frustrated with prevacid

[Canaan's mom]

My 3 1/2 old son is taking the slow release prevacid. The pharmacist told us to give it to him in his bottle, but when he is finished, the little capsules are still stuck in the nipple. The nipples are already cut to allow for the rice cereal (which i was hoping to stop doing), but the capsules seem stuck. How do other parents give this medicine. The zantac/reglan did not work, and if the bottle is not thickened, he is frantic. The prevacid does seem to help - he is not as agitated, but we still thicken every bottle. I hate all of the empty calories...but i'd rather that than the alternative. This board is wonderful in a world of nonchalant peds. Thanks, Michelle

[Minnie]

I don't think prevacid works best when it's given with food.
Here's a link on when to give PPIs
http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/f...ead.php?t=7491

Here's some other info on Prevacid
Prevacid® (Lansoprazole) - In addition, an oral suspension formulation of lansoprazole (Prevacid®) was FDA-approved in January 2002. The new formulation is available as 15 mg and 30 mg strawberry-flavored packets. These packets are mixed with 2 tbsp of water just prior to ingestion. Mixing with other liquids or foods is not recommended.

Studies have shown that lansoprazole suspension is stable for 8 hours at room temperature (22° C) and for 14 days when refrigerated (4° C).
ORAL ADMINISTRATION
The enteric-coated granules of lansoprazole can be mixed with soft foods or acidic juices.
Soft foods: Empty the enteric coated granules of 1 lansoprazole capsule onto a tablespoon of applesauce, ENSURE pudding, cottage cheese, yogurt, or strained pears and administer immediately (within 30 minutes) without crushing or chewing the granules.
Juices: Granules can also be mixed with 60 ml (2 ounces) of either apple, cranberry, grape, orange, pineapple, prune, tomato, or V-8 vegetable juice and administered immediately (within 30 minutes) as long as the granules are not crushed or chewed.
Suspension for administration through gastric tube:
Administer the suspension through a gastric tube and flush with 10 mL of tap water.
Administration of the granules through a naso-gastric/gastrostomy tube:
The enteric-coated granules can also be administered through a gastric tube. According to the packet insert, the contents of 1 lansoprazole capsule can be mixed with 40 ml of apple juice and injected into a nasogastic tube. The tube should then be flushed with additional apple juice, so as to assure the complete delivery of the dose.

Here's a link on all the treatments for reflux
(Were I took the info on prevacid from)
http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/i...treatments.php

Good Luck
I hope however you decide to give the prevacid it works better you.

[Bryan10]

In our area there is a special Apothecary store. It turns regular prevacid into liquid form for infants. Some other privately owned pharmacys will do it also. Check and call around for your area. It can be a great drug if given properly. Good Luck!

Also, if it is not working you may want to try switching the formula. We found out after several days on prevacid that there was still another problem. We switched to Alimentum ready to feed and it made all the difference.

[alvarez1]

My 3 week old has to take prevacid due to his acid reflux. The thing is that mix it with his formula but it is too thick for the nipple and he gets tired of sucking and falls asleep. He only drinks about an ounce and a half. I guess reading the info on the Prevacid website tells me to give it to him with water only an hour before he eats. I hope he likes it though. Is anyone having problems with administering the Prevacid? It is in powder form in the packets and I am giving him 1/2 a packet once a day by the way.

[crankyconnor]

Our son is on prevacid but i don't think it is doing anything. But we give it to him via syringe. We break one pill in half and put it in the syringe with water and shake it up. It seems to be ok but we don't think it is helping him. We can only get him to sleep in his car seat. We are not sure whether it is the close quarters that he likes or having his head elevated.

[Minnie]

I wanted to also give you a link to a PPI dosing chart.
http://marci-kids.com/dosing.html

[crankyconnor]

I don't know how it breaks down but the gastroentologist that prescribed the prevacid told us to give him 1/2 a pill once daily. So that's what we have been doing.

[Beth]

My 4 week old son was also diagnosed with reflux when he was a week old. There are times when he screams in pain during his feedings and he spits up during feedings as well. We do everything suggested - - keeping him elevated during feedings and for awhile afterwards. His crib is elevated. We've even gone as far as to elevate his changing table (too many messy diapers lead to messy changing pads!) We first tried Zantac and it worked ok, but as he grows, he keeps needing a larger dose. The ped switched him to Prevacid yesterday and we tried giving it to him this morning via syringe - - and he spit it out as soon as it hit his tongue. We have the powder packets (strawberry) you mix with an ounce of water. We then tried mixing it in his bottle, but it clogged the nipple. I tried making the nipple hole bigger, but ended up making it too big and he was getting too much formula when he sucked. He tired soon and didn't finish the bottle - - probably only getting an ounce of medicine mixed with formula (was a 3 oz. mixture total - 2 oz. formula and 1oz of Prevacid). His symptoms were worse today because he didn't get much medicine. Anyone have any suggestions on how to administer this medicine???? The directions say not to mix it in his formula, but I can't imagine any other way of getting it in him. I also worry about empty calories. HELP!!!

[Tracesmom]

for all the prevacid users: you cannot mix prevacid with formula. also, you have to administer it 30 min before a meal. otherwise, dont even boter using the med, bc it wont work.
marci-kids.com will explain everything. prevacid solutabs are easiest for most parents to administer. good luck.