Need Help for 1 Year-old with Reflux

Hi J.
Have you tried a chirpractor. if so please put her on the medicine at least for a few months to help lessen the acid. Good Luck T.

Hi J.

Both my children have had reflux. I am not a big fan of putting kids on meds so I asked my doctor for more options. She offered an over the counter solution that has worked for both my kids - mylannta (original formula). The dose has depended on my childs age and weight. At first I had to give them a dose twice a day. After a month I went to one dose and now I only has to give as needed. My daughter is almost 6 months and only needs it about once a week now. Good luck.

I have to say 3 out of 3 had GERD, 3 out of 3 have Milk and/or soy allergy. Prevacid & zantac, the zantac effertabs go down a bit easier than the zantac liquid(nasty taste) Zantac is 2x daily prevacid is just a solutab put in cheek once a day and works for 24 hours, I do give malox 1/2 tsp in am prevacid in the afternoon to allow for peak performance at night 1/2 tsp malox before bed. Works great, we also use the malox for gas purposes as well. I have tried the chiropractor for the reflux with no luck in 4 mo. so clearly it wasn't the right course of treatment for my son, but it did help my 3rd & 4th with other issues.
I would also recommend finding a good allergist wherever you live. They can do a simple blood test to tell you what she is allergic to. The tests they do at the peds office are very unreliable. I had one come back not allergic to anything only to find out 2wks later from the allergist that my #4 was severely allergic to milk & peanuts...thank god for the allergist.

Anyway good luck.

I have a friend who had to prop up the head end of her child's mattress to help with this. Not a lot, just an inch or so, and it helped but didn't completely do the trick.
I didn't breastfeed, so I don't know, but what if YOU took the zantac? Would that help her without putting her on meds? I understand you not wanting to put your baby on medication, sometimes we have to.
Are there more natural remedies you can try? My sister takes a spoonful of vinegar every night, what if YOU did that? I wonder if whatever qualities it has for that would get to her in your breastmilk? I can't imagine giving a baby something as nasty tasting as vinegar, but I'm just throwing ideas out.

I don't understand the reasoning behind not giving the meds. Do they have a side effect you're uncomfortable with?

That said, I have no problem giving my kids medication to help them feel better. When I hurt, I want to feel better so why wouldn't I want the same for them? I would absolutely ease her pain with the meds.

The benefits here (a happy kid who doesn't hurt all the time) outweighs the risk, IMO. Think about it, all she's ever known is pain, you'll likely see a totally different kid in the end.

I have heard that probiotics help with reflux. Perhaps it is something to look into.

My oldest son had reflux. He was on medication AND had rice in his bottles to help out too. We also tilted his mattress. After we took him off the medication we continued to put rice in his bottles and keep the mattress tilted. The only other thing that helped was eating more solids. Isn't your one year old eating any solids yet? Now my 8 month old had a little reflux as well and spit up a considerable amount during the night. I think the reason you are having trouble since you are breastfeeding is obviously breastmilk is more 'watery' than formula. Seems like you wouldn't have such a problem with reflux since you are breastfeeding though. If you have your child on a sippy cup or bottle maybe give him breastmilk by way of one of those before bed and put some rice in it to help keep it down. Also, it may that she is used to you coming in to soothe her, you just never know. I would hold off on meds though first. Our doctors told us that infants' stomach acid isn't as acidic as an adult...not sure when that all changes though.

Hi I feel for you. Both my kids had GERD. My son had it until he was over 3 yrs. Both my kids were on prescribed meds from the the get go. Talk to your doc about meds: they made a world of difference for us. My kids were on Zantac (liquid) and Prevacid which was a little stronger. I have heard some doc don't like meds, but ours was very concerned about the damage to their esophaguses and the lack of everyones sleep. We also were told to have them sleep in a bouncy seat and after they were too big for that we elevated the matress. My kids are 2 1/2 and 5 1/2 now and everyone is happy and healthy!!!!

Wow I can't believe you didnt' put her on any meds earlier. I had two reflux babies and they were both on zantac.. but they both grew out of it by 11 months. Please know if she has had stomach acid burning her esophagus/larynx/voicebox for 12 months she may have some damage that needs to heal. I would put her on the Zantac.. not a question in my mind. If you hate the thought of it.. try Mylanta in small doses (your pediatrition can tell you how much)... I believe I did like 1/8 teaspoon for my babies on their worst days when the Zantac couldn't even keep up with the acid. You are right that the waking to nurse is soothing on her throat.. its like putting out the fire. Poor baby.

Our daughter was diagnosed with reflux at 3 weeks of age. She saw a pediatric gastro Dr which helped us immensely. We faithfully took Prevacid and got help from a feeding clinic. We figured out she was allergic to milk, also, which aggravated the problem. So a formula switch for us. Put your daughter on medication before the reflux does more harm. Just had an acquaintance pass away at a young age of esophageal cancer because he had reflux for so many years untreated and it ate away at his esophagus. Please try medicine and if still no better see a pediatric gastro Dr as it was a very helpful experience for us! Good Luck!

You really really really REALLY need her on medication. Your child is in pain. Have you ever had acid reflux? It is so painful! I suffered with it throughout my pregnancy and when my son developed it when he was 2 weeks old, I agreed to the medication because I didn't want my son to be in the kind of pain I was in for 9 mos. I couldn't watch my baby suffer. He was on Prevacid which is a fruity flavored tablet that dissolves easily on their tongue- or you can dissolve it in a little bit of water and give it to her through a syringe. Medications are not all bad. There is a reason they make them....you need to get your daughter on this medication ASAP. I am 100% positive that you will see a totally changed and happy baby within a couple of days...maybe even immediately. Please do not put it off any longer. This child is in pain.

Do you know how bad the reflux is? My DD has reflux, suggested at 3 months and then confirmed with an upper GI Swallow study at 6 months. She too would wake up to nurse for a few sucks. The milk is not what takes away the pain, it is you changing her position and waking that causes the pain to decrease. I too was a little hesitant to do medication, but once I saw the damage the stomach acid was doing to her esophagus, I KNEW the medication was worth the go. The acid that burns is far more damage than any medication can do. Zantac is pretty mild and I would go for it. My DD's was so bad we had to go to Prevacid because the Zantac did not touch the Grade IV reflux with a 10 foot pole. She is 7 now and last year had surgery and we found out that the damage has jealed ALMOST completely healed. Can you believe this is 6 1/2 years later. I am happy we went the medication route. We also had some weight issues as a toddler; it was thought to be partially due to the extra calories she was taking in still getting up frequently to nurse. So personally I would go for the medication. If the mattress elevation has not worked, then that is the next step. If you have ever had reflux, it does feel as if you are not able to breath and feels like a mild heart attack. This is just my opinion from a mom of a reflux child. You can consent to the Upper GI & Swallow study if you truly want to find out if it is what it is and how bad it is. Here is a (((HUG))).

Please please please put her on medication right away! Reflux is horribly painful and medication is perfectly safe. My daughter was on liquid Zantac from 3 days old to 2 months. And then Prevacid from 2 months to 15 months. Liquid Zantac only works for about 6 hours at a time and can only be given 3 times a day - don't even try liquid Zantac. Go right to Prevacid. You get the actual pill from the pharmacy, drop the pill into a medicine syringe and then pull up water into the syringe. The pill will dissolve right inside of the syringe and then you can give it to her that way. It will take 2-3 days to start working and then you have to give it to her every single day without fail or the reflux will come back. I cannot believe your doctor hasn't told you to do this. I would seriously think about switching pediatricians. Hope this helps her!

Hi my daughter also has reflux and has had it since birth and i nursed her also i took my daughter to a peds GI doc and she put my daughter on previcid and it does wonders

My son is now almost 5....He had some of the same issues when he was younger.I am a mother not big on medicating my children either but I also hated to see him like that...The Zantac worked for him and did not have any issues taking the it either.I wish you all the best...hope things get better.God Bless.

J.

my daughter had reflux from the time she was born. i tried the cereal thing and all that but it didn't really help. my doctor gave her zantac and it helped a lot!! eventually it got less severe and she doesn't need it now. she started out being lactose intolerant so we used soy which also helped. it turned out her digestive system just needed to develop some more. maybe this case will be true for you as well. in the meantime, take the zantac. it will make both of you feel better.

Hey J., I have an 8 month old with reflux. My daughter is actually a good size dose of Prevacid 7.5mg 3 times a day. It is hard to give her medicine all the time but it works well she does sleep a lot better and she is not so noisy when she breaths. It also helps her from gaging at night. It takes a good month for the medicine to show its true benefit but i think it is worth it, that acid gets up in the nose and burns as well as could cause ear infections. Hope this helps

we tried the Zantac with my daughter when she was 2 months, and it was AWEFUL tasting - it has a very STRONG mint flavor - you can really smell it when you open the medicine - the only other flavor that partially covers it is a strong grape the phamrmacist can add to it if you request. Zantac didn't work for our girl, so we switched her to Prevacid solutabs, at 3 months we had to crush half of one and put it in her cheek - they crush into little grains, and tast like a light strawberry flavor - MUCH easier to administer - just pop the crushed half in there on an adult finger and let her suck it off, or pop her binkie in right after. It worked great, and there was a huge difference in her sleep and pain level just a day ot two after starting it.

Maybe you could leave a bottle or sippy of water in her crib, so she can have a drink when she wakes, that way it doesn't HAVE to be you, but she will have some liquid to soothe her throat. We did that with our daughter till about 2 years old, too. Only do that with water as any other liquid can cause tooth decay.

Does she use a pacifier? sucking seemed to help my daughter keep the acid neutralized - salive is produced when sucking and it neutralizes the acid, plus it makes them swallow so they are washing their throats down with saliva.

Good luck!

Jess

Hi,
I have a 15 month old who has had GERD from birth. He still has episodes--burps a lot, his eyes get watery, and his breathing is rough at night. He still gets up 2-3 times a night as well. He was originally using Prilosec as a younger infant, and has been on Prevacid since about 3 months. I would STRONGLY recommend using the medication. Since being on the medication, he no longer seems to feel the pain of the reflux, since the acid is neutralized. I would be very concerned with the pain as well as with the damage that reflux causes. The medication is simple to administer and has no negative side effects that I am aware of. Definitely worth trying with your baby.
Good luck,
C.

I don't know much about the acid reflux part of this question, but I do know that not all 12 month old sleep thru the night, and having to get up with your daughter for only a couple minutes each night sounds like a dream to me. I would think that crying it out would be more painful for a baby with reflux- it just sounds cruel. I KNOW that despite your dr warning about development at this age, your daughter will be just fine, I've never even heard that particular argument before. I also think that your dr giving you parenting advice is like your gyno giving advice on foreplay. Next time I would tell him to stick with the medical advice only, especially if it goes against your instincts as a mother.

We used Zantac for my daughter starting when she was about 5-6 months old. She still didn't sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time (EVER) until she was 3.5 years old. However, she is now 8 and has no trouble with sleeping anymore, and her development, social, academic, cognitive, and physical, is actually ahead of the curve.
So, try Zantac if you think it might help, but don't expect it to be the silver bullet for your sleep issues.

You could try some hready herbal aloe (helps with indigestion, acid issues, and heartburn). It's all natural and I really like it. Give me a call if you want to order some or know more about it.

M. A.
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Have you had your daughter tested for food allergies or food intolerances? If your body can't tolerate certain foods, it will cause upset stomach, indigestion, bloated feeling, nausea, and GERD. I know. I have mild acid reflux, and I am allergic to casein (cow milk products), and have a severe intolerance to soy and gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats and their byproducts), as well as 21 other food intolerances. I have been working for over a year to correct both my body's nutritional status and also my severely depleted immune system.

I was told GERD is a large byproduct of your body's inability to either tolerate certain foods, or even sometimes, to digest foods properly. I'm not sure, but there must be something out there you can give a baby for digestive enzymes. Both myself and my daughter take a digestive enzyme before we eat, and it helps both of us quite a bit.

One words of caution: your pediatrician or conventional doctor will most likely not cooperate when it comes to wanting to test your baby for food allergies and intolerances, because they aren't trained in nutrition and first, don't know anything about it and second, don't make any money on you buying supplements or changing your diet.

I know, but it's a sad but true commentary on our present healthcare system. Doctors go through four-years of medical school to learn how to spot the symptoms and give prescription drugs; they are not taught to learn why or the cause for those symptoms, nor are they taught what to do to help someone treat the cause. You'll need to find a Naturopathic doctor to help you with food testing; the naturopathic doctor will also help you figure out the correct supplements to give your daughter to build her system back up. Your daughter doesn't need to be on prescriptive medicine. Also, I hope you're giving her a good beneficial probiotic along with the RX (the doctor won't tell you about this, either), because otherwise, the RX will destroy the good bacteria in her gut, which will lead to Leaky Gut, and then she can potentially manifest even more food intolerances, or, down the road, other chronic problems.

Believe me; I know. I suffered horribly from malabsorption and constipation and probably these food allergies/intolerances since I was little; I'm now 41 years old, and I've been fighting and advocating to get better for over a year now. It's best to catch these things when one's young, because then steps can be taken so that she doesn't keep getting sicker. She won't look sick--I didn't either--but her body will be sick.