Have you experienced Acid Reflux with your baby?
- Thread starter lulu72
- Start date
Hi,
My baby had it bad! The ped ended up prescribing Zantac for him. He doesn't need it anymore (at 7.5 mo), but he still spits up. The Zantac doesn't stop it, it just neutralized the acid so he wasn't in pain. If you give your baby formula, Enfamil A.R. (added rice) is thick and really helps. It's worth a try if you are not BF'ing.
My cousin's baby spit up so much that he wasn't gaining weight, so the dr. put him on something else that actually kept the food down. He is find now, too (one year).
Good luck!
-Jen
My baby had it bad! The ped ended up prescribing Zantac for him. He doesn't need it anymore (at 7.5 mo), but he still spits up. The Zantac doesn't stop it, it just neutralized the acid so he wasn't in pain. If you give your baby formula, Enfamil A.R. (added rice) is thick and really helps. It's worth a try if you are not BF'ing.
My cousin's baby spit up so much that he wasn't gaining weight, so the dr. put him on something else that actually kept the food down. He is find now, too (one year).
Good luck!
-Jen
melanalyus
Cathlete
Yes, one of my son's had acid reflux. He spit up constantly---and it was sour smelling. He was uncomfortable. Our pediatrician prescribed Zantac which is NASTY, we ended up with prilosec solution,....which the family pharmacist whipped up (compounded b/c it's not commercially available). That seemed to work well & he grew out of reflux within a couple months. 
Stephanie0523
Cathlete
Some pharmacies will flavor the Zantac so it's not so nasty. We thought Charlie had reflux when he was very very little, and my pediatrician got the pharmacy to flavor the Zantac for him so it wasn't gross.
melanalyus
Cathlete
Due to the pH of commerically available Zantac, it is NOT recommended to flavor Zantac solution (the comercially available product should not be altered).
The only other option is to have the pharmacist compound the Zantac Suspension using Zantac tablets and ora-sweet/ora-plus or similiar combination. I have whipped up a couple batches,...but it does take a little bit more time & I normally request 24-48 hours advanced-notice so I can offer my full attention to making it.
Proton pump inhibitors (such as prilosec) really are more effective, and offer once a day dosing (compared to twice daily of zantac). But, again, this needs to be compounded....
The only other option is to have the pharmacist compound the Zantac Suspension using Zantac tablets and ora-sweet/ora-plus or similiar combination. I have whipped up a couple batches,...but it does take a little bit more time & I normally request 24-48 hours advanced-notice so I can offer my full attention to making it.
Proton pump inhibitors (such as prilosec) really are more effective, and offer once a day dosing (compared to twice daily of zantac). But, again, this needs to be compounded....
Stephanie0523
Cathlete
Mel--My ped. must have gotten the pharmacy to compound it like you said. She said it was the only pharmacy in town that would do it for them. I thought she just meant flavor it... It's sad that these drug companies won't make meds that kids actually will take! We won't even discuss how nasty some of the antibiotics out there are!!
melanalyus
Cathlete
I agree, it is sad that the stuff can't taste better. But to the defense of the drug manufacturers,...in Zantac's case (and many others) it's all about stability. When we compound the medication ourselves, it dramatically decreases the shelf life of the product. Zantac has about 30 days, Prilosec about 60 days AND it needs to be refrigerated. Just the refrigeration alone would greatly increase the cost of the product,...and if you start to put super short shelf-lives on a product,....well it's not practical.
Sadly, compounding is becoming a lost art in pharmacy due to time constraints and FDA manufacturing laws. There are not very many "compounding pharmacies" left,...that specialize in just compounding. If there is a drug comercially available, technically it's illlegal to re-make the product and sell it. Compounding pharamcies face issues of whether or not they need to follow manufacturing laws or "compounding laws". It's even becoming an issue for the typical retail pharmacist who "whips up an occasional batch" for a customer. We have to log so much information and keep files upon files of information....and when we're also filling 300 Rx's during the day....well, it becomes an impossible task.
LOL. Here I got myself carried away. Sorry.
Sadly, compounding is becoming a lost art in pharmacy due to time constraints and FDA manufacturing laws. There are not very many "compounding pharmacies" left,...that specialize in just compounding. If there is a drug comercially available, technically it's illlegal to re-make the product and sell it. Compounding pharamcies face issues of whether or not they need to follow manufacturing laws or "compounding laws". It's even becoming an issue for the typical retail pharmacist who "whips up an occasional batch" for a customer. We have to log so much information and keep files upon files of information....and when we're also filling 300 Rx's during the day....well, it becomes an impossible task.
LOL. Here I got myself carried away. Sorry.