reflux/,milk allergy? fussy baby help LONG

Ds is 4 mo. i breast feed, he gets bottles when i'm at work- 3x a week, i pump. anyhow, hes always been a fussy nurser, pops on and off, wiggles around. i thought he was jsut a fussy nurser. also, very gassy. he was slightly better with bottles, but still wiggles and fusses. Hes been spitting up since birth- i mean, with every feed, in between, before, after, you name it. so obvioulsy he has some reflux, i wasnt medicating since he seemed ot be fine.
anyhow, for t he past 2-3 weeks, hes been spitting up a LOT. he has also started arching- he basically nurses almsot upside down, with his head way back. and does the same with the bottle. he has also gone from sleeping 8-9 hours to getting up ever 3 hours, and wanting to nurse- its killing me. he used ot take 5 ounces in a bottle, now we're at 3.5-4. HOWEVER- thing is, sometimes hes fine- nurses fine, takes bottle fine. then i think i'm overreacting, and why should i medicate him unnecessarily?
also- he has excema on both cheeks- red and rough. not horroble, but there. i dont remember how longs hes had- maybe a month? maybe 2?
so- ped said i should try maaloc for a few days, if doesnt help, he'll put him on zantac. said the reflux can start irritating him after awhile, even though i thoguht it would be bad form birth if it was going to be bad.
BUT- after i left ped- i thought, do you think this can be a milk allergy, all the fussines and spitting up, combined with the excema? ped didnt even mention anythign about allergies. hes not on any solids yet, btw.
do you think i should try cutting out milk first? or jsut start him on zantac?

Message edited 11/18/2009 9:34:19 PM.

Re: reflux/,milk allergy? fussy baby help LONG

you should call your ped back and ask him to test DS's diaper for a milk allergy. If he can't then aske for a GI referral. It's a super quick test they do right in the office and you'll have your answer right away. The arching the back also sounds like reflux so I think medication will help. I learned from DS's GI specialist that Zantac is not the the right medicine even though it is what is typically prescribed by pediatricians. It "helps" reflux in the sense that it kills the gas and acid that makes them uncomfortable, so people think that it's working. But a medication like Prevacid actually is an acid inhibitor, meaning it prevents the acid from even coming. So if you get a GI referall and it's determined that your LO does have reflux, I'd ask for Prevacid or another acid inhibitor. If he does test positive for a milk allergy, you'll have to go on a dairy free diet if you want to continue BFing, it takes about 2 weeks for the dairy to leave your system.

Re: reflux/,milk allergy? fussy baby help LONG

I agree that you should have the diaper tested.....if there is no milk allergy and LO is still symptomatic I would definitely consult with a ped. GI. (Love Dr. Gold in Babylon if you are nearby)

The medication issue is best determined by a GI. Zantac is usually the first line of defense in treating refluxers and it worked beautifully for my son. Dr. Gold did not want to precsribe Prevacid unless the Zantac did not work. There have been quite a few threads about that very topic.

Good Luck!!!!

Re: reflux/,milk allergy? fussy baby help LONG

It sounds alot like what my DD was doing and she was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy. She couldn't tolerate Alimentum and had to be put on prescription Neocate formula. Even on the Alimentum she had the arching back and very fussy feedings, which seem to be better since being on neocate. I agree with everyone that you should try and get them tested for a milk protein allergy.