I so didn't need this...UPDATED

[ThreeofUs]

We were visiting my SIL and her friend, a ped. was over for lunch and she said there's no research that reflux meds help babies.

You're KIDDING! Omg, there is all *kinds* of research out there about this or they'd never okay prevacid or zantac or the other meds for use with infants. In fact, there's discussion out there about whether "colic" should be split into "colic that responds to anti-acid/anti-reflux meds" and "other colic, nonresponsive".

Now, there *is* some discussion in the community about whether getting rid of the acid actually helps get rid of the fluid coming up (that is, the actual reflux itself) and what to do about that. But that's not the same thing....

[loudouncntybride]

Actually, reflux can harm the baby---it can eat through his esophagus.

My 8 mo old son has terrible reflux and a milk allergy. I fired our previous ped, as they were uninterested in how poorly my son was doing and didn't take his spitting up seriously. I really liked them as people and they were conveniently located but I wasn't looking for a new best friend, I wanted a kid that I could actually like. It was sheer hell for 4 mos.

I took him to a GI ped and thank god b/c she told me to stop nursing immediately and put him on Neocate formula (hypoallergenic w/ no dairy/whey/casein) as well as give him Zantac and Prilosec. Nursing was a misery for both of us and it was a relief when I realized I couldn't continue--even after attempting an elimination diet of every food in the world he still couldn't stay awake more than 3-5 min. to eat so I couldn't produce more than 15 oz a day. Turns out breast was NOT best for my baby, I was nearly killing him with it--literally. He was gaining about 1 oz per wk (not the standard 1 oz/day). Once he got on the Neocate and meds he improved drastically. The spitting up continued but it wasn't flying out of his diaper anymore and he actually started gaining wgt!

He had an upper GI which showed no reflux at all. Then he had an endoscopy which showed he wasn't lactose intolerant nor had Celiac's Disease---but he can still be allergic rather than intolerant. So if your upper GI comes back w/ no sign of reflux it doesn't mean he doesn't have it. He just didn't experience it during the exam.

I don't know how you've withstood this for so long. You need a doctor who listens to you. Follow your gut on this one.

Also, Prevacid (commonly used here for reflux) has a milk base so if you're eliminating dairy you don't want that one, which is why my son is on Prilosec. At around 7 mos he improved greatly and rarely spits up at all now. I think it gets better as they get older--but they need to be treated in the meantime. He gets 1mL of Prilosec every a.m. and 2.5mL Zantac at night.

Good luck!

[LBW]

bump for updated OP

[TraciG]

I'm glad Connor is feeing better !!!!!

[s_gosney]

That's awesome news!!! Good for you for being a strong and persistent advocate for your child. And yes, hopefully the meds will keep doing the trick. Enjoy the sleep!