Losec or Zoton

[twoblueones]

Hi
DS2 is 9 months old and suffers from silent reflux, he has been on 5mg of Losec twice daily since he was around 3 weeks old. I have notice that since he has started crawling his reflux has been alot worse, he is taking two hours to settle at night then waking around every two hours through the night (he was sleep twelve hours at 9 weeks), only eating and drinking minimal amounts, screaming in pain everytime he tries to eat.
I have taken him to my GP (thankfully one who listens:thumbsup:) who has suggested we change his medication to Zoton 30 mg twice daily until he settles then I am to reduce the dose to once daily.
Can anyone tell me?
What is the difference between the two medications?

How long until I see a difference with the new medication?

How can I get him to eat again? (This morning I tried to give him breakfast and he immediately gagged and kept spitting it out.)

DS1 also had silent reflux so I am trying every trick I know to help him and getting no where. The chemist will have his new medication today, so I am hoping for a miracle.
Any advice will taken on board

Karen

[marieashworth]

Hi there
Sorry to hear that your son is having a hard time at the moment. Flare ups certainly keep us on our toes, and they can happen for many different reasons. Teething, immunisations, allergies, bad day, unwell, learning to crawl, constipation to name a few.

As they grow from a baby into a toddler, the reflux goes along for the ride, unsettled when they are babies lying down and then then they learn to sit, and mmmmm upright feeling for comfortable. We then learn to crawl, once again we are not upright and reflux more, but once we learn to walk things should settle down again.

From my understanding Zoton and Losec are both PPI (proton pump inhibitors) which means they suspress the production of acid. Each medication works differently in each child, some go better with zoton, some with Losec and some with Nexium. Each medication works for different length of time, Nexium lasts the longest in the system so when all else fails alot of parents try this medication.

Depending upon the amount of damage which has occured will then determine the amount of time it is going to take to heal.

At 9 mths he would also be on solids, has anything changed or have you tried something different, around the same time as this flare up? Allergies, preservatives, additives etc can all cause a huge flare up, even something which once was eaten can cause problems.

I hope you can manage to make him more comfortable. You can try using mylanta liquid before feeds, it may be enought to reduce the acid long enough for him to feed. With reflux kids some do end up getting an adversion to eating as they see it as causing pain. If he doesnt react to bonjella, give him some, this should numb the throat and he would feel more comfortable eating.

Dont worry too much about him not eating, once the reflux settles down, you could find that he will settle down again. He is probably just feeling extremely sore at the moment. Try giving him cool foods, like custards and see if that helps, I know with my daughter soup and bread is her favourite when flaring.

Good luck, remember things will get better, even though it doesnt feel like it at the moment. You are doing a fantastic job, keep it up.
Marie

[twoblueones]

Hi Marie
Thank you for your advice and support, we have been using the new medication since Friday and have noticed an improvement already. I actually got spontanious laughter from him :thumbsup: which means he's feeling a little better.
I have been trying elimination diets with him, he is currently on a no dairy diet, as DS1 had dairy intollerance which made his reflux worse. He has just gone back to basic veges and fruit for a while. Unfortunately I have also had to change his formula as it is no longer made anymore. I haven't tried mylanta yet, but the bonjela sounds like a good trick.

Thank you again
Karen

[marieashworth]

Hi Karen

Im glad things are starting to settle down, it may take a bit longer, but you will get there in the end.

Remember you are doing a fantastic job, please never doubt yourself.

Let us know if you need anything else, anything at all and we will be here to help.

Good luck
Marie