Could it be...?

I was speaking to some other mother's today, and they have both had children who have had issues with reflux. One of them mentioned seeing some pictures/videos of children who sleep with their backs and necks arched back. These children suffer from silent reflux.

Hmm. Andy and I have both noticed that Linc has often slept in that contorted position. We always just thought that it was a funny little quirk, but these other moms got me wondering if maybe it was a symptom of something more...

So, I looked up "silent reflux" online for some other signs and symptoms. He had enough of them to basically confirm that this could be something that he has been suffering from for a long long time. Previously we had been blaming his seizures and seizure meds for everything, but if you look at his symptoms excluding those as the cause, then it looks to be entirely possible that reflux is the root of this particular set of problems... So, I called the pedi, he agreed with me, and we were given a month's worth of Prevacid to try.

Here are the signs/symptoms that he has...
Sleeps with back/neck arched: Funny little quirk? Or reflux?
Only takes cat naps (45min or less): Seizures interrupt sleep? Or reflux?
Eats small meals/snacks: Seizure meds decrease appetite? Or reflux?
Sleeps better in arms on pillows: More soothing after seizures interrupt sleep? Or reflux?
Restless sleep during night: Seizures? Or reflux?
Frequent waking during night: Seizures interrupt sleep? Or reflux?
Often wakes crying/screaming: Seizures scare/upset him? Or reflux?
Doesn't self soothe back to sleep: Seizures scare/upset him? Or reflux?
Gets frequent hiccups: Funny little quirk? Or reflux?
Gags easily when sneezes/burps/chokes on food: Just a baby/teething thing? Or reflux?
Recent frequent vomiting w/ increased feeds: Teething/Illness? Or reflux?

Here is the neck arched position from when he was 6 weeks old. He didn't do it often back then, but has done it a lot since he was about 9 months old. It has improved somewhat in recent months, possibly because he has been sleeping with his head slightly elevated on a pillow.



I guess we will find out within the month if this "Silent reflux" and Prevacid pan out to be anything. Honestly, I really hope that this is the answer, because we are really struggling with feeding him more calories. It is quite the battle each and everyday, all day long. And wouldn't it be wonderful if a little antiacid is the answer to so many of our feeding/appetite/weight issues, not to mention all of the sleep struggles, that we have been facing for so long?