Reflux and Zantac

My poor DS has been diagnosed with reflux. He is just about 8wks old.

He has always been a bit of a chucker, and quite bothered by wind, and over the past week feeding has turned into a very painful experience for him. He is pulling of the boob, and screaming in pain after burping or possiting... My GP thought it might have been a Pyloric Stenosis, and sent us to emergency at the Children's Hospital to get it checked out, so we spent the day yesterday at hospital and the pead there decided it was GOR (which is what I assumed)and prescribed DS Zantac.

He is exclusively breastfed (and I try to avoid acidic foods), and I am feeding him in a good upright position, I burp him frequently during the feeds so as to try and avoid the throw up, and he is sleeping with a towel under the head of his mattress in the bassinet.

But, I want to help with the pain during feeds, so want to try the Zantac, but it is vile tasting liquid, and poor DS has not enjoyed taking it... He holds it in his mouth and spits it back at me. I tried to explain to him that it will help, but the little guy doesn't understand... :(

Anyone have any tips for how I can get him to take it??? Or any other tips for helping a poor sad little reflux boy...

Thanks in advance!

The poor little man, reflux is just horrible :hug:.

I can't help you with tips on how to get him to take Zantac, but thought I'd suggest a paediatric chiropractor! My DS2 had reflux quite a few months back so I took him to his chiro first before going for medication. The chiro found his found his shoulder was out, made an adjustment, and his reflux was gone within 5 days without any medication needed. It has never returned.

Sometimes when something is out of alignment it can cause other problems - unsettledness, colic, reflux, etc... The paediatric chiro I take my DS to is very gentle and there is no "crunching" involved. He has given me great advice and support too, I think he's wonderful!

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know about chiros! I hope your little man gets some relief soon :hug:.

Thanks Trish... Will look into to that... Shame I am Sydney, or I would love your chiros number...
It is so hard to watch your little one in pain, and not be able to do much to help.

Chiropractic is a great idea for reflux, I know of more than one baby for whom it was a great help.

The only natural alternative to ranitidine (Zantac) I know of is Slippery elm powder, but it is no better tasting and very difficult to prepare.

The best way to give bad-tasting medicine to a little one that age is to dribble it down the inside of his cheek slowly, and run his throat and face to encourage him to swallow.

Good luck!

Yeah, if you were in Melbourne I would definitely recommend our chiro! You can contact the Chiropractor's Association (their website is chiropractors.asn.au) and ask if they can recommend a good paediatric chiro near you.

HTH :)

My DS has GOR and my 2 month old DD has SR (silent reflux). My DS was diagnosed around same age 8 weeks and with both i had difficulty giving them the zantac... I found expressing a small about of breast milk and mixing it together helps a bit, the thing i noticed was its cold... My DD hates the cold aswell as the taste... i heat the breast milk up a little warmer then normal and add the zantac which cools it to just the right temp for her...

I found no matter what i ate it didnt help my DS, he just seemed to grow out of it once he started to sit up and was completly gone by the time he was walking. i brought a dropper, i found it easier then the syringe. this was i just put a few drops in at a time, it takes a while but my Ds and now my DD seem to swollow the smaller amounts.

I had never heard of a chiro helping reflux until recently, havent tried it myself but i found sitting dd upright more (like in the rocker, put a coushion under the head of the basinette so their head was more upright then their tummies) During the day DD sleeps on the lounge on a curved pillow and she'll sleep there quite settle for about 2 hours.

I agree with trish about taking your ds to the chiro, my ds goes but not for reflux and we have had great results, there is no crunching just gentle manipulation and massage. Good luck.

Thanks I do have a dropper so might give that a try tonight, and like Michael said, try inside the cheek, not on the tongue.

Thanks for the web tip Trish!

Hi all my second bub is 4.5mths and is a silent refluxer since 3 weeks.

Rufalina, you may need to elevate bub even more, they say 40ish degrees is needed this may mean elevating the whole bed. i put bubs basket in the cot and lifted the top end with bricks and put a rolled up blanket under the legs to stop him sliding under the covers. I hate doing it but my ped has me giving 2ml mylanta after feeds but is really helps him sleep.
hope this helps !!!!!! big hugs to you bub.