Barrium Swallow for Baby

Hi , C.,

My daughter has a bit of reflux, we did no hi-tech tests or anything, but it was just obvious that when she would burb, or even just after she ate or drank anything some would come up in the form of acid, it made my life difficult for a while and i was told that the condition in infants is usually temporary. lasting the first few years or less then going away. the doctor had me give her maalox an hour before she ate.. and it worked for the most part. if her regular pediatrician thinks it's reflux it probably is... why put your baby through the stress of the test to find out something that you can know through carefull observation of your baby's eating habbits and reactions?

Hey, I had that test done for my daughter when she was 17 months old. It was such a difficult test to do and a waste of our time and money. They made her lay on her stomach and drink this drink out of a straw. They said they wanted her to drink like 11 oz or so, I couldnt even get her to drink 1oz. How can you get a little kid to drink while being held down inbetween these HUGE metal machines, forget about drinking on her belly. It could just have been a bad experience for us and her age, they may do soemthign different for an 11 month old, but I hated it and wished I didnt waste money gettign it down, she was just way to young. Needeless to say the tests all came back fine, how could theyget results anyway, if she didnt drink it?!
As for risks, I didnt even worry about that. I had the saem study done a few times when I was like 10 or so. I think its ok to do.

Hi C.,

My daughter went through this upper GI series in the winter. I, too, was nervous. The worst part of the test for us was how they have to strap them down under the x ray! She didn't like that very much! The staff at Bridgeport Hospital were WONDERFUL and made the experience more comfortable and bearable. That doesn't mean that I didn't cry, though! The barium was strawberry flavor, so she didn't mind it too much. My daughter also has a bottle aversion, so getting her to take the barium out of the bottle anyway was a challenge. They ended up giving it to her by dropper! She hasn't been very cooperative from the start! I don't remember any risks, really, but her poop was pure white after b/c of the barium. It went by fairly quickly and was actually cool to watch how her GI tract worked! It did prove that she had reflux and we have been on a bunch of meds ever since. If you have anymore questions just let me know....good luck!

J.

I never heard of that. My daughter had reflux as did some other babies that I've known and they didn't need a test to diagnose it. There is a medication called Reglan that they can treat it with. We were also told by a dr. that you can give them a super small dose of Maalox. Maybe it would be worth getting a second opinion. If you have a good dr. they shouldn't be offended if you do. I wish you and your baby luck and good health. At 11 months you should be almost to the end of the reflux tunnel anyway!

Good Morning C.,
My name is H.. My oldest who is now 6, had Acid Reflux Disease since birth. I was back and forth to his pediatrician for weeks and tried everything! We eventually went with the Barrium test and Xray and it was the best thing we could have done. It shows just where the problem was and the doctor was able to prescribe liquid Zantac and the proper dosage. He was on that for two and a half years and than on or around his third birthday, he was off it and the acid reflux had subsided all together. My son was only a few months old when we did the test. Your baby, at 11 months, will take it alot better. Now the stuff looks gross and it's not the best tasting but don't let the baby see you putting it in the bottle and have a lollipop with you or somthing. There is no risk for this test only results. I was leery also but it was a relief to not see my baby in pain anymore. I wish you the best. If you have any other questions, please ask. It has been a while since my son had it.
H.