PH Probe results

[Anonymous]

Is spitting a problem? Do you see her spitting up food hours after she’s eaten it? Do they feel that it’s taking a while for food to empty out of her stomach? If any of those are true, then a motility drug might be helpful. There are differing views on them. Some docs feel that they can help even if delayed emptying isn’t a problem because it empties the stomach quicker so there is less to reflux. My concern with that is that there is still acid in the stomach to reflux, so the bigger issue should be getting rid of the acid.

That being said, bethanechol is not a scary drug. Kaelyn was on it for a while. It didn’t seem to help her at all, so we stopped giving it to her, but the side effects aren’t scary like reglan. Is it a compounded drug, so make sure it is compounded correctly or it will lose its effectiveness very quickly.

[Anonymous]

Like others have said, I would try and work with a PPI first before going to a motility drug….they can have such bad side effects. I am not familiar with that specific one though.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My daughter did not have a pH probe b/c our doc wouldn’t do it due to the oral aversion, but I once counted over 100 reflux episodes in only a few hours. I believe those results are considered severe, but I would ask your doctor for more clarification if you’re unsure. I believe the index is a combination of the total number of episodes as well as the amount of time it takes for them to clear.

I’m going to play devil’s advocate here, and say that in some instances, motility meds may be warranted even if a child doesn’t have DGE. For kids who have very severe reflux, having the stomach empty faster can help reduce the number of reflux episodes. Refluxing so many times during a day is not normal. Also, the pH probe only measures ACID reflux episodes, but not non-acidic episodes, so sometimes the true number is even higher.

Is your daughter having any issues from the reflux? Feeding problems, respiratory problems, discomfort or irritability?

Given the results of her probe, I would ask to have her PPI dose increased. I would also ask to have a test done for DGE. I would also discuss your concerns with your ped regarding a motility med, and weigh the pros and cons of the meds with him. Hopefully he can help you to come to a decision that you’re comfortable with either way. There are a few different motility meds out there… another one I’ve heard some people use is erythromycin. We used domperidone.

Good luck.

s&h’s mum2007-5-6 19:58:23

[Anonymous]

Okay… I just read your other thread, and I think that your doctor sounds a little on the rude side. Having read your other thread now, I would get a second opinion and try to find a new doc. Then you can ask about the bethanacol and see if she really needs a motility med b/c of the probe results, or if he’s just old school.

I personally would be leary of any doctor who would be willing to do a fundo (i.e. surgery) without first trying a high dose of PPI and without seeing if the child outgrew it. What have her symptoms been? Any complications?

s&h’s mum2007-5-6 20:4:8

[Anonymous]

julia—-my daughter had fewer episodes of reflux, i believe it was 97—but her overall percentage of reflux was much higher—almost 25% of the time. her longest episode of reflux lasted 44 minutes. sylvia had a fundo done right before she turned 10 months old—turnes out she had a hiatal hernia. her fundo was completely successful and she has not had any complications from it.

i don’t know if there is a number of reflux episodes that is considered normal—the length of each episode and the overall percentage is more significant than the number of episodes. reflux that is not acid is not an issue, except for the fact that it can make things feel not quite right—-which could possibly make a baby fussy.

kevieb2007-5-7 11:43:57

[Anonymous]

Ok, this was a LONG time ago, but our oldest – Talon – had a PH Probe done during a 24 hour visit at Sanford Childrens. I stayed with him the whole time and wrote down what he was doing – lying down – sleeping- bending over – eating, etc. Our specialist showed me the printout and matched it up with my timeline. It was very interesting to see which activities bothered him the most. However, he was almost always refluxing. Back then , it was not known that many reflux babies also have allergies. If you can get her on a PPI that will control the pain – that is a great start. Then her body can heal a bit. We do use a motility drug – Reglan – on Carson when he is having a very hard time – and we have had good results. We do not use it regularly.

LO is climbing on me and fussing must go

[Anonymous]

we did the same thing as brenda during sylvia’s ph probe. we discovered that she refluxed more when she was upright, kind of weird, so much for holding a baby upright after meals. her reflux % when she was upright was almost 29%, (obviously the % when she was lying down was lower, and brought the overall % down).

[Author]

Posts