Reflux - sliding backwards again

[Mellymoo]

Hello

I also posted this on the RISA forum, but thought I would also like to hear from other parents as well.

I have a DD who is 3 months old. From pretty early on, she had the signs and symptoms of reflux and the GP initially put her on Zantac - 1ml, twice a day which seemed to be working for a while, then it seemed to stop working.

I took DD back to the GP, who suggested we put her on Losec - 5mg, twice a day. This also seemed to be working, although much messier to administer.

However, today and yesterdat, and the other odd day here and there, she has been inconsolable. She is bringing up a lot of milk after her feeds and windy too. Nothing seems to calm her down and it's like the more she cries, the more she can't stop herself and just gets worse and worse, to the point where she is hysterical.

It takes me ages to get her off to sleep, which is only ever in my arms, and she's a big baby (7kg) and is killing my back !

Today it took me 30 minutes in my arms walking around with her. She fell asleep finally, then I put her in the cot. I went outside to hang out some washing, came back in and she's going bananas again in her cot.

It's very tiring.

I thought the Losec was supposed to be better than the Zantac ?

Now I don;t know what to do - should I take her back to the GP ? He said last time if the Losec didn't work, that he would give me a referral to a pediatric docotr that specialises in this sort of stuff and they may have to do some sort of invasive investigation to see what's going on.

Now I'm thinking - it's not EVERY day she is hysterical like this. But there's more and more of these days more often.

AT what point do you agree to do the invasive investigation ? What else can I do before we do this ? I mean, how 'bad' does your baby have to be suffering from reflux before you decide to have this done ?

Why isn't the Losec working now ? Some days it seems to work, some days it doesn't.

I'm just hoping that I can ride it out until she is on solids and maybe that will settle her down.

I thought that the invasive procedure would be for babies worse than mine - am I making sense ?

Today she was so bad I just had to put her in her cot and let her cry. She was crying in my arms and I was getting worked up too so I had to put her down and walk out. I felt terrible for doing that too.

Help !

[Oscar's mum]

Perhaps go and speak to your local Pharmacy and see what they say about giving Losec and Mylanta or Gaviscon - that is what Isla is on (granted it isn't actually working for her - but it might work for your bubba). Reflux sucks dosn't it:banghead:

[Rell]

:hugs: Both of my kids had reflux so I know how hard it can be. This might seam a little off the subject but has your Dr checked for a UTI and also allergies or intollerances as offtem both of these can present with similar symptoms as reflux.

Hope you find something that works

[Nowhere]

sorry to here you ar haviing abad time with the reflux the ups and downs are the worst hense why ists called the reflux rolercoaster around 3 -4 monmths is often a time when the reflux can peak for some on known reason but i have heard it alot b4 hope full t it ma stele down again however that doesnt make it any easier to deal with

With the losec i dont know if you have been told probly not as they dont seem to bother it can take around 14 days for it to work as it is a proton pump inhibitor so it needs time to get to work, maybe talk to the pead about using zantac as well inthe meantime ans well as gastrogel or mylanta keep in mind that gastrogel or mylanta cant be used 1 hour either side of losec as it can stop in working, also are you getting the losec compunded or are your tying to disolve it your self if you are getting the tablets i stongly advoce you get teh compunded form as it is alot earier to use and you are more likely to get the full dose into you baby as no litle pelets are left behind in the syringe please check any of this with yourpead b4 doing it i know you will but i better say this so i dont get im trouble

As far as testing goes the only one that is realy invasive it the endoscopy to check the osophagus as they need to out them to sleep for that but the other tests are not to bad the best test in an emperdece study its athin tube that goes down the nose for 24 hours looks the same as a nasogastric tube and it moniters the amount of relux in a 24 hour period and that give a great insight into whats going o, the other test they may do is a Upper gi *barium swallow as some call it) this is like an xray only they have to drink some contrast and the radiographer will watch it pass tinto the tummy ect its not always great for oicking up reflux but is great to check for any anatomy issues causing thr reflux

as for when you let them test no one can tell you that but in my opinion having the tests done helps you and the drs know exactly what you are dealing with which can make the treatment better suited

hope this helps

sorry i go on a bit dont i

[scarlet]

My first suggestion would be the dosing of the losec, if you are using the tablet, make sure you don't crush the beads as they have to be intact when she swallows them.

If it is the suspension then you should get it compounded every two weeks as some pharmacies add too much flavouring or not enough buffer and you find the medication will only last the two weeks instead of 4 like suggested.

At 3 months I would think that 10mg should be enough, but like mikenzeesmum said you should give it at least two weeks to see an improvement and if it hasn't been that long then wait it out, if it has been that long, if it is improving a little, it will hopefully get better and better.

Losec is a better drug than zantac though it will not stop the vomiting it works by stopping the acid making pumps in the body whereas zantac works to reduce the acidity of already made acid. But it won't stop vomiting, it will just decrease the acid content of it so it won't be doing any damage.

Depending on how long that she has been on the losec I would wait at least the two weeks, and make sure you aren't crushing it. But if it has been a month say, then I would go back, and maybe increase the dose.

The problem with the reflux specialists, at least here in Perth is there is a 6-12 week wait, which does not help the problem at hand.

With the investigation, generally I would not do anything at this time, most specialists will wait until there are problems being caused BY the reflux, like not eating, or ear infections, pnuemonia, sleep apnea, this is when they generally start to investigate.


My son was 14months before he got his first reflux testing. and at this point he was very bad, but this is not ideal.

Why is the losec working some days and not others, this is the whole reflux question, it is a rollercoaster, adn that is why it plays with you so much, but I would start with inclining the bed and keeping her upright after feeds at least two hours, get a baby sling. It doesn't always get better on solids generally worse as the acid is made a biproduct to aid digestion, so the more food that is there the more acid and hence the more reflux.

I would look into the milk, try a hypoallergenic formula like the Nan HA Gold or if you are breastfeeding try to take soy and dairy out of your diet, it helps a lot of refluxers.

Here is a link to 14 ways to help acid reflux.
http://infantrefluxdisease.com/help-infant-reflux.php

Good luck I hope it is that you have just started the losec and it is kicking in. Post again if you have more questions.