Dear Jay,
        I am always impressed when I hear of parents, especially young
parents, who stick up for their kids and go that extra mile for them.
        The big difference between what your son went through and what the
vast majority of big time spitter uppers go through is that your son's
condition worsened with time and was indeed a true medical problem.
        The "reflux" I have a problem with is that every baby that spits up
more than a couple of times is being labeled with a "problem" and offered
drugs or cereal or formula or all of the above. Just as the problem was
ignored by your HCP, the issue often gets over "diagnosed" and over
"treated" when neither are necessary. When is spitting up just spitting up
and when is it "reflux?" That is the bottom line and I think that line has
been seriously blurred in the last few years.
        Obviously any baby that spits up 'profusely' (how much and how often
is profuse?) and has trouble gaining weight needs to be followed to either
treat for serious problems (like pyloric stenosis) if the condition worsens
or be thankful when it disappears from their lives due to normal development.
        The real problem with "reflux" today seems to be the diagnosing of
it far too frequently. I should have put "reflux" in quotes each time I used
it to indicate the difference between a real GI problem and normal infant
behavior.
        I trust your son is now doing well? He's got one great lady for a mom!
Anne E. Robb, MAT, LLLL
Off on a Tangent, Oregon, USA
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