Acid Reflux - Land O Lakes,FL

I'd say avoid meds as much as possible...especially at this tender age. My son had Tagamet when he was a baby and it made the reflux worse. If the Tums is working now, keep it and watch the diet. Maybe something (a spice or food) is triggering it more. When sleeping lift his pillow or bed a little higher so his head is up more than his body. They sell the wedge for beds but you can accomplish it with a couple pillows or blocks under the bed. That should help his sleeping as well. Also feed him at least 1-2 hrs before bed time and maybe a bit of milk can soothe the tummy as well.
Good luck, I know this can be difficult.

My daughter has reflux, was tried on every med that came down the line as a baby and they all made it worse. Children's Pepto (same active ingredient as tums) and now tums worked best and cost less.

DO NOT put him on those acid reflux meds. They block acid production and you need acid to digest food. Child will not get proper nutrition to their brain and problems will occur. Those meds are full of havy metals like aluminum and things. Take him to a cranial sacral specialist or NAET practitioner and get to the ROOT of the problem not just cover up his symptoms. He has a blockage in his energy somewhere.

I you don't want to put your son on medications that is a good sigh try to treat acid reflux with natural remedy. I have always used babies magic tea to treat reflux, constipation and colic in my baby and this tea always worked.

I take prilosec every day and my brother takes a similar med - Nexxium I think. Like you, i prefered to use Tums - they are just a form of calcium so they absorb the acid rather than decreasing it. I controlled my occasional AR with tums for two or three years, but at the point where I started to have it every night, I switched to prilosec.

The damage caused by uncontrolled acid reflux is really bad. It can damage and scar the esophagus - which ultimately require surgery. If can even cause cancer of the esophagus. And Tums can only do so much. Even if he is not waking up coughing, he may still have milder AR going on and causing damage. So if you really suspect your little one has it, I suggest you follow up with a GI doc to make sure.

Hi K.,
I diagnosed my daughter with acid reflux back in Nov. At the time she was almost four and hardly ever slept through the night. (Maybe 10 nights in her whole life.) I put her on the kids tums for a wk as a trial and she slept peacefully all night. Then I went to the pediatrician with my findings. She's been on Prevacid since Nov. which helps tremendously. Her appetite increased (she hardly ever ate, anything) and she began to sleep normally. We see a pediatric GI specialist now. She has had the upper GI test with the Barium and last month she had an upper endoscopy with biopsies of her esophagus, stomach and small intestines. The test showed that she has allergic cells in part of her esophagus so we'll be seeing an allergist soon. In the interim, she is now on Flovent. It's an inhaler for asthma but she swallows the medicine instead of inhaling it. It is reducing the swelling in her esophagus. Tmrw we go back to the GI doctor to see if she can stop one or both meds now.

Anyway, she is doing much better with these medicines. She has always been a vibrant healthy child and only gave me trouble with eating and sleeping. The scary thing about untreated acid reflux is the permanent damage that can occur in the esophagus. We've been through a lot the past few months but I feel like it's been worth it. I encourage you to get in touch with a specialist and learn what you are facing. It makes me feel so bad that my child was suffering for so long and it took me until she was almost four to put the pieces together. I am glad you are dealing with it when your son is two.

Good luck!

N.

Hi K.,

Any kind of antacid kills stomach acid. The stomach acid is needed to break down the food in order for it to digest. When there is reflux it is because there is not enough acid to digest the food so that the food sits in the tummy and rots. Rotten food creates gases and those gases are what comes up the esophagus and burns. Have you ever left food in a tupperware container in the fridge way too long? When you opened it, it spit at you? Thats because of the gases that the foods create.

Antacids soothe the pain temporarily but the reflux comes back with a vengeance. Try lemon water with his meals. the lemon adds the right type of acids for his tummy. Vinegar is good too...in the form of a dill pickle? there are certain foods that will trigger the pain and you can determine what those are and avoid them. You may not see any problems over the next few years from antacids but the antacid route will lead to many problems in the future.

Hope I helped!

M.

And you are SO correct to be concerned. Hard to believe that the drug company has convinced doctors to forget basic physiology and exposed a child to a drug like this-
basic digestion- the stomach HAS to be acid in oder to digest protien, if you use that product protien will not be digested. Your son needs protien to grow his body.
Did the doctor do an exam? What were the other considerations when he worked up his differential diagnosis?
Of course you want to know why is he waking up- that deserves a good answer after a complete exam.
But 1st take a look at what he is eating- we use the WestonPrice recommendations, check that out-what he is eating can rot in his stomach- especiallycertain foods- the acid from the rotting can bubble up.
There are a number of other things that can cause this symptom-
a possibility is to check with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Assn for someone trained to do a proper exam.
best,k
Dr. Robert Mendelson wrote a book about Raising children inspite of your doctor- I believe you can find it on line- very important reference.

My daughter has had acid reflux issues off and on since she was born. At about age four the acid reflux was so bad she ended up in the hospital since she couldn't keep anything down, including water. She is now on an acid reflux diet as well as Prevacid 30 mg solutabs daily.

If you want to try to control this this through diet you need to AVOID the following:
All fried/greasy/fatty foods (this includes peanut butter, potato chips, mcdonald's hamburgers, etc.)
All tomato based products (spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup, etc.)
All caffeine (including chocolate)
All carbonated beverages
All citrus (we also avoid juice with citric acid- especially apple juice)
Peppermint
All spicy foods

I saw in other posts to use lemon juice and vinegar. I have heard that health food people believe this is the way to go. I know because my MIL has tried to get us to do it. (Myself, husband and daughter all have reflux and all take medication.) The vinegar actually made our symptoms worse. In fact the vinegar was painful. (We haven't tried the lemon juice since we avoid citrus.) It is hard for a 2 year old to tell you exactly what is wrong, especially heartburn. My daughter used to tell us her throat hurt. It wasn't until she was about 5 that she described it as a burning feeling. We have tried to take her off her meds and stick to the diet but that didn't work- she had symptoms in less than 30 days. She is a much happier child on the meds. You need to decide what is best for situation. I hope this helps. Any questions, please feel free to private message me. (I have been dealing with Acid Reflux with my child for 7 years.)

Get him off dairy products, ALL dairy products, you will see a difference shortly

my mamasource listing: http://www.mamasource.com/business/14059862321568677889

I would go to a specialist and not try and figure out medications on your own!
but in the meantime, kids tums are the same as adult- so check ingredients and save some money buy buying store-brand equivalents, adult kind...

next: try pepcid complete- the chewable kind- give 1/2 a tablet- again, the adult kind...

also: it could be your child's diet. cut out ALL MILK PROTEINS (this is NOT lactose, as lactose in milk SUGAR and not milk proteind) for a full two weeks and see if things improve- this means ALL milk proteins even as ingredients, hidden in things. google 'hidden milk names' and you'll see things like whey, casein, rhennet, etc.
it's hard to cut everything out, but it's 'just' two weeks and then you might not even NEED meds...

K.,

Check out "digestive enzymes". They are a natural way to help with digestive issues. Keep in mind the food he is eating may be the source of the reflux, because the over production of acid can be a symptom of a food allergy or sensitivity.

Please seek out some natural ways to help before you put your baby on man made chemicals that don't do anything to relieve the source of the malfunction. Go into your local Rolling Oats or health food store and look through the digestive stuff and there is usually someone working that area that has helpful knowledge.

Most natural cures, if not all have zero side effects and are derived from natural resources, so they are non-toxic as well. Helping his body to heal itself is important for his development overall.

The pharmaceutical companies have pushed natural forms of healing the body under the carpet by monetarily rewarding companies and doctors to push their products. Healing through diet, natural plants, herbs, enzymes, amino acids, minerals etc....are not obsolete. Trust your instincts! They are right and if you are concerned, know it is your right to do is in the best interest of your baby.

Our children are most precious, and we are their keepers, how blessed we are.

Good Luck, and God bless,

A.
Leximarket.com

hello sorry ur baby is going threw that:( the meds want hurt him i take them everyday and so does my daughter you will do more damage if he dont take something...hope he gets better soon:)

I would start by changing his diet. Keep a close eye on what he eats 3-4 hours before bedtime. Just eating during that time can cause acid reflux and you can avoid it by not feeding him or changing to less food. I would start here before you mess him up with medication. Good luck.

i ran a vaporizer with vicks in it.it works great my kids didnt wake up at all from coughing.but you have to clean it out every day .

A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (u can water it down or put in juice) will balance out the stomach acid and in about a month, he won't have to take it again.

My daughter has had acid reflux ever since she was born. Go with your pediatrician's recommendation, and don't try to medicate your son on your own w/ over the counter meds. Acid reflux is a serious condition, if left untreated (or mistreated) can cause more severe problems. My daughter is on Prevacid solutabs, and they work great, but go w/ your dr recommendation.

This website is great, but sometimes it causes mother's to play doctors instead of following their pediatricians advice, and in the end your child suffers. So, discuss your fears about giving Prilosec w/ a doctor, and proceed with what she/he recommends.

Good luck :-)
R..

My heart goes out to you... my son had the same problem. We followed the kids gastro doctors advice. He was on the acid reflux med for only a year. He had an as needed over the counter liquid med then and rarely needs it now. He has been off the prescription for 2 years now. He is doing great. You definitely want to make sure of the problem before treating. We never had any problems or side effects with the medications. If you have any other questions that I can help with, please ask. I wish you all the best of luck and hope he gets better soon.
Take care,
R.

Hi K. - My son is on Prilosec and he's doing great. He would get those same symptoms and also have a dry barky cough. It's easy for them to take - they just dissolve a tab on their tongue. It also comes in a powder form that you mix with water. That one is really gross and he refused to take it that way.

Also remember that it isnt so much about symptoms as preventing damage to their esophagus from the reflux.

Our son coughed and vomited in his sleep as a toddler, and ended up having a very serious asthma condition. He was at danger of aspirating the vomit and contracting pneumonia or worse. He now 11, and his asthma is more controlled, but as a toddler, the only thing that stood out was the nightly coughing and vomiting. I would recommend having your child seen by a pediatric asthma and allergy specialist.

That’s sad that he is in such discomfort :( a couple of thoughts...
* Acid reflux is stomach acid backing up into the esophagus (tube that food goes down) - untreated this acid burns to the esophagus and can cause scaring
Here are some none medication ideas:
 Avoid foods and drinks that trigger heartburn. Everyone has specific triggers, such as tomato sauce. Avoid foods you know will trigger your heartburn.
 Eat smaller meals. Avoid overeating by eating smaller meals.
 Delay lying down after a meal. Wait at least two to three hours after eating before lying down or going to bed.
 Elevate the head of your bed. An elevation of about six to nine inches puts gravity to work for you. Place wood or cement blocks under the feet of your bed at the head end. If it's not possible to elevate your bed, you can insert a wedge between your mattress and box spring to elevate your body from the waist up. Wedges are available at drugstores and medical supply stores.
Hope that helps!

My son had something similar, but it turned out to be stridor. It is a deep cough with a bit of deep inhalation...I mite ask about this as well.

My son has had digestive problems since he was born. He is now 21 months (June 2008 baby) and has already been through one surgery at 17 days old. He was on Reglan until recently which I do NOT suggest for mild reflux. However he is on Zantac PRN, up to twice a day. I have used it with him since the beginning and have slowly tapered off. If you are trying to stay away from medicine altogether, I suggest changing his diet. Stay away from tomatoes, give little fruit juice (always diluted 50/50 with water), and stay away from things too acidic. As there are different "grades" of reflux, you should ask your doctor to do a Flouroscope on your child to determine severity of his reflux. I have found that my son is growning out of his condition, previously diagnosed as "Grade 5", so hopefully you will find some relief with your child. If he is finding comfort with only a quarter of tums before bed, I would not worry about it too much! Hope you find this helpful!!!