Getting worse

[Anonymous]

I have written a couple of times about my 14 week old, Ben. We have been giving him Similac Lactose free formula and thickening it with oatmeal. He was doing all right with the feedings until just recently (although he has put on a lot of weight-which worries me). He has started having reflux-like symptoms again. He shrieks and jerks his head around as soon as he has taken the first sip. He is currently on the prevacid solutabs and his dosage has been upped. He is now taking a full 30 mg. I have been giving him a pill and a half in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. I am not sure what to do. His sleeping isn’t improving either. We have gotten him the tucker wedge, which is nice b/c it keeps him upright, but he is still up several times a night. I’m pooped and I have a very active 3 year old to keep up with too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

At one stage I had Alana on 30 mg of prevacid and the max dose of zantac (10 mg per kilo). Do you have any Zantac you could add into the mix (spaced 4 hours apart)? Or could it be the oatmeal? Could you try something like Thick It (I’m not sure but this may have less calories as well?). Sorry I can’t remember but have you tried any of the semi-elemental formulas…is it possible Ben is has an intolerance to milk proteins in general. SOrry, thats the only thing I can think of. Goodluck.

[Anonymous]

I would try giving him 15mg in the morning and then the other 15mg in the eveing, this may help with this sleep. Also You may want to try a different formula like Nutramigen or ALimentum and possibly not do the cereal as that can be causing a problem as well. There are some many variables here. I would try one thing at a time to be able to know what worked.

[hellbennt]

try stopping the thickening (he doesn’t need the calories from what you write) and see what happens…also try splitting the dose like beth said & also try giving zantac at 10mgs per kilo, if you have any (or tagament or pepsid or axid)…if none of this helps, then I’d try switching formula…

& to have time to give your 3yr old attention: Babywearing: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1044&PN=1

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to let you know. I didn’t have much luck with the thicken agent that I used. It made Camryn’s reflux much worse. However, every baby is different. Also, we had Camryn on the Prevacid and she didn’t tolerate it at all, she was always cranky within 15 minutes of taking it. She is now on Prilosec. If Prilosec is compounded correctly, it works great. My two year old also had reflux, and had to take Prilosec as well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, everyone for writing me back. I have tried to cut back and even cut out the oatmeal, but every time I do he just shrieks and writhes in pain. I really wish I could cut it out b/c I am truly worried about his weight (17.15oz at 14 weeks…yikes! )I didn’t think I could use the thicken since he’s not aspirating….is that wrong?

Could you tell me more about these other formulas??

We went to the dr today and he is having us give Ben 1.5ml of mylanta before 4 of his feedings. Don’t know if this will help or not. We’re scheduled for our follow up with the pediatric G.I. on fri, but I wasn’t all that thrilled with her the first time around.

[Anonymous]

Are you giving him the Prevacid on an empty stomach and then following it up with a feeding 30 minutes later? This timing is very important and not all docs and pharmacists tell you about it.

Like Laura said it’s pretty rare for an infant to be lactose intolerant. It’s more likely that they have problems with the protein in milk. A hypo formula like Alimentum may help.

Here’s a very brief and unscientific description of the formulas out there for MSPI babies.

Good Start and Gentlease (I think there’s one more but can’t remember the name of it) These are formulas that have broken down proteins to make them easier to digest. They are meant for babies with mild intolerances. The proteins are not broken down enough for babies with MSPI.

Alimentum and Nutramigen – these formulas are called hypoallergenic formulas. The proteins are broken down into even smaller pieces than they are in Good Start / Gentlease.

Neocate and Elecare – These are what they call Elemental formulas. The proteins are actually broken down to amino acids, so there are no complete proteins for baby to digest. These formulas are meant for babies with severe MSPI who cannot digest the hypo formulas.

The mylanta before feedings is a good idea. If he feels better and eats better at those feedings that’s a good indication that reflux is the problem. Just make sure you are giving him his Prevacid correctly. He’s on a good dose, so hopefully he will begin to improve soon. How long has he been on Prevacid? It can take about two weeks to see results.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I just saw the pedi GI for the 1st time today. Brian is 2 months old and will start screaming after we burp him during a feeding and then won’t go back on the bottle. We had been using 1 ml of Mylanta Supreme before each feeding but it wasn’t helping. The GI prescribed Carafate (0.5 ml 4 x a day before a feeding) which she said coats the esophagus and helps alleviate any irritation that has developed becuase of the reflux. The Carafate is in addition to the Prevacid he already takes. She said we should see improvement in a few days. We are supposed to give him this for a month and then we can go off it and then just continue with the Prevacid. Maybe Carafate would help your son? Something to ask your dr.

[hellbennt]

at 8.2 kilos, at a conservative, yet ‘good’ dose

of 3mgs per kilo

he can take 24.5mgs of prevacid

& he’s at 15mgs…

there’s room to increse from this, even, if you look at http://www.marci-kids.com

[Anonymous]

That is a great suggestion. I always like to ask questions and do some of my own research. We’ll try pretty much anything that might help. Thanks.

[Author]

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