Prevacid questions

[connor'smommy]

Hi I am new to this site I am so glad I found it! My 4 week old baby was diagnosed with reflux at 1 week old. Dr. prescribed Zantac 1ml two times per day seemed to work ok but after a week or so seemed like it just took the edge off we then upped his dosage to 1.5 ml two times a day still just took the edge off and he still seemed to cough,gag and cry when burped. Went back to the Dr. again and she switched his meds to prevacid powder packs 1/2 packet 1 time per day. By the third day on it my poor baby seemed miserable bad diarrhea/gas very fussy and projectile vomiting so I took him off and called the Dr. She sent us for a ultrasound to rule out ploric stenosis. The test came back clear and the Dr. put him back on the prevacid this time the 15mg solutabs 1/4 tablet 1 time per day said she wanted to see if diarrhea/gas would go away after taking it for a while. She also switched his formula from allimentum to nutramigen and told us to thicken his bottles with one teaspoon of beechnut rice cereal per ounce of formula. Well we are on day three of the Prevacid and once again he has the diarrhea and is spitting up more than ever. I feel so bad for him I just want him to be a happy baby the first month of his life has been miserable. Has anyone else experienced this with the Prevacid. Sould I take him off of it again or try to wait it out to see if things improve?

[j'smommy]

Prevacid solutabs do have lactose in them which can upset a baby's tummy if he/she is sensitive to cow's milk. Prevacid did cause my baby to be EXTREMEMLY gassy, but he wasnt screaming from the reflux so we kept him on it for a while. Rice cereal actually HURTS more than it helps if baby's tummy isnt ready. Sounds like your baby is spitting up due to WHAT he is eating rather than just a weak sphincter. If it was just the sphincter than yes the cereal may be in order assuming it isnt hurting baby's tummy. We tried cereal at 4 months and DS screamed all night.

I think the Prevacid COMPOUND is the only way you can get it completely dairy free, but you have to ask the pharmacist to make sure. Also if you try to change too many things at once, then its hard to determine the cause-is it the prevacid, cereal, formula?? My baby has a biopsy proven milk allergy that caused his reflux and pooping issues. We were prescribed Neocate, which is supposedly the best. However, I am still breastfeeding and on strict elimination diet....we have the prescription for Neocate just in case. Prilosec is another strong PPI (like Prevacid) that you could try if you are sure the Prevacid is making him miserable. infantreflux.org is another great reflux site. There are tons of babies on Prevacid there and lots of experienced moms.

Good Luck! Hope your little one feels better soon!

[connor'smommy]

Thanks for your reply! I called the Dr. today couldn't stand to see him in pain! We have an appointment tomorrow am. hopefully we'll get some answers!