G.I. won't increase Prevacid Dose

Hi,
I need some advice from you parent experts. I’ll try to be brief.

My 4 month old has silent reflux that was diagnosed 2 months ago. He currently is on one 15 mg Prevacid solutab once a day. We tried giving 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 the evening but it takes the entire Solutab to keep him comfortable throughout the night. Any less and he wakes up at 4:00 a.m. crying and never gets back to sleep. And he was doing OK during the day so I figured at least he’d get a good night’s sleep.

So this regime has been working until 2 weeks ago. His reflux is flaring and he hardly naps at all during the day (literally only 20-30 minutes at a time). His g.i. says he’s on the maximum dose of Prevacid for his weight. I asked about adding Zantac but he wants me to try Gaviscon drops once a day, which I gather are just like Tums and won’t do much.

Should I go ahead and just do the Zantac? I have a prescription from my ped and I’ve tried it and it does seem to help him nap during the day. I know I have to give it 4 hours apart from the Prevacid. I wonder why my GI didn’t want me to use it?

I also have given up dairy several times but keep slipping up. The G.I. suggested giving up dairy and maybe even soy.

I’ve also heard some people say the Prevacid should be given by 5:30 p.m. because the acid pumps shut off. We give ours before bedtime (around 7:00-8:00). The only reference I can find to that 5:30 rule is Dr. Phillips from the MARCI-KIDS website (which is shutdown). Has anyone been told this by their doctor? For us, it seems like if we give the Prevacid too early at night, he wakes up even earlier.

I’m so exhausted from the lack of sleep and having to hold my baby all day to keep him happy. It’s not helping my hernia! And it’s so awful to see him so miserable.

Any thoughts? Clearly the GI isn’t going to be much help. But at least he’s better than my ped. She told me 7.5 mg was the maximum dose of Prevacid!

Thank you in advance for your wisdom and advice.