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Hi there,
My 15 month old DD has just been prescribed Zantac for her reflux. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with it. She was so cranky yesterday (first day having it) - not sure if its that or teeth :cry:
Also can I give her panadol, nurofen etc while on Zantac?
Thanks!
Cath
My daughter was on Zantac while she was in Special Care. She would often squirm and cry during feeds, and it was thought her feeding discomfort may have been related to a "silent" acidic reflux going on internally - anyway, she was still squirmy whether or not on zantac (she was prescribed it on and off). Apparently Zantac tastes revolting too. The good news is that they DO grow out of reflux, and from memory I think one of the only things that worked was holding her and giving her cosy cuddles until she felt comfortable again.
kenzee is on zantac as well as many other reflux meds, zantac can be very afective and is generaly the first drug tried for refluxers and can be very afective it is also aproved for use in babies they even use it in neonates losec isnt aprvoved in children under though it is used world wide with excelant results, and zoton is aproved over 1 year but also is used world wide
When medicating or not medicating a child with acid reflux you need to way up the pros and cons as untreated reflux can also cause problems later on as well as can medicating
but out of all of them zantac can be afective is aproved for neonates iffants and todlers and adults and as it is a persciption med it is given under medical supervision so as long as you follow the directions of the pead it is fine
Also Zantac is weight sensitve so if bubs has a growth spurt and starts to get fussy and refluxy again maybe time to talk to thepead about a dosage reveiw
My buba has just started on Zantac and it seems to be working.I mix it with a little bit of her milk, if i give it to her straight she just spits it out!
Thats great that it seems to be working, we had some good results in the beginning on the zantac, just be aware like Amy said (mikenzeesmum) that it is weight sensitive so as your little one puts on weight the dose increases.
It can be tricky to give as it doesn't taste too nice, but they get used to it eventually, good luck!
You can definately give panadol, I also give neurofen on paed gastro. recommendations, because sometimes it is the only thing that can settle him, so if you use it generally then just try it and see, it can upset their tummy though.
Your daughter is very late in being given medication for reflux? I would give the zantac a couple of weeks to truly work, and if it doesn't do anything skip straight to a PPI, these are proton pump inhibitors and they work a lot differently than zantac, we use losec, and contrary to previous posts about it, it is a very safe medication, and if you are dealing with a child over one with reflux, you may be needing something with a little more kick to heal any damage to esophegous.
Losec has been around 17 years, not 5, and it does indeed come in a child form this is zegerid, which is not available in Australia, but is available in other parts of the world, we also don't get other forms of zoton that is used for children and this would be the solutab or the fasttab, this is a dissolveable pill that goes under the childs tongue.
You can though contact the inverntors of zegerid and they will post you stuff that will convert either losec or zoton into an at home suspension, this is called caracream. So yes research has gone into making a product that works for children needing PPI's.
I know we tried the MUPS (tablets- like you did) just a couple of weeks ago, and they made Parker hyper, straight away, so we went back to the compound, the only problem I have with the compound is the sodium content. Its a pain moreso than the omeprazole.
Thats is actually a really good article you found.
Unfortunately this is why I think that reflux is so hard to get diagnosed properly and treated and that is every child is different with it, I could swear black and blue to someone that losec is the only way, only to have them say, well it made my child scream...its hard.
And I would listen to a mothers advice on these medicines than a doctor anyday, they don't have any idea LOL, its all trial and error and they only know what manufacturers want you to know, like I have heard the losec should work in a couple of days, well everytime we have weaned from it has taken the full two weeks for us to notice a good improvement, I can't explain it, its just what you notice, then some notice a day later.
It is very confusing, I give you that, just go with your gut and what you think is working best. I was always told 30minutes before a feed, and the reason is so that it can get to the stomach to start working so when they eat and the acid is produced it is ready to go, but personally with the compound I do it anytime and not noticed a real difference. Though some will swear it must be before, so do what is best for you.
One thing I do swear by is splitting the dose am and pm, works really good for us (that goes for zantac as well)
I had Steph on zantac for a litl while. It workd for about 3 days absolutely brilliantly, then like I was giving her water (no effect). She would spit it out unless I mixed it into a bottle. I gave up on it, and we're back to infacol now combined with acupuncture and that is working for now.
Caro, I have seen Dr Karp on Oprah it was very interesting, though it wouldn't relate to reflux.
I personally don't think reflux is overdiagnosed, it happens in 50-75% of children and I can tell you that in every 4 babies you don't know 3 diagnosed with it. The thing that has to be determined and doctors need to be more aware of is preventative things to stop reflux and not necessarily medication. Medication is not always necessary.
If reflux was overdiagnosed then the meds wouldn't work at all, it will only fix reflux.
Parker is a rare case, he is almost three and still needing medication, and if he isn't on it when it is flaring it becomes life threatening, he will aspirate, get pneumonias, stop eating. not to mention ear infections, apnea the list could go on...reflux can also be severe, Parker is classified as GORD now.
And every baby with reflux is different, some find all they need to do is prop, others take dairy out of their diet, or use hypoallergenic formulas, some use alternative therapies, the list is enourmous, it is wading through all this and finding what works best.
With your son, if he starts getting worse now he isn't on losec, it could be that it was working, the meds in the pharmacist bottle are a short term antacid, this will not do anything to stop the overproduction of acid, and an antispasmodic, which is more for colic type pain than reflux...hopefully the magic meds keep working, but if not, know that although technically it takes a day for the bulk to be out of their system, it can be up to two weeks and sometimes longer for the pumps to switch back on (the reason that you have to be off meds so long for testing) the med so to speak is out of the system, but the action that they have done on the acid pumps can take time to get back on. So the losec may have been working, and weird, they do get used to taking it.
Cath Darcy was on Zantac from birth, though it does take up to 2 weeks to work properly. We found it great when combined with positioning to minimise.
I would take to your doctor before giving nurofen with it, but panadol should be good like the others said.
Yep it tastes really bad, but they get used to it.
Caro I think that you have to look at how the medications are working, the infant mix will only ever be a temporary fix to the problem, and I also wouldn't give that long term, something like gastrogel has aluminium in it and isn't advised in periods of longer than 2 weeks (in saying that you do what you have to do- I have LOL)
I think what you were seeing is the losec working with the mix, I know you said it takes 6-12 hours to get out of the system, while this is true not all is out of their system for at least 5-7days, which is why if you need to do testing they make you stay off medication this long. I don't know how much you were prescribed, but I would keep it as prescribed, splitting the dose makes a big difference also, as children will metabolise the drug quicker thats why at least every 12 hours is recommended.
I used to give Parker losec, and zantac at one stage, and also mylanta when he would have a flare, now we generally only have to give him the losec which is great, you do work out the dose etc.... eventually.
The only problem with the losec is that compounded it starts to loose efficiency after two weeks (the pharmacist probably won't agree, but I know lots of people who do notice it), we get ours compouded two weekly, but if we don't we start to see the reflux coming back after about 14 days... so keep an eye out for that also, good luck!
I've heard of Zoton as well by a gastroenterologist paediatrician. He used it regularly for babies with severe reflux issues.
It is hard to know and the waiting is the worst, in America the zoton is used the most, its called prevacid there, we tried it, and Parker had some bad side effects, so we switched to losec. But there are just as many kids who didn't do well on losec, but great on the zoton, it is what it works for them.
It is hard to know what to do, thats why I always say go with your gut, and like you said some don't need the PPI's, but I try to warn people just because of our story life was so bad for so long because drs wouldn't put one and one together. And like I said not all babies need medicine but awareness is the key.
The its so hard to know what to do, this plays on your mind, it is hard and every day is different and as soon as you work it out they switch.
Also I thought it you who said 6-12 hours, it must have been somewhere else?
But yes cases like Miki and Parkers are rare (thankfully), I have been told by quite a few now, that if he has it at three he has it for life, he is three in 3 months. So that is quite sad, but Miki is far, far worse than Parker. She is such a sweetheart. I will have the decision soon as to a life of meds or the antireflux surgery, and I am just putting that out my mind for now.
Okay, back to Zantac (hehe) as I have a dosage question. My bubs has been on 1ml x 3 a day since about 6 weeks. He is now 12 weeks and others have mentioned the need to increase dose with increased weight. My Dr did not mention this so should I increase and if so by how much? How much are others giving their babies who are taking Zantac???? TIA
If you aren't noticing a difference in behaviour you can leave it, but generally as they increase in weight the symptoms start coming back.
The minimum DAILY dose is worked out by
weight X 5 divide 15=
The maximum DAILY sose is worked out by
weight x 10 divide 15=
that amount is in ml's and then you can divide it by however many times you are giving it. Good luck! With Parker I used to adjust it every two weeks, but some babies do fine without adjustment.