Reflux is Back!

Yes! As I mentioned we did all have the stomach flu so that could be why it is seeming REALLY BAD right now. But he still seemed to be having problems before that.

Does the Tums give an immediate relief? I know someone described the Pepcid complete to me as like taking Zantac (the Pepcid part) and Mylanta (the complete part) at the same time. I like how it seems to give him relief immediately as well as (I think) beyond that.

Well, I did find the e-mail address for Marci-kids but I still think I learn the most from parents on here.

Thank you so much for responding Christine. It breaks my heart for him to be in pain like this. I think before having the flu he didn’t mentally know what was going on but now it’s like he is terrified of getting sick again.

OK well I e-mailed Dr. Phillips and this is what he said:

Pepcid complete is fine for use at bedtime, the problem is that if you use it more than one time per day, the children will develop tolerance in a week or so, then it won’t work. I would recommend that he take a Prevacid SoluTab 30mg in the morning (you can dissolve this in a teaspoon of water (make sure that all the little granules get in his mouth – no chewing). Follow with water. The Pepcid complete at night 10mg.
Dr Phillips

I think Dr. Phillips must think that Maxon is worse than he really is. He never got over 15 mg’s of Prevacid – – he might have needed it but the reflux wasn’t as obvious for a child over a year and I didn’t know about the dosing like I do now for Anika. Anyway, from what I read above, it sounds like it is perfectly safe for us to give Maxon 1 chewable Pepcid Complete before bedtime. I’m hoping maybe he is going through something somewhat temporary like Christine’s daughter because he had the flu a few weeks ago. But then some of this started before then but maybe it just wasn’t as bad? And maybe he wasn’t as afraid of throwing up? Either way I figure we will give it to him every night for a while so he can feel better and repair whatever damage he has and then start weaning him back.

B’s Mom- Yes, I do give the Pepcid Complete to Anika. I really think she needs 30 mg’s of Prevacid but I was lucky to get 22.5 out of our pediatrician so I use the Pepcid to bridge the gap. This was Dr. Phillips recommendation. It makes a noticeable difference and seems to be the perfect “bridge” for her. I think the “complete” part that sort of acts like Mylanta and gives her immediate relief is a nice part of it for her too.

The way we give it to Anika is first we crush it. I ended up buying a pill crusher from the pharmacy so it was a bit more civilized and I didn’t have to keep a hammer in the kitchen. Then I pretty much administer it the same as I do Prevacid Solutabs. I pour the crushed up pill in a little medicine cup. Then I fill another medicine cup up with a little water. I use a medicine dropper from a gas drops package and I suck up about 3 – 4 droppers worth of water. I mix it up. Then I suck it up with the dropper and give it to her. I got the berry flavor because I fortunately thought ahead in thinking that Maxon might need it a few times… and the other flavor although it is white (no mess) it is mint flavor and I think I personally have a hard time with that because of how horrible the liquid Zantac is for the kids. You can use either though. Anika takes it pretty good. Like I said, it’s berry flavored so she likes it and pretty much sucks it down. I usually already have a bib on her, I lay her on the hardwood floor, and I have a wipe handly for dribbles so I usually can save the outfit. It has gotten on some things though and normal laundry stain remover and washing takes care of it.

Anika’s med schedule is this:

15 mg’s Prevacid around 5 AM (whenever she starts bugging us)

7.5 mg’s Prevacid at daycare around 1 PM

10 mg Pepcid Complete at home just before her evening bottle – so around 6 PM

This seems to work out well for us and better than 7.5 mg’s at 5 AM, 1 PM, and 6 PM… that was just WAY TOO HARD to time properly with her meals, daycare, etc. Plus, she seems to really need that higher dose in the AM after going all night.

Bryce’s Mom- Hi there! Sorry I went MIA. Things just got crazy busy. My husband and I are looking at making some MAJOR life changes that ultimately would be for the better of our family but it will mean leaving many good things that we are used to. If this happens though, I will be less stressed and able to spend more time being the Mom, Wife, Friend, Daughter that I want to be.

Can Brianna chew things? I might try giving her one to just chew up. I know when Maxon was her age he could have chewed this up but his maturity level was such that he would have pulled it in and out of his mouth and made a mess… I think he did that even just 9 months ago (when he was about 2 years old) with a chewable probiotic that I gave him. Now he does fine with both of them.

Natalia,

Sorry… got busy with the holiday so I’ll just copy/paste from above about the Pepcid Complete

I use the Pepcid Complete to bridge the gap. This was Dr. Phillips recommendation. It makes a noticeable difference and seems to be the perfect “bridge” for her. I think the “complete” part that sort of acts like Mylanta and gives her immediate relief is a nice part of it for her too.

The way we give it to Anika is first we crush it. I ended up buying a pill crusher from the pharmacy so it was a bit more civilized and I didn’t have to keep a hammer in the kitchen. Then I pretty much administer it the same as I do Prevacid Solutabs. I pour the crushed up pill in a little medicine cup. Then I fill another medicine cup up with a little water. I use a medicine dropper from a gas drops package and I suck up about 3 – 4 droppers worth of water. I mix it up. Then I suck it up with the dropper and give it to her. I got the berry flavor because I fortunately thought ahead in thinking that Maxon might need it a few times… and the other flavor although it is white (no mess) it is mint flavor and I think I personally have a hard time with that because of how horrible the liquid Zantac is for the kids. You can use either though. Anika takes it pretty good. Like I said, it’s berry flavored so she likes it and pretty much sucks it down. I usually already have a bib on her, I lay her on the hardwood floor, and I have a wipe handly for dribbles so I usually can save the outfit. It has gotten on some things though and normal laundry stain remover and washing takes care of it.

It would be worth a try for you to use this with Trace. For some reason you don’t have to time it in relation to a meal (so Dr. Philips said) although we found that Anika did want to eat right afterwards (probably because of the relief of the antacid part). Since Trace is used to the Zantac I might try the mint flavor just because it is not colored and therefore won’t stain.