reflux question

[drako]

DD is 9 months old. She was put on prevacid at her 4 month well visit due to the amount of spitting up during our doctor visit. She was always fussy and our ped said to try prevacid for a month and see if there is a difference. After a month we took her off and within three days she was very fussy when nursing (arch back, refuse to nurse). So back on the prevacid we went. Fussiness stopped and tried to come off again after her 6 month check up...same thing happened (she became fussy within 3 days of being off). Now we are off again for about 5 days. She doesn't seem to be fussy but she is spitting up more than she was. She will spit up solids. I have noticed the past few days when she spits up it doesn't come all the way out. It must stay in her mouth and than she swallows it. It must taste awful of feel uncomfortable because she makes an unpleasant face. We have our 9 month well visit on friday so I will be sure to talk to ped but does this still sound like reflux? I do have more prevacid but was hoping she would be coming off of it soon. Do I put her back on and see if there is a difference? From what I understand the prevacid isn't supposed to stop the spit up just stop the stomach acids from being produced. To further add, tonight she barely ate any of her solids and she usually eats like a champ.

[Tondi G]

she might still need the meds for a little while longer. If she made an unpleasant face when swallowing the spit up it probably didn't feel too nice and now she is refusing the solids... I think she may still need the prevacid for a few more months.

[egoldber]

Definitely reflux. And actually, swallowing what they have refluxed is even more damaging. My younger DD needed to be on meds until about 15 months.

[Melbel]

DD2 is still on the maximum doses of Zegerid at 17 months with no end in sight. She is a silent refluxer, which as mentioned by a PP is more damaging. DD2 will often refuse solids when her reflux is bothering her.

The vast majority of babies outgrow reflux by the time they are walking (gravity and stronger muscles). If your LO is crawling, this often causes a spike in symptoms.

[kellyd]

Definately reflux! DS is on zantac still at nearly 17 months. Has been since 2 months. There is no hard and fast age to outgrow reflux. If she's still showing signs I'd put her back on the meds. Refusing to eat is a common reaction to the pain.

[goldenpig]

It definitely sounds like reflux. Food refusal is one of the signs of reflux disease, they don't want to eat because they know it will make them feel bad later. My daughter had silent reflux with poor eating and poor weight gain. She was on Zantac initially, then Prevacid. I tried several times to wean her off the Prevacid but she would get really fussy/waking up a lot at night/eating less when I did that so she stayed on it till she was 2 and we finally got her off. But most kids start to do better once they're around 1 & walking/upright more. I would put your child back on it for now and ask your doctor. You can also ask for a referral to a pediatric GI. Also I'm sure you know this but when you stop the Prevacid, you have to wean slowly or else they get rebound acid production and worse symptoms for a while. I weaned very slowly, like a quarter pill at a time and changed the dose only once a week (1/2 tab twice a day to 1/2 tab in AM and 1/4 in PM then 1/4 tab twice a day, etc). It also works better if you give it 1/2 hr before meals. And yes, the Prevacid only stops acid production, not the reflux so you often still have to do things like elevating the head of the bed, not feeding right before bed, etc. But it definitely helps prevent the burning sensation and tissue damage. Good luck and hope this helps!

[Melarina]

Have you considered trying a different PPI? DD was on compounded Prevacid as an infant, but it did not work for DS at all. We next tried him on compounded Prilosec (nope) and then last Tuesday started Zegerid (the kind we mix from a powder packet at home.) Still no improvement, increased his dosage on Friday (with the pedi's OK) and that seemed to make a huge difference. It has only been three days but DS went from sleeping maybe an hour at a time to stretches of five to six hours. (Other adjustments have been made as well so I can't credit the Zegerid exclusively -- but I definitely think it is making a difference.)

I know every child is different, but if the taste of the Prevacid is upsetting your DC, perhaps the Zegerid might not be as bad. DS definitely doesn't fight the Zegerid the way he used to do with Prevacid.

Hope your DC feels better soon!

[Melarina]

Whoops, just re-read your post and saw that you weren't talking about the taste of the Prevacid :) Never mind! (But if anyone else reads this thread and has that experience, Zegerid could be worth a try!)

[hellbennt]

most likely needs the meds...
you're right about meds not stopping the spit-up...

check dose on www.marci-kids.com
and if it's a compound, you might want to: 'make' your own compound by ordering bufferbabies (used to be called caracream) and mixing w/ rx of capsules (they/bufferbabies give excellent instructions)
or use zegerid like op mentioned (again, it's a compound, meaning liquid that can be given at any time)

if you're giving the solutab, make sure to give on empty stomach followed by a meal 30 minutes later...

[mecawa]

That sounds like reflux. Same thing happened with DD2, she is still on Prilosec at 10 months, my doctor told us to keep her on it for now and then try to take her off of it again between 12-15 months.

When she is not on it, she will spit up solids, she isn't fussy anymore, but the spitting in her mouth and swallowing thing you described is what she does too.