OT GERDlings

Our poor Damian has been having a time of it.

22 days old and he is on his fourth type of formula. He was projectile vomiting, having a lot of gas, and seemed to be in considerable distress every time he had a BM though he was definitely _not_ constipated. So he had to have a gastric series to see if they could figure it all out. The diagnosis is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Mama only has milk on one side, so supplementing with formula is necessary. So he is now getting pharmacy formula instead of grocery store formula (thank heavens for WIC!) He also has two prescriptions prilosec (omeprazole) and regulan (metoclopramide), and all told the new formula and the two prescriptions seem to have made him vastly more comfortable and he is keeping his food down.

Now we enter into the research phase. Just how careful do you have to be feeding little bittys with GERD when they start on new food? Will he have it forever or is it a temporary thing caused by something at birth? Will he grow out of it? DD was just so relieved that they could do something for him that she hasn't even started wondering yet. Considering she got to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a shot for the first time since he was born the night he started the meds I am not surprised!

So has anybody had any experience with this sort of thing? I am collecting up the info to pass on to DD when she has had more than a few hours steady sleep and can think again.

NightMist

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NightMist
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My nephew had the projectile vomiting and he was breast fed only. His doctor said that it would go away as soon as he started walking and the stomach shifted downward. He started walking at 8 months and the situation corrected itself.

Bonnie, in Middletown, VA

Reply to
Bonnie Patterson

Yes, they DO grow out of it!! Bek had this as well, and before we put her on any medication, the doctor wanted to try mixing rice cereal in with the formula - she was about a month and a half old when they told us this. It seemed to help her until my MOther decided to bounce her right after a feeding....not my fault, but Mother stuck me with her dry cleaning bill.

Something to consider

Larisa

Reply to
larisavann

NM: First, congrats on your new grandson!

I just took a peek in the Mayo Clinic site and there IS a report that may suit your needs. It is titled Infant Acid Reflux. I found it by going to Mayoclinic.com and using the word GERD as the search. If I could copy and paste that I would, but I can't so I won't!

Reply to
Pat in Virginia

Brilliant!

I had been talking to her about some things possibly being helpful. I had such severe reflux when I was expecting her youngest sister that I was eating two bites at a time and sleeping at a 45 degree angle. Lots of agreement with me on that page, good to know gramma's advice won't cause tentacles to sprout out of his forehead or something. I found out that one of Damian's aunties has a pair of GERDlings. At the baby shower she had given DD one of those padded wedges with a velcro harness that fits in the crib. Now that DD knows what to do with it that should help her out.

One of the first things the doctor talked about was thickening the formula with rice cereal. He said if the meds don't help they may try it, but he would rather hold off until the lad is a bit older. The logic being that there is no sense in possibly overburdening the rest of his digestive system and running the possibility of causing new problems unless nothing else helps.

NightMist

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NightMist

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nzlstar*

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