Reflux treatment...Ranitidine(zantac)& Gaviscon

[noree]

Hi all, my Lo has been suffering now with Colic symtoms for over a month. She has terrible wind, cramps and stomach issues and doesn't always find going to the toilet easy. I changed her to Aptamil comfort milk which helped a little. I also worry because she struggles to drink the second half of her bottle, often screeching and fighting it, and particulalrly during the night she seems to have a large collection of fluid travelling up and down her throat which she chokes on (but never gets sick much) She is very conjested in the night also...always at about 4 am, not often before that.

Anyway we have tried all the obvious things and now after trying baby gaviscon since Christmas eve we were prescribed Zantac today.

I just wondered if anyone elses baby uses it and what their symptoms were, did your baby also have tummy issues like wind and can silent reflux cause this also?. In the day she doesn't seem terribly refluxy, apart from the struggling with bottle and lots of hiccups, then I wonder is that an issue with the milk causing tummy pain and that I might be giving her zantac when it isn't the right thing to do.

I don't know, I feel stressed and miserable, I had all my hopes pinned on colief and comfort milk but that didn't work, the doc says we will try another milk next week if zantac not helping at all...just wondered what other peoples experiences are of these symtoms and these treatments.

Also the chemist said the doc had given me a dosage at the higher end of the scale for her weight and age 1ml 3 times a day which worries me a little as like I say she is bad (but I have read about babies who seem much worse) but I am not completely convinced that the problem is reflux, the chemist suggested I give her less than the doctor said... so confused

 

[bathbabe]

someone please correct me if im wrong but ranitidine works by stopping the acid production, and its the acid that is the problem with silent reflux, so thats what you want to stop. My LO has reflux, we use comfort milk, gaviscon, gripe water and ranitidine. Still LOADS of puke! How much does your LO weigh? Harrison weighs 15lb and has ranitidine twice a day each 1ml. But acid isnt his problem which i assume is why he only has it twice a day. X

 

[noree]

Sorry Bathbabe 4 being rude and not replying sooner. She is about 12 pounds... I think , I will have her weighed on Tuesday coming at baby clinic. The doc got my hubby to stand on scales and then he stood on with her (he also did it in kilos which I don't understand), but because she was screaming I kinda didn't hear her weight we were just trying to pacify her. I find she spits alot of the zantac out, but I do think it has helped. Unfortunately the gaviscon has her incredibly blocked up and she is screaming now when it's time to poo, it comes out like play dough it's just one thing after another!

 

[bathbabe]

id keep with what your doing and try offering boiled water with fruit juice in. My hv said 2oz of water and 5ml of fruit juice. Or you could swap to a comfort milk?

 

[bathbabe]

btw the water/juice is to help with the constipation. Also just seen that your already using comfort.. Dippy moment. What dosage of gaviscon are you using?

 

[noree]

6 single doses over 24 hours. have been giving her water and lactulose (which she hates!!) but she still so bunged up, I will try the fruit juice tomorrow, I haven't given her gaviscon today (prob the wrong thing to do) but I will give her them tonight in her night feeds as this is when she suffers most with her reflux...what u think? x

 

[HelenFS]

Hi Noree,
We've joined the ranitidine club with you & Kitty. Freya really suffered with constipation on the gaviscon so we have stopped it today. Also, I read on the 'crying over spilt milk' website that you shouldn't use Zantac within two hrs of using gaviscon as the g prevents absorption of the zantac.I found that the gaviscon wasn't stabilizing her stomach contents and, in fact, more was coming up than ever!
Freya is on 0.3ml three times a day but she is only approx 10lbs.
Let's hope it works eh?!
Helen x

 

[noree]

Hi Helen, poor Freya, at leastthey are giving her something to try! I think Kittys dose of Zantac is very high, even the chemist seemed to think so, although she spits so much out that she isn't taking the full prrescibed dose. How long has Freya been taking it? Do you find any difference? Kitty does seem a little better in general, just her general mood is more relaxed and there is less crying although there is still lots of it!! The Gaviscon has caused Kitty alot of bother the last 3 days, she has been straining and crying, it's been awful x

 

[HelenFS]

We've noticed an improvement in her mood today. She isn't crying constantly. She has only had 5 doses though. Last night she went down in her moses basket straight after her 'bedtime feed' (normally 10.30-11 ish but last night 12.30 due to nye). It has been taking a good hr of sleeping on my chest to get her into a deep sleep before she goes down.
I really hope it works but she is crying now after about 1/2 an hr of happy time after a feed.
I've noticed her breath smells awful and acidic and at various times it drips out of her mouth. She won't take a dummy and I think it would help soothe her and the saliva would probably help the acid stay down maybe? We've resorted to using our own thumbs at times!
X

 

[bathbabe]

so is she ever actually sick? If not then i dont think its gunna do any harm if you try her without the gaviscon

 

[noree]

Bathbabe, Kitty is rarely very sick (although she threw up her entire bottle at bedtime yesterday), the only time it worries me is in the night as even as she is elevated she still chokes on it and coughs and splutters on the sick which keeps travelling up and down her throat, this is where I get most worried as it's during the night. In the day it doesn't seem as bad. I hold her up for 30 mins in the night before lying her back down. xx

Helen thats what Kitty was like, her mood has gradually improved with the few doses she has had, I wonder if it's working? I don't want to get my hopes up yet. I think the zantac reduces the acid in the sick so hopefully Freya is getting relief already
x

 

[noree]

Bathbabe, when I say it only worries me at night I am not exactly explaining myself properly, it worries me all the time as the milk travelling up and down obviously hurts her, but it's much less pronounced in the daytime and easier to control (although the crying and fussing feels constant at times), whereas at night the milk seems to pool at the back of her throat and she has real throuble breathing and gets hiccups so much in the night that it irritates and upsets her terribly, thats why I wa sthinking of giving her 2 gaviscons with just the night feeds to weight them down a little more??
x

 

[bathbabe]

i would only put 1 gaviscon in the bottle, i was putting 2 in for a while because he was finally over the weight limit but it really really bunged him up, it wasnt nice. Then we saw the ped about his reflux and she said to only put 1 in if using comfort milk because the milk is already thicker. (but doesnt contain a thickener, they are safe to put together). But yeah try just using them for the night feeds. Good luck x

 

[bathbabe]

also have you got the head end of the cot/crib/moses basket propped up? X

 

[noree]

Hiya, yeah we are propped up at the end of the bed. I didn't put any in last night will piy 1 in tonight x

 

[Chrissy76]

Hi All,
I have been reading your posts and I must say this is ringing true with what I have been experiencing recently
My LO is now 12 weeks and 12lb 9oz
We started Gaviscon just before christmas and it is helping but not making a lot of difference - we are also using the comfort milk
She is also constipated and when she does go it obviously hurts her. The Dr said try orange juice and boiled water in a 1/10 dilution - we only started this yesterday so I am hoping this will help
I spoke with another mum who's daughter has just started the ranitidine and it is working wonders after only 4 days
I am going to speak to my Dr and see if I can try it - anything to help calm her

Noree - I am also worried at night time. Even though i keep her up on my shoulder for at least 30 mins after her feed before putting her down you can still hear the sick/fluid in her throat. She also makes 'gagging' faces - I think this is when some of the stomach acid coming up

Can anyone suggest anything else which may help to reduce the risk of her choking during the night?

Pls let me know how you get on and if it helps

Thank you

 

[Amy31]

My LO did (and sometimes still does but not as much) that choking thing but is fine. We have been prescribed Cow & Gate Carobel to put in formula for silent reflux and it has helped loads. We also changed to Hipp organic formula which helped with wind and variflow teats. Worth a try We still use colief as well as I am worried about stopping it in case it is helping as well.

 

[Courtcourt]

We did baby zantac for her first 6 weeks of life and it fixed her right up. I only forgot a dose once or twice and believe me, never again! I was able to get her off of it after 6 weeks or so. Good luck!

 

[courtney89]

My little girl has acid reflux too. She was on 10mg of nexium a day 5mg in the morn and 5 mg at night. That went on from 3-6 months. Now she is on 5mg of nexium a day and she is 10 months. Tomorrow she starts 5mg of nexium every other day then after a month we are taking her off of it. In the begining she would scream and cry for hours after her bottle. When she would spit up she would arch her back and scream thats how bad it was. Also my little girl was put on Nutramigen a special formula for lactose and soy sensitive babys. I now am giving her 3oz of regular milk a day and she seems to have no problem with that. She is also still on her special formula.

 

[Skippa84]

My baby is 6 weeks old and suffering exactly this. Only thing is... One day I think she is so much better then the next it's awful again. She is on domperidone and ranitidine. She was on the gaviscon but it didnt work. Im not sure whether you should use the gaviscon with the comfort milk. I went back to normal aptamil as gaviscon shouldnt be mixed with any thickening agent as gaviscon itself will make the milk thicker and I think the comfort milk is thicker too. Im wondering whether to try gripe water too? She had infacol and didnt affect her. I can so relate to this though... She wakes
herself every night with the wind about 4am, only does half a bottle as once winded doesnt want to go back on it... Well she does but cries in pain and fights it. Feeds better during day than at night. Crib is raised head end, anti-colic bottles are being used, Apparently little and often is good for them as tummy doesnt get so big so less acid is produced. Before she was given meds if she was awake she screaming. She is easier to console and more of a cry now than unconsolable scream. She cries out in her sleep and is forever popping from her bottom. Thing is she winds no trouble when feeding. Apparently this will carry on until on solids so we just have to deal with is apparently.and keep on with meds . Good luck everyone xxx