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Preemies
Prevacid side effects (vent & questions)
So I'm sort of a bad mom. Maybe being a nurse makes me braver/stupider when it comes to meds and my son. So we started the prevacid and spit up was no longer an issue. But he was hardly eating anything. I mean, he went from 4oz almost 5oz bottles to barely getting through 2 or 3 oz. So I decided not to give his prevacid a couple of days in a row and he was finally eating enough ounces a day again. But he did have a couple of spit-up episodes, nothing terrible though. The really sucky part is that getting through a feeding was/is hell. Crying, arching his back in the middle of it. Ugh. So back on the prevacid (this is where I feel like an dumbass, why did I stop it in the first place right?) and once again intake has become an issue.
I should note that we also switched from the preemie formula to Target's form of gentlease and gas is no longer a problem. So we have ONE positive at least...
He should be taking 28 oz a day and is barely getting up to 24, and that's a good day. Yesterday he only ate about 20oz. He has gained a pound and half over the past month, but I am still freaking out about it. I'm afraid he's not getting enough to eat and might lose or stop gaining weight.
I'm obviously calling the pedi in the morning because I've just had it with the reflux etc.
So after this long vent I just want to know...did anyone else's LO have a decrease in appetite when you started prevacid?? Did this get better over time? I think we may switch to the suspension despite some of the negatives I've heard from a few people, to see if that makes a difference. DS takes liquid meds for me really well.
Sorry this was so long. I just really wish this had gotten better before going back to work next week.
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Re: Prevacid side effects (vent & questions)
that's really strange Usually when they feel less pain, they eat better not worse.
Hmm.
I will again warn you against using the suspension. It breaks down very quickly, so you get a week of medicine, a week of less-effective medicine, and then 2 weeks of salt water. It's going to be like going OFF of the medicine 2 weeks out of the month. I would honestly consider asking for a different med (nexium, maybe) before I'd go back to the suspension.
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we didn't have any experience with prevacid, but when DS started zantac he started eating less. in the evenings, he was demanding to be fed every hour or so before zantac and that's actually how we figured out he had reflux (well that and he was like a little baby geyser with all the puke!).
the ped said that when they feel pain, the eating sometimes makes it feel better (temporarily) and so he wanted to eat more. which in turn made it worse because his tummy was too full. he was stuck in a little reflux loop every evening. we started the zantac and he immediately started eating less in the evenings.
no idea if that might help, just thought i'd throw it out there!
I don't know if not eating is a side effect of prevacid but my daughter never has drank a lot. She was on prevacid for about a year (she's off it now) but the girl never drank over 16oz. Still doesn't. We had to fortify her milk w. formula to make it extra calories.
I always just assumed it was an oral aversion to drinking due to bad reflux.
My DS is on Prevacid also and I began to notice that he was falling asleep during feedings and eating less and less (from 4 ounces down to 2 if I was lucky...) Believe it or not, the problem was not the Prevacid, it was the nipple size on his bottle. I use Dr. Brown's and was using the Level 1 nipple. He needed to go to the Level 2. He was getting frustrated from sucking and sucking and not getting enough formula so he would just stop eating. But this happened about the same time as the Prevacid so I thought it had something to do with that.
Not sure if you are FF or using different sized nipples but you might want to try it...
GL!!
We went through the same thing as far as pharmacies having no clue about compounding. ?DD's GI doc said that compounding is the way to go, but surprisingly few pharmacies knew how to do it. ?We have been on prevacid now for about a week, but I am not seeing too much of a difference. ?Oh, well I guess we'll just have to see!?
These were all awesome replies, you all make me feel so much better, even if I did decide to stop the prevacid for a few days. I called the pedi's office and the nurse said the same thing that all of you are saying: his tummy hurt less on the prevacid, so he wasn't eating tons like he was before to try and make it feel better. She also mentioned trying a bigger nipple size too! Serioiusly, I just needed some advice and perspective. Sometimes when you're at your wits end it's just really hard to think. I normally would have put two and two together about the prevacid=less pain=less eating to stop a hurting tummy. So glad that I posted this.
Also, I talked with my pharmacist today (he is a friend) before logging in to read any of these and he was explaining that the suspension had to be divided into two week doses like that. However, our insurance may not cover the suspension (but they do cover the solutabs) so we may not go with the suspension after all.
I really appreciate the support ladies. I am just feeling overwhelmed with going back to work, leaving DS alone for longer periods when I feel like I'm the only one that really knows how to take care of him, and wishing like hell I could make my baby feel all the way better...