Zantac moms - weigh in

KBBH

We just had Maeve at the Pedi for her reflux...again.  They finally agreed to start her on Zantac.  Have you had success with it?  How long before symptoms subsided?  I'm not keen on my baby being on medication but if it helps her, then so be it...

Jennyanydots26

We've had our daughter on Zantac since she was about 5 weeks old. I would say her symptoms got about 75 - 80% better within a few days. Still a little gurgly once a day. She was on 0.5 mL twice a day. We noticed that she was getting more symptoms again, so at her 9 week appointment, the doctor moved her dosage up to 0.75 mL twice a day and its barely noticeable anymore. We are going to keep her on until she is 3 months and then see what happens. I haven't noticed any side effects.

mbgreenwalt

My DD's reflux is pretty severe and paired with a milk protein allergy.  We initially started her on Zantac, but it quit working by itself after 2 weeks.  We now have her on Prevacid once a day and Zantac twice a day. 

shocked77

We've had very good success with Zantac, but it is VERY weight sensitive.  My LO was diagnosed at 4 week appointment.  Started out on .5 ml 2 x per day.  Saw a noticeable improvement in 24 hours and dramatic improvement in 3 days.  After only a week I started to notice that it seemed to wear off about 2 hours before time for next dose.  We increased to 1 ml 2 x per day and that worked very well until 2 months (and 5 more lbs).  We upped again to 1.5 around Christmas after 2 weeks of terribly cranky baby.  I learned my lesson and now trust my gut when i think the reflux is getting bad I don't wait.  Call the doc and up the dose.  We are now at 1.75 and it is well contolled.  LO weighs almost 15 lbs.

My pedi says reflux gets worse before it gets better.  usually peaks at 5-6 months and will go away when he walks.  

My LOs reflux is fairly bad.  He was back arching severly and screaming at every feeding and waking up a lot at night in the first month.  That is how he was diagnosed.  On the zantac all that went away.  We also kept him very upright when nursing and for 30 mins after every feed.  Sleeping propt up helped.  But with the reflux controlled we don't have to do all those things.

Also--not everyone is up for it, but i just had LO adjusted by a chiropractor. He was out in his thoraci vertebrae (I could even feel it) and after only one adjustment i see an approvement.

Last tip--car seat can make a difference.  LO was in Chicco key fit.  It really aggrivated the reflux.  Changed to Britax Convertible and he is a new baby in the car.  

For us its been a bit of trial and error.  Best advice I can give is pay attention to your baby and trust your gut.

elnjpnlove

We have had success with the zantac.  I can really tell if I forget to give her a dose the next day she has a really bad day.  Make sure you are consistent.

KBBH

elnjpnlove:

We have had success with the zantac.  I can really tell if I forget to give her a dose the next day she has a really bad day.  Make sure you are consistent.

Our LOs share a birthday!!

sara622

DS started having reflux syptoms at about 6 weeks.  He was screaming during and after nursing and arching his back.  Pedi put him on 1mL twice a day and we saw an improvement within about 3 days.  I had to call to have to dose increased about two weeks later though because it seemed like it was wearing off before it was time for his next dose.  He's now taking 1.5mL twice a day.  It seemed like it was working for a couple days but today he's been SUPER fussy.  I can't tell if it's reflux or just general fussiness though. 

blairy926

It's very helpful, but as PP said, it has to be adjusted with weight a lot.  We do zantac + prilosec + rice cereal.

tinydancingqueen

My LO started on Zantac at 8 weeks, symptoms started to subside within a week.  At 12 weeks, we've adjusted his dosage since he started to show symptoms like arching his back, groaning in his sleep, gurgling noises in his throat with a sour face and sour breath and suddenly waking up crying and shaking his head back and forth violently in discomfort from the reflux.  Thankfully, he hasn't spit up a lot or vomited as much since we started the Zantac, which is huge.  He's also sleeping much better through the night, only waking up once where it used to be waking every 1-2 hours.