feel like I can't go on anymore - please help

[EloysH]

Well if her problems are purely food intolerances and allergies then probably yes.  But if there is something else going then no.  The only way to find out is by going on an ED or else neocate trial.  The problem with both is that mucus takes time to settle, but hopefully the crying and sore tummy will stop quite quickly - a matter of a week or so.

 But just to warn there are mums here that have gone on neocate and still bubs are unhappy and the issue is some other medical issue or else the meds doasge isn't quite high enough for their reflux.    Just trying to say that sometimes it's not that easy.



 

[bjutka1]

I got a full 6 hrs strech of sleep last night! And a lovely seedy yellow nappy morning so I was over the moon. But since then she is the same. I got a very watery dark yellow nappy as well. This is typical of her behariour: Feeds, happy for a while then starts pulling legs up. If you hold her upright, she is happy. But then reaches a stage when even holding her upright and jiggling doesn't work anymore. She then falls asleep but doesn't stay asleep for longer than 30-45 mins (and that's in our arms or in buggy), then she wakes up, looks about for a while and starts screaming.

I am starting to think it's reflux bothering her when this is happening. Am I correct, do you think? Or more of a gut issue - that the food is making its way down in her intestines and she is hurting. Thinking of increasing the losec (she is on 5mg per day - weighs 5.6kg) - does that sound ok or too low? Doc said wait till wednesday and we will look at the dose again.

[~*~Louisa~*~]

I wanna just add in... i was reccomended to stop breast feeding Alyssas had all sorts of food issues and was failiure to thrive all of a sudden at 7 weeks she just stopped growing dropped below 0.4 and pead kept saying more bottles more bottles... I decided i would mix alternitive for the weight issues

yeah it would of easily of sorted it nothing to react to with the neocate BUT and i feel this is a huge but... what about when it comes to weaning?

I like the feeling of knowing that I can through me figure out what she is reacting to rather then weaning and her reacting terribly to something 

I have my days where i think F*** this im going to bottle feed her its easier for me easier for her but idont want to really


The other thing we have found is each food she reacts to makes the reflux 100x worse the last really super bad was when we tried Nutramigen formula for mix feeding and her reflux was getting worse by the day she was being really sick and in loads of pain

[bjutka1]

I have said this (weaning) to the allergy ppl pushing to go to formula but they said they would help me with weaning. Introduce one food at a time for 5 days and wait for reactions.

But I so wanna go on breastfeeding. I just hope this ED will work and she gets better and I won't have to give up. So scared that I will have to, though!

[EloysH]

 

I am starting to think it's reflux bothering her when this is happening. Am I correct, do you think? Or more of a gut issue - that the food is making its way down in her intestines and she is hurting. Thinking of increasing the losec (she is on 5mg per day - weighs 5.6kg) - does that sound ok or too low? Doc said wait till wednesday and we will look at the dose again.

.

The dosage range for Losec is typically 1mg/kg per day to 3mg/kg/day  (can go higher in special cases and there are plenty on here that are).  We found stability at 2.5mg/kg/day.   I think you might be right about the reflux - try to look for upper tract pain with the reflux, although lower gut pain / wind is interlaced in with reflux and food intolerances, immature gut, etc

[~*~Louisa~*~]

The thing is... NO ONE can tell you how to feed your children!

We are in a bad situation here that my DD isnt gaining weight right, so the constant suggestion of stoppng feeding is more of a fairy on in there eyes we HAVE to drop another breast feed for formula to see if it does help because if we dont then we are not trying everything we can iykwim

but your LO is a good weight (we are 20 weeks and not even quite 5kg yet) so your breast milk is sustaining fine if your willing to do the hard work of exclution diets then dont let them bully you into it... if they try pushing it again just say to them firmly but calmly..

Look I am willing to do the work to be able to feed her, please stop suggesting formula because I feel breast is still best for my daughter.

and then it leaves no room for them to argue really

[bjutka1]

The thing is though I'm not sure what's the best thing for her any more. I am in despair again. Another day when she seemed not to stop crying. Very bad refluxing all day! Only happy upright. Doc doubled her losec to 10mg/day. But I can't get it in liquid form.

Had another two green nappies! After days of yello brown ones! One had a little drop of blood! Why is this happening? All I had was rice, rice milk, lamb, pears and turkey with potatoes today. The potatoes were little and had the skin on them. Hubby tells me I wasn't meant to have the skin. Is that right? Have I messed everything up?

[~*~Louisa~*~]

you should peel them but you havent messed everything up a tiny slip doesnt end the world we have had a screaming baby cause I ate a smidge of salad cream in a sandwhich but tomorrows a new day

deep down you know whats best for her its just when things are like this you can find it hard to realise it iykwim

If you think that maybe Formula feeding will solve all your problems give it a go try it for a few days and see just make sure you pump when you would of fed or take fengu*something* when you start again to make sure your supplys fine

and then maybe thats what you need to do to see whats right for you?

I personally am thinking of stopping for a week and pumping and seeing if theres a difference though mines for weight not food issues and then we will know one way or another iykwim

[bjutka1]

I understand! I would probably do the same, except that she hasn't taken the neocate. I'm dreading if I have to go down that route eventually, how she is gonna be, all crying again...

Seriously, she would have green poos and blood just because I haven't peeled the spuds? Can't believe this.

[~*~Louisa~*~]

It might not be the spuds!! it takes weeks for things to get our of the system i think for sals its upto 4 weeks

and it can come and go in that time!

please dont beat yourself up... so hard not to do it we all do

I dont know the levels in unpeeled spuds i just know on my lists it all says peel them so it might not of made a difference iywim

[~*~Louisa~*~]

Have you tried mixing breast milk with the neocate btw? expressing and mixing?

[EloysH]

blood might be the result of constipation and fissures of her poos are hard.  otherwise, blood is sually from a long build up i.e weeks of eating an intolerant food.  You would see mucus, the more mucus, then strings, then more strings, then after more damage - blood.   Sometimes poos can go straight to blood but I woiuld think the blood is more about what was eaten a few weeks ago as opposed to 24 hours.

 Again, it takes aroudn 4 weeks for symptoms to settle (if they are caused my food chemicals)... I know it will feel like an eternity!

[bjutka1]

I'm expressing at the moment once a day (not everyday do I get the chance, though) and giving it to her in a bottle. Want her to get used to the bottle before I mix it with neocate.

Eloise, what was the thickener you used? Doc says I can't use one because I'm breastfeeding.

Sweet potato and zuccini is not on the list of the failsafe diet - can I still eat them?

Would you mind giving me a few suggestions for lunch and dinner as well? Brekkie ideas were great! I am dairy, eggs, wheat, nuts and citrus fruit free. Plus I need low sals - I think she is reacting to them.

[~*~Louisa~*~]

Gaviscon infant can be used when breast feeding, you have to make it up with some water and then give it before you feed, ive been given it with all three children when breastfeeding

[EloysH]

I should clarify - there are various versions you can do of the RPAH elimination diet 
1. Strict
2. Moderate
3. Simple

"Failsafe" refers to the strict version where one only eats for the "low" foods.  in the moderate version, one eats lows and omderate chemical foods, and in the simple approach only the "very highs" are excluded but all other foods are eaten.  On all, 1,2&3 no preservatvies or additives are eaten.    It is up to you on which allergins you exclude out fo dairy/soy/egg/wheat/nut/fish.  For those who are breastfeeding babies that have reflux and colic. mucuus poos, rash bottoms and unsettled the standard advice it to exlcude all allergins but eat at the moderate level for the natural food chemicals (amines, glutamates and salicylates) .

The reason for moderate is that the alot can get away with this and it is exponentially easier to last on the diet if you can have the range of foods in the moderate category. For the hungry breastfeeding moether the low approach is very very hard. I felt it important to eat fresh salmon (moderate sals) for the good fats, as the only other fats are coming from rice bran oil, canloa oil and sunflower oil and animal fats from meat.  Having said all that I had to limit my mderate to one serve of moderate every 2 days for a little while just to get him to symptom free, then go back to one serve every day. A few months later I was on unrestricted moderate.

I used Karicare Food thickener available in Australia.  If you are in the US the one to use is simply thick however check that it doesn't have preservatives in it 

There are loads of recipes on the fed up food intolerance network:

http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/recipes.htm