Zantac--does it actually work for you?

NicoleWI

DS had bad reflux and we struggled with it for a really long time. He was on Zantac starting at 5 weeks or so but I don't think it really helped at all until he was over 6 months old. We finally weaned him off his Zantac just this past fall, before he turned 2.

New baby is starting to show reflux signs and I am wondering if I should get her on Zantac...but I don't have a lot of confidence in it. Is it actually working for anyone?

jessican08

Ehhhhhh....yes and no.

Both of my babies are on it. DS was projectile vomiting his whole bottle every other day or so and my DD is like a fountain - she's constantly spitting up.

DS has been doing well on it - no more projectile vomiting and he only spits up occasionally but DD...she still spits up left and right.

I will say that when we miss a dose, her spit up is more clear (acidic) than thick and seems to bother her when it comes up but the Zantac certainly doesn't make a difference as far as how often or how much she spits up.

kateraid

My pedi told me that zantac only neutralizes the stomach acid so it doesn't burn on the way up and that holding them upright after a feed and inclined sleeping is what helps the spit up. 

persephonerose

Zantac works great for controlling the acid reflux symptoms, however, it is not designed to stop baby from spitting up. Spitting up can be caused by reflux or for other reasons. So if you just want Zantac to stop spits up from occurring it wont do you much good.

Since starting Zantac D no longer has that cough where it sounds like he is constantly trying to clear his throat, he does not arch and break latch when feeding, and is overall much happier. 

We still put him to sleep in an inclined position to help with spit ups as PP mentioned. And I try to feed him with his head higher than his belly, which can be awkward but it does help a little bit. 

sptwvd

My 12 week old was on it for a few weeks. It seemed to help with the severity of her reflux, but she was still screaming in pain sometimes when she wanted to eat. We just started prevacid yesterday...so far, so good. My sister said her lo had reflux too and mylanta worked for her. Good luck.

laurenhankey

Zantac works terrific for my LO. She was terrible at about 10 days old; screaming and totally inconsolable!  She is 6 mo now and still takes it.  She spits upa ton but no longer screams when she does. 

Anjvatier

It does help my LO with the burning from the spit up. It made a huge difference with that. It does not reduce the amount of spit up at all. We are using Enfamil gentlease and just recently I started mixing in a scoop of the enfamil A.R because it makes the formula thicker and helps keep the spit up down. That seems to really be helping also but she still will have a clear spit up long after her bottle.