Help - slipping into reflux h*ll...x2

Re: Help - slipping into reflux h*ll...x2

• Temp159135562506975 member

  January 2011

  right around 6w is when reflux usually starts ---- there is no reason NOT to medicate --- your babies are in pain- and not eating like they should b/c of it... and spitting up a lot of what they do eat --- I would get them on zantac right away - along with all the non-med things you are doing.

  i used to sell prevacid to pedis - it's very safe. Zantac is usually started first - and also very safe. My son was on it from 6w on.... 3x's a day andi t did wonders.  He was off it for quite a few months and recently we put him back on b/c he's had a bad cough due to reflux and the zantac helps a lot with that for him.

  if your pedi won't Rx zantac i'd find a new one - or see a pedi GI. there really is no reason to keep babies suffering (and parents, too) when the meds are so safe.

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• Mollymay39

  January 2011

  Ditto everything Goldie said. I would not hesitate to medicate. We started on Zantac, then Axid...then Prevacid. The prevacid changed our son's life, and our life. It's a dramatic statement, but it's so true. He is a happy, content baby....that now SLEEPS 12 hours a night. His silent reflux was so bad that he would sleep for 20 minutes, wake up....sleep 20 minutes, wake up etc.

  We saw a Pedi GI and they were very helpful.

  Good luck. Reflux is terrible, and I can't imagine if both babies had it! 

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• juliannat

  January 2011

  Goldie - thanks for responding. I should have pointed out that he is still eating and gaining weight steadily, so that is not a worry (yet) - I think the pedi was more concerned about jumping to medicate immediately esp. since although they are 6w they are technically 1w adjusted...in your experience does adjusted age factor in for reflux at all?

  I should probably call the pedi and go back in - after all if was you who told me to get meds for MY reflux when pg and it did a world of good...(thanks again BTW)
  

  B/G twins!
  

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• Temp159135562506975 member

  January 2011

  juliannat:

  Goldie - thanks for responding. I should have pointed out that he is still eating and gaining weight steadily, so that is not a worry (yet) - I think the pedi was more concerned about jumping to medicate immediately esp. since although they are 6w they are technically 1w adjusted...in your experience does adjusted age factor in for reflux at all?

  I should probably call the pedi and go back in - after all if was you who told me to get meds for MY reflux when pg and it did a world of good...(thanks again BTW)
  

  babies born early tend to have more reflux than term babies- b/c their LES's didn't develop all the way yet (lower esophageal sphincter that is the valve between the stomach and esophagus that keeps acid down when working properly).

  there really should be no reason not to medicate even if born early - you see it done all the time, even with babies in the NICU.

  i know when i had heartburn while pg - i could not believe how painful it was --- my DH almost took me to the ER - he was convinced i was having  a heart attack it was that bad... so think of the babies feeling that kind of pain - meds are a good thing.

   I had many parents stop me when i was in a waiting room and tell me that Prevacid changed their lives... b/c it made their baby finally stop crying all day, start sleeping, etc....   Docs will usually start with Zantac and then go to prevacid if that doesn't work.  Some pedis are hesitant to treat reflux in babies - it's still a "newer" thing being understood.... so again- if your pedi won't medicate- I'd see a pedi GI about it- they deal with it all the time.

  good luck- reflux SUCKS.  I only had one with it and it had me crying all day long- MISERABLE and dreading every feeding.

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• cocojack10 member

  January 2011

  One of my sons also has AR and it plain sucks.  We too wanted to hold off on medication.  For now, we are adding rice cereal to every feeding to hold down the milk.  We add 1 tsp per oz at every feeding.  We've been doing it for 5 days now, and he is no longer in pain.  He occasionally still spits up, but very little (or anymore than his brother).  He no longer arches his back which indicates he's trying to hold down the food.  

  -- Jackie
  "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett

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• caden member

  January 2011

  Both of my boys have severe reflux and I hear you that it is its own special kind of hell. I cried every single day for 2 months straight. It took me until just this week to find a combo that works. We didn't do this but I recommend seeing a pedi GI. I wish I had done that months ago. We switched to Nutramigen even though my boys don't have an allergy b/c it's easy to digest, which is important for reflux babies. The real help though is Prevacid. That drug helps so much. It doesn't stop spit-up, it just makes it less painful. My boys went on it at 1wk adjusted IIRC. I didn't want them medicated either but seeing them in pain  every day is worse than wondering about a med's side effects. We also had to feed them less even though it seemed to me they could do more (this was advised by the pedi), but my boys' problem was screaming during feedings.

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