says he may need an endoscopy if he doesn't start eating.

Please help,
Sharmila

Well I would do what the Ped suggests so that way you can get to the root of the problem. Andrew also has FTT issues..since April of last year. He was 17lbs then and almost a year later he is 21lbs.

PS...Good Luck!

Has your child been diagnosed?

Does your son take any meds for the reflux?

I know how frustrating it is to have a non-eater who is losing weight! I too wonder if there's a diagnosis of reflux and if he's on any meds.

Hi! Welcome to the boards. Just wanted to ask what kind of meds he is on. Also, can you ask for a referral to a GI? With the weight loss and bottle refusal, maybe a specialist would have more treatment options. Hang in there!

is he on any meds???? That would be the first thing to try. It sure does sound like reflux is his issue. Good Luck.

Same questions here--is he on meds? How much does he weigh? How long has he been losing/how much has he lost? Are you seeing a GI or have you been referred/waiting on an appt?

It is so frightening to watch your child lose weight. My dd was slowly losing weight for quite some time and has also not grown for several months. It took several months of medication changes, a few tests and a new diet to start to turn things around.

:hug:

Sharmila, right?

Anyhow, girls, I just spoke with her in the chatroom and he is on axid and reglan, he has the diagnosis. She is wanting to ask some feeding questions so hopefully she will find the feeding forum, if my directions work when she comes back! LOL

Sorry guys,
I am still getting the hang of this site. ElisMom is correct. He was switched from Zantac to Axid, and then the ped added on Reglan. He seemed to be doing worse on all those new meds, and had what looked like a rash on his belly. My dad (who is a general practitioner) suggested we stop all his meds since he was doing so bad on them anyway. And, believe it or not he is doing a little bit better. Like most kids here, he is a good night-feeder. He seems to have a cold at the moment, but is doing ok. He took 3 oz this morning (awake!) and 2 oz at his next feeding. We'll see how he does in the next few days, but I think in the end we will have to go see a peds GI specialist. Thanks to all you moms, I do feel pretty sure that he does in fact have silent reflux. His weight remained constant for 1 week, and then he lost 4 oz the next week.
Thank you for your concern and support. It means more than you know.
Love,
Sharmila

Good luck with everything. I hope you find some meds that do work. We have tried so many meds on my little one its crazy. We are still trying to find the right dose. I know how hard it is to watch your baby loose weight. Keep us updated on everything! Im new hear too and absolutly love all the information I have gaind since being here for such a short time!

Scary stuff when you have feeding issues to deal with. Does he intake solids at all? My guy did use bottles but was food averted for solids completely.

I agree that perhaps some of the meds should have been stopped but not all of them. I believe he would be doing better temporarily if he is off a med that was causing him problems, but I would go back and try the zantac (considered the gentlest one for starting) and see how it is after 2 weeks.

A GI is likely in order. I hope you find your answers and get in soon.

I am moving this to the feeding forum for you.:iconbigg:

Just thinking about you. How is your little one doing?? Eating better??

Well my son had a very long period of not eating. For us we were lucky and as soon as we had him on a better combination of meds he started eating again- but he still doesn't drink much Does he eat any solids? Maybe try and introduce some and he may get some of the cals from this. It is very strange when they don't drink its like- this is something you really are supposed to be doing! Has he been diagnosed as reflux? If so maybe if you go ahead with the endoscopy maybe get a pH probe test to study the acidity and with all these results you can generally get a picture of what you have to do.
Good luck and let us know

What formula is he on? Have you considered food intolerances like to milk or soy (I don't know which formula he is on so I am guessing). My son is finally doing really well on the super expensive neocate, but we had to go through a lot to get there. It could be totally different for him, just something to think about because even if he is not allergic, milk and soy based formulas can irrtate reflux even more, making a med like zantac only marginally effective.

A dietician can help add calories to his diet, they helped us a lot.

Another thing I thought of is that it doesn't sound like the zantac could have been strong enough. Has your ped mentioned using prevacid or prilosec? It is stronger than zantac. The Reglan could have been making him irritable because that is a common side effect. If the zantac or axid wasn't strong enough, that would make him irrtable too. I think trying one thing at a time like Leigh suggested is a great idea. If he has reflux, you don't want him to go without an acid reducing med because he will get worse if he suffers any damage from the acid. Finding the right med is hard but worth the effort.

If you don't want him to get scoped right away, you could try the common meds first to see if you find success. Then you could know that is the problem without having to go through the procedure. Some people like to have the complete picture before trying meds, it is personal preference really---and what the GI wants to do. I would suggest a gi at this point too. They will be able to offer more choices than the ped.

Good Luck!

Hey guys,

Thank you for your concern and support. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. Just to give you all a little update on Deven's progress, we did see a GI specialist, who thinks that his thrush infection has gone down his esophagus, making it painful for him to swallow. We are half way through his thrush treatment with minimal benefit. He is also on Axid 15 mg two times a day, and Maalox pre-feeds. He is taking Good Start Supreme. How do I know if he has an allergy to this? He has been taking it fine for the last few months, and he did not like the Similac Alimentum from his ped. He takes about an ounce or two from bottle if we're lucky, and then we spoon-feed him the rest. he si doing pretty well with the spoon, which I don't get. If it is reflux, shouldn't he have a problem with the milk, no matter how he gets it? We only get about three ounces in him at a feed, and I supplement with some Gerber Stage 2 pudding. He feeds like a perfect angel while he's sleeping, which I don't get either. We may schedule an endoscopy beginning of March, whenhe should be over the thrush and this cold he has.
Thank you all so much for the suggestions and support.

Lots of Love and Thanks,
Sharmila

Hi Sharmila!

I am so glad you were able to get into a GI! My son had thrush that interferred with his eating too. It's no fun... :( Is he on Nystatin? We went through two rounds of Nystatin, and it didn't get rid of it, but once we switched to Diflucan, it was gone within a day. Just wanted to mention it.

Also, I think it is pretty common for a reflux baby to drink well while sleeping since they are relaxed and semi-unconscious. A lot of us have sleep-fed just to get the calories in. Same thing about the spoon - my kiddo was fine if I fed him by spoon or syringe, but not bottle (maybe it was just the novelty? Or his aversion was only to the bottle?)

Hang in there! Let us know if the endoscopy is scheduled.

I agree about Fluconazole being superior to Nystatin. We are currently half-way through treatment with Fluconazole after Nystatin failure. We are still waiting on the endoscopy, and I don't know if I see the point. If we already pretty much think it's reflux, and are treating it the best we can (maxed out on Axid, and reaction to Reglan), the what is the point? And, will a pH probe be better to help treat the problem? I feel very hopeless at the moment, and think that only time will help. Am I wrong?
thanks again for everything to all of you!

Ugh, Daniel left the hospital with thrush -- I'd forgotten about that. And it sure didn't help with his lack of interest in eating. Simply applying the Nystatin is a nightmare.

Sharmila, I hope the GI tries lots of different things before sending Deven for a scope.

You can always try a PPI (prilosec or prevacid)- they stop the production of acid, instead of just blocking it like the axid/zantac. I hope your little one feels better soon.