Silent Acid Reflux-2 Year Old

We've had weight issues with both my kids. Cutting back on breastfeeding can actually be counterproductive. Breastmilk is incredibly high in nutrition and in calories.

We gave my youngest probiotics for a little while to help with her tummy issues.

Seriously, chiropractic or craniosacral therapy works. Dr. Judith Boothby in SE Portland works on infants and toddlers as well as older children and adults. She's amazing. Also Dr. Korin Rasmussen http://www.doctorkorin.com/ is a chiropractor and craniosacral therapist with a child centered practice.

I've been using a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar per day. I did a lot of online research and the responses to this treatment were overwhelming, so I decided to give it a try. It does seem to help quite a bit, although it tastes NASTY. My 4-year old son, however, loves it. Weirdo.

Just keep in mind that not all food intolerance shows up when tested for and this may very well be something like that. We almost lost our daughter to severe protein enteropathy. She can not have ANY dairy product of any kind or gluten but look totally healthy when tested! She was also on zantac!!

Good luck,
H

My baby had difficulty transitioning to solid foods after breastfeeding and formula, would mostly drink milk and take some pureed #1 foods. Everything else he vomited. Cutting back on milk led to weight loss. Relux medicine helped a bit (we tried it for 3 months), but not significantly. Our pediatrician ran out of options and sent us to the feeding clinic at OHSU. They did not see any physical obstructions and decided that the problem was sensory. We now prepare special food for my son and he is doing well growthwise and nutritionally.

We are struggling with that right now too. Our chiropractor has been helping with her adjustments as well as some accupressure. Also, we had an endoscopy performed so I knew that we weren't missing anything. They told us that we should just do 4 weeks of the meds and then stop until we have more issues. I feel much better about that knowing that the meds aren't masking a bigger problem.

I would NOT use prescription medications on an infant (or anyone for that matter) that is not the answer. I find all traditional western trained doctors ALWAYS use the 'band aid' approach to treating people - cover up the true problem with a drug (which has its own side effects and causes more problems than your initial problem - and then you will need a new drug to fix the problems caused for the new problems....) I recommend a holistic approach to treating your body - to heal the root of the problem (not just cover it up), naturopaths, homeopaths, asian medicine, etc. would be the option to choose when having an illness....

Now on to the acid-reflux....PLEASE read and watch the videos below - it will show you how to treat this naturally.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/0...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/0...

http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?k=acid%20reflux

If you get the Zantac via a compounding pharmacy, you can avoid the alcohol and dyes in the traditional variety. That's what I did for my son. I didn't like giving it to him, but it certainly controlled his night time pain.

FYI, insurance doesn't typically cover compounded meds. Ours was cheap, just $25 for a month, so I paid out of pocket. Good luck. Reflux in kids stinks!

ummm... I would be very nervous about putting a 2 year old on this medication instead of really finding out what's wrong. See our doc at portlandfamilyhomeopathy.com , she's helped our sons digestive problems without medication.

My acid reflux is 99% improved since I began on this system:
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...

If you're looking for a more natural remedy for your son's reflux, you may want to try having him wear a hazelwood necklace. The hazelwood has the natural property of absorbing excess acid when it's in contact with the skin (it's an alkaline wood). My good friend's son had painful reflux as a baby and he was on Zantac for it too. She tried the necklace for him and within 2 weeks he was so much better she was able to wean him off his meds and stay off. We use ours primarily for our youngest daughter's eczema since it helps amazingly for that as well (often eczema is related to excess acidity as well). You can find them at www.hazelaid.com
I realy hope you find a good solution for your little one! Acid reflux is a tough one and it's so hard to see our kids suffer :(

My nephew had the same problem, so the doctor suggested feeding him pediasure for a few months and replaced his regular 'milk feeds' with that and he 'fattened' right up. Also high rich fat foods like yogurts, cheese, or just anything he would take just to gain weight. My mom, now a Gramma of 7.. swears polyvisol (multi liquid vitamins) gains their appetites and I believe it too, I have of my own and I can notice the difference within a week's use. Hope this helps!

My son is almost 3 and has suffered the same since birth! We have used axid when he was tiny, zantac as he got older and then the last was adult strenght prevacid. Once he had the upper GI series adn we found that the reflux was for sure the problem and not any malrotations or obstruction I set out to find an alternative to th emeds. I did not want to have him on that meds for the rest of his life and was determined to find a natural alternative. I have no idea what long term use can do to such little bodies. I found a company online called ReNew Life. It is a digestive support company. I bought my little man; buddy bears, digest and probiotics. I took him off the meds, I talk with his specialist first of course, and then after about a week or so of no meds, I gave him the digestive enzymes and the probiotics as directed. He has not had any of the issues he had before. No pain, no random vomiting and his bowels have been alot better to. He still is a finicky eater but his seems so much better and without the meds! We still struggle with weight gain but he is maintaining and he is on a slow increase. I want him healthy and happy and we have a handle on the acid reflux under control. I am also introducing a calorie supplement from nestle nutrition. It is a mix that you put into apple sauce or yogurt, it dissolves and it adds 330 calories and 7 grams high quality protein for each use. I sympathize with you and please know you are not alone. My little man has struggled from the start. He will be 3 in August and he is just now 26 lbs about 1-3% accourding to the dr and at about 23% for height. He is so little. But he is healthy! Please check out these websites, renewlife.com(look for the kids health and look for Buddy Bear Digest and Buddy Bear Probiotic) and nestlenutritionstore.com. (Look for pediatric Resource Benecalorie) I hope this helps, I know the feeling of not wanting your child on the meds for long term. Please check with the dr before giving your child any of these above. Take care and good health! C.

S.- Get him to a doctor who isn't going to use a palliative to keep the symptoms at bay. You need to know what the real problem is. It could be an allergic reaction or an inherited disease that has yet to come out full blown.
It could be the failure of the liver or another organ to have fully developed. Whatever the real problem Zantac won't make it go away.

My son was on Zantac from one month of age until we weaned him off the meds at 2.5 years. I was really worried about having him on the zantac for so long, and I asked my pediatrician as well as our pediatric gastroenterologist. They both assured me that it was fine and wouldn't cause additional problems. My son now is off the meds for about one year, eats and sleeps great, and is a completely healthy, developing boy. Each case is individual, so good luck in helping your son.

This is my experience: My daughter was diagnosed with silent acid reflux when and infant (4 months). We put her on Zantac and it did a little bit to control it, but she still had some trouble. She then learned to spit it out after a couple of months. It tasted awful.

We then went to Prevacid and it helped a little bit better, but still not enough. She was on Prevacid until just after a year old. I wasn't seeing a lot of improvement and the doctor expected her to stop having trouble at a year. Well, not my daughter. I finally took her to a Naturopath and she put her on Bifidous powder 1/2 tsp and Glutamine (don't remember the dose). WOW, instant improvement. Oh, I took her off prescriptions at that point, too.

After about 6 months of the combo Bifidous and Glutamine, we took her off of the Glutamine and she continued the Bifidous. She continued to be better.

With my son, it wasn't so silent and the Naturopath put him on Bifidous at 2 weeks old. He had problems from the very beginning. We saw vast improvement with gas buildup and spitting up after he started the Bifidous.

I still give both kids a probiotic at night just to keep everything on even keel.

You should take your son to a Naturopath if your insurance will pay for it. If not, try adding in a probiotic that is more formulated to small children, like Bifidous or Primadophilous. I can get Primadophilous at Fred Meyer in the natural foods section - refridgerated case. I'm in Tigard, so close by if you have any more questions. I can recommend a Naturopath that specializes in kids, in Beaverton, if you would like. Just contact me and I'll pass on whatever info. you need.

D.

EZ gest from Shaklee is excellent. There also may be a reason for his reflux that the doctor is unaware of. I know of a natural doctor who would be happy to see your little one to determine if it is just a reflux or something else is going on.

You can go to www.nutritionandhealthnow.com to check out the product, EZ Gest.

N.
Health and Wellness Coach

Usually the child has acid reflux because of LACK of digestive enzymes, not because there are too many. When it comes to gut health and immune system (80% of your immune system is related to your gut) I go to a naturopath instead of a medical doctor. Most MDs don't know anything about this area of the body. I've had acid reflux for years, and through digestive enzymes was able to significantly relieve my problem.

Your child also may have a food allergy, and lack of enzymes. My sister's son had severe problems in this area. First, she adjusted her diet, since she was breastfeeding, which made a big difference. She would also put digestive enzymes on her nipples so that when baby was feeding, he would have the digestive help. That also made a big difference. The problem with Zantac is that your child may not be getting all of the nutrients he needs. Again, each child is different. First, you have to find out if your child's problem is due to too MUCH or too little stomach acid. The test I've used on myself is that if I drink lemon juice or vinegar and feel better, that means I have too little enzymes, if I drink lemon juice or vinegar and feel worse, then I have too many enzymes. You can try this with your son as well.

Also, as Darlene mentioned earlier in this post, if your child has been on antibiotics at all, their gut may have been compromised and needs lots of probiotics.

My suggestion would be to try aloe vera juice. I am sure you can find in a health food store. My daughter was on zantac for over a year and did very well on it. I attempted to use aloe vera juice to control her acid reflux. The problem was I couldn't get her to drink the juice. It tasted good, just resistant to it. I have heard of kids getting off the zantac by just drinking a minimal amount of the juice each day.

Good luck!

Not sure if this would work, but maybe you can try probiotics? They are the good bacteria in your stomach and you can find the baby probiotics in powder form in Whole Foods and probably in PCC, too. Studies have found that probiotics helps significantly with colicky babies, so I would imagine it would help with silent acid reflux.