Hi. I've posted here with questions about my son's reflux before. He was diagnosed with silent reflux around age 7 weeks, now 11 weeks. He has been on Zantac...which helped SOME but not a lot. We are also thickening his milk, which helps. The last few days have been very bad as far as eating. He eats just an ounce or two of formula or pumped breast milk and then begins to refuse the bottle, though he's still hungry. He starts kicking and spitting out the nipple. In a half hour, he's hungry again. Went to the ped today and explained the situation...he is eating but he basically has to eat all the time to do so comfortably (can't handle more than 2 ounces at a time). I asked about prevacid, and she suggested we try Reglan. Have any of you had success using this drug for reflux, and how long did it take to see the effects?
Edits to add--since I posted this I went to pick it up at the pharmacy...and was HORRIFIED by the list of potential side effects. I called my pedi and she changed the script to Prevacid (but after I picked up the Reglan), but told me it wouldn't work as well as Reglan. I'm finding online that some people have used Reglan with great success, and others say the side effects are not worth it....anyone have any success without major side effects?
There was a drug recall on Reglan not too long ago.
http://www.adrugrecall.com/reglan/recall.html
Our 2 year old had reflux (was on Zantac) because of a Heart Defect. It's very common for heart babies to have reflux. Have they pinpointed the cause of your son's reflux? I don't want to scare you, but make sure your pediatrician listens to his heart.
We used Reglan and had excellent results. We have taken it as adults too and had no issues. I know there are a lot of things"coming" out about Reglan but the same can be said for everything, even Tylenol. Every medication has potential side effects that can be dangerous. Please just do as the doc says and try until you find a solution that works well for you. Prevacid stops the production of acid. Reglan relaxes the muscles in the bottom of the stomach and that allows the food to go into the digestive track quicker and the food starts getting digested in the lower bowels before it sits in the stomach and comes back up. That's what the doc means when they say it works different.
We used .9 of Reglan before each bottle, we added Mylicaon gas Drops to each bottle before adding the water. We did not shake the bottle to mix the formula, gently swirled it or mixed it up before hand and let it sit to reduce the bubbles.We kept J in a bouncy seat, even during the night, and it really helped. The sitting/reclining position really helped the food stay down.
We dealt with reflux for such a long time. I don't think we could have made it without the Reglan.
When my daughter was about that age we were having the same problems. We were told she was colic and they thought she had reflux. She showed those same systems, but she would scream for hours on end because of the pain. I ended up at Riley with her and it turned out that she was allergic to protein. We ended up on a forumula called Neocate. It had to be prescribed through the pharmacy. I remember that they did give us Reglan and I didn't think it made any difference.
I did use it for my son who had similar problems. However, 2 oz is not a small meal for a baby 11 weeks. Eventually I came to feel that it wasn't providing significant enough help to keep using it and stopped. My son came to be satisfied and less "reflux-y" once he started eating oatmeal and other solids.
Why are you using formula and breast milk? I'd stick with one or the other. Have you researched whether some of what you are eating may be flavoring your milk or causing him more gas and contributing to the reflux? My sitter gave me a home remedy for fennel seed tea. Of all I tried that settled his stomach more than anything else. Other than that, just hang on until it gets better.
Babies magic tea was the remedy I have used for my baby with silent reflux and colic. It was very helpful for my baby.
I could be wrong, but I saw a tv commercial from some lawyer group seeking people who had certain issues when taking the medication. It could have been for a different drug, but I do think it was for Reglan. I would definitely check it out before giving it to your child.
Both my son and my daughter had digestive issues. My son is now 8 and my daughter is 3. My son's issue was painful gas that was helped by switching him to Alimentum formula and giving him Mylicon drops. My daughter had reflux and was prescribed the Zantac (but was given Zyrtec by the pharmacy because evidently they are right next to each other on the shelf and are commonly confused - unfortunately she was only 6 weeks old at the time - we had to call poison control). By the time we went through all that - I was leary of drugs period for a baby that small. We worked with alternative methods. We fed sitting up as much as possible. We switched formulas until we found one that worked (lactose free I believe) - and nipples as well. My son ONLY would eat from a Nuk nipple. My daughter was the opposite and only liked the real broad nipples that resembled the breast. Also, try the slower feed nipples versus the faster ones (for babies 6 mos. and older). My daughter had a definite preference. I lived by not doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I kept searching for what worked for her. And eventually - they DO grow out of it. You just do whatever you have to do to get your baby nourishment. I DID have the x-ray done of her esophagus to make sure all was well there and a food allergy test (other allergies are not picked up this early - but food allergies can be). Before you try drugs, I would consult a doctor that is knowledgeable about alternative methods - there are several in our area that are great - Dr. Ali M Carine, DO is one of them.
HAJ is right I wouldn't take any chances with reglan. My doc prescribed it for me during pregnancy because of horrible heartburn and even I was too afraid to take it, I just stuck to taking truck loads of tums. I would also imagine the risk for side effects would be greater in an infant. Poor little guy, I hope you find a good solution, good luck!
