How should I approach this

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We have our next GI appt on March 31st, it got moved from March 3rd due to icy driving conditions. I couldn’t make the 3 hour drive as we had just had a major ice storm, it killed me but we rescheduled. Anyway, I am not sure if Michael still has reflux or not, my gut tells me yes but I am always second guessing myself as the worst time is at night.

How should I go to this appointment, should I request a test to find out for sure? Will the ped GI be able to tell by my recounts or by just checking him out? He has been so good for so long that we haven’t gone back but now things are rough. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I read your other post about him being up every hour in the night. That seems really unusual to me. Have you tried regular dosing of Tylenol and Motrin to see if that helps? Maybe he’s waking due to teething pain?

It’s very common for reflux pain to be worse at night.

[Anonymous]

I would say that if he seems to be in pain, not sleeping, or not eating then I would take him. I think I have thought Isaac’s reflux was gone 3 times now but really it was just controlled!

[Anonymous]

My daughter’s only symptom of Silent Reflux was frequent (every 20 minutes to one hour) waking with lots of moaning and groaning, and disliking her bottle from about 10 weeks of age. She never threw up, and she didn’t scream at night – just moaned and groaned in a way that I could tell she was hurting. The only way she would eat is if I swaddled her and walked the floors with the bottle in her mouth. It probably distracted her from her pain. Based on these symptoms I would never have assumed she had reflux. I’m glad my doctor recognized the symptoms and diagnosed her properly, though she didn’t prescribe a PPI so my daughter continued to suffer until she was 8 months old.

My daughter’s worse time was at night, too. I don’t know if your little guy still has reflux or not, but if you have any suspicion that he does, trust your gut (mommy’s are gifted that way!). You should probably take him. Otherwise, you may have my kind of luck and as soon as you cancel his appointment he’ll get worse.

Good luck, and please let us know. Hopefiully, it’s just teething and a complete waste of time and money, but better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

I give him tylenol and motrin regularly and this doesn’t seem to help. There are also no teeth in sight, no white bumps, no drooling and he is not chewing excessively as he has with former teeth. Last night he was screeching in his sleep. I gave him Mylanta and that would help for about 15 minutes and then he was up again. I have an appointment for 3:00 friday with his GI. SHould I push to get testing done to find out what is going on?

[Anonymous]

So, is he on any reflux medication (other than Mylanta)?

[Anonymous]

He is on 15 mg Prevacid on applesauce. 7.5 mg twice a day

[Anonymous]

The Upper GI doesn’t always show Reflux even if the baby has reflux (because he may not reflux at that particular time). If he’s uncomfortable at night and he has had reflux in the past I think your doctor would probably allow you to try a PPI medication (Prevacid or Zegerid) based on his symtoms and history. Was he on a PPI before? Did it help?

My doctor diagnosed both of my reflux babies symptomatically and started them on medication right away.

Have you been to the MARCI-kids.com website yet? They have information on PPI dosing that you should probably familiarize yourself with before your appt. since many docs prescribe these drugs at dosages that are too low for infants. (My doctor included). I had to show my doctor the information from MARCI.kids before she’d prescribe what he needed. (10mg 3x’s daily – he’s 18 lbs.) The right med at the wrong dose did nothing for him. Once he was on the right dose he improved dramatically. I wish I had know about this when my daughter was a baby with reflux.

Here’s the link http://www.marci-kids.com/

I hope this helps some. That’s what I would do in your position. I hope it all goes well.

The screeching in his sleep sounds like what my poor little girl used to do. She’d go to bed fine but she’d wake frequently moaning and groaning. She cried in her sleep alot, too. I could tell she was tired and wanted to sleep, she just kept waking because she was in pain.

[Anonymous]

That seems awfully low.

[Anonymous]

What is his weight?

[Anonymous]

I would keep the appointment and push for a higher PPI dose. If you want to do testing, I would ask for a pH probe rather than an upper GI. An upper GI doesn’t always show reflux because it is over such a short period of time. The pH probe is in for 24 hours, so it usually gives a much clearer picture of the reflux situation.

As for it being a night time issue only, my reflux is much worse at night. It’s not unusual for me to use Mylanta or Tums to control it, only to have an awful episode 15 or 20 minutes later. So, that could definitely be his issue as well.

[Anonymous]

He weighs approximately 21 lbs. and is 32 inches long. He woke up crying from nap today which doesn’t usually happen. I gave him tylenol tonight before bed. He has already woken once. If he does again I am going to try mylanta and motrin. Four more days till the GI and counting!

[Anonymous]

How does the pH probe work?

[Anonymous]

scratch the last question, did a search and got the answers I was looking for! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My son weighs 18 lbs and takes 10mgs Prevacid 3x’s per day. Your son’s dose seems low for his weight. Hopefully you can get your son’s GI to increase his dose. My son was on 7.5 mg 2x’s daily for weeks and was getting worse. The increase finally brought relief.

I hope the appt goes well and you find relief for your little guy.

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