Baby has reflux - immature system or milk allergy?

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants

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amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 1:54 pm

My daughter is 6 weeks old. She often chokes while nursing and gets very fussy about 5-10 minutes into a feeding. When I switch sides, she'll nurse again for about 5 minutes and then fuss. She arches her back and seems very uncomfortable. The doctor said it's just an immature system and gave her ranitidine (active ingredient in Zantac) for reflux. It's been a few days, though, and we haven't seen any improvement.

I'm wondering if she could possibly have a milk allergy. I wouldn't necessarily have reason to think so, except the fact that my son had similar symptoms as a newborn, and it turned out to be a milk allergy (which he outgrew by 7-8 months). He was also originally diagnosed with reflux and given ranitidine. The primary differences are that a) my son was given some formula in the hospital, and he shrieked his head off, whereas she was given formula in the hospital and mostly slept nicely, and b) he had green, mucus-y diapers and her diapers are yellow.

Do you think this could possibly be a milk allergy caused by an immature system, or just a generally immature system (without a specific allergy) that she will outgrow soon?

I really don't want to go off milk if I can avoid it...

amother

Ivory

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:04 pm

I gave zantac for my baby, it didn't help much. We gave a higher dose and it also didn't help. So we switched to omeprazole, and she became such a calm, happy baby. It was unbelievable.
A lot of babies have reflux. It's normal. Just know that it can take time to find the right meds and the right dose

amother

Firebrick

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:08 pm

Many babies with a tongue or lip tie are diagnosed with reflux.

I just had it with my baby. She had all the symptoms you mentioned. Just something you should think about...

amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:08 pm

amother wrote:

If it's been 3 days with no improvement, should I ask the doctor for a higher dose? I did hear about that.

Also, should I play around with the medication aspect before rushing to go off milk? Or vice versa? I don't want to do both at the same time, because then I won't know which one helped.

amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:10 pm

amother wrote:

Many babies with a tongue or lip tie are diagnosed with reflux.

I just had it with my baby. She had all the symptoms you mentioned. Just something you should think about...

My older baby had tongue tie, as well, which I had clipped at 3 weeks. My daughter latches fine, and was checked by a nurse and lactation consultant for tongue tie. Both of them said she's not tongue tied. I know it's sometimes hard to see if it's a posterior tie, but I wouldn't go running to assume that.

amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:15 pm

But now I'm looking up symptoms of tongue tie... looks like she might have one... it makes sense.

amother

Firebrick

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:20 pm

Make sure they also check for a lip tie. Does her upper lip go in or out when she nurses?

Ties are often genetic btw. So if one child had it, it’s very likely other kids will have it too.

amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:28 pm

It's so weird, because no one in my family was ever tongue tied!

amother

Green

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 2:33 pm

I would definitely not assume that a newborn has an allergy. If a person has severe allergies it can be life threatening causing breathing problems, hives...
your dr. would be able to tell you as it would be quite obvious. Symptoms such as gas, discomfort are not allergies. All my babies had the issues that your baby has and it was reflux which was due to an immature digestive system. They were very uncomfortable and medicine did not help. But they were not allergic to milk! People tend to steer clear from milk and white flour the minute they think there’s a stomach issue and there rarely is a reason to avoid those foods.
My babies were much better/ happier by 6 months.
Your baby sounds like a real reflux baby. Are you holding upright while feeding and burping often?

octopus

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 3:51 pm

Those could also be the symptoms of a forceful let-down.

amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 4:02 pm

octopus wrote:

Those could also be the symptoms of a forceful let-down.

I thought so, too, but when I lean back and switch the force of gravity, she is often still upset.

amother

Tan

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 4:23 pm

amother wrote:

As I said, my son had most of these same issues, and he had a milk allergy. It seems that every other issue that he has is presenting itself in my daughter, as well...

If it resolved by 6 months, how do you know that your kids were NOT allergic to milk at the beginning? My son's allergy resolved by 7-8 months, but it was definitely an allergy -- the symptoms of reflux cleared up once I went off milk.

Also, there is a family history of stomach issues... Sad

I try to hold her upright while feeding, but it's hard--I'm not so coordinated. I do try to burp her, but she doesn't burp a lot.

monkeys

Tue, Aug 21 2018, 6:23 pm

Three days is too soon to say that rantadine is not working. I wouldn’t assume milk allergy unless the baby develops green mucous or blood in the stool. Rantadine was not enough for my daughter and we switched her to Prevacid. She became a different child!

I had one baby with a milk allergy, one on Zantac and one on Prevacid.

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