nutrimagen AA

i just saw the new GI today, really like him, but he wants us to reduce the amount of rice per oz from 2tsp to 1tsp and switch from gerber to beechnut AND change formulas from nutrimagen to nutrimagen AA...anyone ever heard of this stuff or seen it at the stores????? i just looked up the info on enfamil's website and it's over 150 bucks for 4 cans of those tiny little cans.

i guess it's for babies with severe protein and other allergies. hopefully this will work. they want me to push the solids too, just keep trying one a week until we get it right.

anyhow, anyone used this stuff?? no where to get it?

i'm applying for WIC tomorrow and i'm hoping they can get it for us!

 

I've never heard of it and it does sound pricey. I know when I used to have to buy some of the higher price stuff, I'd always do an e-bay or craigslist search. I did quick search just now and it looks like there is a 3 case for sale (12 cans) for a buy it now for $130. Here's the link. If you try it, let us know how it goes. From the reviews, its for severely allergic kiddos (to milk proteins). Good luck!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nutramigen-AA-Amino-Acid-based-Formula_W0QQitemZ170444363900QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFeeding?hash=item27af46987c

 

Wow, $150 for 4 cans is outrageous! I agree w/ the PP - get it on eBay if WIC doesn't work out. It may sound iffy buying formula from somebody on eBay, but the cans are always factory sealed and would be easy to see if they were tampered with. Even I ended up selling several cases of unopened formula on eBay a couple of months ago, after advertising it on my local Craigslist and getting low ball offers. Just make sure the seller has a good rating and maybe exchange a couple of emails w/ them and I'm sure it will be fine (and a whole lot cheaper!).

Just curious, why does he recommend Beechnut over Gerber? I mainly buy Earth's Best organic jarred baby food at Target, but sometimes I buy Gerber too.

 

I have seen it at Walmart and yes it is expensive, i am in Canada but I am sure your Wal-mart would have it too.

 

I have never seen Nutrigamen AA (we used plain Nutrigamen). but wanted to pass along that you can often get free samples (we got a free case) from the company. We had to fill out a form at our Pedi's office and mail it in. We also got 'free/sample' small cans from our GI.

Some insurances will cover part or all of the cost (depends on your insurance) if it is due to medical reasons to need a 'non-standard' formula.

Obviously take the advice of your GI doc, but you may want to watch the rice. Rice not only made DDs excema worse, but it also SEVERELY constipated her. Another alternative is a product called 'Simply thick'. Also we mixed the formula to have a higher calorie (she needed it per Pedi )- which made it a bit thicker as well.

 

oh trust me my boys' are far from constipated...we poop A LOT around here. GI is switching us from gerber rice to beechnut and lowering the amount 1tsp vs. 2tsp per oz. they've also been on rice cereal in their bottle sincce 2 months w/o eczema issues, this is new.

i'm in the process of working with mead johnson to get help through helping hands for the formula. they've already sent a huge box of free nutramigen but i was waiting on our taxes to send the information they need to qualify you for the program back. i called them yesterday and once they recieve the info the turn around time is supposed to be quick. praying they can help us.

WIC denied us so no help there and insurance will not cover any form of formula regardless of medical necessity.

contacted every local federal representative to complain about WIC standards and have contact WIC headquarters. i'm doing everything i can to get assistance from some kind of program to help feed these kids' the formula they require.

and no unfortunately there are no stores in my town that carry this brand. it's hard enough to find regular nutramigen let alone nutragmigen aa. wal-mart does not carry it. i can save money by buying in bulk from enfamil so that's what i'm going to do once we get some money.

 

I've heard of nutrimagen. Hopefully, it will be a good thing for the boys. It is very expensive, sometimes insurance will help to pay for it because it has to be prescribed by a pediatrician (or at least I thought that). WIC will pay for it if you have a prescription from your ped, so that will be awesome for you if you can get WIC. We go between gerber and beechnut for solids, depends on what the store has and if there is a sale, but I see what your ped means, they seem to tolerate the beechnut better.

 

yes, I have heard of it. You should get your doctor to write a prescription for it as your children have allergies or GI issues. I have heard of insurance companies covering the Nutromigin just like a prescription b/c of GI issues. You should look in to it. That way you might only have to pay a co pay. I heard of this from another twin mom on this website.

Good luck...

 

yeah insurance was the first phone call after WIC denied us. they will not cover any type of formula even if it is prescribed and medically necessary. my GI is working on a letter to try and back them into a corner to help supplement the cost.

we received a private donation to help us get started with a months supply of the formula and i'm working with local government officials to see what else can be done to help us out.

 

That's horrible that your insurance won't cover it. Hopefully, your doctor will be able to get them to make an exception if it is medically necessary. The only other option is ebay or craigslist. I know I sold a bunch on mine on craigslist when we were done with ours. I've never heard of the AA, so that might be hard to find. Good luck!!!

 

One of my twins was on Nutrmigen AA for almost 9 months and it is extremly expensive. Here are a few things that I did. I called Enfamil and asked them for some help. They sent me a few cans for free. I told them both my twins were on it. I also started buying directly from Enfamil they were cheaper and ran special deals every month. I also spoke to my pediatrician and they have put me in touch with their local Enfamil representative who signed me up for a special program that gave me extra coupons. Everytime I went to the Dr which seemed like a lot I would always ask for some free samples. You can also check on craigslist and twinboards for posts.

Hope these tips help.