Is alimentum better than nutramigen?

[veronica]

DS started with blood in his stool at 8 weeks and we cut all dairy and started with zantac for reflux. at 12 weeks, he wasn't too much improved with his discomfort although the bloody was gone. We were changed to prevacid and nutramigen and the Dr. said to pump and freeze in the meantime. After 2 days, he started to refuse to eat much more than 1 ounce (I don't blame him, that stuff stinks!). We bought Alimentum and he seems to be doing great and has eaten almost double the norm in just 24 hours. So-is this better than nutramigen or is it just my DS?

also-I can't seem to find any alimnetum in concentrate-does it exist or is is either powder or RTF?

Thanks

[Nooknookmom]

I'm not much help but when we tried DD on Alimentum, she puked so bad & it smelled so awful we almost puked too! But maybe it'll work for you I hope!

Is the prevacid helping him? DD has been on it for 2 months & it helped at first now not at all :(

[veronica]

Strange thing that he is waking up almost three times a night now instead of the previous one. DH thinks it was the change from Zantac to Prevacid since Zantac was twice a day and he would get it before bed and Prevacid is morning only. I think that it is that he is learning to eat more so maybe he is getting up more????

No clue....I just want him to be happy.

[mominmarch]

We are alimentum users. When our DD first went on it, she was a puker too! (and I almost was too, and so were our dogs, that stuff REALLY REAKS!!). But DD did get used to it after 4-5 days, no more puking and she has been on it ever since (so from 6 weeks or so, to now we are still on it at nearly 7 months). We never tried the other version because she was a Similac eater before.

We also started b/c of blood in the stool (that was not a nice discovery as she turned 1 month old).

People have mixed feelings as to whether to use the hypoallergenic formulas or give a EBF baby time to respond to you cutting out all dairy (and sometimes it takes a month or more to get over it). Since we were FF, we didn't have as much of that issue, and I was greedy for a fast answer because my DD was in such distress. To this day I don't know if she really has a dairy allergy, a dairy intolerance, or just had a bug that week and we are wasting all of this money on the hyperallergenic stuff for naught. But after a week on Allimentum, my DD was a different baby and much much happer. Even though it still smells gross, she still drinks it down, so we are still shelling out the money for it.

Good luck!

[babysophia]

Both of my DDs used hypoallergenic formulas. They both got used to the taste after just a few days. My DD1 drank either Alimentum or Nutramigen without problem (I bought whatever I had a coupon for), but DD2 only tolerates the Nutramigen. We did RTF to start, and then tried to go to powder every month or two. Apparently, the concentration of corn hydrosylates in the RTF vs powder is different, which may affect tolerability. My DD1 was not able to tolerate the powder until 10 months, and my DD2 switched over at 5-6 months. I found the concentrate in the Nutramigen, but honestly, I thought the RTF was more convenient.

Both of my DDs also used prevadic or zantac. My DD2 had no relief from the Zantac, but did much, much better on prevacid.

Every baby is different in how they tolerate meds, formulas, etc.....I hope you find what is right for yours :)

Susan

[jse107]

We used Nutramigen, but many have had success with Alimentum. It did take some time to make the adjustment from regular formula/BM. Once we did, there was a big difference.

If the meds worked at first, but stop helping, it is probably time for a dosing change. With Owen, we changed formula, then added Prilosec, then added Bethanechol (which tightens the esophogeal sphincter). It wasn't until we had all that done (including thickening feeds with soy-free cereal) that he was like a different kid!

Hang in there! So much is trial and error, but it does get better. Try infantreflux.org message boards for great BTDT support. They were my lifesavers!

[hillaryb]

DD was diagnosed with milk protein allergy are 5 weeks due to blood int eh stool. We started with Neocate and then went to the Similac version--this is just what the GI ped had to give us. She's taken both just fine. We have some Efamil (also from the GI ped) that we haven't tried yet.

One thing we've found is that we have to dilute the Similac more than instructed, we think it's too thick for her and she gets frustrated/tired before she's full.

DD is BF ( I cut out dairy and soy) so we haven't had to buy formmula yet. The dr and a nurse friend have given us samples and we've been using that. Which is good, cause I just found the powdered Alimentium at a local grocery store, can't find it at Walgreens or Walmart etc.

[CBB]

DS has reflux and is on prevacid. He is BF'd and we are supplementing with some formula. We tried both alimentum and nutramigen - he hated both. I tasted both and thought that alimentum tastes a little sweeter. Supposedly babies' taste buds aren't developed, but DS certainly prefers my BM better than the formula. Since he never was really diagnosed with milk soy protein intolerance, I just started him on Good Start. He seems to like it a little bit better.

For those of you who are using hypoallergenic formula, your insurance company may pay for the formula. Contact your insurance, you may need a letter of medical necessity from the GI doc.

HTH!

[M&Mmom]

My DD had serious tummy problems at 1 month of age so I went off all dairy. She EBF for 13 months and did great. She is truly allergic to dairy, egg and peanut.

My DS had tummy issues and bloody poo. He did not respond to my going off dairy. We started on Alimentum around 2 months and he took to it right away. After a month of pumping we tried to re introduce BM and he wanted none of it. So he has been on Alimentum for about 8 months. We use Alimentum because that's what the doctor told me to use and we didn't try anything else because DS likes it. It does smell vile though!

BTW, our insurance covers 80% of the cost because he needs it for medical reasons. I just called the doctor's office and they took care of everything. We get it delivered right to the house in 1 month supply. It actually is cheaper than buying the regular stuff at the grocery store!

[DrSally]

As to whether it's better, I think it just depends on what works for your baby. I say that if she tolerates Alimentum better, go with that. Just like regular Enfamil makes some babies gassy, or some don't like similac...
We did RTF Alimentum for the first month and DS drank it like a champ. They are really bitter b/c of the processing. He was able to do both BM and Alimentum while we were making the transition, but once he started solids, he wouldn't touch the Alimentum with a 10 ft pole. Made me glad that he took it when he was a baby.

ETA: be sure to ask for samples every time you go to the peds office. They usually have a closet full. Those small cans come in handy for travelling, and sometimes they have 8 oz cans of powder.