Acid Reflux - Attleboro,MA

Updated on February 26, 2008
K.M. asks from Attleboro, MA
21 answers

My son is 10 months old and has acid reflux. To make a very long story short. He has been on Zantac since he was 2 months old. I'm now taking him to a GI specialist because the Zantac is not working anymore and he is still at times in alot of pain. I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through this or is going through the struggles and heart break of having a baby with acid reflux.

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So What Happened?

Thank you so much to everyone for sharing your struggles with acid reflux. It has helped alot to hear what has helped your child or just eased the pain. My son was put on a much higher dose of Zantac from the GI specalist. After about two weeks of taking the higher dose of Zantac, I noticed my son did not spit up as often, eating better, and seemed to be comfortable. I had my fingers crossed that it was working for him, but no luck. He is back to spitting up and being very uncomfortable. That was the longest he had ever gone with out spitting up so maybe it is getting better. I'm taking my son back to the GI specialist at Mass General to see what to try next. Thank you all again.

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C.M.

answers from Springfield on

hello, my daughter had acid reflux really bad as a baby. we had to have her sleep sitting up, thicken her formulas (couldnt breast feed because of it) and i think it was tagamet she was on. every meal every day. It finally eased up, along with lots of allergies she had as a baby. The tagamet worked really well. It was a liquid form we put right in her bottle w/ her feedings.

Good luck.

CJ

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D.C.

answers from Providence on

Hi K., I have a daughter with a GI history too and she is only 9 months. I see a Pedi GI at Hasbro and I have been very happy with the results. Dr. Cerezo is fantastic- my daughter was on Zantac for a short time (she hated it!) now we are dealing with allergies and weight gain issues. I know that meal size and diet have a big effect on things. Small meals more frequently, I pay very close attention to how she reacts to what I give her for baby food and avoid the ones that cause problems. Hope this helps!

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N.F.

answers from Boston on

My son is also 10 months and I'm a 27 yr old stay at home mom as well. I unfortunately don't have advice for you but wanted to let you know you aren't alone. My sister's baby has been on Zantac for the past 5 months and she's had to give her Nutramigen(sp?) formula(very expensive for small amounts). And I talk to her daily about how heartbreaking it is to care for a baby that you love so much but they cry all the time because of their discomfort. Babies are supposed to be happy and peaceful after a bottle, not screaming in pain for a half hour straight. Her pediatrician assures her that this will pass as she grows, but it doesn't make it easier to deal with the present. Hang in there and I hope it resolves itself sooner then later. All the best.

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K.A.

answers from Barnstable on

Hello, my son is 10 months old too and has always had a problem with reflux. He has never been put on medication because it does not happen everyday. He has been on Soy formula. It seems to be getting worse as he has gotten older and eating more food. He is low in weight so I was advised to give him Pediasure. I think that is just making it worse. I kills me to see my son in pain and I can't do anything about it but just hold him until it is all over. I would love some advise also if anybody has anything that works or have found food that triggers it. My older son never had this problem. I hope you find what you are looking for!

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A.R.

answers from Boston on

Hi K.,

We went throught this problem with my now 18month old son. He started Zantac at 1month and had his ups & downs. Then at 10months, same point your at now, we took him in for an upper GI and he started Prevacid also. Zantac twice a day, and Prevacid once a day. Then at his first birthday the pediatrician recommended he stop all meds to see what his body would do. At first he didn't seem right but about two weeks later, his appetite opened up and what he ate stayed DOWN. Its as though a switch had been turned on in him. Now at 18months, he's completely fine. The pediatrician had said most boys take about a year or so to grow out of this but I had my doubts. He took a little bit longer but he did turn around. He's now on the charts for height & weight. I hope this gives you hope and things turn around for you guys also.
Wishing you the best.
A.

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S.V.

answers from Pittsfield on

hello K. yes i have and still am going through this my son who is now two has had it since birth. He has been on three different meds now is on prilosec 6 mls 2times a day doesnt really work but better than the others he also vomits all the time to does your son do this also it is very heart breaking along with frustrating for us as parents to have to see our babies go through all this my son also has asthma, gerd, allergies, and the vomiting problem. so i hope you can get another med for you child to help him well best of luck with him and hope you can get your son better

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C.G.

answers from Boston on

I am sorry about your boy. I am really, really opposed to the use of Zantac and like medication in babies. I hope the GI can help him in some other way. I have had reflux since I was 14, been on so many different medications for it and the only thing that actually helped was removing certain things from my diet, which I didn't learn until 5 years ago. My best friend has a baby with it as well, and since she is Celiac with Crohn's, which are serious digestive disorders, they watch him very carefully. The Zantac worked for her son for about 2 months (they started him on it at about 2 mos. old like your boy) and by 4 months it was pointless. (you also should watch out b/c most GRD drugs are actually not approved for infant use and the two that are were only approved VERY recently.)

My best friend is breastfeeding her son and decided to try changes to her diet. She is the one who introduced me to the special diet several years ago. it is called the "specific carbohydrate diet" and the book is writeen by Elaine gottschall. with all the talk of carbs lately it sounds like a weight loss book, but it's not, it is a special diet designed decades ago to help people with severe digestive problems. My friend and I personally use the diet anytime we have bad flareups--and it gets us through without medication or surgeries. I have had one surgery and she has had two. I am currently medication free and she is down to one med. Doing the diet for her son helped his tummy, and he currently does not take a GRD medication.

I want to give you better advice than that but if I knew I'd have to be a GI myself. Consider getting this book from the library and reading through it. this is just what worked for us.

-C. G

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A.B.

answers from Boston on

hey K., my son also has acid reflux, he is on omeprozol compounded (which means liquid form)I think the trade name is prilosec 5 mls twice a day. he has had it his whole life too, he started out with zantac too. we see a Dr. out of MGH his name is Dr Rodriquez, who also ordered a test where they put a tube down his throat to see what was going on and found that he had esophagitis (inflamation) but he has seemed to have gotten better since he has been seen by him so. good luck ttl let me know how he is doing with all that.

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L.E.

answers from Boston on

Hi K.,

I've heard of babies having this problem and have heard how bad it can be. Luckily I have two very healthy little girls and have not had to go through this myself. I can only imagine how hard it is for you to see your son like this, this is why I felt compelled to tell you about an amazing product that has helped so many children and adults with acid reflux and many other stomach and esophagus problems. I know you have your son on Zantac and I'm sure it's helping his acid reflux problems but it could also be causing other problems as most prescription drugs do have side effects. Have you considered going a more natural route? Have you heard of Ultimate Aloe Juice? If you're interested in learning more about how just one serving of Aloe Juice per day might help to heal your son's problem please visit my website to get more information about this product.

http://www.marketamerica.com/lolos/index.cfm?action=shopp...

Once you click the link, there are three different flavors to choose from, click on the little icon with the i in it for more information. If you see something that interests you please don't hesitate to send me an email. Thank you!

L.
____@____.com

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K.T.

answers from Boston on

I experienced that with my son when he was a baby. The pediatrician had recommended to me to use baby formula by Enfamil, called Nutrimigen. It was a little expensive but it did help him quite a bit. I had gone to a specialist but they felt it was not severe enough to treat. I thought it was awful. By the time he was about 12-15 months old he had grown out of it.

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J.A.

answers from Boston on

My son too had acid reflux since he was born but around 6 or 9 months the doctor told me to wean him off the medcine. he is now 14 months old, but I have recently just started thinking that he might have it still.. He coughs all the time and once in a while I will see him make a sour face. At first the Zantac worked but then the doctor increased it and then said to take him slowly start to take him off it. The doctor said that they will out grow it. I do not know I am going to bring him back. It was hard when he was a baby to see him go through that. It might help you to but a pillow under his crib matterss to elavate his head, that seems to help with my son. Also try to keep him in a sitting postion after he eats...

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C.O.

answers from Boston on

hello, i'm gonna share a little bit about my son & tell you what we did that eventually worked. my son who will be 3 this april. he had severe reflux. at first we thought it was formulas causing the reflux, put on this & that reflux med. my son also has major medical problems from a bad birth. but needless to say he was a very sick newborn. we found if we changed his diapers before we fed him, got him really comfy, then fed him. we also didnt move him for 30 or more mins after each feeding. granted most dont sit still that long but its worth a try. my son ended up getting a sugery b/c it just got so bad that he was having failure to thrieve. the sugery is called a nissen fudoplycation. its a wrap of the top part of the stomach. its usually very successful. it can be done on anyone. they can still eat by mouth. they just dont have the vomitting & reflux issues. if you have anyother questions i'd be more then happy to anwser. i'm not a nurse or doc. i'm a mom of a very special needs child thats been in & out of the hospital his entire life. sp if i can be any help let me know. thanks C.

www.cameron42704.zoomshare.com

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M.M.

answers from Portland on

My son a lso had terrible acid reflux. He was on prevacid which helped sometimes but we began to rely on minty ginger drops (from a health food store) and we bought something called an ambybaby. It was the only thing that soothed him sometimes- it saved our lives!!!

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C.K.

answers from Boston on

Hi, K.,
My son is now 4 and I have a 16 mo. old daughter. Both of them had reflux. My son had a severe case. We went through a barium swallow, upper endoscopy, a nuclear draining procedue, etc., etc. He is now taking Prevacid solutabs twice a day and he's doing great. No one understood the enormity of our difficulty. He was vomitting every 10 minutes daily for the first 18 mos. of his life. I was perpetually covered in vomit and so was everything in our house. I would not leave the house because, to strap him into a seat would have him choking on his own vomit. I can give you many possible solutions but, there is no magic cure. Please get back to me if you want to know some things that helped and what we tried and discovered in the process. My heart goes out to you - C.

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S.Z.

answers from Providence on

My son suffered from Acid Reflux as a baby. He was on Zantac for his entire first year of life. After that they figured he was fine. He was always extremely picky with food and we thought it was just him. Until when he was sick he started vomiting blood. Of course we followed up with Pedi GI at Hasbro Hospital. Come to find out he has a condition known as Eosinaphilic Esophogitis (SP) not sure if I am spelling that right this early. But it is a fairly new diagnosis. Most commonly found in young boys and it mimics acid reflux. So I definitly recommend following up with a GI specialist. He has had 4 Upper endoscopies. And will probably need to have them periodically through out his life. He is in what they call remision. He will be fine with this condition, but it may come back through out his life. I don't know if that is waht your son has but it is definitly worth acting now and not waiting for him to be as bad as my son was.

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C.C.

answers from Boston on

Yeah, I'm so glad to see you took my advice, Kath. Good luck, I hope you get lots of good input. Luv Ya.

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C.R.

answers from Bangor on

My 3 month old baby boy has had acid reflux since he was a month old. I was breastfeeding, but then had to switch to a formula that helps the acid refux. The first formula was Nutramagin (which gave him the runs), then he was switched to enfamil AR lipil... it works wonderfully... that and he eats sitting up, and after he eats, he stays sitting up for like a half hour.... we have no more troubles with it now... if your son is still on formula that couldf be something to talk to the pediatrician about. My friend uses Pragestamil (not sure on the spelling) and zantac on her 9 month old...

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T.P.

answers from Boston on

K.,

My son also suffered form reflux. There are many med to try such as reglan, carafate, prevacid, etc.. I would start by asking the doc to try a different med. I am sure you have heard all the ideas- sit the baby up 1/2 hour after eating, use a tucker sling at bedtime, etc.. My son had very sever reflux and ended up needing a nissen fundoplication- a small stomach wrap to keep all acid from coming up. This is a fairly small surgery compared to others he required.
I know the horrible feeling of watching your baby so uncomfortable- the arching back and crying. You will find something to help, it will get better. Are you working with BCH? I may be able to recommend a good GI doc.
T.

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S.C.

answers from Boston on

Hi
My son is 11 months and he also has reflux. He was diagnosed at a month. We tried zantac, it didn't work. We found that prilosec worked best for him. Also, we gave him Mylanta supreme. It has to be supreme because that does not have aluminum in it. Its cherry flavored so he loves it. We gave him 1/4 tsp with every bottle. I honestly think this helped more than the prilosec. Has your son been to a GI doctor before? If you live on the south shore I can suggest a good one. You might want to request an upper GI. Most kids outgrow reflux by 6 months. Others at age 1. I would say your son must have a pretty bad case. Did zantac ever work for him? If it did maybe he just needs to increase the does since im sure he is growing. good luck, reflux stinks!
ps: please do NOT put your son on reglan. it is a very serious med and can interfere neurologically.

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T.M.

answers from Boston on

my girlfriends son has acid reflux too. unfortunaltey they didnt find out until he was three and then had to have 4 of his fron teeth removed because of what the acid did (he of course was throwing up) and now he is on Nexium and it seems to work and quite his belly. he is now 5. they also did an extensive allergy test and found out he was alerrgic to alot, eggs, beef, gluten, wheat. etc so she had to change his whole diet which was extremely difficult but workable. best of luck, if it were me i would see a PEDI GI speacalist. where they specialize in little ones

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

Hello,

I'm J., also 28 and have a 5 month old daughter with reflux. I'm curious to hear what the GI doc recommends next. Hailey is on Prevacid and doesn't seem to be in pain but still spits up a TON!! Hope to hear back from you. :)

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