In your experience, which is the best PPI?

Hello all,

Well, I’ve come to the sad realization that my 4 month old daughter needs a PPI. We’ve been getting by with Axid alone for the last two months but her discomfort after eating has been steadily increasing over the last few weeks to the point that she is now screaming and throwing herself backward after eating, frantically fighting burps, spitting up tons even hours after she’s eaten, etc. I have no idea if there is a correlation, but this started shortly after she had an ear infection and was on amoxicillin for 10 days. Initially I chalked her worsening symptoms up to the infection and the antibiotic (and teething, as our pediatrician confirmed this as well), but her ear has been clear and she’s been off the amox for 10 days now and her symptoms still seem to be getting worse by the day. It seems like the Axid just stopped working all of a sudden, if that’s even possible (it’s been adjusted numerous times for weight and I’m fairly confident her current dose is appropriate for her size). It’s truly heartbreaking and does a number on the confidence factor of a first time mom to feel like you can’t even feed your child without causing her pain. So before her pain and my anxiety increases anymore, I’m making another appointment with our pediatric GI specialist to push for a PPI. I believe when he prescribes a PPI (which is not often, as he is a very conservative doctor), it is usually Prevacid.

I see a lot of people on these boards are using Prevacid with success – in your experiences, is this the best PPI for infants? What about Prilosec or Nexium? My daughter seems to have a very sensitive stomach and is often extremely gassy, even on Alimentum (our doctor does NOT believe she needs an elemental formula as I’ve already asked about it, and in fact wants to transition her to regular formula). Anyway, I’m worried that the side effects of Prevacid might do more harm than good if it’s going to cause her a lot of stomach distress. Interestingly enough, she’s still sleeping really well at night (knock on wood) and doesn’t seem to be all that fussy except immediately after eating and I’ve been giving her 1 ml of Mylanta Cherry Supreme to help settle her then. She doesn’t nap well during the day but she never has.

My other concern is that from reading these boards, I see how important proper dosing of Prevacid is, and I’m not sure that my GI doc will ever go for the high dosages that many of you use. As I’ve mentioned, he is extremely conservative and rarely prescribes a PPI, so part of me feels like there is no point in even trying her on Prevacid if he’s just going to under prescribe her. He’s also the only pediatric GI specialist in our area, so I don’t really have the option of seeing another one. I’ve considered printing out the Marci kids info for him to read – though conservative, he’s a really wonderful doctor and doesn’t ever dismiss my concerns, so I’m hoping he’d be open to at least reading and considering it.

I guess I’m just looking for some reassurance that I’m on the right track with this, and that I should in fact pursue a PPI in spite of some of my concerns. But I’m always afraid to rock the boat with my daughter, since everything (shots, antibiotics, teething, etc.) seem to be major productions for her and I’m worried about what side effects she may experience from a PPI. Since her major pain seems to occur immediately after eating, could we just get by with Mylanta, or is that really not sufficient?

I know this is long, and I appreciate anyone who has gotten through it for taking the time to offer your advice. Much thanks in advance.

JulyMom2008-11-18 09:31:24