Reflux - how bad can it get?

Hello,

I'm brand new to this website and glad I found y'all! I have twin four month old sons, born at 35 weeks. They both have reflux and lately I've been feeling sorry for myself having to deal with the reflux issues. I need to get out of this funk and thought that hearing other people's stories might make me realize that I don't have it as bad as I think. So, if you wouldn't mind, could you share your reflux experiences?

My first son has mild reflux. He's on Zantac and it works for him. He never spits up (except a little bit every once in a while at a burp) but does cough and gag sometimes when the stomach juices come up his throat. He eats about 24 ounces of milk/formula a day and weighs about 12 pounds.

My second son has what I think is bad reflux. He was on Zantac then Prevacid, but neither worked. He's now on Prilosec and it works much better. He spits up (empties the entire contents of his stomach) every few days and frequently looks like he's going to throw up. We keep him upright for 30 minutes after meals and try not to move him around too much. He's on thickened milk and formula because he aspirated while eating in the hospital. He really doesn't like eating much, but at least with the new medicine (and no more dairy in my diet and using Nutramigen formula), he doesn't arch his back and scream while eating. He eats about 15 ounces of milk/formula a day plus about 5 ounces of rice cereal. Because of his reflux, I feel that we can't go out much because he needs to stay "stationary" for up to an hour or he'll throw up. By then, it's too close to the next meal to go out and get anything done. I also worry that he's not eating enough, but he's growing. He weighs about 11.5 pounds.

I would really appreciate hearing stories from other twin parents so that I can remind myself that this really isn't bad reflux. I think that would help me relax a little and not worry so much if my son throws up. Right now it seems like all I do is try to prevent the throwing up so he'll keep food down.

Thank you,
Sarah

 

Hi Sarah-

You will find a lot of support on the site for twins and reflux. It seems like just yesterday I was posting about this. You will get through it and it does suck on occasion. Have you discussed getting a consult from a Pediatric GI?

Mine both had it and started on Zantac and that did nothing. They went to Prevacid and that seemed to work for some of the pain and eased the arching and screaming. I also have one with a milk protein allergy who is on Alimentum. The best tip I got from the Ped GI was to add 2 tsp of rice cereal per ounce of formula. That really seemed to tame the spit up and the cereal helps with the added calories for weight gain.

Hope this helps and good luck. Most of us are there or have been there so hang in there.

Rachel

 

What is it with twins and reflux? There must be something that happens in the last couple of weeks of pregnancy that helps babies with their esophagus or something - is that it? All of our babies were born at least 2 weeks early (from what I can tell) and so many of our twins have reflux issues!

I just wanted to let you know that I was in the same boat as you until just a month or so ago. My boys still "spit up" but they don't "puke" like they used to - we're talking projectile - I never thought I'd ever be able to feed them in a public place or even at a friend's house! Thankfully, it got better. I've fed them in a couple of public places now without worry (phew). They both drink 4 or 5 seven or eight ounce bottles a day without incident. I hope you'll be saying the same thing in a few months.

Good luck.

 

My ds had bad reflux. He went through Zantac {worked for a little bit} then Prevacid, again worked for awhile and then we went to a GI specialist that gave him Prilosec...that was his magic answer to reflux. I, too, got into a major funk with his reflux. I cried whenever I had to feed him because I knew how it would turn out. I told my docs that he needed something stronger/better, this was before the specialist and priolsec, and they brushed me off as the crazy first time mom. I wasn't crazy, and my son was in pain. BUT just remember, you know him best and if you feel that the meds aren't working, then go to a specialist. My ds went through alot of pain all because I didn't push hard enough. There is an end in sight, remember that...chant it if you will. I know what you mean about not going anywhere. We stayed home alot and not only because of staying stationary, also because I couldn't stand explaining one more time about the reflux, apparently my child is the first in our family and they all gave me this look... :huh: , so I didn't really want to bother. I am very happy you found this board, many great experienced and supportive moms. They really helped me out when I thought the end of reflux would never come. My sons reflux seemed to get better once he started crawling at 9 months. Now he has been off the meds since he was 13months old and he is doing much better.
Good luck and Welcome!!

 

Thank you all for your responses, it does help to know I'm not the only one going through this. My son's reflux pain really does seem to be getting better since we started Prilosec. We switched to Nutramigen and I took dairy out of my diet at the same time (mostly pumping, some formula), so I don't know if he has a milk protein allergy that isn't bothering him anymore or if the medicine is what he needed. He still doesn't eat much (I'm lucky if he takes 3 ounces at a time. He has never had more than 3.5 ounces ever at a meal) but at least meals aren't always the fights and screaming fits that they were a month ago.

I can't wait until he can drink 5 ounces at a time. His brother does it, so I know it's possible! Then maybe they could eat five meals a day instead of 6 and I wouldn't have to wake him at night to eat... something to look forward to!

 

Hi Sarah, :sign0016: to TS!

:hug99: I'm sorry that you are going through this! I went through it with my twins also. They both were refusing bottles right and left, screaming, arching, puking, ugggghhhhh. It was so miserable, I cried all of the time, and had horrible anxiety about how much they were eating in a day. We ended up going with Reglan and Axid, and then Prevacid, and the problems were solved. Reglan helps them to empty their stomach quicker, making it so they have less reflux. They were better within a few days of starting it. It is a controversial drug as far as the side effects go, but it worked for us. Good luck, I hope you find the solution. :hug99:

 

Both of my twins battled reflux when they were younger. We switched to Enfamil AR and that helped. The pedi tried Axid and Zantac, but neither did anything. The pedi referred us to a GI specialist. The combination of Prevacid and Reglan the GI doctor prescribed for us worked wonders. The cottage-cheese spit up was reduced dramatically. At about 6 months old, we started reducing the medication. After 2 weeks, they were off all meds and the reflux had disappeared. They just grew out of it... so hang in there. It DOES get better!

 

Hi Sarah! Welcome to TS

Both my dds ended up with reflux. One much worse than the other. Arwen got it first and was diagnosed at about 2 months and was put on Zantac which worked wonders for her. She also spit up minimally. Before she was diagnosed I was out of my mind with her constant crying and because I'd never heard of reflux in babies I didn't know the signs for it and just thought she was being fussy which made me insane in my sleep deprived mind. Eventually, after repeated calls and visits to the ped (because I was sure there was SOMETHING wrong with her) they finally diagnosed her with reflux and started her on the meds and she was a totally different baby. Lorien on the other hand who developed the reflux at about 3 months or so would scream and cry and spit up about 10-12 times a day. It got to the point where I was so overwhelmed with changing her clothes so often throughout the day that I stopped going out for a while which made me a bit depressed because I am a SAHM with no family around to help and my friends all work so I was very isolated and not being able to go out made everything worse. She was put on Zantac as well but the spit up continued as the meds do not stop that, it just stops the pain. So at about 4 months old, we got the go ahead to put cereal in her formula and that made ALL the difference. Her spit up episodes were cut in half and at 4.5 months they told us we could put even more cereal in her bottles and life got sooooooooo much better. She would only spit up once maybe twice a day. Arwen's reflux ended around 4 months and Lorien's ended around 6.5 months or so. Right around when she started sitting up more.

I think no matter how much worse or better someone's situation is with reflux (or anything for that matter), it's still just one more thing to have to deal with in an already difficult and challenging world with raising twins. It's a deffinate roller coaster ride and while there seems sometimes to be more downs than ups, it all eventually gets better. Just hang in there and remind yourself that your babies will not have reflux for the rest of their lives Just when one thing is over, something else will occur (colds, teething, boo boos etc.) and the ride will begin again but it won't seem as bad because you will become more and more experienced at everything.