After taking my daughter to see the third GI Specialist, things started to get better within 2.5 weeks of seeing him. He had increased the dosage of her Prevacid and Bethanchol. She was actually gaining weight and feeding wasn't much of a struggle anymore, although there were a few fussy feeding periods. Then for the past 2 weeks, she started throwing up more - gagging during her feeds and then would throw up what looks like the entire feeding. Now she fights her feeds and would eat only 1 oz. I would try to reintroduce it 1/2 an hour later, and she'll gag and throw up or after finishing the remanider, she'll throw it up. I called her GI Specialist and was told that babies this age (she's 5.5 months old) become much more mobile and therefore will throw up more. If she continues to vomit and loses weight then she will have a scope study done. However, my daughter is throwing up during her feeds. Is this normal now that she is a little older? She barely threw up for 2.5 months, and now it's starting up all over again.
I had tried thickening her formula up before, but she would eat very little as it seemed like she would get fuller faster. She's now on Nutramigen AA - an amino acid based formula, and was told to stay on it, just in case she has allergies. I'm so worried b/c she only has had about 10 oz in her all day today and it's 8:30 PM...I'm estimating this amount to take into account her vomit.
When things looked like it was getting better, I'm back to not only dealing with her not wanting to eat but also her gagging and throwing up... HELP!
Hello Chloe's Mom,
What a long journey you are on. I am sure you are feeling frustrated and worn out at this point. I wonder if your daughter has been checked by the pediatrician since the recent increase in vomiting. I think it is important to rule out a common illness such as a cold, ear infection, throat infection, etc. My daughter always had a worsening of her reflux symptoms with ANY illness and it took a long time after the illness was gone before her stomach felt better. Constipation can also cause a worsening of the reflux. I wonder if this is a concern for her too.
Often solids stay in the stomach better than liquids. Would it be possible to offer smaller, more frequent meals? separating baby food meals from a bottle so the food can settle. I imagine you are already doing that-it sounds like you are really doing an amazing job.
It sounds like your GI doctor is on top of this by adjusting the medication and trying one adjustment at a time.
Take care,
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom