Experiences with Prevacid?

kikijbunny · June 2011

(Sorry this is so long! Hoping someone can shed some light from their experiences...)

I've read from time to time that, for some posters, Prevacid has worked wonders for their babies with reflux. Would you mind sharing specifics with me? My LO has been on Prevacid since release from NICU (about 8 1/2 weeks now, just turned 2 months today - 2w6d adjusted) and his doctors have been increasing his dosage for his weight, but I'm not sure what kind of relief we're supposed to be seeing.

So far I notice that he is spitting up less frequently, and less amount-wise as well, but his discomfort level seems almost to have increased. He will cry out (crying/screaming) in the midst of quiet sleep and then be very cranky for a good while after, half hour or so sometimes. Sometimes burping and/or feeding him a "snack" (I'm breastfeeding) will work to quiet him down again and get him back to sleep, but not always, He used to be able to feed and then sleep for a couple of hours at least. Now it seems he has these outbursts after 45 min to an hour. And a couple of nights when it's my DH's "shift" (DS will sleep for any length of time only if he's being held) DS cries and cries and I have to take over to calm him down. Makes me feel so bad.

And this isn't just at night. I pretty much have him in my arms all day because he will cry and cry and cry if I put him down, won't fall or stay asleep if he's not being held and then sometimes even while eating will burst out crying. It seems pretty clear that he's uncomfortable during these outbursts because he kicks his legs and squirms like crazy during them, and quiets down quite quickly if I can get him to burp.

So I wonder if this medicine is working or making him worse... when does it get better? What should I expect to see?

Thanks!

ShannonSky · June 2011

It doesn't sound like it's helping too much...I'd ask to try a different medicine. For us, when we moved from Zantac to Prevacid it was like night and day. DD never spit up (she swallowed her reflux back down), so there wasn't any visible decrease, but she was HAPPY. She'd actually sleep long stretches, didn't seem to be in pain, etc. It really only took about 4 days to see a marked difference and about 2 weeks to see the full impact of the Prevacid.

caitdana · June 2011

We were told Ella had a reflux issue and just prop up her bed and it will be alright when she left the NICU.... this was until she turned blue we took her to the ER, then we were sent home again and she had 3 apnea spells in a day a few days later and then FINALLY someone listened to us. We have been to all kinds of specialist have finally gotten some resolve. So, stick to your guns about it because you baby can get better relief than what you are describing! She is on Prevacid Solutabs and a high dosage of Zantac. Our pedi listened to us and our concerns and reffered us to a GI dr who knew more about preemie reflux. We only stuggle with about 1 feeding a day compared to all day/night. It makes a world of difference. Dont take the "they will eventually grow out of it, tough it out for 6 more months"

kikijbunny · June 2011

Thanks for your posts, this is helpful. We are seeing a gastroenterologist and while ultrasound has ruled out pyloric stenosis the only treatment has been to increase the Prevacid dosage. He is feeding and gaining weight well so that's a boon at least. I think he has the most trouble while sleeping, which makes some sense, but it is trying on all of us. It just seems like we are missing something if even the doctor (well nurse practitioner, we can't get a follow-up visit with the Dr. until September) says the Prevacid is supposed to provide comfort. It isn't yet. We're not scheduled to see the NP for another month, just saw her on Tuesday, and she upped the dosage again, so hmmm... I will give the new dosage a couple more days (the weekend) to see if it kicks in any more relief, and then will call the NP again.

shugs-n-sweets · June 2011

I may have missed this but who is increasing the dosage? You should definitely listen to the GI over the Pedi (IMO). I wasn't familiar with the test you mentioned but have they done an upper GI study? This is where they observe your LO drinking and can see the flow of the liquid on a screen? This fully diagnosed my LOs reflux. We watched the liquid shoot back up and it even entered his nasal cavity. Poor guy!

My LO was on Prevacid along with Axid/Niza/Zantac (whatever you want to call it). Coupled together, it provided relief. I'm sorry you are going through this and hope you get it figured out soon!

*Definitely put a crib wedge in if you haven't done so already.

kikijbunny · June 2011

shugs-n-sweets:
I may have missed this but who is increasing the dosage? You should definitely listen to the GI over the Pedi (IMO). I wasn't familiar with the test you mentioned but have they done an upper GI study? This is where they observe your LO drinking and can see the flow of the liquid on a screen? This fully diagnosed my LOs reflux. We watched the liquid shoot back up and it even entered his nasal cavity. Poor guy!

My LO was on Prevacid along with Axid/Niza/Zantac (whatever you want to call it). Coupled together, it provided relief. I'm sorry you are going through this and hope you get it figured out soon!

*Definitely put a crib wedge in if you haven't done so already.

It's the gastroenterologist who's managing the dosage (or rather the nurse practitioner we see at their office). They haven't ordered an upper GI study, though it was mentioned at one point early on. I'm going to call them on Monday to see what else can be done.

DS hasn't slept in his crib yet, but we will put it on an incline when he does. He started in the Rock & Play Sleeper but he slept so fitfully it kept freaking me out so we've resorted to him sleeping on one of us, and trying to get him to fall/stay asleep in his pack n play but so far it's not working. Thanks for the reminder about the wedge.

TriciaJoy · June 2011

What form of prevacid are you using? If it's the liquid suspension, I would ask about switching to solutabs.

the suspension is extremely volatile, so it's usually great when you start, but by the time the prescription is 2 weeks old, it's very weak.

We went thruogh this with my son where the first 3 or 4 days of a new script he was like a new baby and then he's slowly start screaming again.

When we switched to solutabs, things improved quite a bit.
Eventually it wasn't strong enough either and we moved to Nexium.

If you think gas/burps are contributing immensely, you can also try gripe water and/or mylicon drops.

kikijbunny · June 2011

TriciaJoy:
What form of prevacid are you using? If it's the liquid suspension, I would ask about switching to solutabs.
the suspension is extremely volatile, so it's usually great when you start, but by the time the prescription is 2 weeks old, it's very weak.
We went thruogh this with my son where the first 3 or 4 days of a new script he was like a new baby and then he's slowly start screaming again.
When we switched to solutabs, things improved quite a bit.
Eventually it wasn't strong enough either and we moved to Nexium.
If you think gas/burps are contributing immensely, you can also try gripe water and/or mylicon drops.

We've got the liquid suspension. But the first few fills we had to get every 2 weeks. We switched pharmacies with this last dose (filled Tuesday) which is supposedly one that will last the full month. But thanks for the warning; I'll keep an eye on how he's doing, if we don't get an adjustment on the meds soon.

I'll look into the gripe water and mylicon too... thanks!

WaitingforGrace · June 2011

I wanted to second the solutabs. Our Pedi whose been pretty agressive with LO's reflux told us lots of stories about the liquid suspension not working.

My LO is on 1/2 tab a day and it's been a miracle for us.

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