Reflux Baby, DCM Doesn't Want Meds

[aDCProvider]

Do you know WHY the mom is refusing meds?

The mom might not be lying... she could be holding the child for a period of time (20-30 mins) after feeds which typically helps reflux babies NOT to gag/spit up after eating (though I know most providers can't and wouldn't do this... I know I wouldn't).
My dd had reflux and we stopped giving her meds (we tried 2 kinds) as well because they actually just ended up making her projectile vomit... so we opted to just hold her upright after feeds when we could and deal with spit up if we couldn't. She's outgrown it over the last few months.


Perhaps mom has a good reason for not giving meds?

Mom said it did not happen all week. I DO hold him upright or put him in a chair sitting upright for 30 minutes afterwards.

[Cradle2crayons]

Mom said it did not happen all week. I DO hold him upright or put him in a chair sitting upright for 30 minutes afterwards.

If putting him upright for 30 minutes after isn't helping at all, I sincerely doubt it isn't happening at home.

That's why I make parents take my form to the doctor. I've had parents take a child to the doc because I required it, and then LIE to the doctor and then LIE to me.

So I take at out of the equation.

[littlemissmuffet]

Mom said it did not happen all week. I DO hold him upright or put him in a chair sitting upright for 30 minutes afterwards.

Hmmm, then she's obviously not being honest. I would have a chat witrh her, as per BC's advice above.

C2C, most cases of infant reflux are not so severe that if left untreated would cause the long-term damage you are talking about. It can and does obviously happen - but we don't know the severity of the OP's DCK's reflux to go ahead and say that not treating it could be considered abuse.

[lovemylife]

Poor baby! From experience I know how hard this is! My son had acid reflux when he was a baby. It was so bad that they worried he had pyloric stenosis. Thankfully he didn't. We tried all the acid reflux medicine, it helped a little but not much. We also added rice cereal to his bottles. I'm honestly not sure if you are allowed to do that with a dck but if I were you I would check and ask mom. My sons sleeping was really bad. Always waking up crying in pain. We tried elevating the head of the crib but it never worked. He would either roll/slip down. Tried a pillow under the mattress. We finally ended up trying the Rock N Play. That was a miracle! He started sleeping for longer periods of time and wouldn't cry out in pain. The spitting up didn't happen as often. The down side to the rock n play: it took weeks of sleepless nights to get him transitioned back into the crib.

I agree with other posters. It is serious and the mother should not ignore it! Did she say why she doesn't want the baby on meds? Like an allergy to them or something?

[Cradle2crayons]

Hmmm, then she's obviously not being honest. I would have a chat witrh her, as per BC's advice above.

C2C, most cases of infant reflux are not so severe that if left untreated would cause the long-term damage you are talking about. It can and does obviously happen - but we don't know the severity of the OP's DCK's reflux to go ahead and say that not treating it could be considered abuse.

That's just it, we don't know for sure. But it appears as if mom doesn't care.... And enough to lie about it too, a parent lying is a term offense for me. A last resort though.

My main focus would be e fact that if the baby has the symptoms the OP says, it isn't simply a mild case of reflux. Any reflux, even a mild case, CAN cause damage. The damage can go from mild to severe. Depending on the amount and acidity oh of the stomach acid that comes up.

The oral meds that treat it doesn't really affect the actual act of spitting up. The goal is to LOWER the amount and caustic nature of the contents that are coming up. Things like rice cereal and propping baby are what helps what goes down stay down. Generally there is a multiple approach. One treatment to lower the acidity. And other treatments to decrease the amount and frequency of the contents coming back up.

Reflux in babies is usually caused by an immature sphincter and not a hiatal hernia. Sometimes babies are born without e sphincter at all. Some babies have a small flap and some have flaps that grow a little and end up covering the area as it should.

since there is no good way to find out which case it is, docs generally start by propping them, using rice cereal to make the formula heavier, changing formulas etc.... If that doesn't work, they add oral meds and continue doing the others.

Maybe mom just doesn't understand how serious it is?

[littlemissmuffet]

That's just it, we don't know for sure. But it appears as if mom doesn't care.... And enough to lie about it too, a parent lying is a term offense for me. A last resort though.

My main focus would be e fact that if the baby has the symptoms the OP says, it isn't simply a mild case of reflux. Any reflux, even a mild case, CAN cause damage. The damage can go from mild to severe. Depending on the amount and acidity oh of the stomach acid that comes up.

The oral meds that treat it doesn't really affect the actual act of spitting up. The goal is to LOWER the amount and caustic nature of the contents that are coming up. Things like rice cereal and propping baby are what helps what goes down stay down. Generally there is a multiple approach. One treatment to lower the acidity. And other treatments to decrease the amount and frequency of the contents coming back up.

Reflux in babies is usually caused by an immature sphincter and not a hiatal hernia. Sometimes babies are born without e sphincter at all. Some babies have a small flap and some have flaps that grow a little and end up covering the area as it should.

since there is no good way to find out which case it is, docs generally start by propping them, using rice cereal to make the formula heavier, changing formulas etc.... If that doesn't work, they add oral meds and continue doing the others.

Maybe mom just doesn't understand how serious it is?

Yes, WE don't know. Maybe mom does... she is, afterall, the child's mother.

One of my dd's NICU docs insisted her reflux was bad enough that she required meds. After weeks of us testing out propping her up, giving her smaller feeds, etc and seeing that the reflux was reduced greatly then we realized she didn't NEED the meds - that were basically only causing her to barf, instead of spit up. We spoke to the other NICU docs, her ped and our family doctor all of whom agreed our dd shouldn't have been put on meds (that have their own set of complications!) before trying other things first.

SO... that being said, no two doctors diagnose and prescribe the same. The doc could have easily diagnosed the child with reflux and went straight to writing a script without having the mom try alternative methods first.

My dd was spitting up ALL DAY LONG, changing clothes 4-6 times, etc - seemed very serious, until we learned that holding her uprgiht after feeds and having her sleep on a slight incline would help

I do very much inderstand what you are saying - however, the OP gave us such little information to go on that we simply cannot jump to the conclusion that this baby's case of reflux (if that's even what it is... infants are often mistakenly diagnosed with relux when they have a simple allergy to milk proteins) is being IGNORED or mistreated by the mother.

Though I am inclined to agree that this mom could be lying about the spitting up notoccuring at home - it might not be... my kiddo did the majority of her spitting up and gagging during morning and afternoon feeds. Night feeds were a breeze... mom might truly not see what's happening like the DC provider is.

[littlemissmuffet]

The reality is, the OP needs to discuss this issue with the mother - ask questions - if she's tried other methods, why she doesn't want to use meds, if she deals with most of the feedings when the child is home (or is it dad, grandma, etc).