The Reflux Blog

Dear Fiona, 

I want to let you know that I hear you, and yes, like you said, you know I too had a pretty shitty time and so I thank you for reaching out to me.

I will share a few things with you... firstly, it took me three years of denial, snappiness, grumpy "I'm-just-tired" remarks, and quite frankly emotional abuse (I lambasted hubby about leaving a packet of wipes open in front of his...

In every village, in every county and state babies are screaming.

They are screaming for help.

Screaming for someone to listen.

Their parents listen, they hear their pain. They can do nothing about it.

Or can they?

Our evidence-based medical world has decided in that a baby with colic or reflux is normal.

They have decided that it is normal to projectile vomit after every meal.

That it...

“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring....”

words that give a magical tingle to any parent anticipating the excitement of Christmas morning when their children wake to see their stockings at the end of the bed, yet for many parents those words couldn’t be further from the truth and there has been plenty of stirring going on...

A...

Okay so I’m going to start from the very beginning. I gave birth on 24th of May 2018 at 6:46 am in Montreal Canada. After being in labour with my water broken since 9 am on 23rd of May. 22 hours of labour, with no epidural. No drugs. Not cause I’m champ I have back surgery and I can’t take an epidural - I’m allergic to laughing gas. I have scoliosis so my pain was at one...

I'm afraid that this isn’t something that your doctor will ever tell you, yet there are many, many babies out there who’s parents will tell you that either they didn’t have reflux until their jabs or that their baby’s reflux got markedly worse after jabs.

Some babies with reflux will get worse with vaccinations and others won’t be affected at all.

...

Maybe its being Irish, maybe its the complete frustration I feel when another mum replays her last conversation with the doctor about her baby's reflux. 

It's time to stop lying to ourselves.

It's time to stop believing that everything a doctor says is true because they are a doctor.

Sorry, this is not the case, and you probably know this already in your heart but are scared to admit it...

Reflux

A disease that no parent wants to learn about. A condition that no baby needs to suffer through.

We are told “reflux is normal”.

It is not.

It is common.

It is not normal.

It affects about 40% of babies in Ireland and the UK. 50% in the USA.

Contrary to the medical definition, Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease, (GORD) is a symptom and not a disease. Reflux has no underlying...

If I was to write to myself 10-years ago, I honestly don’t know what I would say.

In terms of the facts of life that would unfold, it would go along the lines:  

“You’re going to have a baby, hate being mum, feel a complete failure at it, develop postnatal depression that lasts for 3 years.

But it’s okay, you’re going to be grand...eventually.

Actually,...

It really is time to call time on so many myths about reflux, colic and food allergies in babies.

I believe that these myths are more doing far more harm than good. They let the medics off the hook for treating babies properly, they allow longer term suffering to continue and they completely ignore the knock-on effects to a mothers mental health, the emotional health of her partner and the...

Histamines. Something we are starting to hear more and more about in relation to reflux.

I was first confused as to why some babies with reflux were being prescribed piraton, citrizine and ketotifen. All these medications are anti-histamines of one sort or another, and I could not figure out why they were being prescribed to help babies with reflux.

When I spoke to my local friendly pharmacist,...