Acid Reflex

My son is on prevacid. When it stopped working, I called the doctor and they upped his dose (appearently he gained enought weight since his last appointment to take a bigger dose). Hope this helps!
:)

Hi S.,

I would never use a drug for acid reflux on my child. Prevacid..."prevent acid" What does your body need acid for? To digest food. Typically caused by not enough acid not too much acid. Try yogurt or something elde similar. You can get the same response rather than a drug. Just a thought. I no longer use zantac...I increased flora in my diet. safe effect no drug.

I would be cautious regarding giving your little girl Preacid. See the attached article.

5 Important Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin
B12 Deficiency
by: Don Ford, M.D.

One of the essential nutrients for your body's optimal health is vitamin B-12. It is part of what is called the “B complex” of vitamins and since it contains cobalt, it is also known as cobalamin. Vitamin B-12 is important for the maintenance of the nervous system, the formation of red blood cells, and growth and development in children. It is especially important in cells that are dividing rapidly such as in the bone marrow where red blood cells are formed.

Some of the signs and symptoms you would want to look out for if you suspect you might be deficient in vitamin B-12 include:

Nervousness or Moodiness: All of the B-Complex vitamins are important to your body’s nervous system in one way or another. If you are experiencing a deficiency of Vitamin B-12, you may notice symptoms such as moodiness, nervousness, or even depression.

Elevated Levels of Homocysteine in your blood: There is a lot of evidence that elevated levels of homocysteine is associated with elevated levels of cardiovascular disease. Vitamin B-12 along with other B vitamins, have been shown to reduce the levels of homocysteine in your blood. Your physician can test for these levels with a blood test during an office visit.

Numbness and Tingling in the Fingers and Toes: Because of vitamin B-12’s importance in the nervous system, a prolonged deficiency could ultimately cause feelings of numbness or tingling in your extremities. Because this can also be a sign of neuropathy due to many different causes such as diabetes, it is important that you immediately notify your doctor if you are experiencing these symptoms.

Anemia: Since vitamin B-12 is such an important part of the development of red blood cells, you may have anemia, which can be easily identified by a blood test performed at your doctor's office. Symptoms of anemia include, sluggishness, lack of energy, fatigue.

Constipation and Loss of Appetite: Many vitamin deficiencies have been linked to gastrointestinal complaints. If you are constipated be sure to discuss this with your doctor.

It is always important to try and identify why your body may be deficient in vitamin B-12 or any other critical nutrient.

Are you getting enough of vitamin B-12 from your diet? Foods that are high in Vitamin B-12 include fish, dairy products, eggs and organ meats such as liver. A diet rich in vitamin B-12 is important for you to obtain and maintain optimal health.

Are you taking any prescription or over the counter drug that has been shown to either reduce your levels, or increase your body's demand for vitamin B-12 such as Prevacid, Prilosec, Zantac, Metformin, or even other over the counter Antacids? If you are taking any of these medications and experiencing some of the mentioned side effects, they could be due to the vitamin deficiency and easily corrected with a good supplement. These medications can cause deficiencies if other essential nutrients as well.

My kids have all been on Zantac. The dosage was never increased. It worked great but my oldest daughter never did stop spitting up. I think she was just a spitter. My youngest had reflux so bad that he sounded like a chain smoker at night. The Zantac totally took it all away.
Best Wishes,
J.

Hi S.,
Our daughter also has acid reflux. She is 5 months old now. She has been taking zantac. Basically the same thing happened with us. We jus went back to smaller feedings more often throughout the day. It really seemed to help. She is still only eating 4 oz at a time- We just feed her more often- About every couple of hours- Whatever works - In the mornings she does seem hungrier. We will give her 4 oz and then another 2 oz a little later. It seems to help. I also notice that she is better in the mornings and early afternoon. Nightime is the worst. Good Luck!

You are not crazy. My daughter had terrible acid reflux for her first 2 years. The first medicine they gave her did not help at all. The second medicine worked but we constantly had to have her dosage adjusted as she grew and ate more. The dosage is based on weight I think. Contact the doctor.

C.

I see some other people have already responded, but I thought I'd throw my two cents in as well. No, I don't think you are crazy. Many medicines require periodic adjustments to the dosage, and with acid reflux, the more you have in the stomach, the more likely there is to be reflux. So, since your daughter has been eating more, it would not surprise me at all. I wouldn't be afraid to contact the doctor and ask. It's possible she may need a different med, but like others have said, she just may need a higher dose.

I have issues with reflux myself, and it sucks, and I imagine it might even be tougher for the wee ones who suffer it as well. Best of luck! :)

When my son had acid reflux he was on Zantac and when he started eating more we bumped his meds up from twice a day to three times a day and that seemed to help.

I am an adult of the damaging affects of acid reflux...needless to say the acid burned by esophagus and at time I am very hoarse. I highly recommend seeing your Dr. again and not furthering the damage. It could be as simple as food changes.
P.S. Your not crazy...just a concerned parent

Hello S.
Boy does your story ever sound like my daughter at that age. She was put on Prevacid as well and it was ok and then all of a sudden she was back to her old habits. We switched her to soy formula w/iron and kept her on the Prevacid and all was great. Now she is a happy healthy 18 month old who no longer needs meds and can handle regular milk just fine.
I wish you the best of luck, I know it can be frustrating!

S.,
My son had the same issue. My doctor DID increase the dose as he was growing (gaining weight). I also did my best to keep his feedings small and frequent. These two things together made him a happy boy! You may also ask your doctor if Omeprazole is a better or stronger drug. That is what we used. I'm not sure if it just a differnt brand of prevacid or not. You are NOT crazy. Going to your Doctor will be worth the difference in your daughters health and happiness!

My daughter is nearly three now, but she at 4 months they finally realized she had reflux. She was on revacid and zantac. We too were always changing and adjusting her dose and I stopped nursing and put her on a soy formula. Keep talking to your doctor or someone in the office, so they are aware of what is going on. You are not crazy, you are your daughters advocate!! Smaller and more frequent feedings also worked better for us when she was feeling well. We were lucky. After almost 2 years we are drug free. My daughter does have a horse sounding voice, it could be the reflux, the screaming, or just her!

Hi there! I know how much the acid reflux sucks. My daughter had it too. WE were on Zantac. As she also started eating more (and gaining more weight) they upped the dosage. I would talk to your doctor to see if you can get it upped, if that doesn't work, maybe try another medicine! Good luck.

here's my two cents:

prevacid, while taking care of the symptoms, only masks the problem. that's what it did for my daughter for months. finally, i decided to do a blood allergy test and found out she has over 40 allergies to foods, antibiotics, flouride, etc. once we changed her diet to accomodate those allergies, NO MORE PREVACID!