Reflux

Our daughter was born 12 weeks early. She definitely has reflux. She doesn't spit up very often, but we know she is in pain and feels burning in her throat. She came home from the NICU on Prilosec and that had been doing pretty well until she gained weight. We had the medicine adjusted for her weight and it is helping a little but the reflux isn't as controlled as I'd like it. Does Prevacid work any better? When they first started her on medicine for reflux, they started with Prevacid and for some reason changed it.

She is also on Reglan, although not for reflux. It was prescribed for bowel motility. The pleasant side effect is that it does help with the reflux. So, any new medicine she goes on would have to "play nicely" with the Reglan; I WILL NOT consider taking her off of the Reglan. Any suggestions? ...or do you think Prevacid might just be the next thing to try?

She does not have any milk allergies and is on special formula because of her low birth weight. The formula is a 22 cal/oz. formula that we mix to make it 24 cal/oz.

~Jenn

Hi Jenn & Welcome!

What a sweet little girl you have. I'm sorry to hear she has reflux and motility issues. I'm glad to hear though that the Reglan is working for her and she's not having side effects. No dairy allergies/intolerances is great also!

As far as Prevacid versus Prilosec, it just depends on the child. Some children do a lot better on one drug over the other. Prevacid is compatible with Reglan as long as they aren't given at the same time (at least an hour apart I believe). Also, Prevacid can act as a mild motility drug in some children and will reduce refluxing. I don't know what percentage of children that happens in, but I know with my youngest Eva it greatly reduced the amount she refluxed. I would go ahead and give it a try.

It's important that it is given at least 30 minutes before a meal on an empty stomach to work most effectively and it can take up to 14 days to kick in and really start working.

Let me know what you decide and how she's doing!