Infantreflux.org | 11 week old with diarrhea for 2 weeks

This topic has 6 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 16 years ago by hellbennt.

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October 6, 2010 at 10:27 am #67107

Anonymous
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First, thank you for this wonderful website! I have found much needed advice concerning GERD from here, thanks!

I have a 4 year old daughter who had GERD and protein allergy, on Nutramigen and Zantac until the age of one.

I also have a 11 week old boy who started his GERD at birth, much worse then my daughter and also has a protein allergy and is on Nutramigen. He has kept our minds running since birth, trying to keep him comfortable. He was born 10 lbs 4 oz, and started Zantac at one week old (15mg suspension, .8cc 3 times a day). He seemed much happier since, but he continued with the night time congestion, choking, restlesness. He went to 1cc 3 times a day of Zantac when he was 5 weeks old due to drinking less and fussiness. It took him a week to get adjusted to the increase, he was very sleepy that week. We made an appointment with a pediatric gastro doctor and visited him at 7 weeks old. He confirmed the GERD, told us to give him 1/4 tsp of Thick It in his bottles per ounce to help with his restlesness during sleep and gave us a script for stool specimens. Also, my son will be going to a daycare at 12 weeks and they will not give him his middle day dose of Zantac so the pediatric gastro informed me to just split his Zantac in to 2 doses.

We started the Thick It that day, 7 weeks old. He was on it for 2 weeks, the only noticable change was less congestion at night. At 9 weeks, I changed his Zantac to the 2 times a day dose to prepare him for daycare, so we went from 1cc 3 times a day to 1.5cc 2 times a day (morning & night). This is when it all went down hill.

Two days after the change in Zantac he started with diarrhea. Green… water consistency… stinky bowel movements twice a day. You can hear his belly gurgling and first thing in the morning, diarrhea! Usually he will have diarrhea 2 times a day and has had this for the last 2 weeks. He is now 11 weeks old. In the past 2 weeks he has had maybe 3 normal bowel movements, but then right back to the diarrhea. One or two of the diarrhea has had mucous (looks like egg white) clumps in it. **Please note, this is also 2 weeks since starting the Thick It!**

7 days ago, the pediatrician told me that 1.5cc of Zantac was too much, and to just give him 1cc twice a day. Which, is the least amount of Zantac he has been on since birth and he is now 12 lbs 4 oz. This decrease did not help his diarrhea.

I stopped the Thick It 5 days ago, to see if that was the cause of diarrhea. The first 3 nights with no Thick It added to his Nutramigen were his best nights of sleep, 8 HOURS!!!! Not sure if its related or not! But to our surprise, the diarrhea continued. 2 days ago, his pediatric gastro called to check in & when there was no change, she suggested starting to add 1/2 tsp of oatmeal per ounce to his bottles. Also, she wanted to change his medication from Zantac to Prevacid.

I collected all the stool specimens I needed and dropped them off at the lab yesterday. Hope to get some answers from them. We are testing for WBC count, blood and for inflamation.

I started the oatmeal 2 days ago. I have not seen a difference in his resltesness and the diarrhea CONTINUES. It is now like a turqouis color and is still pure water consistency. The Prevacid needed to be sent to a special pharmacy as it is a compound and will be available for me to pick up today. I am not sure however if I want to start him on this medication. I see that it is not FDA approved under the age of 1.

So, hopefully you were able to follow the mess I just wrote…. here are my questions that I cannot figure out:

Could the jump from 1cc 3 times a day to 1.5cc 2 times a day have caused the diarrhea? The pediatric gastro said its not common, but he reacted with sleepiness from the first increase in dose he had as he gained weight. And if the increase caused the diarrhea, should I have seen an improvement since we lowered his dose a week ago? Because now it seems like he is under medicated for the GERD.

Could the Thick It have caused the diarrhea? Are babies ever allergic to the only 2 ingredients in Thick It?

What is your experience with Prevacid? I am reluctant to change to that medication as its not FDA approved and I have read both pros and cons.

I know this is a long post, I am just at my witts end trying to come up with a new solution every day. He is currently 11 weeks old, been given oatmeal cereal in his bottles for 3 days and is taking 1cc 2 times a day of Zantac. What could be causing this diarrhea????

October 6, 2010 at 7:31 pm #67112

hellbennt
Keymaster

hi & welcome!

I have a LOT to say & most of it’s here, Groupie Intro:

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853

it’s looong, but HELPFUL so please read/skim/scroll trhough it & refer back to it often!

so glad you found us!

~laura

October 6, 2010 at 9:40 pm #67115

Anonymous
Inactive

Thank you! I have read through the Groupie Intro, lots of great information! I actually came across that page a few weeks ago when I was researching GERD! Right now though, I am at my witts end trying to figure out this diarrhea. It is so mentally draining trying to think of what could be causing it. On top of this poor baby having to deal with GERD all day long, he has diarrhea as well . I think, its got to be something we are giving him. But he is only drinking Nutramigen (which we know isnt the problem), Zantac and the latest, oatmeal cereal to thicken. And the diarrhea started after we changed his Zantac dose and started using Thick It.

Have you ever heard of babies having a problem digesting the corn in Thick It?

Since the diarrhea, our pediatrician and pediatric GI have told us to lower his Zantac dose but now he is not eating, arching his back, turning his head, all symptoms similar with the Sandifers Syndrome. So, he is under medicated? I had never heard of this syndrome until I read it on your forum. He doesnt seem to have it as severe though as I have read others to describe.

He is also drooling a lot since this started 2 weeks ago, no signs of teething that I can find. No puffy gums or anything I can feel in his mouth. Could the drooling be associated with GERD?

Its just so hard to not be able to help him. I just put him to bed and he has already woken up choking/coughing from reflux. He hasnt done that in weeks. Lowering his Zantac dose was not such a good idea. Since the Zantac seemed to be helping before we lowered it, would you try to get an increase in the Zantac before switching to Prevasid? I read the forum on using Prevacid compound… why doesnt the doctor give you this information before they prescribe it? It is vital. I get the difference between Zantac and Prevacid, but does one offer more relief? Meaning, less choking/coughing/gasping/restlesness? Or is it different for each baby?

Thank you for your time!!!!

October 7, 2010 at 10:06 am #67118

Anonymous
Inactive

I have just skimmed the above posts but will tell you that if you want to use the prevacid I would try to get solutabs (we used them starting at 12 wks and my son LOVED them). They are safe (my husband is a pharmacist) as are most PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) b/c they only work on a specific thing so there isn’t anything to worry about there. Another question I have is in regards to the “blue” poop… that is concerning to me as I have never heard of anyone having that color poop before… did you tell the doctor? Was any of that poop used in the samples you sent to the doctor? That just alarmed me when I read it. Sorry don’t want to scare you. And your question about zantac vs prevacid… they are totally different types of meds. Prevacid is “stronger” in a way b/c it treats the reflux differently. HTH.

October 7, 2010 at 6:58 pm #67119

hellbennt
Keymaster

I would figure out the maximum dose for the zantac for your baby’s weight- this is 10mgs per kilo. I can help w/ the calculations.

Please do not simply take my word on this, please read here:

zantac dosing https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8288&PN=1

Then, I would research prevacid dosing at http://www.marci-kids.com and

get dr to rx prevacid, all the while keeping w/ the highest zantac dose for weight. You must keep baby on BOTH meds while you ‘wait’ for the prevacid to ‘kick in.’

I don’t know about WHY baby was put on

Thick It, or oatmeal for that matter. Was there a SWALLOW STUDY?

If not, I would DEMAND one (this sees HOW baby is swallowing & if there is aspiration). AFTER this test, THEN the dr tells you what thickness to thicken w/, with Simply Thick or Thick it.

I am not angy with you! it’s your doctor that I don’t understand…

October 8, 2010 at 9:18 pm #67127

Anonymous
Inactive

Thanks for your replies!

We are banging our heads against the walls here 🙂 So, I am being told by both his pediatrician & GI that he is on the right dose of Zantac, 1ml twice a day. This is obviously too low.

As the past few days I have really started to notice him refusing bottles, turning his head, arching his back during feedings… I am going to start the Prevacid tomorrow. I just feel like such a bad mom because he is so HAPPY while he is awake. The only time he fusses (other then being hungry or tired) is when I am trying to feed him or put him to sleep. My daughter who had reflux as well, screamed 24/7. So although my sons seemed so much worse from birth, I thought we had it controlled. But I dont want to think for one second that he is in pain. So, I am off to the pharmacy tomorrow to pick up the Prevacid. The problem is however, the GI called in the order & ordered it as a compound and told me to give him 2ml once a day… that I could divide it in to twice a day if I felt it was needed. That once a day should hold him off. So, I see that the compound only lasts 2 weeks and I call the pharmicist who tells me that he will look in to it, but that he understands it to be good for 30 days! AWWWWWW! Nothing is easy, and not everyone is ever on the same page?!?!

I was on the phone with both the pediatrician and GI office yesterday & today and the diarrhea is a mystery. Both say it is highly unlikely to be from the Zantac. So, I have stopped all thickeners and am leaving him on just Nutramigen.

The Thick It was prescribed only to add weight to the formula. I know its usually for dysphagia but he doesnt have any aspiration that we know of. The oatmeal was added to try to regulate the diarrhea and hopefully make him have a normal poop. That didnt work either! Although, I was told today that I should have given him RICE not oatmeal… Again, something different!!!!!

The diarrhea was bluish/green like turqouis. I have never seen that before and it was only once. I did tell the GI this. But again, they are puzzled.

We are going to see the GI on Tuesday… so we can rack his brain and not leave without answers.

The only thing left that I can come up with is that since his reflux has gotten worse (which I dont know if its from the decrease in Zantac as I am told he is on a sufficient dose or if he is at the peak of the reflux)… and since his diarrhea is usually always first thing in the mornings, maybe he is swallowing all of this drool he has started having and/or acid all night long and its making him have diarrhea? He usually refluxes, coughs, chokes and swallows it back down…. maybe this is the caues of diarrhea???

Okay, so as for the prevacid. Since the medicine is sitting at the pharmacy and is already mixed as a compound, should I demand that it is given in 2 week increments?

What time of the day do you find to be best to give it? Morning, night or divide it in to two doses?

The GI told me to over lap Zantac with the Prevacid only for 2 days??? I know you suggest longer??? Would it hurt to continue the Zantac? How long do I need to wait in between giving him the Zantac and the Prevacid?

Thanks for all your help!!!!!!

October 9, 2010 at 11:14 am #67132

hellbennt
Keymaster

am not a doctor and I can’t tell you what to do. I can only tell you my own experiences and all that I’ve learned by being on this board for seven (7!) years now…

zantac: figure out the proper dose and TELL doctor (do not ASK). From this link, you can learn proper dose and HOW to ASK pharmacist about it. then, you can TELL dr.

don’t just take my word on this, read here:
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8288&PN=1

mylanta cherry supreme is safe for even newborns. it should be this ‘kind,’ whether it’s the actual mylanta brand or a store brand equivalent- it should not have aluminum listed in the ingredients. there are many varieities, but there IS one kind that does not contain aluminum.

as for your ped, I (wee!) have learned that sometimes it’s better not to ask, but, rather, to TELL. the dosing for mylanta is give in 1ml increments, up to 5ml over the course of a 24hr period. if you see loose stools, back off.

you can give the mylanta mixed along in with the zantac, or give it close to the zantac, but you MUST NOT give zantac or mylanta w/in 4hrs of the prevacid.

you really SHOULD give the zantac for a good two weeks when starting the prevacid. it can take up to two weeks for you to see the full effects of the prevacid and if there isn’t any zantac, too, then it’s as if your baby isn’t on any meds at all! I learned this the HARD WAY. my baby screamed/shrieked/howled for 24hrs straight (we stopped the zantac to start the prilosec) and he LOST HIS VOICE.

as for the compound:

take it and give it for two weeks and, in the meantime, FAX YOUR DOCTOR to TELL that you want it a different way. Personally, I’d go buy Bufferbabies and make your own compound; that’s what I did.

have you read through Prevacid 101?

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1936&PN=0&TPN=1

Give the prevacid 2 or even three times a day. Personally, I’d research from the above link, Prevacid 101, and also http://www.marci-kids.com

and then TELL doctor.

FAX FAX FAX the dr

dont wait for a call…

start off w/ a THANK YOU

keep it short & sweet

stick to the facts (no feelings and no rambling emotions)

state current meds, doses, symptoms

make request- flat out- short & sweet

THANK AGAIN

follow up by calling office to say fax was sent

call again later to discuss requests in fax, ie: have you called in the increased prescription yet? THANK YOU

sample fax: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10633&PID=90325#90325

About faxing the doctor (& more): https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2841&TPN=1
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