# Anyone had success with ranitidine after gaviscon failed to work?



## Kato2

My baby has acid reflux. I've cut dairy out of my diet and it's helped his wind quite a bit but the reflux then started to become apparent.

Gaviscon was prescribed but made him so constipated he had us awake from 2am this morning crying and straining.

We have now been prescribed ranitidine. Has anyone had more success with this?

I'm almost at my wits end as I'm exhausted! My baby is 7 weeks old


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## MummytoSummer

Our lo was prescribed gaviscon at 3 weeks old but made no difference, then at 4 weeks old they prescribed her ranitidine 0.6mls 3 times a day plus the gaviscon in each bottle. 

She was instantly a different baby! We took the ranitidine away at 5 months old but she still now has the gaviscon in her bottles and she's still brilliant!

So for us gaviscon alone was useless but combined with ranitidine worked wonders! Good luck!

X


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## hubblybubbly

Yes, we did, we ended up having to up the dose to maximum to get full effect but it worked wonders for us. 
Gaviscon did help too, but does make them constipated, so we have plenty of fruit now she's weaned to counteract it but obviously not an option in one so young.

Reflux is dreadful so I know what your going through, have you done all the usual things like raise the head of the moses basket, keep him upright after feeds for half an hour, burp halfway through a feed, give a dummy for sleep as it can help reflux?

X


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## erikab922

Yup! My LO refused to drink milk with Gaviscon in it (makes me cry to think of how much pumped BM I wasted on it!). We switched to ranitidine .5ml 3x a day and reflux has disappeared. I really hope your LO finds relief soon.


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## Fresia

Renitidine worked really well for our little one too. We found Gaviscon very difficult to give to a BF baby and it caused constipation / loss of appetite. We gave up after one day! LO was screaming in pain and arching her back with the reflux :cry: but this stopped almost immediately with Renitidine and it is sooo much easier to give as it does not need to be mixed with milk. It is important to make sure the dose is correct for their weight and is adjusted up as they grow. We were told to give it 3 times a day but I found it helped to spread it over 24 hours ie every 8 hours so I still give her a dose in the night if she wakes. Just a suggestion. I think she was 9 lb when we started on 0.3ml 3 x day ? Your doctor can look it up.

Hope your LO is feeling better very soon as I know how distressing reflux can be for you both :hugs:


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## Kato2

Thank you so so so much for your replies! I am literally crying because your replies have given us some optimism!

May I ask did you give the medicine before or after a feed or totally separate?

Xx


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## MummytoSummer

We would try to give the ranitidine 30 minutes before her feed, it seemed to work well that way. Sometimes though, especially when she was still really little and feeding on demand it could be hard to figure out when she'd need a feed so we would sometimes give it directly before a feed and again we never had any problems.

Honestly since she went on the ranitidine we never looked back. I really hope it's the same for you. Reflux is awful and it's heartbreaking to see your lo in pain.

X


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## Fresia

Kato2 said:


> Thank you so so so much for your replies! I am literally crying because your replies have given us some optimism!
> 
> May I ask did you give the medicine before or after a feed or totally separate?
> 
> Xx

My doctor was a bit vague on this and if you research online some advise to give before a feed, either just before or half an hour before, and others will say it does not matter when you give it! As my baby is BF and feeds on demand, I cannot predict when she will feed and I do not want to keep her waiting when she is hungry so I have just given it to her every 6-8 hours and this has worked well. Unlike Gaviscon which acts as a barrier on top of the milk in the stomach, Renitidine actually stops the acid from being produced so to me it seems more important that LO just has it at regular intervals to keep the acid production down. Not sure whether others would agree?
Good luck x


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## erikab922

For ranitidine I believe the dosage is 2-4mg/kg. So for a 6.5kg baby, with a ranitidine solution of 150mg/ml (this is what most are, I think, but check the label) =

min dosage (2*6.5/150)*10 = .87ml per day or ~.3ml 3x a day

middle dosage (3*6.5/150)*10 = 1.3ml per day or ~.45ml 3x a day

max dosage (4*6.5/150)*10 = 1.7ml per day or ~.6ml 3x a day

Your doc should help you figure this out so the above is just a guideline, I'm nooooo expert!



Kato2 said:


> May I ask did you give the medicine before or after a feed or totally separate?

We try to give it with a feed but sometimes if we've forgotten then we just give it on its own and it doesn't seem to make a difference either way. It took about 3-4 days before it took full effect but since then it's been AWESOME.


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## Fresia

Sorry, just realised I have been spelling Ranitidine wrong :wacko:


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## Fresia

We were given the same dosing Guidelines as Erikab and started at the minimum dose then adjusted up as needed. Took about 2-4 days to see a gradual improvement. 

We were also told by a hospital paediatrician that if Ranitidine alone did not work they can give domperidone too. We did not need this.

Hang in there.


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