Infantreflux.org | I need some sleep!!

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October 30, 2006 at 8:42 am #16782

Anonymous
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I just need to know that someday this little guy is going to sleep again? He wakes constantly all night now. Im not sure Im going to make it til the Prevacid kicks in. He seems to be doing better during the day but worse at night than he ever has. He was sleeping most of the night a month ago and now he wakes between 6-12 times per night. Could the Prevacid be causing this? He is on compounded Prevacid which he s to take and Im going to try to get caracream or zegerid but until them i think I going to go crazy, I neeeeed some sleep!! I wish I could sleep during the day but I have four other children and this little guy will only sleep in the swing. Maybe tonight I will let him sleep in the swing or cry it out. But if he is in pain then I feel like he needs me to comfort him. Please tell me that once the medications kick in that they sleep better. I dont understand why he was sleeping so good and now he is so bad? Any ideas, suggestions, helpful hints, hopeful comments– He is on day eight of the Prevacid, he seems not so fussy in between feedings but feedings he is still uncomfortable. Is the Prevacid doing anything at this point? why does it take so long to kick in? Should I try to get something else for him in the meantime like Zantac? He slept so much better before this medication I am so tempted to take him off and deal with the problems we had with eating. It was so funny because I read someones post yesterday about how things were finally better and she was sleeping again and remembering those long months of getting no sleep and it made me feel so much better. It just feels like this is going to go on forever and he was doing so good before.
If I switch to zegerid do I have to wait another two weeks before I see improvement again? Oh well, thank goodness when they smile at you it makes anything worth it to make them happy!!

October 30, 2006 at 9:21 am #16784

hellbennt
Keymaster

no, do not do cry it out when baby is pain

crying aggrevates reflux, plus baby just can’t help it…

onwards:

from here: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6627&a mp;KW=article take note of second paragraph

kevieb wrote: Posted: 24 October 2006 at 10:31am | IP Logged

well, the cinncinati hospital has a pretty good reputation for gastro problems. the article said the children were given a variety of reflux meds—-i would take that to mean H2 blockers and PPI’s were both probably used—and probably a few other meds as well.

my understanding is that the reason the PPI’s seem to take a little while to help is that it takes a couple of weeks for them to facilitate healing so that pain is eliminated—not that it takes a few weeks for the drug itself to start working in the body or “kick in” .i think that just about everyone of us on this board has said this—-but we are really passing on info to newcomers that is not exactly correct when we use those terms. the degree of esophageal irritation among different babies would explain why some babies get relief much quicker with PPi’s than other babies do.

the article didn’t state whether or not the infants were given medication for just that nights test, or if they had already been on the meds for an appropriate amount of time, nor did it tell the dosage amounts. it also didn’t tell what they were using to guage “relief”.

was it the babie’s apparent comfort level, or was it what a ph probe actually showed? there is just too much info missing to be able to make a good assessment of the study—-i wonder if the study could be looked up anywhere else that might give more details.

i know that when sylvia had her ph probe and endo done that she did not even flinch when she refluxed—-and her esophagus was ulcerated. you wouldn’t have known how bad her reflux was if you were just watching her behavior during the day. i actually thought she had a fairly good day the day of her probe. i guess what i am trying to say is that simply observing a baby on meds isn’t exactly “scientific”—-but i don’t know if that’s what they did during the study…

October 30, 2006 at 9:31 am #16787

Anonymous
Inactive

Hi there,
I’m so sorry for all you’re going through right now. I’ve been through this at one point too before Bryce was on medicine. I think the best thing you could do right now is to let him sleep in his swing until the medicine starts working. I had to let my son sleep in his car seat for awhile because that was the only way he would sleep. Good luck and hang in there! I hope things get better for you soon.

October 30, 2006 at 9:57 am #16790

Anonymous
Inactive

I’m sorry you are going through this and I certainly know how it feels to be living on no sleep. Eliana was up every 20 minutes to one hour every single night of her life from the age of 10 weeks until she finally outgrew her reflux at 9 months of age. I had an older daughter and couldn’t sleep during the day either, though Ellie didn’t sleep much during the day either. She hated the swing, so that was no help. It was pure h*ll, BUT she was never properly medicated and that’s why it never got better. I’m just sharing this to tell you that I’ve been there and I know how hard it is…not to scare you.

My second refluxer was properly medicated (a high dose of Prevacid) and he did great. I think if you just hang in there a few more days, you may begin to finally see a big difference.

Do you have his mattress elevated? The incline can really help keep stomach contents and acid down at night. When I had heartburn and reflux during pregnancy laying flat was torture.

As to why he was sleeping so well before…..I have two theories. 1. His reflux pain was not as severe initially and suddenly the damage became severe enough to prevent him from sleeping. This is what happened with Eliana. She was sleeping 12 hours (yes 12 hours!!!) a night at 8 weeks of age. I was in heaven. Then suddenly she started waking constantly. Initially I though it was a fluke, teething, gas… I had no idea but it got worse and worse and she never slept through the night again until her reflux was gone….but like I said before she was not properly medicated. 2. Some babies are senstive to the added ingredients in Prevacid (aspertame and lactose). Most will adapt and no longer be bothered by them. Myles had terrible cramps when he first started Prevacid, but by two weeks they were gone and he was fine.

I hope that helps some. I know it’s hard, but I also know it can and does get better. Hang in there and keep us posted.

October 30, 2006 at 10:01 am #16791

Anonymous
Inactive

If the sleeping problems started when you started Prevacid, then Stop the Prevacid and call your doctor for a different strategy to help your child with the feeding difficulties.

October 30, 2006 at 11:07 am #16799

Anonymous
Inactive

Laura, thankyou for explaining about the healing. I didnt understand thats what was going on. It makes allot of sense then that they can be refluxing from birth but not have the damage severe enough to cause pain yet and as it gets worse theyre patterns can change. So now I am just waiting for the damage to heal. That would be why I saw some improvement already about fifty percent. Mostly during the day, he is pretty happy unless I am trying to get him to sleep. At night he is probably still in pain because thats when reflux is its worst. This does help to understand what is going on. Good news, I just called my insurance company and switched doctors. I have an appointment with a new doctor on Wed. Hopefully, I can get Zegerid to try and also something like Zantac in the meantime until he heals and can sleep. Does anyone know if I switch medications does it interupt this whole process of healing and waiting? Has anyone had a bad experience with Zegerid?

October 30, 2006 at 1:38 pm #16822

Anonymous
Inactive

Did you start off with Zantac and then move to the Prevacid? I think the explaination Laura posted on the healing makes perfect sense but also I’ve been told (and experienced this) that while you are waiting for the PPI to “kick in” that you should continue the Zantac as well? I’m not exactly sure how it works or gives relief but it seemed to for us.

Also, I’m not sure if this would help you at night or not but I think it would… have you tried Mylanta Supreme? I’ve been told it works as an immediate relief but just isn’t a long term “fix.” Maybe someone else (Laura?) has some better thoughts? I know there is a thread over on the medicines board that has some info from Joel… I think the thread name has to do with the 30 minute rule. If you read his info and then follow the link he posted, it explains how the PPI’s work and all the timing.

October 30, 2006 at 3:51 pm #16843

Anonymous
Inactive

just to let you know that i let my dd sleep in a swing every night and she sleeps through the night… lets hope by saying that it doesn’t backfire on me

anyways if he sleeps in his swing then there should not be a problem and that is probably where he feels most comfortable. Just keep in mind that you have to find what’s best for you and your son. It could be something simple like the swing sleeping or something that is totally out of the ordinarry…

good luck
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