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Why Aren't My Baby's Reflux Medications Working?

baby's reflux meds not working

 

You've spent weeks or months at your wits end with an uncomfortably and crying baby. Then your doctor hands you what you believe is your Golden Ticket out of this mess. But - those reflux meds they handed you aren't working. Your baby is still crying, still uncomfortable, and now you can't see any way out of this.

 

What do you do if your baby's reflux medication isn't working?

With 60%* of babies diagnosed with reflux, silent reflux, colic, CMPA and various other food allergies or intolerances still having symptoms with the medications, I believe there has to be a better question to result in better outcomes for these babies and their families.

Reflux does not just impact the baby; it has a massive impact on the whole family. Regardless of who looks after the baby, typically, there is a lot of time that parents don't spend together. The trials of coping with a screaming baby all day long take its toll on any carer who introduces stress into their life that typically gets re-channelled and re-directed at an unwitting partner, or an unsuspecting stranger, or an innocent mother-in-law.

There has to be something else going on.  

Now, I believe in finding the root cause of something. I believe that as far as possible, in treating the cause of the symptoms and not just hiding the symptoms, the underlying problem rarely gets resolved in this instance. 

This has been ingrained in me from how I dealt with professional clients in the corporate world and also in the way I have been trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine to see how I can treat my patients as few times as possible and have them never need to come back to me because we find and resolve the root cause.

For my girls, this way was food.

 

 

My reflux experience

By the time my eldest was diagnosed and offered medication for her silent reflux symptoms, I figured I'd been through the worst of it. And the medication was not going to resolve the reflux; it was going to deal with the symptoms.  

I knew a lot about how food interacted with the adult body by that stage of life (after 4 years of changing my own life through food alone). 

I reckoned things couldn't get any worse. I gave myself 6 weeks to try food, and then I would give meds if things continued as they were with no improvement or getting worse. 

 With that deal with myself, I started keeping a detailed food and symptom diary for me and Sunflower. Then, I started an elimination diet

On returning to basic foods, I saw a noticeable difference. And by introducing new foods slowly, I was able to pinpoint problems and avoid them easily.  

3 weeks later, I had a different daughter. Not to mention, on the way to shedding my own baby weight, which had been hanging around for 7+ months despite my breastfeeding. And I don't share these foods because this would be detrimental to anyone else who is as desperate as I was... there's a structure that I have discovered and connections that I teach you in the Breastfeeding Masterclass.

 

So, what approach to elimination diets do I take?

Everything I learned is a way of approaching food for babies. I also have a very different list of risky foods for babies, including apples and pears, and all types of baby cereal, food typically on the standard list of baby's first foods. There are good reasons behind the difference in my list from a scientific point of view. For some babies, food is the answer. It could be something that isn't food, though - there are over 30 causes of infant reflux.

In the 'Reflux Free Baby' Workshop, I walk you through all the symptoms you need to observe and record for your baby, what they mean, and how to use them as clues. The course is suitable for both bottle-feeding and breastfed babies who are suffering from baby reflux. It is also covered in The Baby Reflux Lady’s Survival Guide, where I also have a full chapter devoted to supporting breastfeeding mums of babies with reflux. There are loads of formulas, too.

I tell you what the clues mean individually and when they occur with other groups of symptoms. 

And this leads us to be able to say what is causing each baby's reflux with much more confidence. 

Based on this, I tell you what specific action to take for them.

To get your baby free from their reflux as quickly as possible, sign up now. You will have your answer within an hour.

Áine x

 

What has been your experience with reflux medications?

I am keen to capture the experience of more families around reflux medications, their use, the prescribing habits of doctors and the effectiveness they have. Would you take 2 minutes of your time to complete this short survey about your baby's prescription medication experiences?

 

 

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*Data from the Reflux Survey designed and managed by Áine Homer.

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