Reflux again…

[Anonymous]

I’m Emily and I visited the boards a little over a year ago when dealing with reflux with my first daughter, Molly. She outgrew it and is doing well now, other than asthma/allergy issues. In January I had my 2nd child at 35 weeks, Chloe, and she has also been diagnosed with reflux and a milk protein intolerance like her sister. . We are currently on Alimentum RTF and Prevacid 15mg solutabs. We just started the solutabs 3 days ago since the Zantac wasn’t working. She has been on the Alimentum for a week after a few VERY unpleasant days on Nutramigen. On Thursday she had a Upper GI and Ultrasound which ruled out plyloric stenosis but definitely showed reflux.

I come here because I am seriously overwhelmed and my gut tells me we are still missing something. Chloe seems to be getting worse, not better. This is worse than Molly EVER was. She has not slept well in DAYS. Her poop is now green, watery, and full of mucus. Her spit up is thick and mucusy. She has gas sooo bad she screams until it passes. She also has these fits where she just throws herself around, shakes her head, and arches her back. Nothing comforts her. What could I be missing? What else can I do? I can’t even be a good mom to Molly because I am so exhausted and just a wreck from dealing with all this. Not to mention, I go back to work in 5 weeks and the thought of leaving Chloe like this kills me!

[hellbennt]

everything needs a good two weeks, so give the solutabs two weeks and the formula, too. the solutabs should be given 2 or even three times a day- give on an empty stomach followed by a ‘meal’ 30 minutes later.

you can give the zantac, too, just make sure to give it spaced 4hrs from the prevacid.

how much does she weigh? we can check zantac & prevacid doses…

also:

babywearing SAVED US!
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1044&PN=1

http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum

read post two of here for more about the relationship b/t reflux and food intolerances/allergies:
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2697&PN=2

if you’re formula-feeding:

here’s about the elemental formulas-
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6013
everything takes two weeks so if you were to switch you’d have to give it two weeks and then there are no guarantees- if you’re breastfeeding, you can also modify/alter your diet to make your own milk into an elemental formula of sorts- this is called the TED- total elimination diet-this also takes two weeks and then you start adding foods in to see what you CAN eat.

scroll to the last page of this post, called Prevacid 101 (it’s actually also about other PPIs like prevacid, too) you’ll learn why.
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1936&PN=0&TPN=1
I would inquire about Zegerid or Bufferbabies- this is all explained from the link- PPIs can take up to 14 days for you to see it’s full effects…so that’s another reason to stay w/ the zantac.

I have a LOT MORE to say, it’s Looong, but full of very helpful info, so refer back to it often!
Groupie Intro:
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853

you can do this!

thanks for making a signature! could you please add:

baby’s age (can put month & yr of birth), meds, doses & forms of meds, type of formula

thanks!

[Anonymous]

Thanks! She weighs 8 lbs 12 oz as of Wednesday’s visit. Do I need to split the prevacid into two doses? Half am/half pm? I will read over everything else. before our appnt this afternoon. Should I push for a Ped GI referral?

Do the “fits” that she has sound like normal reflux stuff or something I should be worried about? What about nasal congestion after feeding? Is that normal?

[hellbennt]

what you describe sounds like an unmedicated baby – it’ll take a good two weeks for you to see the full effects of the prevacid and also the same amount of time for the forumla. in the meantime: babywear, give zantac & also try finding some mylanta cherry supereme. it’s difficult to find, but not impossible. some have better luck locating a store–brand equivalent, like Rite-aid brand or CVS brand or Target brand, etc. Look for the adult kind (there is no infant/childrens) and look at the ingredients to find the type that does not have any aluminum. it is safe even for newborns. my ped GI told us to use it when Jonah was an infant. give in 1ml increments, up to 5mls over the course of a 24hr period. if you see loose stools, back off…

you can give the mylanta w/ the zantac but NOT WITH THE PREVACID

make sure you space the zantac (& mylanta) 4 hrs from the prevacid.

Here is where to check the highest dose by weight:

Zantac dosing– my/other’s question (has axid & pepcid doses, too):

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

Here’s a handy chart to convert lbs to kilos:

http://www.sfca.co.uk/match/kilolbs.htm

8lbs 12 oz = 4 kilos

4 x 10 (maximum dose by weight for zantac) = 40

that’s 40 mgs total for the day of zantac

your bottle says 15mgs/ml

this means for every 1ml of liquid medicine you administer, your baby is getting 15mgs of zantac

so 40 divided by 15 = 2.7 mls total of zantac for the day

you can divide this ‘unevenly’ and give a higher portion/dose at night

ok now to prevacid dosing

I’ll calculate for 1.5 (then there’s room to increase)

4 x 1.5 = 6 mgs a dose

6 x 3 = 18 mgs total for the day

PPI dosing chart:

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2668

< 3 months

1.5 to 1.75 mg/kg three times per day

hellbennt2011-02-26 12:36:54

[Anonymous]

Chloe had an appointment with a pediatric GI doc yesterday. I was pleased with the visit for the most part, but shocked that he actually cut her dose of prevacid in half. So, she is taking 7.5 mg once a day and instructed us to thicken her feeds with rice cereal several times a day. He seems to think that along with her reflux, she is having stomach/intestinal spasms and prescribed Levsin drops for that. I can tell the drops are helping a little, but I am nervous about cutting the dosage of meds in half. I just need to be able to put her down on occasion to do things with my other daughter… It is not fair to her and she doesn’t understand why Chloe cries ALL the time. We go back in 3 weeks, so here’s hoping things are better by then.

[hellbennt]

your doctor sounds old-fashioned, what with the thickening suggestion and all? is weight an issue, so the cereal would be adding calories?

if she’s having stomach/intestinal spasms, wouldn’t cereal be an added stress on her system? food for thought…

[Author]

Posts