I’m confused

you are saying the reflux makes him uncomfortable….
that is because its acidic. the PPI will stop the acid, thus making him more comfortable. my sons reflux no longer bothers him now that he is on a PPI.

and yes, if he is throwing up hours after a feeding, it could mean slow digestion. my understanding is many babies grow out of this, you just have to give it time.

i really recommend trying a PPI.

nataliachick72006-9-28 20:45:21

oh my god yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think every single mom on here has said her baby slept better once on medication.

Hi there. Sorry that you are still having a hard time with Matthew’s reflux. I do think it’s worth a try to get your doctor to prescribe a PPI. Also, you might want to try to get in to see a ped GI. There’s a clinic not far from where you are at Centennary Health Centre called the Galaxy 12. We went there for a bit, but they weren’t really able to do anything to help my daughter so we ended up at sick kids. They are nice, but very conservative and won’t do aggressive dosing like that suggested on marci-kids (I know because I tried everything to get a higher dose from them).

Hopefully some medication will make him more comfortable. Hailey’s acid is now well controlled for the most part, and she no longer has any irritation to her esophagus that they can see, but she is a terrible sleeper. She wakes up frequently due to reflux coming up her throat- sometimes it comes right out and I find her sheets wet, other times I hear it come up and she cries out, most times she coughs, chokes, and sputters and then sounds congested. So the PPI has helped with the pain, but hasn’t solved the sleep problem.

As I said, I would try and see if medication, either zantac or a PPI, help him. (I prefer the PPI, but protocol here seems to be try zantac first, then they’ll go for a PPI). If not (or in the meantime) you might want to try elevating his mattress so that he is less likely to reflux. This has helped a bit with the night time reflux episodes for us.

If your son is not uncomfortable after he refluxes, but is just “awakened” by the refluxing itself, he may be a happy spitter, and you’re right that medication won’t solve this. But the meds are quite safe, so if you’re not sure if it’s pain or not, then you can always see if it makes a difference or not.

Hailey also has slow motility, and some babies outgrow this. We were recently told at sick kids that some babies always have slow motility, and that Hailey is likely one of these. Here in Canada we have access to a motility medication called “domperidone”. It moves the food along the GI tract by causing the intestine to contract, and thereby the stomach to empty more frequently. When there is less food in the stomach, the thought is that they are less likely to reflux. But use of these meds is somewhat controversial, especially in the US where they don’t have domperidone, which I was told was quite safe (but who knows). We did try it with Hailey, but it’s hard to give as it has to be given many times a day about 15 minutes before a meal. It gave Hailey cramps and didn’t solve her problem so we stopped giving it.

In any case, I think your best bet is to get a referral to a ped GI. They can assess your son and help you to work through some of the issues so that Matthew can get some relief.

Good luck.