you may remember i had huge problems with courtney and constipation to which we ended up changing her milk!! At he same time of milk change we ran out of gaviscon...!!

Her reflux is so so bad... I cant express it enough!! Its constant! And she is often uncomfortable cos of it!! Friday we got some more gaviscon and sickiness is better all though still there... like 2 hours after a feed!! But Im now adament that it was the gaviscon that made her constipated!! its now gone back to like it was before!! Her wingy, crying and little pooey nappies!! Infact had one today but it was just a round hard thing not like her super pooey runny nappies i had last week!! Just as I thought I now had a happy good baby this happens!! Its not helping that im feelin so down about my self I cant sleep at nights (when she sleeps, although I wonder how long that will last) so Im getting very down!!

Sack waiting till 6 months to ween courtney, milk obviously doesnt agree with her!!

Have you thought about maybe trying her on Soya?

Weaning her I don't think will solve the problem as she will still need lots of formula.

My boy was on a medication for colic called Buscupan and that definitely made him constipated so I'm sure its possible that Gaviscon does the same.

Do you not have a HV or someone you can chat to about the problem?

Gaviscon definitely causes constipation. When we were giving it to Gabriel as his only medication it was really bad and it didn't seem to help the reflux. Now he's on other meds the constipation has stopped. One of them (domperidone) apparently counteracts the constipation. He is so much better now. I know he still has some pain but the sickness has reduced dramatically.

Have you been back to the doctor? Are you seeing a paediatrician?

thanks guys I def need to get her sorted to see the doc again!! I think Im gonna scrap the gaviscon until I see them cos id prefer alot of sick etc than her screaming in agony cos of the constipation!!

But it is something that needs to be sorted out cos she doesnt gain weight very well as shes bringing it all back up!

I am so sorry you are having a hard time because of your baby's reflux. It is so hard - I have been there. re. the not sleeping, is it because you are worried about your baby??? if so, I can highly recommend an under-mattress movement sensor pad for peace of mind. they cost abo9ut 50 quid though.

definitely take her back to the doctors and press, press, press for a referral. Docs tend to think reflux is a minor inconvenience but it can be awful for both baby and parents. Or for a prescription of either/ both: domperidone (helps food move through digestive system quicker); ranitidine (This is an antacid - neutralises stomach acid, so it doesn't burn as much and cause as much pain when it comes back up). Some docs will try and tell you that these drugs can only be prescribed by a paedeatrician, but in actual fact all docs are at liberty to prescribe these meds off-license for babies if they think it is warranted. referrals can take ages so if you have a sympathetic GP, see if they can give you something stronger than gaviscon.

oh, and second the stuff about gaviscon causing constipation - it is awful for that. You can try carobel, which is a natural alternative and is available on order from boots. It is made by cow and gate, and is supposed not to cause the same probs with constipation.

reflux is sometimes linked to intolerance to cows' milk protein. In which case, you may need a hydrolised (partially broken down) formula. Soy formula might not do the trick as many babies whose reflux is caused by cows' milk protein are also intolerant to soy.

Lucy

Thanks lucy thats loads of help!! Ive had wondered in the past whether she has an intolerance to lactose!! My friends baby had this and courtney behaves the same sort of way!!

Im seeing my doc tomorrow and Im going to press it!! Her constant crying etc really takes its toll on me!! I hate seeing her in pain

True lactose (milk sugar/ carbohydrate) intolerance is rare - much more likely to be the protein in the milk.

Like I said, really sorry you are having a hard time: will you let me know how you get on? Having a new baby is hard enough, but a new baby with reflux is 10 times harder. Don't let em tell you it is just colic!

Lucy

This is the first time i have visited this site and it has been a tremendous help to read your posts. i've got a 3 year old that has had awfull constipation for about 8 months - just about the time that we started using gaviscon. i will be seeing my gp tomorrow to discuss your suggestions
thanks again for your help

We had/have exactly the same problem. Our GP told us the Gaviscon doesn't cause constipation and we weren't giving him enough water when I was under the impression that he shouldn't be having anything but milk.... anyways, we tried extra water, even juice and it did nothing but as soon as we stopped the Gaviscon his reflux came back twice as bad. Max's problem isn't really his being sick, I mean he still is a lot, but he puts weight on well. It's more the writhing around in agony when he gets 2oz into a bottle and choking on acid reflux for up to 2 hours after a bottle and the coughing and screaming!

Our 3rd doctor asked to see him straight after a bottle without Gaviscon and agreed he had a bad problem and gave us ranitidine, which didn't help at all and actually made him scream more, but he started poohing again! He's now on Gaviscon again and is able to finish his bottles but we also have lactulose to help him pooh. We try not to use it until he's really bad as we don't want his bowels to get lazy. We also tried switching to soy milk which didn't change anything. We're being prompted by the GP and HV to start weaning early, rice at 3 months, purees at 4 months but we're trying everything else possible before we even consider that!

I feel for you, reflux has been an absolute nightmare and no one seems to take us seriously about how bad it is!

hi there, my baby girl summer is also on gaviscon. but i its not often when she is constipated. very rarely she gets quite a solid poo but otherwise shes normal runny poo. for me she has stopped the sickness after her bottle but still brings up bits through out the day, even ages after her bottle. have you tried a thickened milk. like number 2 hungrier babies? all gaviscon is suppose to do is to thicken the milk slightly to help settle the milk in the tummy and to stop it keep coming up. but dont put gaviscon in a thickend milk like hungrier babies. it also states that on the info leaflet in the gaviscon box. or one thing you could try is to talk her off it completely for a few days and see how she is.
Nat xx