Can this get any worse? - Back to the Ped AGAIN...

siblingtooolivia wrote: So we went back to the Ped again today - Dylan is a mess most of the day now....

Ped is focusing on 1) colic 2) formula intolerance 3) reflux and 4) plain old fussy...

We know he has reflux, we aren't sure about the colic or the formula intolerance and the fussy part well that is pretty self explanatory....

I am so tired, so worried and so guilty over the fact that I get no time with Olivia....and as for my marriage - I will be shocked if it survives this - DH is little or no help and I am seriously resenting him for it now...even when he does "try" he has little or no patience which frustrates me even more and he spends most of his time questioning me - did you do this, did you try that, etc. etc.....doesn't he realize that a simple "hey you are doing a great job at something that has been really hard" would go a long way for my ego/stress level at this point -

Anyway this wasn't really a post to vent about him....it is more about this poor baby who is so uncomfortable - here is where we are at now

We are now on zantac (have been for a week and a half) and have now added prevacid at nite....we are also back on alimentum formula and have added cereal to the bottle to hopefully help the actual coming up of formula....

Maybe just maybe this combination will work....

Also bought a sling but for the life of me can't really figure out how to put him in there so he is comfortable - it feels very awkward.........

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for listening - I am feeling like things are closing in on me......and my biggest support - my mom is leaving for AZ for two weeks because my aging grandma needs her badly right now........

So....anyone else out there who has had a fussy/colicky/reflux baby - how did you survive?

amymom replied: I am at work and HAD to sign in to respond to you. Ask for a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist. You will then find relief. The peds are great with simple reflux, but you are dealing with more than that. The peds. gastro guys can check things you and the ped would not even think of. AND they will stop the trial and error. They will just get you answers.

I say this because I am SORRY I didn't do it for my dd. I did last year and saw immediate improvement. I always said I would recommend a gastro for babies that were as fussy as MB was.

I can give more details when I get home if you want. Just let me know.

siblingtooolivia replied: AnnMarie, i sent you pm, did't know if you would rather get into details there......thanks, your response gave me some hope....

Old Mom Hubbard replied: YES! A pediatric gastroenterologist for sure...Why did I not think of this? It was one such specialist that FINALLY figured out my son's digestive issues and reflux!

Best of luck to you!!!

amymom replied:

yes, I have been reading some of the things you say about your son (18 now right?) and I think I would have been there if I did not go to the peds GI last year. And Mary Beth just turned 10 yesterday. I waited too long too. It turns out MB is lactose intolerant and has reflux. But she is beginning to heal, gain wgt, and is doing so well. She tested negative for celiac and gluten / wheat intolerance. Your son has the gluten intolerance correct? but not celiac right?

Anyway, Christine, listen to us "old" moms and ask for a pediatric GI. Are you near a city that has some?

blue72 replied: I completely understand how difficult it is to have a fussy baby. I had to hold Jake all the time (day & night). I can't tell you how many nights we slept with him in the chair. Of course, I bore the brunt of the work. DH would only pitch in when he could tell I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It was very hard.

Our situation did improve after about a year.

A few suggestions to help you cope:

Get a babysitter and go out for a few hours with your DH.

Get a babysitter and take your daughter out for some special time

I remember handing Jake to my husband on a Sunday afternoon and saying I'm leaving to take a break and I left for a few hours and went shopping. I gave him no choice. Desperate situations call for desperate measures sometimes.

Old Mom Hubbard replied: amymom-Yes our son, now 18 years young...(DO NOT LIKE THE WORD O L D) Tomorrow I turn one year younger!

Anyway, yes he was tested for a variety of things and the SMA Syndrome YES and Celiac's NO...just an allergy to wheat and gluten. No sign of dairy allergies but he KNOWS when he has had too much so has cut it down substantially on his own and enjoys soy products much better (NOT the plain) but the vanilla silk sopy and chocolate soy too. I have lactose intolerance but never tested, just know by common sense! When I eat it, get upset stomach and other digestive issues-well then...duh! Must be intolerant. I too have cut that out substantially and use soy.

We have a family friend that has been to the doctors FOR YEARS about his acid reflux and other stomach problems. He passed out one day at work, unconscious. At the hospital they ran all sorts of tests and FINALLY-he found out he is lactose intolerant! All of the years and he finally got help. He has been three years off of all dairy to where he is slowly able to get off his acid meds now. And he has more energy and does not have any further stomach issues.

I am sure your daughter, at ten will grow just fine and sounds as though she is, and gaining weight too! There are so many wonderful alternatives to the dairy ice cream and other dairy products, again such as Soy and many lactose free products that even taste better to us-

Best of luck to all moms and their families dealing with issues. Again, MOST medical doctors are ONLY TRAINED in general medicine but when it comes to specific digestive issues and food allergy potentials, a specialist is one who should be sought after for tests in finding those answers. Many times a referral by the regular pediatritian is required. Best to everyone to a life of good health! And if issues, well then a speedy recovery!

flirtycuddle replied: M son is 6 months and sounds just like dylan. I finally got a referal to a allergist and sure enough he has a soy and milk allergy and now that we have cut that out he is a happy baby for the most part. I get fustrated when trying to feed solids and such cuz everything has soy and milk it seems so we are on all organic cereal and snack stuff and so on. if he even has a lil bit of a peice of something made iwht milk or soy he has a huge reaction. We put him on Neocate now and it was a big improvement. Nutramigen and Allitium both have a lot of soy and milk just broke down big time and he reacted tothose so we tried the Neocate and it was a instant change. Neocate is expensive (about $50 a can) but our insurance pays for it thankfully. He also goes through about 15 cans a month.

momtoMegan&Alyxandria replied: A friends niece has bad reflux and one thing that helped with feedings was to hold her in an upright position and then she had to be propped/sat up for atleast 30 mins after feedings. They used a highchair that had multiple positions, so when she was an infant (now 16 mos) she could be propped up instead of laying flat. I don't remember if I was a colicy baby, but I have a hiatal hernia and I get horrible heartburn from it. Especially when laying flat. I would certainly find a specialist though. Good luck.

MyLuvBugs replied: Lorelei was a total colic, spitting up, crabby baby for like the first 3 months of her life. UGH. A large exercise ball helped a lot, and so did the swing. With the exercise ball we held her in our arms on her tummy, and slowly bounced up and down while sitting on the ball. it really really helped with her gas issues. Then once she was asleep, we'd slowly put her in the swing and turn it on high to keep her asleep. That was the only way we'd get any sleep.

We used a lot of Mylacon with her too. However, they may have contributed to her constipation issues too. With Lexi we used Gripe water to help with her upset tummy, and it worked wonders!!! I highly recommend it!

I hope you get it all worked out soon.

siblingtooolivia replied: First, thank you to everyone who responded.....this has been so hard as many of you know from experience - you have these visions of this beautiful (which he is regardless ) bouncing baby who is a delight, etc. and when they end up like a trainwreck most days it is very disheartening....anyway

My ped isn't in today, I left a message for him, but the nurse seems to think a Ped GI specialist will only do the same things he is doing....while I do feel my Ped is doing alot and trying very hard to help work these issues out, I am hoping when I talk to him to really understand what we may be dealing with....it is very hard at this point to determine what is really wrong here....I still feel in my gut it is all reflux related but am not really sure if we can do more than we are in that regard....(meds, feeding techniques, etc.) so it remains to be seen at this point....

Anyway, MyLuvBugs, I have heard of gripe water and am going to try that - I wonder if it will help with the fussiness but do need to find out first if he can take it with the prevacid and zantac.......

I am very concerned about what the end effect all this is going to have on him - he is on NO routine at all right now and I am nervous about how we will ever get him on any semblance of one but guess for now we will do what we have to to keep him comfortable and allow us all to get some rest and some peace!!

Thanks again to everyone for your support and suggestions, this place is a lifesaver...

amymom replied:

I told you I agreed with the nurse at your peds office. I thought the same thing. And I was wrong.

Good Luck, I feel a specialist, will at least tell you that you are doing the right things, if that is the case.

flirtycuddle replied: My orginial peds thought that a specialist wouldn't do anything to help the problem and boy were they wrong. My ds has reflux and the alergies and the first sign we had of his allergies was reflux then everything else followed. I hope they get you to a specialist who do the right testing such as an upper gi to see just how bad the reflux is.