Colic - Hendersonville, TN

Try anthor Dr. My son is on Zantac and is doing much better. I also have his crib elevated, and have a great swing that reclines back just enough to keep him upright so he can sleep in it if he's having a rough time with his tummy. My son sleeps in a swing half the time. He's right next to me and my ped said it was okay.

Best advice is for you to get a second opinion. Go see another ped/specialist and if you aren't satisfied.. go see another one still. Good Luck

Hey C.,
There are four words I have had to repeat over and over for over ten years "This to shall pass". I have three children and we have had so many issues i do not even have time to discuss them all. i know it seems hard and that the rest of your life will be this stressfull but it won't. My oldest one screamed for over three years even into my second one being born, and all 3 of mine have had sleep issues. The ten year old still does. My three year old has just gotten better about the reflux, they had her an medicine that did not really help anyway. She would lay down at night and it was just a matter of time before she vomited every night. I basically just sat beside her waiting for her to throw up. It is finally getting better. It rotted her teeth from all of the acid she has had extensive dental work two times. I feel bad sometimes because I do not even remember when the older two were little because
we had so many issues and I was miserable and tired all of the time. I feel like I missed out on enjoying them being babies. It willl get better. I promise!

Hey C., I feel your pain, my daughter suffered from acid reflux/colic... I actually rememer her screaming for almost 8 hours straight one day when she was about three months old, it was terrible. I thought the six month mark would be it for her too, but it wasn't... she was on Zantac unitl around 6 months and then we changed her to Prevacid... we stopped giving it to her around the 10.5/11 month mark and she has been fine ever since. I did have another mom tell me her child was 12 months before she was over it, so just hang in there, it will end! Good luck!

D. R.

Hi C.! It does get better.. My Nephew is 3 weeks OLDER then my son and He had Colic/acid reflux and Heartburn and the doctor told my sister the same thing and Romero didnt start feeling better and not having to be on the meds until he was almost a year old.

C.,
I don't know about the 'too much medicine part' for the reflux but I DO know about colic!!!!!!! My daughter had it for a YEAR it seemed like! The first few months, I won't lie, it was just plain TOUGH. I tried everything, prayer, crying, talking to the nurses/doctors...finally, you wanna know what my husband and I did??? We made a tape of the vacuum cleaner running! No Kidding! It actually calmed her and she must have loved the sound of it b/c it often was our salvation and hers for sleeping! So I hope this helps. Colic can be so tough...I remember well and we couldn't go anywhere for a year b/c all she would do in the car was scream! So you are not alone. But I hope this gets better for the both of you. I know you are doing a great job and that your precious baby loves you. God will give you strength and peace. Blessings!

Some alternative methods have worked for instance child chiropractors have been known to help some children with colic. The key here is to make sure the chiropractor nows how to adjust infants but I have heard that some parents swear by it. I figure anything is worth a try when nothing is working.

Yes i agree you should get a 2nd opinion. It is likeley that your baby may have reflux. But that is alot of medication for a little one. If you havent already i would switch the formula and get me a 2nd opinion. If you are in Knoxville i will be happy to give you my babies Dr. name he is wonderful... Good luck

C.,

This may not help you because my daughter just had colic (screaming spells lasting up to three hours each night before bed with no apparent physical cause) but did not have reflux. What I figured out was that her screaming spells were related to not getting enough sleep - she would get overstimulated and unable to calm herself down. Reading Marc Weissbluth's "Health Sleep Habits, Happy Children" really helped me figure out how to manage naps and bedtimes to prevent the screaming spells at night. This may or may not help your child's particular problem but it certainly couldn't hurt. You can get the book at Amazon.com for $10 or at your local library.

Hang in there! It gets better!
S.

Hi C.-

My son and daughter both had reflux. My son is one year old and they started him at 3 months on Zantac, Prilosec and Prevacid (not all at the same time). Prevacid is the only one that worked for him. Zantac is the only one that worked for my daughter. This experience is typical for one med to work better than another, just as with adults. Adding Reglan to the mix is not uncommon, either.

According to our doctor, *A LOT* of babies outgrow reflux by 6 months, *MOST* by 1 year. If not, allergies, etc. need to be investigated. That is what we're doing now. Allergies to milk protein can cause gastric upset and reflux, according to our son's Pediatric Gastroenterologist.

My advice: If you are concerned, seek a second opinion. If you are comfortable with your son's pediatrician, ask for a referral to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. The gastro doc is the one who has training with reflux and the damage it can do if not controlled.

PS- it is not abnormal for dosages to be increased as your baby grows. My daughter was on Zantac liquid and we had to adjust it about every 2-3 months. My son in on Prevacid solutabs and we used to give him 7.5 mg twice a day, but we recently had to go up to 7.5 mg in the am and 15 mg at bedtime. Dosages are generally a range of amounts specific to a child's weight at the time.

Hope this helps. I know it can be hard to watch your little one in pain. My son's ped gastro doc said the ultimate goal is not to stop the reflux, because that is impossible to stop completely. The goal is to have a "happy erupting volcano". The meds just neutralize the stomach acids, which decreases the damage to your little one's throat, which decreses his pain. All in all, both of my children were much happier on these types of medications.....

Please let us know what happens.

If you are questioning your doctor's decision, yes, get a second opinion. I personally got fed up dealing with pediatricians and took my kids to my family doctor. I'm much happier with that decision. If your doctor is willing to see your baby I would do that or even find another pediatrician to see him. I don't know if your insurance requires referrals but you might even want to take the baby to a doctor that specializes in Reflux, I think that would be a gastrointerologist and you have access to the best of the best at Vanderbilt Children's.

C., PLEASE DONT WAIT ANY LONGER, TAKE YOUR CHILD TO ANOTHER DOCTOR FAST BEFORE THE MED'S THE DOC HAS HIM ON NOW MESSES HIM UP FOR GOOD. IF HE'S A BABY HE DONT NEED AN ADULT DOSE OF ANYTHING. I THINK THIS DOCTOR MAY HAVE DONE YOU MORE HARM THAN GOOD. GOOD LUCK AND JUST PRAY ITS NOT TO LATE.

hi C.,
i just want to say on anything you question from your doctor yes, get another doctor to look at your child.

also try sitting him on a dryer that really helps!!

you can email me at ____@____.com

good luck, T.

Hi C.!

Refux/colic is such a tricky thing and is enough to make two parents feel they are loosing their minds. Bless your heart being a single parent with a baby with colic! I know it must be extremely tiresome sometimes!

Regarding the medication dosage, I would talk to the pharmacist. They can give you good information about medication and dosages, and what they are used for usually. Especially if you have one you know and trust. However, if your insurance will allow it, try to see a specialist. It couldn't hurt, and it sounds like you would qualify because of all the trouble he is having at such a young age.

Good luck to you! E-mail if you have any questions. My twins were on a preventative med for the three months of their lives due to their kidney problem. It was very scary. I can identify!

Take care,
Lee

Hi C.. My son, now 16 months, was also on Reglan and Pepcid when he was only a couple of weeks old. We then switched to Prevacid and he's still on it. The doses for children need to be higher because they have much higher metabolisms than adults. Check out this website: http://www.marci-kids.com/ I think you'll find it very helpful.

It explains what the different medications do and what the proper dose should be for your child's weight. I know that a side effect of Reglan is irritability. Reglan doesn't really help with the actual reflux, it helps the stomach empty faster so the food (or formula) can't reflux back up. I would talk with your doctor about how irritable your child is and see if taking him off the Reglan and just using the Prevacid or maybe a Prevacid and Pepcid combo would work better. Prevacid coats the esophagus and stomach to help eliminate the burning feeling while a medicine like Pepcid actually blocks the acid altogether. They need to be given at least 4 hours apart to be effective though.

I know it's tough trying to figure out how to help your baby. I would start by taking him off the Reglan. We saw an improvement in Emerson when we took him off it. He actually slept better. Feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions. Good luck.

Hey C.! My name is G. and I am going through the same thing with my 5mth old. Along with changing her formula to Enfamil Gentlease Lipil and a strong dose of Prilosec, I was told to give her 1-2oz of plain yogart daily. It is soposed to work with the bodys natural bacteria to help coat the stomach and reduce the acid levels. I have only tried it for a couple of days, and it seems to be helping. I know how hard it is to be a single mother and deal with a baby that seems to never be satisfied. It can only get better. Good luck and let me know if this helps.

that is quite alot. i am not a doctor though and was lucky that my daughter didnt have that. i would say get a second opinion if you arent comfortable with what the current doctor is suggesting. i do think that is alot of medicine for a baby especially one that is as young as yours. but that is just my opinion. - A.

I feel for you sweety I went throught it all too. When my son done that my mother bought catnip and boiled it into a tea and fed it to him. I was so mad cause she didnt consult his physician until I realized when she brought him home that he felt so much better, he didnt cry and slept completely through the night. Catnip can be bought at any herb shop and cant harm your child at all. The best thing I found for reflux was baby cereal in his formula. thicken it up and it will stay down. Hope this helps. Ask any old person in your family they can probably tell you the miracles of catnip tea. Good luck,L.

C.,
I have 3yr old twin girls who were born premature. Both had reflux, but Emily's was so much worse than Jordyn's. I know what your going through. The reflux caused Emily to stop breathing and was taken to the emergency room alot for it. We were at Luboneur Childrens Hospital in Memphis,Tn. She went through a couple of test that are really not that bad to determine acid reflux and not something else, this is not colic and nothing like it, it is alot worse and I really feel your pain. I am not single but my husband worked off at the time and I found times when I would just set and cry with her. She was first put on Raglan and Zantac, by the time she was about 5mths it didn't work as well. She then was switched to Prilosec 10mg and raglan. I didn't like her to have to take meds everyday but after she got on this I thought I died and went to heaven --- the screaming was over. When she was right at a year old I winged her off just like a bottle. This was my idea not the doctors, but I would lessen her dose and eventually took her off raglan completly with the prilosec I started lessening how much I sprinkeled on her food, It got to where I would only use about half of her script a month. Then I started giving it every other day, She seemed to be doing fine without it so eventually we just "forgot" to give it to her. She is 3 now and we don't have any problems with it. Usually they grow out of it so just be patient. But with your son being born early he will probably out grow it, his body needs to mature with his age. It might seem like alot of meds but if he is not in pain then its worth it, i think if you want a 2nd opinion I suggest a Childrens Hospital, they usually test first and then make a diagnosis, then medicate. Also try "Thick IT" in his formula, it does better than cereal ask your pharmacy or doctor about this. Good Luck Hope this helps. A.

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