Help! I don't think it's reflux

The way you describe feedings does sound like reflux. My dd had difficulty feeding, it was awful. Feeding aversions are often signs of reflux that has caused pain and causes the baby to not want to eat out of not wanting to hurt. My dd did not have aspiration, but still chocked/coughed/gagged during feeding. She was refluxing during the feed while trying to eat and it caused this. Thickening did help, but getting the thickness with the nipple flow under control was a challenge that made me feel like a mad scientist. Sometimes the thickend formula clogs the nipple and they can’t get anything out which is frustrating to an already frustrated baby who doesn’t like to eat. I agree with Laura that a swallow study (a modified barium swallow not an upper GI) is a good idea. The therapist can often give ideas to help with the feeding as well. The other thing is how much prevacid is he on? It may not be enough. Also make sure that you’re giving it on an empty stomach and following up with a feed 30-45 minutes later. My daughter’s main symptoms were feeding trouble. Prior to feeding refusal, we thought it was colic, didn’t know that you could have reflux and not visibly vomit. The only time she vomitted was if she cried at all, coughed, or gagged, or had the slightest illness.. then it was scary. Sometimes with reflux, the only sign is a feeding problem.

I would request both a swallow study and an upper gi.. though the upper gi doesn’t always show reflux in many cases it does. But the swallow study may as well. The dose is a good one so I think you either have aspiration problems or reflux or even both!