Do You Have Any References for the Medication Bethenecol?

My daughter was put on Bethenecol and Prevacid when she was 6 weeks old for her GERD. The doctor, Dr. Hunt, said that the Bethenecol would make her stomach empty faster which would cause her to spit up less, and would enable her to gain weight. The prevacid would neutralize the acid to prevent the pain associated with GERD. Both medications seemed to work very well. She spit up less, gained weight, and was more agreeable and less fussy. We were able to stop both medications by the time she was 6 months old. She didn't seem to have any side effects associated with either of the medications. Good luck. I know it is frustrating.

Your baby sounds like she may have an upset tummy. What type of formula is she/he on? Does he/she get enough water? Personally speaking, I would recommend Herbal Aloe in the bottle. I would put one capful in 8 oz. of water. It soothes the stomach.

Hi J.,

My son took this medication from 2 months to 6 months old. He took it along with Zantac. Anyway, it had a very minty taste to it, which my son hated. I had to have it compounded, and had the pharmacy mix it with a grape flavor. It cost a bit more, but was worth it.

In answer to question, I dont know if it worked, or if he outgrew his reflux. But he rarely spits up now and is 14 months old.

Hope this helps!

I believe we tried bethanecol. We tried 5 or 6 meds before Carafate came along and changed our lives, no I am not exaggerating. The GI doc was surprised it was the one because she said it often doesn't have success. Good luck, I know it is really tough. It does get better and you almost forget after a while how bad it was.

We tried Bethanecol at 1 month for my son's GERD (in combination with Zantac). It didn't really work for him. He is now on Prevacid (under the care of a GI). He still spits up, but it doesn't hurt him anymore. Bethanecol has some scary side effects (seizures are one I can remember). Do your research and what you feel is best for your child.

That was prescribed for my daughter as well. We did not have much luck with it. I found that if I did not lay her down (not even for a diaper change) for 15-20 minutes after eating that she spit up less. She still had some but not nearly as much.

Hi J.,
I have never responded to one of these before, but when I read your request, I had to write and tell you about my expierience with this medicine. My son was diagnosed with acid reflux at 2 months of age. After trying 2 or 3 different meds, we went with bethanachol a.k.a. liquid gold to us! My son cried and spat up for a constant 2 months, I had to constantly nurse him because that was the only thing that soothed him. The only negatives about it are it has to be refrigerated at all times and it is not easy finding a pharmacy that carries it. As I understand it, it only comes in a pill form and they have to somehow crush it up and suspend it in liquid. Once you do find a pharmacy and get used to carrying around an extra bag (i used a breast milk insulated bag with an ice pack inside) it is well worth the extra hassle! I would definately reccommend this medication to anyone in need of some relief!

Both my kids had baby acid reflux when they were kids. Both were on Bethenecol. It was 5 years ago now, but what I can remember:

Before Bethenecol... they not only would spit up after eating they screamed 30 minis or longer from the pain.

I can tell you from my experance that after they started on Bethenecol things got better.

I do not remember there being any side effects for my kids.

I do not remember when we stopped giving it to them, but it was sometime after they were over a year old, and were on some solid foods. By that time they had gotten old enough that the baby reflux had pretty much corrected it self.

You are probably already doing this... but it sometimes helps if you keep your child sitting straight up up for an hour or so after eating.

My 4 mo. old son has been on it 4 times a day for a month in combination with Zantac 2 times a day. It has made a huge difference in my son. I will say though, my son hardly ever spit up. You could hear it coming up, he would gag & cough, and then scream but nothing ever came up. My son did not have any side effects either with it. Good luck!

We tried it - it's a motility drug to get the stomach contents moving out more quickly into the bowels, in case you didn't know - but I didn't see much of a difference in my dd's spitting up with it.

Hi J.. My son was on Bethanocol at 10 weeks for spitting up, in addition to Zantac for acid reflux. I heard mixed things about it, some Drs said it was a miracle drug, others said they didn;t see a defference with it. After about 6 weeks of using it, I thought I'd take him off. UP came the spit up- A LOT of spit up! So, I'm a believer. Now my son is 10 months and off both. I think it's worth a try. Hope this helps~
S.

We used it and Reglan worked much better for my son. He's been on reglan since 9 mo. He also takes prevacid. they work well together for him! I found bethanecol made my son really cranky, but he was colicky too at that point. If it doesn't work, try reglan.
R.

Yes I used bethanecol when nothing else worked for my son's reflux, it did not cure it but definetly worked better than anything else. We had it made at a compound pharmacy.