Infantreflux.org | Prilosec suspension vs. Prevacid

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October 30, 2006 at 8:27 pm #16866

Anonymous
Inactive

Hi Everyone,

I am new here and have found this site so helpful! Thank you!! I have 2 month old twins, a boy and a girl. They both have reflux that causes them a lot of pain. They cry as they nurse and get extremely stiff and arch their heads back. They also have other symptoms such as spitting up, hiccups, coughing, wheezing, etc. First we tried Zantac and there was no change. We are now on 2 1/2 mL of Prilosec suspension (with sodium bicarbonate). It seemed to work for about 12 days and now they are miserable again. I did get it flavored before I knew it could change the potentcy. Without the flavor, it just tastes terrible. I am not really sure if that is the problem or their dose is too low. But It did work for the first 12 days. I am going to call my doctor but I also wanted to get your opinion on prilosec versus prevacid. It seems like a lot of people on this site have their children on prevacid. Is one medicine more effective than another?

Thanks!

Cathy

October 30, 2006 at 8:40 pm #16869

hellbennt
Keymaster

cathy, welcome!

I have a lot to say & I’ve said a lot of it here: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&am p;PN=1&TPN=1

please please find the time to read/skim/bookmark this link, as it really will help you!

as for the prilosec vs prevacid, it seems some babies react better to one over the other…(there’s info from the above link)

and, as for the compound, you can ask for flavoring onthe side- if you go to the ‘medicine’ forum & click on the top post called ‘treating GERD w/ PPIs and from there, scroll down to the purple post, then you can read how exactly to ask for your PPI to be compounded.

glad you found us!

~laura

October 30, 2006 at 8:56 pm #16872

Anonymous
Inactive

Hello and welcome,

I’m sure Laura’s links (posted above) have the information you need about Prilosec and Prevacid.

I just wanted to welcome you and wish you the best in finding relief for your little ones. Things were so bad with Myles, but once his meds were right there was a complete turnaround. So, hang in there and keep working on it until you find what works.

It seems like you may be having a problem with potency if it was working for the first 12 days.

Here’s a website with information on PPI dosing where you can compare your babies’ doses to what these current researchers recommend. Not all babies need the high doses they suggest, but my son definitely did. http://www.marci-kids.com

Good luck and glad you found us.

October 31, 2006 at 9:53 am #16901

Anonymous
Inactive

Hi there and welcome. Sorry to hear that your twins have reflux! I can only imagine how difficult it is having two refluxers in pain at the same time.

As for one med over the other, I really think that it’s a matter of different things working better for different babies. Some people like prevacid because they can use the solutab which tastes good, but then have to deal with timing the meds around empty stomachs and meal times, which can be a challenge, especially with twins. Prevacid worked better for Hailey, but it may have been that she was on a higher dose of prevacid than prilosec.

About compounding, there might be two issues. One is the stability and the flavouring. The other is that marci-kids did some research on compounding meds, and they say that in order for there to be enough buffer per dose to protect the drug, it should usually be somewhere between a 2-4mg/ml suspension, and you need to give at least 3.5ml per dose. If each dose is less than 7ml, then you need to have it prepared with 16.8 percent sodium bicarbonate and no flavourings of any kind- this includes things like simple syrup, or stevia powder. And yes, it tastes NASTY- like salty bitter liquid.

Or, you can check out marci-kids.com, like Christine suggested, and see if zegerid might be a good choice for your little ones since they’re on prilosec anyways. It’s a newer med, so many docs aren’t aware of it, but it was originally designed by marci-kids with infants and children in mind, and is essentially a guaranteed-to-be-stable prilosec suspension- I’ve heard it tastes like peachy-mint, but I’ve never tried it myself as you can’t get it in Canada.

Hang in there. Once you get the meds under control they should be more comfortable.

Welcome to the site.

November 3, 2006 at 4:40 pm #17161

Anonymous
Inactive

Hi everyone,

Thank you SO much for your thoughtful replies. Everything about this site has been such a help! My doctor prescribed 7.5 mg of Prevacid for our twins.

Cathy

November 3, 2006 at 5:16 pm #17168

Anonymous
Inactive

Cathy wrote:

Hi everyone,

Thank you SO much for your thoughtful replies. Everything about this site has been such a help! My doctor prescribed 7.5 mg of Prevacid for our twins.

Cathy

good luck with the 7.5 mg.

hope it works, though i know many babies on here didnt get any relief until they were on 30 mg.

7.5 is prob the lowest dose i have ever heard of.

November 3, 2006 at 7:55 pm #17171

Anonymous
Inactive

Gabby is currently on 15 mg of Prevacid and it is doing wonders for her. Lower dosages can work for some kids, but don’t be afraid to call your doc if it doesn’t seem to help. I was at the ped’s and GI’s every few days until we found the right dosage for my daughter. It’s awful when they rebound. It seems even worse since they were doing so well.

We had the same problem with prilosec. It worked for about 9 days and then everything came crashing down again. I assume you are taking the solutabs which you can mix with water yourself and know it’s still effective. Gabby loves the strawberry taste and will actually suck on the syringe. I hope this works for you.

Kathy

November 3, 2006 at 10:56 pm #17181

Anonymous
Inactive

Aidan has been on 30 mgs of prevacid since he was 3 months old. He was upped from 15 to 30 when he hit 16 lbs.
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