Silent Acid Reflux: My Toddler's Life with GERD
Dealing with Pediatric Acid Reflux Through a Mother's Perspective
Acid reflux has turned our life into one long roller coaster. My son Mason not only has acid reflux, but other GI issues as well. He has been constipated since he was a baby. When Mason has a bad spell of acid reflux and constipation issues, I often find myself feeling depressed and angry. When he was an infant, I was constantly told not to worry; most babies outgrow these issues by the age of 1. When there was no improvement, I was told he'd be sure to outgrow it by 2. Now at almost 3 years old, I am told this may be lifelong for him. As a mother, it's very frustrating to watch your son have pain. I get angry that my son is still dealing with this as a toddler when so many others outgrow it. But then I also feel thankful because I know it can always be worse.
What most people don't understand is that reflux has many different degrees of severity. Most babies have a mild form of reflux that is either treatable by some lifestyle changes or a mild medication. Other children have reflux so severe that they have to have multiple surgeries and be fed through a tube. It's even more frustrating to meet other parents who blow off your child's condition as trivial. Once when I was picking up Mason's prescription of Prevacid, a woman in front of me turned around and told me, "Oh, you shouldn't medicate your child like that. Just give him a glass of vinegar and water and that's all you need for acid reflux." Gee, why didn't I think of that?
Unfortunately, treating my toddler's sympomts is not that easy. Mason has Silent Acid Reflux. Silent acid reflux means the acid washed up through his esophagus but he doesn't throw it up. One thing I have learned over the years is that I can easily spot when Mason is refluxing. When he was first born I had no idea what was wrong with. Now I can spot a refluxer a mile away. It's especially worse when Mason moves around. I can hear the acid wash up into his mouth and he will either start choking or swallow it back down.
Luckily we found a great pediatric GI doctor early on who put Mason on Prevacid. The Prevacid doesn't stop him from refluxing, but it does stop the pain for him. Prevacid isn't for every child, but for us it was out miracle drug. Still, I hate that I have to medicate my child so much. I hear often from new mothers about how they never medicate their children and take fully natural approaches. I hate these comments because those natural approaches never worked on Mason. I've tried them all. They also make me feel like a bad mother, as if it's a terrible thing to give your child medications. I also have a huge fear that the Prevacid will stop working on my toddler. I just can't bear the thought of him being in the extreme pain that he was as an infant. I'm terrified of him ever needing the surgery for acid reflux. But I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
Mason also has terrible constipation. He takes the medication Miralax for the constipation which has been great. Unfortunately, it's tough to keep Mason's bowels regular. So my toddler either has diarrhea or constipation. Because of these issues, he has learned to hold his poop. He's learned that having a bowel movement causes pain so he holds onto it to avoid hurting which makes the problem worse. Diet changes have made no difference for Mason so it's a constant battle with the medication to keep him regular. When things get bad, I am forced to take action by giving him baby liquid Fleet suppositories. They make him go and clear him out, but trying to administer this to a screaming toddler is heartbreaking for both of us.
I've often asked myself, "Why?". Why does my son have these issues? Mason has had an upper GI, a swallow study, blood tests, and a barium enema. None of these tests haven given us any indication of why he has these GI problems. AAnd all of the testing has caused my toddler to have a very real fear of doctors. At this point, we only bring him in when it's absolutely necessary. We are considering a blood test for food allergies, but will probably wait until he is older to ease his fears.
As a mother of a toddler with acid reflux, I've learned one important rule. There are no absolutes when it comes to silent reflux. I don't know whether Mason will have this for life or if he will outgrow it. At this point, I'm tired of hoping for him to outgrow it. Now I only hope that his Prevacid continues to work and he will never need surgery. And if he does, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
If there is one thing I would love readers to learn from my story, it is compassion. If you know someone with a child suffering from reflux, don't assume it's a minor issue and that simple diet change is enough. Don't assume a natural approach is enough to fix all reflux children. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fantastic when a natural approach is enough. But some reflux children need medication. And some reflux children need surgery and feeding tubes. And reflux is ALWAYS heart-wrenching for the mother.
The best thing you can do for a mother of a reflux child is to be supportive. Offer to help her out by babysitting or making her dinner. Especially a mommy with an infant with acid reflux. It can be overwhelming to have a new baby who rarely sleeps and always screams.
As for my toddler and I, we will just continue to go day by day and hope that things get better. In some ways they are better. We have adapted to the "acid reflux life". My son has no pain and he now sleeps which is a far cry better than his infant days. My son is a happy boy and brings so much joy to my life. You can't ask for better than that!
Published by Bonnie Creevy
Bonnie is a mom to 2 teenagers and a 5 year old which makes life interesting for her. She is also an ophthalmic technician and a photographer, a theme park addict, and also loves to write. View profile
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- Acid Reflux Causes Choking in Newborn Babies
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32 Comments
Post a CommentMy som is 3 years old and has had acid reflux since birth he went to see a GI specialist and they did a Lap Nissan and and that helped with the acid refluz a lot
Reading this is my life story. My child just turned 3 and she takes Prevacid, Zanta, Priolose, and Reaglan for silent acid reflux. It is horrible when your child doesnt want to eat or drink because they know it was hurt.
i too have the same problem with my 2 year old daughter. we too have been on prevacid since she was about 2 months old.the next step with our GI is to have the scope ran down her throat. yes as a mother when your child goes through the spells of this you just want to hold them and comfrot them and when she is having a spell i can not touch her she just screams and cries it is sad cause you cant do nothing for them.
Reading this has made me tear up. To hear that other's actually know what I'm talking about with my 13mth old son just made me speechless. I'm calling our gastro doctor tomorrow and going to make him listen to me. This article is exactly everything my son is going through and they are blaming the constipation for his acid and only giving him miralax. He sounds like he is drowning at times. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
My 8yr old daughter has just been dignosed with silent acid reflux she suffers stomach pain and has since she was born the doctors told me she had colic and now I find out that this is what she has had all along I feel horrible that she has suffered with this for 8 years she has been in so much pain. It has helped me to read all of your comments and this story I felt so alone before I read this thank you!!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story.. how is your son now?? I have a toddler with the same condition, who is 2 years and 4 months old now but he has had problems since the day he was born. Was your son born early? My son was born in week 37. He has had a hernia operation when he was 1 month old and we thought this will make him better but it didn't. Until now he has the same problems. Alternating between constipation and diarrhea but actually constipated most of the time, poor digestion, poor weight gain. he gets so mad when he has to burp and he literally needs to burp all day long. Lately I started feeling it's not just burp, but that something actually comes out which he quickly gets back with all the force he can. He is so mad he bites and slaps and jumps around and has developed some bad behavior because of it. He has sleep problems and can only eat very small meals at a time. He has lots of gas issues. I tried a lot of things and following different paths with no lu
I see this is older and you may never get this comment but after reading this I just wanted to say Thank you! Thank you for sharing your story. Reminding me that I am not alone. My son was diagnosed with silent reflux at 4 weeks (he is now 13 months). He too has issues with constipation. It truly is heartbreaking to see your child suffer. I cried while reading this because you have described everything we are going through and my feelings exactly! So many people view this as such a small issue but the moms of those toddlers/children with reflux know better! It is HARD. Its and endless rollercoaster. I cant count how many nights I have sat up with him just praying that one day he would not have to deal with this. The only thing that has gets me through these rough times with him is the support of others and understanding.
YOur article was helpful yet scary. I have a 7 month old who has terrible gas at night and wakes up screaming. It all started at age 2 months when she stopped having BM's. We were told this was normal for breastfed babies. Doctors have dismissed it all (including GI specilist) saying it is an immature digetstive tract and she will outgrow it. We reserached and discovered silent reflux may be the culprit and she is now on prevacid. It worked great the first 3 - 4 nights but has not helped since. She also takes miralax daily to go to the bathroom. It is horrible not knowing how to help your baby or why they are in so much pain. She is the happiest little thing during the day....but at night she is a different child. Thank you for sharing your story and I am sorry that your son continues to deal with these issues. Having to medicate your child is soemthing most parents try to avoid. I resisted miralax for months for fear she will become dependent on it. Now I just want he
my son is 8 and has suffered since birth with reflux. we are currently on prevacid 2x a day and zantac 2x a day. I am so terrified of cancer that I can't think straight sometimes. my heart aches for him as he has reflux constantly throughout the day. Our doctor has two more tests to perform and then we are going to talk with the pediatric surgeon about surgery. My son is a trooper, but I'm not doing as well. I feel so badly for him that it hurts. Has anybody out there had the surgery? I am willing to try anything, the prevacid doesn't work, the zantac, or the prilosec. I am at a loss.
Thank you for sharing your story. I could probably publish an entire story myself if I shared my familie's story so plz don't think I don't want to share, but I really wanted to say thank you. Their are mothers and then there are mommies. Mommies would walk on glass, in the middle of a battlefield, while juggling to ensure their child's health and happiness. We are always the ones frantically worried about doing all the right things for our children while the "mothers" think that raising kids is no bid deal because they just don't care enough. From one mommie to another, You are AWESOME! We don't take good days for granted and we know how to get our kiddos through the bad days. I would give all of my appendages to make my son's gerd go away, but in lieu, I am thankful to be strong enough to get him through it.