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Zantac vs Prevacid

jglandon@hotmail.comjglandon@hotmail.com
in Babies: 0 - 3 Months
For those dealing with acid reflux, what are your experiences like with zantac and/or prevacid? DD has been on zantac since last Monday and it doesn't seem to be helping at all. The pedi said to give it two weeks, and if there is still no improvement she will switch her to prevacid. I'm just looking for some hope that prevacid will work when zantac hasn't because this is getting old :/
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Re: Zantac vs Prevacid

  • brachysirabrachysira member
    I just asked the same thing on the preemies board.  We did like Zantac, but had to prop her up all the time to get relief and our ped said we should see if Prevacid was better.  We switched cold turkey and she screamed the whole night, I guess because she didn't have the Zantac relief and the Prevacid hadn't kicked in.  Our ped said to up the Prevacid to 2x/day and wait a few days to see what happened before restarting Zantac, but I gave in and gave her some Zantac anyway, and it helped immediately.  I would say that you may need to give the Zantac more time because if your LO has raw places from the acid, they need to heal before she gets better. People on the boards I've seen do seem to have more luck with Prevacid in general, and some even end up using both.  It's pretty much trial and error, and people say you can experiment with your diet too--things like tomatoes are more acidic.  The very best thing for us was either holding her in a sitting position or upright on our chests, or propping her in the boppy, which I even gave in and let her sleep in at night next to me.  Other people like the Rock N Play, and we use this some, but it's not enough of an angle.  Good luck.  I know it's very, very tough.
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  • Litgirl77Litgirl77 member

    Our LO is on Zantac - it did take a full 2 weeks to see a difference, and even then it wasn't enough of a change to tell so we increased his dose to 3x a day. That was a week ago, and I think it's helping. He is still quite fussy, but it seems to be general colicky fussiness, not related to the acid (when he gets hiccups, burps, or spits up now, he's not screaming). He now sleeps great at night - 3.5-4 hours a stretch, but naps are really hard. He always wakes up at the 30 minute mark and can't get back to sleep unless he's moving (in the car, in his swing, in a baby sling, etc.) Again, I'm not sure this is related to the reflux or not, but I'm assuming if he sleeps at night, then he's experiencing some relief.

     

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  • Litgirl77Litgirl77 member

    Also - I've heard differing things about when to give Zantac. Our doctor said before they eat, but I've read many suggest to give it 30 minutes before eating. We're trying this to see if it makes a difference. Not sure yet.

    Anyone think this matters at all?

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  • brachysirabrachysira member
    Our LO spits it out, so we give it with a bottle and it seems to work fine.  We can't compare tho because I've never given it successfully any other way.  The med says it can be given with food or without and our doc said the only reason to give it in advance was to prevent it from coming back up.
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  • Starfish+77Starfish+77 member

    My DD began on Zantac 3x day and was only on it a week before we switched to Prilosec.  In hindsight, I should have waited a full 2 weeks before changing her medication.  Prilosec and Prevacid must be given 30-60 minutes prior to eating.  It's is very difficult to do when feeding on demand! I mean, usually she eats every 4 hours but now always.  It just makes the whole feeding process stressful, for me anyway.  

    We always keep her upright for at least 30 minutes after eating, even middle of the night which is rough.  Also, may just be my DD, but after eating I walk her around for about 10 minutes and swear that helps with to not get hiccups.  

    Good luck! 

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  • Starfish+77Starfish+77 member
    Also, the medication does not stop the reflux or spit up. It just stops the burn your LO feels during the reflux event.  Burp often too.  I would not recommend adding the medicine to a bottle as they will not get the full dose if the bottle is not finished.  
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  • LSU628LSU628 member
    Zantac did nothing for our DS. He was still screaming in pain. We switched to Prevacid and while it did take about 2-3 days to work, we had a completely different baby. That worked for a while, but then DS started vomiting and aggravated his esophagus, so now we are on Axid 2xs per day (it's an acid neutralizer like Zantac) and Prevacid 1x per day.
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  • Kateski22Kateski22 member
    Our LO was prescribed Zantac - it worked for about two weeks and then he reverted back to the screaming, arching, etc. They gave him Prevacid and that worked miracles at feedings (it took three days to see results). He only takes one does in the a.m. and since he eats on a schedule, it's not difficult to make sure that he gets it before his normal breakfast - although contrary to what I read on the boards, my Dr said that he shouldn't need to have it more than 15 min or so before he eats (boards said at least a half an hour). After some time on the Prevacid, he was still displaying some other behaviors that they later diagnosed as a milk protein allergy. Now that we have that under control, he's such a happy baby.
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