"Acid Reflux" ...

So, after having Nadezdha diagnosed with having reflux last week and being on Zantac... my father started me worrying.  He mentioned that Zantac might interfere with her ability to make acid later.  So.. I didn't want to give her the medication today.  I also noticed that a lot of babies are being diagnosed with this... why?  There isn't a change in the society, and babies are pretty much supposed to "spit up" a lot... so... *sigh*  I'mn frustrated.  Anyone else know much about this subject?  Know what the long term effects may be?  Have a child that is of normal weight and development whom was on medication like this as a baby?  How do you know they don't need the medication any more?

[Me2mommy2b]

Those are all very good questions.  My DD was FINALLY diagnosed after months of "oh, babies are supposed to spit up" and "it'll pass".  Only those drs were not there in the middle of the night when my daughter was suffering and screaming bloody murder.  We were up from 9 pm-4 am and I'm NOT exaggerating.  It's not that more babies have reflux all of a sudden, it's just it's being recognized now.  All those "fussy" and "colicky" babies could very well have had ACID REFLUX.  29 years ago when I was born, I used to "spit up" a lot and it was expected and obviously nothing was done.  In fact, my mom was told to stop breastfeeding me b/c I can't tolerate her milk.  Isn't that ridiculous?  How do you know they don't need meds anymore?  You try weaning them at certain times and if they do well, great...Unfortunately, there are possibilities that she may not and you'll have to put her back on the medication.  I suggest you check out www.marci-kids.com  There is a great deal of information on different meds to help with reflux.  I've never heard of an H-2 blocker (Zantac) causing acid production problems later on.  Did he just hear it somewhere or did he read a study?  There aren't any studies done, as far as I know, on babies that young.

[Me2mommy2b]

oh, Dd was diagnosed at 4 months (forgot that little piece of info).  She's now on Prevacid.

[tiredbuthappy]

DH (pharmacist) said zantac is safe and won't interfere. once it flushes out of system (10-12 hours after each dose), she will continue to produce what she normally did previously. the zantac will actually help her if reflux is the actual problem because it can help prevent damage to the esophagus which can lead to greater acid problems later on in life.

i don't know why so many babies are diagnosed with it these days, perhaps it's because parents press for an answer to their babies' fussiness, and it's a simple solution to give? if the medication doesn't help her, you will know that reflux isn't the problem.

[AndiJ78]

I believe it is dx'd too much, a baby's digestive tract is still developing for months after birth and the valve between the opening of the stomach and the end of the esophagus often takes time to learn to close completely. Baby's will and do spit up, but reflulx is not as common as some believe. A huge red flag is the numbers of babies put on meds that don't work for months and then suddenly around their 6 month birthday it "works" it wasn't the med, it was the maturation of the GI tract.

[Me2mommy2b]

oh, I'll take "fussy" over what I had with DD any day.  She wasn't just fussy and we weren't looking for a quick fix or something to make her quiet.  It was hell for all of us.  This subject is very close to my heart since we went through so much with DD and when people were saying "you're overreacting", it pi**ed me off to say the least.  I agree with you that if it's not helping than you've gotta move on but I also gotta warn you (immortal) that Zantac most likely will work for a week or so and then stop since it's not intended for long term use.  PPIs (proton pump inhibitors such as Prevacid) are more effective for that.  Tired, I hope you didn't take offense in my reply.  It's not geared towards you.  

[Me2mommy2b]

If the med's not working for months, then it's not reflux that's the problem and the child should not be on it to begin with.  We saw change in DD in a week and it was for the better.  A true refluxer will change drastically if put on right meds with the right dosage.  If it's not working, then it's not reflux.

[AndiJ78]

I am well aware, it is just amazing to me how many women on here don't see the obvious.

[ImmortalOne]

See that's good to know about this medication.  The odd thing is that it has drastically helped.  She was fussy, not just fussy and at first we thought it was gas or something but this medication has made things a million times better.  It was an immediate obvious change.  And she doesn't get the hiccup's as often either, which makes her happier.  

My second DD spit up so much as a baby... and by so much, she would take a 4 oz bottle and spit up 3 1/2 oz of it.  It was so bad we were starting to worry about her weight and where just told to wait it out and that it was "normal".  It did end... eventually, but she wasn't as miserable as Nadezdha has been till she was given this medication.  

[tiredbuthappy]

no offense taken :) i assume you realize my post wasn't directed towards you.

[maddysmommy]

From the mouth of our GI dr "every baby has reflux" is the severity that matters.  If a baby is spitting up daily, that's normal.  If a baby is projectile vomiting mid and after feedings, that's pretty bad.  A baby can have bad reflux with out spitting up, you would look for the other signs such as major irritabilily, arching the back, and refusing feeds.  Both of my children we dx with severe refulx AFTER, I requested a study be done.  It's a barium swallow study, where they drink a a bottle and they watch the baby for a hour and watch how the formula is digested and it shows the severity of reflux.  It's a nuclear test, but completly safe.  My dd was put on prevacid and it sort of worked, now my son had a fundoplication for his reflux but that's only really bc he had a gtube put in as well for feedings.  He still required meds.  He was taking zantac, but I agree after a few weeks, its worthless and does not work at all, and thats pretty much every parents complaint.  He's now on Axid.  Which is new, and he's doing excellent on it.  He was just off of it for two days while hospitalized, and you could see how much pain he was in.  Now that he's back on it, he SLEEPS..lol.  But I would do whats best for your dd.  If you feel uncertain have her reevaluated by a gi dr perhaps, and you can always request a study on her, its harmless and she will sleep the whole time.  Then that way it will give you a 100% answer vs your dr just guessing the severity.  Sorry for all the mis typed words, Im running on 0 sleep for the last three days.

[peekawho]

But the trouble is that many parents demand that pediatricians "do something" for simple fussiness and normal spittiness.  That "something" is often a blanket diagnosis of reflux and medication.  I'm sure truly severe reflux does indeed exist and is hellish, but the majority of infants who are "diagnosed" (and I'm not including the posters here) are diagnosed without the benefit of proper testing.

One of our peds at work says that almost every single new parent he sees, every single day in his office, is worried that their baby has reflux and some get very insistent he prescribe medication immediately.  When he won't, or if he wants to do testing, they often find another pediatrician who is quick to Rx.

[tiredbuthappy]

it's kinda like the over prescribing of antibiotics. parents hear their child has a mild ear infection, they demand an antibiotic. of course it's hard to just watch your baby in pain and do nothing, but most mild ear infections would clear up on their own without antibiotics in the same amount of time. (hehe... of course this is coming from someone whose dd hasn't had an ear infection yet - knock on wood- so it's a bit easier for me to sit here and preach about this. but i know both my ped and DH believe that antibiotics are over-used, so i am going to be forced to use them only when necessary).

[anxiousmomtobe?]

I do agree that some docs are quick to give meds, for a wide variety of conditions.  My niece had reflux and aspirated some acid and stopped breathing.  She definitely needed the meds.  Her younger brother had no problems at all when he came along.  It seems like every second baby I meet is on meds now, I'm stunned.  .

I had terrible reflux when I was preggers and I sure hurt for any little baby going through that.  I took zantac, it was a miracle drug.

I think parents and docs need to be better educated about this condition.  What a shame that some babes may be being medicated without need the drugs.

(I am not refering to anyone here.)

[Me2mommy2b]

Definitely.  Education's the key!  I researched so much on the subject before going to drs b/c I didn't want them shutting me up with just any answer.  Once they saw that I knew what I was talking about, they took a completely different approach to the situation.  I studied her signs and all about the meds and when the subject came up, told them everything I knew.  One dr actually asked me if I'm a pharmacist.  I told him "no, I'm a mom" :)

[Crritter]

It's tough, but Cam was given tests when he was choking and gagging, he had RSV.  During one test, they were watching his chect on the screen and he began refluxing even though he was already on Prevacid.  They had diagnosed him at 4 weeks and he was on the meds, at 10 weeks they discovered that part of his fussy problem was that the meds were not enough.  He is on 2 meds and they tell me that it's common for babies, they need to mature some and will outgrow it.  I don't want my little guy to suffer, he has projectile vomit when it is out of control and begins to lose his voice from the acid.  I think there are lots of parents that push for meds etc and their kiddos may not need it, but in my case he was in alot of pain.  I had reflux in pregnancy too and took meds, had no problems after, so I figure Cam will be just fine when he outgrows it.  I work with Pharmacists too and they fill all of our meds, so I talk everything over with them first too.  Hopefully it helps your little one, if the meds are helping, go for it, she will outgrow it soon enough.