Reflux Medication

BMaidPlanner

My Pedi is suggesting it for LO and I have the prescription. He said I can try feeding her at a 45 degree angle, keeping her upright after eating and frequent burping for a few days to see if it helps first. (Most of these seem impossible on cluster feeding MOTN'S)

I'm torn because I want her to feel better but have read it messes with babies natural gut flora. In 6 days she didn't really gain any weight buy she still grew in length and head circumference.

My friend who's baby severely needed it (saved their nursing attempts even) and is a toddler now has to take miralax and has hemorrhoids at age 3. No idea if the 2 issues are related.

Thoughts? Crunchy mama natural suggestions?

flerlgirl

DS took prevacid and it really helped. It didn't cause any other issues and I'm glad we did it. I don't know about gut flora but it worked for him.

Mia081081

https://www.mamanatural.com/natural-remedies-for-baby-reflux/

We do the elevated mattress and have ordered the digestzen oil. I thought LO might have silent reflux but am now thinking it was a reaction to garlic and onions. I've also cut out dairy. Both seem to help so far!

BMaidPlanner

krptcmschfmkr128 said:

How bad is the spit up? Some pedi's are hyper-ready to jump on the medicine band wagon, when all that's really needed is time for LO's digestive tract to mature. Our pedi won't prescribe meds unless LO isn't gaining weight due to the amount of spit up, is in constant pain/discomfort, or is puking such copious amounts that it is literally just about everything in the stomach coming back up.

Sometimes a lot and she didn't gain any weight last week.

&milo

My bigs were on Zantac and Prevacid for their first year and have no problems at all. This one is on Zantac so far. I would never put my kids through the misery if I knew there was a med that could help them. I have a lot of friends who had to do the same and their kids have no problems.

mattanda2011

My oldest was on it and is now 18mo and has no issues. We started DS on it last night after a few nights of him grunting and screaming for hours. Have already noticed a difference.

kks4471

DS is on Zantac, and while the pediatrician and I think it's definitely a GI problem, I'm not sure it's reflux. We're also trying to supplement with formula to help solve his screaming tantrums. I'm hoping he outgrows it around 3 months, so that we can discontinue Zantac.

nunzchucks

Good lord @jmar2011‌! He is precious!

JulieSmiles

My DD just started on zantac today. She has been screaming during feedings and hasn't gained enough weight. Hearing her cry and the amount that she was spitting up broke my heart. I will be watching this thread to see if there are some more natural things I can do to help as well.

SecondTimeinMSU

DS was on reflux meds for the first year. I felt so conflicted at the time but now that I see what a normal baby is like I can really see how much my older son suffered, the improvement was so gradual as he healed but comparing their first few weeks it is night and day. The medicine made a huge difference in him gaining weight and today he has zero stomach issues and enjoys eating which may not have been the case if we hadn't addressed his issues.

ncbelle

The research suggests that meds are WAY over prescribed for infant reflux.  Before I did meds, I would rule out - overactive letdown, tongue/lip ties, and food intolerances (things in your diet).  All of those cause reflux and are not fixed with meds - meds just put a bandaid on the symptoms.

Declan has reflux symptoms pretty clearly (like was literally spitting and gagging within hours of birth).  I do have overactive letdown (which babies will come to handle better with time) and he had a pretty tight lip tie (which we had clipped).  I'm also doing a trial of no dairy just to see if it helps.

ncbelle

Also tongue/lip ties could be the source of the lack of weight gain - if baby has a tie, they won't transfer milk as effectively.  Often ties will cause pain for mama due to the bad latch - but not always (I actually didn't have any).

Basically I would want to work with a breastfeeding expert to rule out all the causes of reflux before jumping to meds.

BMaidPlanner

jmar2011 said:

Preston's neo dr told us he hates putting babies on reflux med. Especially early on. He said every baby will have reflux in the beginning, but that reflux meds don't cure it, they only make it not hurt when they spit up. But bc of Preston's esophagus surgery he will definitely need it.
That being said we are feeding him laying on his side, away from us kind of like this photo (not our baby obvs) bit instead of being on his back, he is on his side, and we elevate his body at abput 45º angle
 

Then we burp him about every 15-20mls, these tricks have helped him way more thanthe meds have. And we keep him elevated for at least a half hour after eating every time

Maybe when we intro bottles the angled feeding will be easier. Keeping her elevated is hardest in the middle of the night. Still trying though.

She went a week without gaining weight and it worries me. Spitting up entire feedings is upsetting as well.

I don't see any lip or tongue ties and she is hungry often, I'm still so torn. Thanks for weighing in everyone.

BMaidPlanner

StrawberryDreams219 said:

Probiotics may also help. Facilitating healthy gut flora colonization will improve digestion. I second the digest zen oil. I used it for heartburn this pregnancy and love it!!

Where can I get appropriate probiotics and dosage for baby?

@jmar2011‌ Not bottle feeding but I think it's awesome that the position change helps!

She seemed to spit up (twice) an entire meal today because she soiled a diaper right after feeding so I changed her before holding her upright and burping her. It was just so much spit up and she seemed hungry again after and kept growling. Heartbreaking.

I hate this.

JulieSmiles

I started DD on the meds on Thursday. She has already shown a huge improvement. She hasn't spit up anywhere near the amount she had been and she seems a lot happier. I totally understand wanting to wait to try meds, but if it is a reflux issue, they really do help!

mikmama

Our son started Prilosec last Thursday. We thought it was helping, but there were a couple days this week where he was screaming in pain again. Has anyone had a similar experience in the beginning and ended up with a good result over time?

nunzchucks

@jmar2011 Clearly I did not read all the words of your post  ">

Taylorgabbitas

I'm with @JulieSmiles‌. We started our DD on Zantac on Tuesday and she is spitting up so much less, it's less projectile, all around better. Our pediatrician said it wouldn't actually help lessen the spit up, just make it not hurt, but it actually has for us. She seems much happier now too so I'm a believer.