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GERD...How much medicine is enough?

Lynne - posted on 03/17/2009 ( 3 moms have responded )

Hi. My daughter was born at 32 weeks and 3 days gestation and weighed 3 lbs 14 ozs. She stayed in the hospital for 18 days and weighed 4lbs 2 ozs the day she was released. We were so excited to be taking her home. Little did I know what was going to be next. For the next 10-14 days every time we put her down she would cry, and she made the most bizarre noises. Everyone kept telling me babies made noise, not to worry...but these were not normal baby noises. Finally, over-exhausted because I was sleeping in a chair holding my newborn all night, I took her to the pediatrician to find out what was wrong. The pediatrician diagnosed her with GERD and put her on Axid. This medicine didn't really help at all, but they wouldn't give us anything else until she was 2 months old. At her 2 month check up they gave us a prescription for prevacid which I thought was our saving grace. This medicine made her better immediately!!! But, her GERD seemed to continue to get worse. NOW, my daughter takes a 30mg dissolvable tablet in the am and a 15mg dissolvable tablet at night. An adult only takes 60mg a day! We haven't seen a specialist yet, but are waiting for our appointment on April 3rd. This seems like a lot of medicine for a little body to me.

Even while she is taking this medicine she will projectile puke following a meal. Anyone experienced this??? Any tips??? I am so tired of cleaning spit up/pukey clothes, blankets, sheets and the high chair that I want to crawl in a hole...

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Lynne - posted on 03/26/2009

Thanks for replying here...We have an appointment with a Pediatric GI on April 3rd. I am maybe a little sorry that we haven't done it sooner. My daughter is turning 1 tomorrow and has been sitting up since December. For us, when she started eating solid foods and sitting up her vomitting got worse not better. I hope that the GI is going to have some answers for us. I can live with a little embarrassment about spitting up, etc...but I am having a hard time accepting that she isn't getting better with age, but worse. She is currently on 3/4 of an adult dose of prevacid at 20lbs. Good luck with your babies, hopefully we'll get some answers next week!

Erin - posted on 03/25/2009

Hello,

my little one was diagnosed with GERD as well. He is now 7 months old and still vomits around 20 times a day. He is on 2 ML of liquid Zantac, which does a good job keeping the acid neutral so that when he does spit up it doesn't hurt him. We tried Reglan as well to calm his stomach, but that didn't really do anything and the side effects sounded awfal for someone his size. He is gaining weight- slowly and had a Barium bottle and MRI and they looked at his stomach. They said everything was functioning correctly- he was born @ 36 weeks and I was worried about a intestinal abnormality-

With eatting more solids and sitting up more, the vomiting is getting better- slowly but surely. The Dr. said he will out grow it by the time he is a year old.

I completely understand the mountain of laundry and the embarassment of people holding him getting doused in puke! He was throwing up over 50 times a day at one point. It is frustrating when there is really nothing that will stop it and I hate giving him the medicine too!

My best advice is to let you know that it will start to get better. The more they are upright the harder it is for the food to come back up. I would ask about Zantac. It seems to help with his fussiness!

Good Luck!

Liz - posted on 03/19/2009

169

My son was born at 33wks, in the nicu for 25 days. He had bad reflux while he was in the nicu and they started him on prevacid and reglan. Both were liquid, and there was only one pharmacy in town that was able to formulate them. I don't remember the dose, but that does seem like a lot. The reglan helps move things through faster. He would just about finish a feeding and almost all of it would come right back up. He was on those until he was 3months old, no more problems with that since. He had a barium study done while in the nicu, later he had a gastric emptying study for another reason and we consulted with pediatric gasteroenterologist. I learned alot talking with that dr. My son is now 2 1/2yrs. We always used those little burp rags or recieving blankets to cover his chest during feeding in case his feeding came back up to try and keep the clothes clean. To this day he still has to have his little blankey when he drinks a cup of milk and when he goes to bed. He was on a big wedge in the nicu but we never had to elevate him at home. I know it is frustrating. Are you seeing a pediatric gasteroenterologist? I'm sure that will help alot, and things will get better.