My son has acid reflux, hes 4 months old. I would like to speak to other moms who have went through the same thing im going through. Acid Reflux is newly diagnosed and I think my doctor is uncomfortable prescribing medicine and dealing with it in general. I am trying to get the help I need but it seems I have to suggest to the doctor everything I need him to do, but im not a doctor! I know more about it then he does! All he thinks to do is keep changing his formula over and over again. He was put on Zantac twice a day and Reglan 4 times a day 30 mins before bottle when he was 9 lbs. I have recently requested that my doctor change his reglan to Carafate, due to the side effects of reglan. I have only used it for 2 days now so its too early to decide if I should stick with it. The zantac I increased the dosage myself. At 9 lbs it was 1mL twice a day , I upped it to 1.25mL twice a day now that he is 14 lbs. and have noticed a HUGE change in how much he spits up and how often.
My daughter had acid reflux when she was a baby up until about 2 1/2, 3. She was taking previcid. Her pedictrician did not prescribe it for me, her ear nose and throat doctor did because he said is was one of the many things that caused repeat ear infections. I only give it to her now if she eats something spicy. Can you see another dr.?
Go out today and buy Nestle Good Start formula with Comfort Proteins and try it for about a week. It worked wonders with my second son who got diagnosed with acid reflux and my third who never had any problems because I started her on it from the beginning. It is worth a shot!! Let me know if you try it and it helps....
My 1st 3 were medicated and it never really seemed to do too much, especially with the 1st 2 who had it severely (the 1st one STILL has it at 5yrs, but only on occasion). My 4th has it, but since my last one was born 2 1/2yrs ago, new studies have shown that the side effects and problems that come with the medications do not out way the benefits so it's better to NOT medicate. So, with her, we're just doing the "home remedies" that we did with the others. We put a wedge under her mattress so she sleeps with her head raised, we keep her upright for at least 30mins after she eats, I watch what I eat (I'm nursing), and that's just about all we can do. The meds don't usually help at all with the spitting up (even though you said it helped) so you'd have the same amount of spit up, but it takes their pain away a tiny bit but not enough to get the possible problems or side effects (future breathing problems or diabetes are 2) and resistance to the meds when their older is a very common one. It's VERY VERY dangerous to increase meds without talking to a Dr first. It can really cause them problems in the future that you won't see right away. I know he weighs more, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry, right? If you have problems with your Dr and his discisions, change Drs.
Melissa,
My son also has acid reflux, while I don't know alot about it. My doctor has never changed his formula but prescribed to him Zantac. He has to take it in the morning and the evening. He was diagnosed at 2 weeks with reflux.
Hi Melissa-
Both of my children had reflux as babies. My daughter (now 5) outgrew it at around 1 1/2. She was on Zantac and that was effective for her, as long as we kept in contact with the doctor and increased her dose as she gained weight. She was always on the low end of the range for dosage, anyway.
My son, on the other hand, tried Zantac and Prilosec and neither worked for him. We finally tried Prevacid and that has worked wonders. He also has a milk protein allergy that we figured out at around the same time as reflux,when he was about 6 months old. Both were diagnosed by his Pediatric Gastroenterologist. Between those the reflux and allergy, his first 6 months of life were miserable, for everyone involved. He would scream bloody murder about 10 minutes after eating for about 30 min to an hour EVERY feeding. He had other symptoms too, but the screaming was gut wrenching.
You might consider asking your ped for a referral to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. I see you're in Huntsville, we are too! We were referred to Dr. Laney, but his associate, Dr. McClellan had an opening sooner, so we wound up going to Dr. McClellan. BOTH have been highly recommended to us by several sources. You REALLY need the guidance of a qualified doc for adjusting meds for your little one. If your son is an established patient, many times, they will ok the increase in dosage over the phone, but only the docs have access to the appropriate dose based on weight. Also, they may recommend a different med altogether.... We have been very pleased with Dr. McClellan as well as his office staff. They go above and beyond most docs and help you deal with your insurance company to try to get the best treatment for your child, even if your insurance company says they flat out won't cover something. Case in point: my son requires a special kind of formula that is only available through a doctor's prescription, and it's shipped to me directly from the home health care company. The formula is over $40 per can and it's a SMALL can! My insurance company flat out told me they wouldn't cover it. Dr. McClellan wrote a letter stating that my son would be hospitalized incurring significantly higher costs to them if he didn't get this formula. Our insurance now covers it 100%! The staff is sweet- Stephanie at the front desk is always so helpful, as are the nurses. Can't sing their praises enough!
If you want to privately e-mail me, we can talk more.
Jennifer
PS- I just realized that it probably sounds like I work there or something, but honestly, I don't. I just know that if we had not been referred to Dr. McClellan, my son would be a MISERABLE 2 year old!
My daughter had acid refluxwhen she was an infant. They did all the tests even did an ultrasound on her stomach. We had to change her diet and make it very bland until she was almost two years old. She would throw up everything that she ate for the weirdest reasons. Texture made her gag. Acid made her puke. Foods like tater tots made her puke. It was horrible.
Luckily, she finally outgrew it. She is now going on three and it only flares up when she gets a stomach bug (even a VERY minor one). Just try to stay on top of it. And remember...after this, you'll never have a weak stomach again.
what kind of formula are yall on? we put my son on enfamil lacto free and that was a BIG help but every child is different.
If you haven't done it yet get some kind of wedge to go under crib mattress or put a block under the front legs of the crib. My daughter was older and in a bed but elevating her head really helped.
Hi Melissa
I just have a second, I heard my little one wake up.
My first had reflux...it was awful, he spit up appx 40 times a day and screamed all the time. My second one spit just as much, but it never bothered him so we didn't medicate for it. Some babies just spit up a lot.
My first was on Prevacid and it worked pretty good with Mylanta when needed. I was nursing him so I continued to change my diet until I found what triggered his reflux. It is very hard. Dr's don't like to medicate little one.
My DR didn't until I finally insisted at 14 weeks b/c he had not slept more than an hour in a row and that was only when he was aleep on my chest in the chair. The meds made a big difference. Have you tried the Nutramigen formula? that is what I had to use with my second child. He could NOT handle the milk based formulas. It made a big difference and he didn't have to be medicated.
I am not sure what to tell you other than, I have been there, covered in puke, smelling like spoiled milk with many sleepless nights :) Have you considered changing DR?
Julene
My son was born 5 weeks early and had horrible reflux. He would scream before eating, during eating, and after eating - sometimes for 5 hours straight. At about 8 weeks, we tried zantac and it didn't work for us. Prevacid was our life saver! Within a week of being on the prevacid, he was screaming much less and within 2 weeks, he was a totally different child. He stopped the medication at 5 months and has never looked back.
Hang in there. It's a difficult situation and gut wrenching for any mom!
My son had acid reflux. He is 13 months now and I am going to start to wean him off the medicine and just see what happens... He took Zantac at first. THen I was out of town visiting my family and he seemed to be getting worse so I took him to my pediatrician (when i was a little girl). He said that he always recommends prevacid. I started using that when he was around 7 months and have not seen any spit up since! I would highly recommend you ask your doctor about that. I have seen no side effects and I TOTALLY trust that physician, he has been in practice for over 30 years and is very knowledgeable. Feel free to ask me any questions! Also, if you notice that his tounge always looks white or even sometimes purple that is a fungus that is common in kids with acid reflux and needs to be treated. My son had that too!
Melissa,
I too went through what you are going through with my son. He had terrible acid reflux. I breast fed him for a while and that was when the reflux was worst. We tried Prevacid but to no avail. I am an RN but was still nervous about using adult meds on my baby. There is really no research to back up their use/non-use. The biggest difference we found was when we switched him to Enfamily A.R. (stands for Added Rice) It made his bottles like a thinned out milkshake, which helped keep the milk weighted down in his stomach. (If you do this, get nipples with big holes or the thickened milk will get 'stuck' in the nipple) His reflux improved 50% I'd say when we switched. The only other thing that worked was...time! When he was about 10 months his reflux had improved to where he was only refluxing 2-3 times/day. Many doctors will require your child to go through a "swallow study" to "prove" that they have reflux before you can be put on 2 or more meds. I guess you are fortunate that your pediatrician is willing to try different meds with your son. It is encouraging that your child is gaining weight...means you're doing something right!
I don't know if you can over-dose on Zantac but you may want to consult a physician before upping his dosage on your own. There are guidelines with weight and dosages of meds for children. Just be careful. My son used raglan and so did I and we had a great success from it. Also, we changed his milk to lactose free and it made a wonderful difference.
Hi Melissa!
My son was diagnosed with acid reflux at 2 weeks old. We tried Zantac at first and it did seem to help...but not for long. It seemed to just get worse and worse so his doctor prescribed Prevacid. It is a dissolvable pill that I put in his bottle once a day. It helped soooo much! Also, (I know that most moms are against this) his doctor told us to put 1 tsp of rice cereal per ounce of formula in his bottles to make it thicker so that it is not as easy for it to come back up. And it really did help too! But if your against the rice cereal...Enfamil makes a formula "AR" that already has this in it...that way you know that your not putting too much to make him have a belly ache. Well, I hope this helped and hang in there!
Hello Melissa,
My now 9 yr old daughter had the same problem. Unfortunately, they didn't diagnose her until she was 8 mths old and had a terrible ulcer that had started to bleed! At first they thought I was just 'overreacting', then said it was 'just colic', but with the projectile vomit and if she was laid on her stomach she would scream like the pain was unbearable. Eventually they told me to 'let her cry it out. After taking her to my GP they did a scope down her throat and discovered her ulcer. Which since I had my first ulcer as a child and life long acid reflux, they should have checked with me for my history too. Anyway, they prescriped the same, Zantac and Reglan and a minute (don't remember how much) of another medicine to 'repair' it, she got better. She stayed on the medicine for 4 yrs until she got better. She still has periods of it when she is highly stressed or anxious though and my GP prescribed Nexium for her. The only thing is she now has IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) when she gets stressed. She is like her Mom, very sensitive and prone to too much acid. So we watch and make sure she stays away from acidic foods as much as possible when things are high tension. (like tomatoes, citrus, ketchup, orange juice etc.)
Good luck with your little one. Oh, and they ended up putting Cassie on Nutramegan (sp) and that stuff smells like rotten milk but really helped her also. (AND it's like $25 a container). Take care and let us know how he is doing.
I have four boys and all of them went through acid reflux. A few questions. First, you said you tried changing his formula, have you tried changing it to soy? Second, does he seem to have a lot of trouble with his nose and breathing like allergies? Third, is he on any baby food? Let me know these answers and I can help you better, because I have been able to help my little ones. My email address is [email protected]
I don't know a whole lot about the disease, but I do know that maybe you should find a new doctor. My best friends son was diagnosed at 2 months old. His doctor also switched formulas numerous times and had him on Zantac and Reglan, but nothing seemed to help. The doctor never seemed that concerned. When Cade was 6 months old, she switched doctors. They did tests and found out that due to the reflux, Cade had had approx. 5 ulcers in his stomach. My advice, seek a new doctor who knows a little more about this condition. I will see if I can get the name of the new medication they put Cade on that seems to be working really well. Good Luck.
My daughter also had reflux and the only thing that helped her was Prevacid solutabs. We did half a tab in the morning and the rest at night and it worked wonders. She's over it now and doing fine, been off of it since August. She's 15 months old now. Good Luck!
I don't know what kind of doctor that you have but sounds like you need to find another one. Maybe he isn't suggesting any meds for reflux because he doesn't particularly like to give meds to babies unless absolutely necessary. First of all, I don't know why he put that small baby on all that medication, whether there were some bad complications due to other things that I don't know about, but I am a breast feeding person. I think that God gave you boobs for a reason and that is always best medicine. I see more problems when they are on formula. Breast milk has your immunities in it (ALOT OF IMMUNITIES) to keep them from getting sick and having stuff like that. I do understand sometimes it isn't possible to breast feed. I have heard of putting babies on reflux medication but usually it is a weak sphincter and will go away on its own as they get older. It is a little inconvenient but I would much rather prefer the inconvenience to any medication for my small baby any day.
If you want, you can always get a second opinion.