mummies with babies with GERD (reflux)

[epicurean]

Originally Posted by Cool Cotton hi, i am a new mummy with a 2mth old baby girl.. i suspect my girl is also having this reflux. she tend to vomit most of her milk out - like merlion. her vomit can shoot out for a distance.. she will cry before she vomit but after vomit she just stop crying.. she doesn't look like she's in pain, she just feel uncomfortable - i tink. but she did not vomit all the time..only sometimes especially when she didnt manage to burp, at night and if she's in a car. just wondering, should i consult Dr or shld i just leave it be? pls advise.thks!

Hi Cool Cotton,
Welcome to the thread! I agree with uddermummy ... main things to consider if your girl is having reflux would be weight gain and whether she's in pain during & post feed (signs of reflux pain include arching her back, stiffening of her body and limbs, crying in pain - higher pitched, shrill, agitated edge to her cries). The pain usually continues even after the vom coz of the pain from the acid burning the esophageus.

Btw, it sounds like positioning has something to do with your girl's vom. You might want to avoid putting her in positions that put pressure on her tummy too soon after a feed eg slouching in car seats.

Many babies regurgitate milk coz their muscles controlling their tummy opening aren't strong enough yet to fully close it. Most of them are happy pukers ... they vom and they're fine after that. Refluxy babies or gerdlings are those experiencing pain from the vom'ng, suffering from weight loss, very fussy & unsettled and having trouble sleeping coz of the pain.

[Cool Cotton]

Thanks for the info..
i think my baby is more of a happy spitters..
dont think she's in pain and she's gaining weight quite well.

yup, i think positioning is very important. i make sure she burps and stay upright for a while after her feeds..
and she have not't vomitted for a week.

thanks for the advise..
good luck with your babies.hopefully their conditions improve and they gain weight to become chubby babies!!

[paigemummy]

hi epicurean and uddermummy,

its been so long since i last wrote! sorry for the absense.. loads happened and everynght, i'll be so tired that i'm even too lazy to turn on the computer.

uddermummy, i had the same experience as you when paige sometimes vomits in her sleep and would choke for a long time.. its really traumatic, for her and for us! i hope your girl is doing better these days?

hi epicurean, hope you are fully ok from the flu now? it's stressful for us cos the last thing we want is to spread it to the little one.. as they're really not good with flu!

this recent pix of seb is so adorable. he's so chubby!!! he really seem to be putting on well: )

i had a review with Dr Aw yest, paige didn't put on any weight since the last appt. but Dr Aw seem to be quite ok with it cos her vomiting frequency sort of reduced. she gave me another medication on top of zantac, its motilium. any of you feeding this? i read in the leaflet that i shouldn't feed it together with zantac but dr aw says its ok, so i'm confused. i think i should clarify with her again.

oh, i finally took 6 months unpaid leave which started this month. but staying home is definitely more tiring and taxing that work. but of course, i can see her much more, which makes it all worthwhile.

[uddermummy]

hi paigemummy!

Thank God dear daughter hasn't had another episode since the last one. I've asked Dr Au to help me enrol in a class that teaches infant CPR though. I guess knowing what to do in an emergency makes me feel useful and prepared. Hope Paige have not't been having these choking incidents cos it's really traumatic for us parents.

Yup, taking care of our darlings at home really takes more energy than going to work. . I guess it's because they are still so dependent on us and really need us. But I bet you'll have special moments that you'll really treasure with paige too.

Motilium is a motility drug that helps food move through the digestive system faster and can tighten the sphincter muscle. These drugs are usually prescribed for kids with delayed emptying of stomach and suspected aspiration and are effective only for some children.

These drugs can cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea so doses are usually started very low and increased slowly.

dear daughter was prescribed motilium also (they called it domperidone) when we took her to kk. But she seemed to be fussier when we put her on it, and was even worse when we took her off after 2 days, so we decided to stop giving it to her.

You might want to see if Paige is okay with it? If not, maybe you can discuss with dr Au again?

dear daughter put on about 700g. Dr Au says that it's fine so we're breathing a sign of relief. I do still envy parents whose bbs put on 1 kg or more each month.

[epicurean]

Hi paigemummy!
So good to see you back on the forum Yep I'm all recovered from the flu but it's a horribly vicious bout. Came on very fast and I had the works. Was washing hands like crazy and wearing mask coz that's more bearable than if Seb falls ill which is extremely stressful.

Does Paige sleep on her side? That's a safer position if she voms in her sleep coz helps to keep airways clear.

Thanks for your compliment about Seb's cheeky face Yeah the manja king has put on some weight which everyone all round is happy with.

Seb was on motilium for a week sometime back when his seizure doc prescribed it for his constipation. Dr Aw wasn't around then ... so that med helped to move food along in his gut and got his bowels moving. So I didn't really pay attention as to whether it helped with his GERD. Sorry I can't remember if I fed it together with zantac.

IMHO I think it's a good decision to stay home with Paige for some time They grow up really quickly ... yep it's exhausting but I always find that the bonding more than makes up for it!

[uddermummy]

hi epicuren, glad you're better now.

I'm starting to feel quite stressed cos Eva will be starting solids soon and I've got a major headline at around the same time she starts on solids.

And Eva has been refusing to take naps!!! Can faint!

[epicurean]

Originally Posted by uddermummy hi epicuren, glad you're better now. I'm starting to feel quite stressed cos Eva will be starting solids soon and I've got a major headline at around the same time she starts on solids. And Eva has been refusing to take naps!!! Can faint!

uddermummy,
Yep it's such a relief to get over that flu.

Are you returning to work soon? Is that why you've got a headline looming over you? Actually it's a wonderful milestone that Eva will be starting on solids soon ... wish Seb could do that too! Imagine the fun you could have feeding her different types of food to get her taste buds tingling

Hey you're the 2nd mummy to share that your baby is refusing to nap when starting on solids. Not sure if it's related???

[uddermummy]

Originally Posted by epicurean uddermummy, Yep it's such a relief to get over that flu. Are you returning to work soon? Is that why you've got a headline looming over you? Actually it's a wonderful milestone that Eva will be starting on solids soon ... wish Seb could do that too! Imagine the fun you could have feeding her different types of food to get her taste buds tingling Hey you're the 2nd mummy to share that your baby is refusing to nap when starting on solids. Not sure if it's related???

Not returning to work soon, but got this project for my module that i need to get out of the way.

Is Seb on semi solids? When will he be able to start on them?

Hmmmm, maybe she just can't wait to have what mummy's eating, perhaps that's why she refuses to sleep?

[epicurean]

Hi uddermummy,
Sorry have not't had time to chat on the forum. Been tired juggling work & looking after Seb. He was sleeping 4 hours in the afternoon and 4 hours at night so it wasn't too bad. But this week, he had trouble falling asleep and sleeping soundly ... was very touchy and cranky. Plus he started vom'ng frequently which made him even more cranky.

Think his GERD is acting up coz after taking his zantac dose, he would be happier and could sleep. Today he's better after his physio did a relaxing, chill-out Banyan-Tree compression-massage session with him

Seb takes some puree daily to practise his tongue control and for taste stimulation. It's not enough for sustenance so he's primarily on milk. When he can start on semi-solids depends on him mastering sufficient tongue control to swallow safely without aspiration. It's pretty much OT OT ... own time own target

[uddermummy]

Hi epicuren,

dont't apologise! I can understand how hard it is with a gerdling, and how much harder it is to juggle our darlings with work!

You are really one tough cookie to have been able to hold it together!

Is Seb going through a growth spurt? Did he enjoy his Banyan tree-like massage?

[epicurean]

Originally Posted by uddermummy Hi epicuren, dont't apologise! I can understand how hard it is with a gerdling, and how much harder it is to juggle our darlings with work! You are really one tough cookie to have been able to hold it together! Is Seb going through a growth spurt? Did he enjoy his Banyan tree-like massage?

Thanks Most days I just drink coffee and tahan .... :P

Yeah, Seb really enjoyed his Banyan Tree treatment. At first he looked bemused, probably wondering ... Hmmm how come she (physio) not making me exercise today? Then he chilled out with this blissed-out look on his face. After we got home, he drank milk and napped for 3 hours. Then woke up, awake for 2 hours, had his last feed and zonked out for 3 hours. Woke up for diaper change .... I thought he wanted to drink but he refused the bottle and zonked out again for 4 hours. I really gotta hand it to the physio!

She confirmed that his muscles were very tight, he was very tense up so much as that he was taking short shallow breaths. His GERD could have contributed to it and in turn, his tight muscles made his GERD worse coz tight muscles on the exterior would also reflect tight internal muscles that affect his tummy from closing properly.

On a lighter note, I found the perfect physio outfit for him ... a jump-suit onesie with t shirt inside ... it keeps him nicely warm in the air-con physio clinic plus it doesn't ride up when he's moving or exercising. He looks like a mini lumberjack with BIG hair!

[uddermummy]

Originally Posted by epicurean Thanks Then he chilled out with this blissed-out look on his face. On a lighter note, I found the perfect physio outfit for him ... a jump-suit onesie with t shirt inside ... it keeps him nicely warm in the air-con physio clinic plus it doesn't ride up when he's moving or exercising. He looks like a mini lumberjack with BIG hair!

Perhaps you can ask the physio to work on you hardworking mummy as well?

[epicurean]

Originally Posted by uddermummy Perhaps you can ask the physio to work on you hardworking mummy as well?

I wish! But she specialises in special needs children. I need to find my own lobang! Anyway, I think it's time for me to get hair cut ... see if got time to squeeze in a massage hahaha.

[Triquetra]

How is GERD diagnosed?
My dear daughter is just 10 days old and my heart really aches to see her suffers. She vomits like merlion, always curl up and will suddenly scream in her sleep etc. She has been crying a lot and looking really distressed...

[uddermummy]

Originally Posted by Triquetra How is GERD diagnosed? My dear daughter is just 10 days old and my heart really aches to see her suffers. She vomits like merlion, always curl up and will suddenly scream in her sleep etc. She has been crying a lot and looking really distressed...

posted by angelmum on a previous page.

Colic
Colic can be defined as uncontrollable, extended crying in babies who are otherwise healthy and well-fed. All babies cry, but when they cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week, they are said to have colic.

Symptoms of Colic
The main symptom is continuous crying for long periods of time. This crying can occur at any time of day but it usually gets worse at night. It’s not believed that colic is caused by pain although a colicky baby may look uncomfortable or appear to be in pain. They may lift their head, draw their legs up to their abdomen, pass gas and become red-faced. Poor sleep habits is also common.


Reflux
The term reflux is a shorter way of referring to GER (Gastro Esophageal Reflux) and is simply defined as the backward flow of stomach contents up the esophagus. GER is a physiological process that happens to everyone—young and old—from time to time, particularly after meals and many times we are not even aware it is happening. In babies it generally occurs from immaturity of the LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) which is the muscle between the stomach and esophagus.

Some common symptoms of uncomplicated reflux can include:

• constant or sudden crying or colic like symptoms
• irritability and pain
• poor sleep habits typically with frequent waking
• arching their necks and back during or after eating spitting- up or vomiting
• wet burp or frequent hiccups
• frequent ear infections or sinus congestionYour child does not need to exhibit all of these symptoms, in fact, only having one of the above could mean they have reflux. It does not; however, mean they need treatment. If your child is showing one or more of the above symptoms but is otherwise happy and healthy then some simple lifestyle modifications will likely make life better until they outgrow it.

GERD
In contrast, GER (Gastro Esophageal Reflux) is referred to as GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) when complications arise. GERD is a pathological process and the complications can be typical (failure to thrive, feeding and oral aversions, esophagitis, etc) or atypical (wheezing, pneumonia, chronic sinusitis, etc). Patients with GERD have complications arising from their GER that necessitate medical intervention. GERD is also referred to as “Pathogenic GER”. It is estimated that approximately one in three hundred children will present symptoms of GERD and is more common in children with neurological impairments.

Symptoms indicative of Reflux Disease or GERD:

• areefusing food or accepting only a few bites despite being hungry or the exact opposite requiring constant
• small meals or liquid
• food/oral aversions
• anemia
• excessive drooling
• running nose, sinus infections
• swallowing problems, gagging, choking
• chronic hoarse voice
• frequent red, sore throat without infection present
• apnea
• chronic ear infections
• respiratory problems—pneumonia, bronchitis, wheezing, asthma, night-time cough, aspiration
• gagging themselves with their fingers or fist (sign of esophagitis)
• poor weight gain, weight loss, failure to thrive
• erosion of dental enamel
• neck arching (Sandifer’s Syndrome)
• bad breath

[paigemummy]

Hi epicurean and uddermummy,

i'm also sorry for not writing for so long... its been a tough and long month!!!
so good to read about seb's theraupeutic massage, i wish i can have one too.. i think we all need it!

today is signigicant for us cos paige finally did the scope. Dr Aw feels strongly that we do it as her condition seem to be getting worse. She very nicely slotted me in as a last minute visit yesterday aftn and scheduled the scope for this morning.. it's tough on paige and i'm sure you mummies can imagine the struggles they put up.

yet, i feel relieved to know that Dr aw said no op is necessary and that her laxity is not extreme. Her linings are inflammed too. So i'm glad to finally past this mental hurdle to do the scope. At least now Dr Aw have a better idea of how to treat paige. she put her on omeprazole for now.

you both are the first 2 people i want to share with, cos we'are in this together!!! And thank you for always understanding and 'listening'. helps a great deal..

shall update you on the hopefully good response to omeprazole.

[ysabelle]

hello mummies, i would like to share some infos since i experienced the same situation for my dear daughter. i gave birth last june. i never had a clue on this matters because i never experienced this to my 2 eldest children. what i did was read about this reflux, how to help me and my dear daughter. I also checked on few threads discussing these issue. Actually, i never bring my dear daughter to a pediatrician for help since from the articles i read they say is manageable. I tried different position while feeding, the sitting position, not moving her right after the feed, burping her every oz,i can say almost all but still she experienced the same and i felt frustrated knowing i cant do anything about it. my heart bled everytime she arched her back as if in pain. until i saw these Enfalac A+ (AR). AR stands for anti-reflux. the mixture is starchy, so after feeding the milk will stay in the stomach. i finished 1 tin then slowly shifted her to ordinary FM which is enfalac A+. Now shes better, she drinks milk and sleep peacefully. i dont even need to burp her coz i know i would be waking her good sleep.
Hope this info will enlighten mothers who are still experiencing this problem with their children.

[uddermummy]

paigemummy, sayang!

How's paige weight gain so far? dear daughter's on omeprazole too. I think it's a really powerful drug cos dear daughter's been on the same dose for the past 3 months. I tried to cut it down to once a day but she started acting up on the 2nd day.

so i guess I'll just have to stick to the current dose and let it tail off as her weight increases.

dear daughter doesn't spit so much now, but i suspect that it's cos she swallows the milk back. Caught her doing that quite a few times.

[uddermummy]

Originally Posted by ysabelle hello mummies, i would like to share some infos since i experienced the same situation for my dear daughter. i gave birth last june. i never had a clue on this matters because i never experienced this to my 2 eldest children. what i did was read about this reflux, how to help me and my dear daughter. I also checked on few threads discussing these issue. Actually, i never bring my dear daughter to a pediatrician for help since from the articles i read they say is manageable. I tried different position while feeding, the sitting position, not moving her right after the feed, burping her every oz,i can say almost all but still she experienced the same and i felt frustrated knowing i cant do anything about it. my heart bled everytime she arched her back as if in pain. until i saw these Enfalac A+ (AR). AR stands for anti-reflux. the mixture is starchy, so after feeding the milk will stay in the stomach. i finished 1 tin then slowly shifted her to ordinary FM which is enfalac A+. Now shes better, she drinks milk and sleep peacefully. i dont even need to burp her coz i know i would be waking her good sleep. Hope this info will enlighten mothers who are still experiencing this problem with their children.

thanks ysabelle for sharing.

the prob is our bbs dont't really respond well to most of the stuff that are on the websites.

Also, dear daughter is on full breast milk so FM or thickener is out of the question for her. But thank goodness, her condition is under control now that she's on meds. She was such a miserable baby before the meds that I slipped into post natal depression.

[epicurean]

Hi paigemummy,
It's so good to hear from you! Thanks for sharing with us ... things will get better ... it's slow, it's incremental but it REALLY will get better.

My heart goes out to you & Paige for having to endure the trauma of the scope ... at least some good came out of it in clarifying the extent of Paige's GERD. Sounds like there's potential for the muscles of the tummy opening to heal and strengthen.

Really hope that omerprazole will help to alleviate the inflammation of the lining. Uddermummy's the expert on omer after dealing with it for quite some time

[epicurean]

uddermummy,
Just to update you about Seb's ulcer. It's not healing well It keeps getting abraded by his lower teeth during feed so will bleed a bit and cause him pain. He'll suck a bit, break off from the bottle, cry/scream, then suck again coz he's battling both pain & hunger. Physio is teaching us to train him to retract his tongue behind his gumline to avoid abrasion ... it's slow progress.

I'm also checking with his doc if got such thing as making a mini-mouth guard to put over his lower teeth to stop the abrasion. Desperate times call for desperate measures! Have reduced frequency & amount of his medicinal gel to be used on the ulcer coz apparently saliva causes it to get spread around in his mouth & throat, leading to general numbness that could make him choke. That did happen to him a few times, so we've cut back on the gel.

And I'm still grappling with the extra workload from my goondu boss. Just need to get past Sept when all the deadlines are due .... *grits teeth*

[uddermummy]

actually, dear daughter might be the expert on ome cos she's been on it for the past few months.


We're now again trying to cut down dear daughter's dose on ome, since she didn't seem to need any top up even after her weight's increased.

but now, we're reducing the amount we feed her twice daily, before we reduce the number of feeds to once a day. Keeping my fingers crossed that this will work out.

oh dear, seb's ulcers sound really painful. Hope the mouth guard idea works out well. Thank goodness you realised that the ulcer med was making his mouth numb and making him choke.

Aiyoh, why your goondu boss still so goondu? Let's hope that your goondu boss would have woken up her ideas after the long weekend. And hope you've managed to get some well-deserved rest too!

[epicurean]

Hi uddermummy,

Hope you & Eva been doing well Sorry took so long to reply ... been MIA coz of work plus Seb's hypertonia increased coz of his weight gain so have been dealing with issues related to his stiff muscle tone.

How's Eva doing on omerprazole? Are there any side effects to watch out for? I'm mulling over switching Seb over to omerprazole ... observed that if he goes past 12 hours without his zantac dose, his vom gets clearly sour and he's in pain, arching his pain, has a screaming-like cry.

Btw Seb's ulcer is much much better now thank goodness. In the end, it's the jaw exercises that have taught him to retract his tongue behind his gumline and to keep it retract during feed that prevent further bleeding. Anyway, I'll still bring him to see a dentist to see if there're other options to prevent future ulcers from forming.

[paigemummy]

Hi epicurean and uddermummy,

it's been a long time!! a tough period for me.. but first, i'm so sorry about the bad ulcers that seb had! i hate them.. One time paige got so dehydrated when she had ulcer that she almost had to be hospitalised. Her refusal to take food and drink her milk was impossible.

Ome wasn't working well at first at all.. she was vomiting so much and so frequent, more than ever before.. that i was so depressed. then after about 3 weeks, it got slightly better and better.. i hope it keeps getting better.

Sounds like little Eva is doing well these days! good news!!!

you both are always on my mind : )

[uddermummy]

hi mummies, have been mia cos am busy with eva and my masters.

oh dear, i hope paige's doing better with ome now. dear daughter's dose has been upped cos she's been terribly fussy these few weeks. We tried lowering her dose for two weeks before she morphed into an irritable gremlin.

Dr Aw said that we may have to do some examinations on dear daughter soon to find out why she hasn't outgrown her reflux.

paigemummy, could the vomitting be due to other reason? Did you mention that to Dr Aw? Cos ome is an acid-blocker, more powerful than zantac cos it actually stops acid production instead of just reducing it, but it doesn't help with the vomitting.

epicuren, one of the side effects of ome is the backlash from the sudden increase in acid production when the dose is stopped or lowered. Dr Aw also said that some adults have changes in their stomach cells after they've been on ome for many years. So you may want to weigh the pros and cons.

shall we meet up when we've got more free time? Keen to meet you mummies and your darlings!