Acid Reflux - Pearland,TX

When my son was that age he had the same problem. Zantac alone didn't help. However, when we put him on both Zantac and Prevacid he improved dramatically and eventually outgrew the condition around 9 months. Good luck!

Both my children were like this and they WERE breastfed exclusively, so I don't think using formula always is the culprit. You have to do what you have to do. Gripe water didn't work for us at all. I think it's more for Colic - although some say Reflux is the new Colic??? Zantac didn't work for us either (or anyone I've talked with for that matter). Prevacid works much better. Plus, it comes in a fruit flavored solutab that you stick under their tongue and hold in place. It disolves instantly. It's much easier than working with a liquid. I don't know why the pediatricians keep prescribing Zantac first, but I guess it's protocal. Just ask to try Prevacid or something else. Still, there will be some degree of reflux until Eli is older and able to sit up. Blessings on you.

My son did the same thing I though he had acid reflux and took him to the doctor got the medicine it did not work he is now 1 and he grew out of it all I can tell you is I did all the things you did and it just took time when he started walking he stopped I am a mother of 7 and he is the only on who ever did that and I even breast feed them all so I can relate to what you are going through just give it time. it will get better just carry lots of bibs and change of clothes.

Hi--
My daughter (now 18 months and with no more digestive difficulties) also threw up after every meal for many months. She was exlusively breast fed, but would always spit up (occasionally somewhat focefully) after feedings--sometimes in amounts that looked much greater than what she could have ingested in one sitting! I tried changing my diet, cutting out various irritating foods, all spices, etc-- but still the regurgitation continued! We found the gripe water helped to some degree--we used the good old fashioned kind from the Indian food store, which seemed to make her more comfortable. You can also make your own using fresh ginger and mint decocted weakly in water with a bit of agave necter or a pinch of raw sugar added to make it more palatable. My other suggestion is that you seek out a qualified acupuncturist who can suggest a simple, safe herbal formula to help strengthen digestion--many of these "herbs" are also foods, and as such are very safe and gentle. Most acupuncturists are happy to consult with you about herbs. We used an herbal tincture-glycerine based-- as well as a tailored herbal formula in powder form during this time, ut herbs are specific for each case. My daughter's violent spitting up subsided around six or seven months as her digestive tract matured. It was a gradual process. Now, she is very healthy and eats everything offered to her without digestive trouble. I hope this helps, and wish you the best of luck!

Acid reflux is an indication that something is wrong, IMHO medication covers up the problem but doesn't fix it. Your kiddo has a food allergy or intolerance, most likely to either dairy and/or soy. Hang in there mama!

My daughter had silent acid reflux too and I felt like she cried the first 3 months of her life. The things that seemed to work for us most of the time were, 1 previcid every day, thickening agent in every bottle (simple thick or thick it), nutramigen formula, sleeping at night and nap on a larger wedge that she was strapped into for up to 6 or 7 months old. During the day we kept her upright as much as possible in the bumbo, bouncy, swing or whatever. Hang in there, I know it is not fun.

Also, she is almost 3 yrs. old now and totally fine and has no allergies.

S. Jameson
www.sherman.jbfsale.com

I remember my grandmother talking about my aunt, when she was a baby she could not keep down milk, someone told her to buy goats milk and make her formular with the goats milk. Goats milk can be bought in cans. It is found with the canned milk on the shelf at the super market. This solved my aunts problem of holding down milk. You might check into this as an option.
S.

I greatly controlled my son's reflux by making his bottles super, super thick with cereal. I'd put 50/50 water and cereal. Started with rice cereal and then went to oatmeal. I'd mix it in the blender because it was so thick. It worked great. The ladies at day care would even show other mom's my bottles as an example of exactly how thick to get it. It really worked great for him and kept him off a lot of medicines.

One blender full made a day's worth of bottles.

Good luck!

My daughter has acid reflux, also. Does your son have a problem gaining weight? My daughter did, so they also prescribed her Reglan (I don't think I'm spelling it right). After about 2 days on both meds, I really saw a difference. Make sure to be really diligent about giving him his Zantac in the morning and at night. I breast feed, but I have heard Enfamil AR (acid reflux) works well. Another suggestion is to keep him upright (in a swing, bouncy seat, sitting with you) for at least 20 minutes after each feeding, and elevate his changing mat. I just put an inclined pillow under it. Best of luck! It is suppose to get better with age! My daughter is almost 6 months and is off both meds and is doing great! :)

I feel your pain! My daughter suffered from the same thing from when she was a few weeks old until about 7 months. Thank goodness she grew out of it (which most infants do!!!) My daughter's doctor gave her Axid, which helps acid reflux, but doesn't get rid of it. My daughter really didn't respond all that great to it, it worked on occassion. You just have to buy lots of cheap burp cloths, soak that clothes, and keep your chin up. I know it hurts to see them spit up all the time, but they will grow out of it!
She was also put on Nutramigen formula at about 4 months which is VEWY expensive (thank god for WIC) but it worked to reduce the number of times she spit up.

Hi K.,
Sorry to hear your son has acid reflux disease. My youngest son has it, he got ulcers when he was 13. The medicines for it always gave him a headache. He still has to be careful of what he eats or drinks and he is 27 now. Hope the medicine and knowledge of this disease is better now than when my son was young. Good luck!
M. Johnson

My daughter was doing the same thing and we switched her formula with evaporated milk (not condensed) and water at a 50/50 ratio. It was amazing. She has not thrown up since after a feeding. Good luck!

First off, please don't start adding solids to your baby's diet. Their digestive system just isn't ready. It will only make the vomit hurt the baby worse when the what's coming up is heavier. Our dd#4 was a reflux baby, and we had her on prevacid and then zantac from the 4th week of life, until she was 12 mos old. It must be taken consistently, not just whenever you remember. It's not like tums that you take when you feel ill. As a few of the other posters said, it's also very weight sensitive. You'll know that your baby has gained weight because he'll be howling in pain and throwing up again. You'll need to add a little more to his dosage. Please stick with the meds the pediatrician gave you. Breast IS best, it's the perfect food. Formula has words in it you can't even pronounce. You may need to make adjustments to your diet to take out any offensive foods, such as dairy or soy. But it's SO worth it. Good luck!!

I don't think you will notice a change with gripe water. It's just a natural stomach soother. If he isn't getting relief from Zantac, I would talk to your doctor again. My girlfriend's son was on Zantac with no change. Prevacid did the trick for him.

Same problem here. DD is on Prevacid, but it only helps with the pain. Doc recommended I put some rice cereal in her bottle to thicken up the formula a bit. This WORKS!!! Just a scoop in her bottle and it does not come back nearly as much! Gripe water did NOTHING for us. It will go away as soon as the little ones sit up! Good luck and this too shall pass!!!

Try getting on prevacid that worked for my son and you need to give it to them daily to work. What is important is their comforte. did not find gripewate to work and I beleive recently they found a problem with gripe water.

i experienced the same thing....get him on prevacid...that's the only thing that worked...good luck!

I have twins and they both suffored from acid reflex, it was horrible.
Their medication did not work so I was advised to give them Malox at every feeding.
I tell you, that was the best idea I had, it worked great!
I hope it works out for you.

My 3 month old son has reflux and he is on Prevacid. The only thing the medication helps with is the pain and discomfort associated with the reflux. He still spits up a tremendous amount and, like you said, it doesn't matter what you do. He is exclusively breastfed and I have tried changing my diet, etc. and nothing matters. I even tried the gripe water and it didn't do anything for him either. I don't think you can do anything about the spitting up. I use the medicine because if I don't, he cries (okay, screams) after every feeding because of the pain. Unfortunately, I think you're just going to have to learn to live with the spitting up until he outgrows it. My doctor said that things should improve around 6-8 months old when he is sitting up more by himself.

Good luck! I know how annoying it is. I go through countless burp cloths and bibs in a day.

Firstly, try giving the Zantac as ordered for a full week and see if it helps when given all the time. My second son was like that until he was a little over a year. In the beginning I fought the idea of giving him medicine, but he was throwing us 6-8 times a day. My doctor put him on Prilosec OTC. He stopped throwing up from the first day he was on it! My doc said Prilosec usually works better than Zantac(and is much cheaper), but moms and docs prefer Zantac because it comes in an easier to give form(liquid). I crushed the prilosec and put it in a spoon of applesauce. He never had a problem taking it. Every 2-3 months I took him off of it for 2-3 days and if the symptoms came back, I started giving it to him again. He finally grew out of it. I hope this helps. Talk with your Doctor about it adn good luck!

Beware some of the responses to your question are givng medical/medicinal information that is incorrect. I am an RN, check with your doc before changing anything!! Check this out too... http://www.infantreflux.org/medicines.htm

My youngest has reflux. We tried the Gripe water with no sucess. Our doctor told us to use Enfamil AR...formula for babies who spit up. It has rice protein in it. I helped almost immediatly! He did have to had med. also (zantac), but the formula helped greatly with the spit-up. We have tried to switch his formula and he begins to spit-up when we do. I would call the doctors office and see if they can give you any samples of the Enfamil AR to try.

my brother did that when he was a baby he had a small portion of his intestine or stomach that was pinched shut he had surgery and then every thing was fine.

Also if you are on formula simalac has a sinsitive formula that work great for my grandaughter

My son is almost 9 months old and he had acid reflux but not as bad as some. His Dr. put him on Nutramigen (sp) formula and also perscribed him Axid which he takes in the AM and at bedtime. He's been on soy formula (Isomil Advance) for a few months now and that's for spitting up also. For a while we put some cereal in his bottles to thicken the formula, but you have to get the faster flowing nipples to allow it to flow through. We didn't have to do that for long...maybe a month or so and then he started on baby food. We also have tried every bottle under the sun and we ended up sticking with the good old fashioned Playtex Drop-ins. OMG so easy and no bubbles! Oh yeh, and gripe water....we ordered something like that and it was coal black and stained everything and we tried to be very careful with it, but we didn't see any real imrprovement. Homeopathics DO work well for teething though...Highlands Teething Tabs. Good Luck!

Since we had silent reflux I can't help much with the vomiting.

One of the frustrations with Gripe Water is that every manufacturer makes it a bit different. You can get one w/ sodium bicarbonate, or another with variations of charcoal (vegetable or other - this is the one that is black, stains everything, and turns their stools black.) Or "all natural" versions. We've tried Little Tummies Gripe Water (sodium bicarbonate) though the bottle doesn't say it, research suggested that a person not take sodium bicarbonate for more than 2 weeks. It worked for gas, but not reflux. We've also tried Colic Ease (all natural, no sugar added, no charcoal or sodium bicarbonate) worked for a period of a week or so. The vegetable charcoal (on my research) is thought to inhibit some nutrient absorbtion, plus stains everything. I didn't try Baby Bliss, though a friend did and she loved it. They had a major recall awhile back though for tainted bottles, last year maybe?

All reflux medications have to be given regularly to make a significant difference. You aren't doing him or yourself any favors by being inconsistent. We used Zantac25 effervecent. It dissolves like alka selzer, tastes like a bitter sprite. We used a medicine pacifier to give it, and she sucked it down. As she got older, it having been such a routine she would ask for her "tacky" at bedtime. We started out twice a day, weaned her down to once a day, and finally off of it about 16 months. Prevacid didn't work for her, but seems to be our pediatricians favorite.

She was also breastfed until 10 months. I gave up all Dairy, watched the spicy foods, no alcohol ever (even if I pumped & dumped the next feeding would still make her more miserable.) It was really h*** o* all of us, and now we're repeating with our second baby. *sigh* I truly feel for you.

Both of my little ones had that also and I used Baby Bliss Gripe Water. It is FABULOUS. We used that and ended-up taking them off of Reglun and Zantac. A nurse told me about it and I tried it and it made a huge difference. I have told a lot of mom's about it and I get great feedback from them. You might want to give it a try. Good luck.

My daughter had reflux too. Her specialist switched her off of zantac and put her on Mylanta. We gave her 1/4 tsp between/after meals of Mylanta Supreme Cherry. It helped a lot. But, she still threw up, but not as much. As she got older the amount increased. I couldn't really give away any of her clothes as they were all very stained. It's just part of it.

I used gripe water for both my boys.. You will have to go to the website to find the nearest pharmacy that carries it.. I am sure Peoples pharmacy does.. It helps with gas and colic.. I also used the Dr. Brown bottles and didn't find much success.. Good luck, my older son didn't stop spitting up until he started walking.. J.

my 5 month old has reflux as well. I don't think the gripe water helps with the amount of spit up but just makes them so they are not crying from the acid burning their throat (think heartburn). My daughter is on Prevacid and it seems to be working. It took almost 2 weeks to start working though and you do have to consistently give it for it to properly work. It is only given once a day though so it is not a hassle. You could also ask your DR for a prescription for Reglan. It is a medicine that is supposed to help food move faster through the body therefore causing the formula to leave the stomach a little faster. My daughter was on this for a little bit but I found it made he a little wired. however, the side effects are different for everyone.

First of all how long has he been on the Zantac. You have to give it consistantly (per instructions) for about 10 days or so for it to really kick in. My daughter was the same way and once we gave it the chance to work, it was amazing how much better she was. Eventually they did move her up to Previcid but she is 14 months and it wasn't for a while. Also try changing formula. We put her on Soy formula and they made quite a difference. She eats all milk products now (cheese, milk, yogurt, etc....) but it was something about that soy protein in the formula that she had a hard time with. I would also check with your doctor and find out if you baby is on the most Zantac they can have for his weight. I know that my docotr didn't give my daughter a high enough dose for how much she weighed. Trust me... I know what you are going through and it is not easy. My sister's little boy is four months older than my daughter so if you need to vent... I am here. We were there for each other, and you really need to be able to just be frustrated.

Try adding a little cereal to the formula to weigh it down. This worked great for us.
P.S. The gripe water didnt work very well for us. I use the Mylicon drops and Chamomile drops from Sun Harvest.

Good luck. I hope it gets better soon.

Perhaps it's timet to move to previcid or pepcid or something similiar. Also, he may have outgrown the dosage. Talk to the nurse at your peds. office. He may need to be re-weighed to determine if the dose is accurate for his weight.

Get some prevacid. Ask your dr about switching to it instead of zantac. It works!!! It is stronger and easier to give - the zantac didn't work with my 2 babies (now age 1 and 3) but the Prevacid worked GREAT. You also may want to put her on soy formula. Good luck!
C.

Wow, you got a lot of great advice! I will just add my two cents, which will probably echo some other responses. Both my kids had acid reflux ... only my daughter vomited frequently, though, and she stopped after we started her on Prevacid. If Zantac isn't working for your baby, you may consider switching to a different medicine, but of course ask your pediatrician. Also we were big users of Mylanta (I have also heard that Maalox helps), and like another poster said, you give the dose just before feeding and also before bed, and that helps keep the acid down. Another tip I had, which helped with both my kids, was to keep them upright for 20 minutes after each feeding to keep the acid down. Hope this helps!

My daughter was colicky and once I put her on real food (cheese,yogurt,cereals) she started throwing up very night. I thought she didn't want to go to bed- turns out she had a milk allergy. I immediately took her off all dairy- she had already been drinking soy formula becuase of the colic(and it had seemed to help) so this didn't show up until I started adding dairy back in. It does sound like a food allergy. And I had been to the pediatrician and he never brought up food allergies- even though she had her first ear infection at 6 weeks and kept having them every 5 to 6 weeks-until I took her off dairy. Now my daughter is 10 and has no food allergies although she has never learned to like the taste of milk and still eats her cereal with Formula!

You have to remember that the zantac only works if you give it to them regularly. It is not an instant relief. It took more than a week of regular dosage for my son to stop screaming with pain. Also, the medicine will not keep them from throwing up. It just reduces the acid in their tummy so when it does come up it is not painful. As far as the Gripe Water...My kids hated it. It tasted horrible and you have to give a larger dose than they are used to. it was always a fight. Good Luck...it's a tough situation.

Both my children had acid reflux (still do at 5 and 7). As infants, they were on Reglan(sp?) to help control the reflux. They took it 30 minutes before they ate. Once they went to a GI doctor, he switched us to a different med but I cannot remember the name. Took Zantac/Prilosec to neutalize the acid.

Talk to your child's pediatrician. Maybe it is time to go up a step in their treatment. Many doctor try the minimal level of meds and hope that helps. Zantac/Prilosec will make the spit up not painful for your child but will not help with what is going on physically. If I remember correctly, Reglan helps relax the valve that keeps the food in the esphogus so that it is more likely to keep more food down. Most kids outgrow GRED but it may come back when they get older as it did for my children.

Hope that help. Sorry your little one (and you) are going through this.

Hi K.,
My son had acid reflux for the first year of his life. It was awful. He had it so bad that he could not even sleep laying down it hurt so much. He screamed after each feeding, and projectile spit up. It was miserable. I would suggest two things, none of the homeopathic stuff (like gripe water) worked for me at all. I am all for trying things, because what didn't work for me might for you. However, I would suggest, talking to your Dr. They can adjust the Zantac, or give him a different prescription altogether. Zantac didn't work well for us at first, we had a different prescription, but as my son got older, then the Zantac worked best. Also, I found that if I fed him right before he was super hungry, he didn't eat as fast. The slower I could get him to take his formula, the better it would stay down. Also, if I could get him to eat a little rice cereal around the same time, then he had an easier time keeping the formula down. I know it is frustrating, but really, talk to your Dr about it, they are they to help you. GOOD LUCK!! It will get better!!

We had a baby with reflux. You have to give them the zantac religously. I know, they hate the taste and squirm and cry. The other issue with zantac is that it is very weight sensitive. The dosage has to constantly change in order to match the baby's growth. You pediatrician should allow you to make drop in visits every week or two weeks in order to keep the dosage correct. We used the zantac from about 2 months to 5 months old. At the 5 month mark we started weaning off and by 6 months, we started solids and were completely off the zantac. I would hang in there. Right around that 4-5 month mark, their digestive system is much more mature and you will probably start seeing less barf.

my son was on zantac with poor results. we switched to prevacid with much better results. Also put baby on an incline wedge while sleeping.

My children haven't had AR but a dear friend's did. She got on Craigslist and bought an Amby Baby bed/hammock and it completely changed their life for the better. Her children loved it and no more serious AR scares she'd been experiencing. AmbyBaby is online (they're out of Australia) and you can get good deals with them on ebay, craigslist, etc. Maybe something to look into (and I'm not saying in place of the prescriptions, but it might work beautifully for your baby, and you can always resell it if not).

Dear K.
Is your baby puking or projectile vomiting?
Since you have given everything in your power a bash (and gripe water I doubt will work for vomiting), I think you are going to have to consult with a paediatrician as your baby may have pyloric stenosis.
Sometimes they outgrow this condition, rarely it requires surgery - but in any case your paediatrician will probably recommend a thicker type of formula.
Alternately, your baby may have a lactose intolerence and need a soy substitute instead of milk.
All the best Jewel.

We almost had to go home w/out our daughter after she was born due to her reflux. We were sent home with over $200 worth of prescriptions, one being Zantac, and just like you it didn't work. After doing some research I found out that Enfamil AR is a formula that is pre-mixed with some rice cereal. Her reflux didn't go away completely but I swear that this helped. Also, we split up her feedings, giving her less formula in one sitting but adding feedings to make up for it. Again, that was very helpful for us. I hope this helps.

We stayed away from Grip Water as there were mixed things on it and I just didn't feel safe using it.

Good luck.

i had the same thing happen with my little girl. well she is 2 1/2 now, but when she was born she wouldnt eat or take to to me. she would throw up everything. i never had anything nice to wear. ask the doctor about your baby's formula. we had to change her formula and it help so much. she had lost weight for throwing up so much. now she is happy and health. so just talk to your baby's doctor.

K.,

Have you tried soy based formula?