Need Advice

[Anonymous]

My son is now 6 months old. He has been on prevacid, 30 mg/ day, since he was around 3.5 months old. Lately, he has been spitting up alot! I am not sure if it is because of teething or something else, but I basically need a burp cloth (actually a full sized towel) at all times. Right after he eats, I would estimate that he spits up an ounce and then he continuously burps and spits up smaller amounts in between feedings. He is drooling a lot and I think that he might be teething. He takes in around 32 ounces of formula per day and eats around 7-8 tbsp of formula per day, so he is a big eater!

My question is this- my doctor said that she would like to wean him from his medication. There have been a lot of times when he spits up his medicine and seems unaffected by it. Also, I have not always followed the timing rules and he does not seem bothered. I have questioned whether he needs it because of this. He no longer grimaces when he spits up. Is it possible that he no longer needs the medicine even though he continues to spit up a lot? Why doesn’t it seem to bother him when the medication is spit up or given right before a feeding? I am reluctant to wean him, but I do not want for him to be on meds that he does not need. Any advice?

[Anonymous]

I would say it’s a little early to wean, but that’s just my opinion. Usually 9-12 mo is the time to start thinking of it. He’s probably not grimacing when he spits b/c there isn’t that acid there which the medicine eliminates. I don’t always follow the correct dosing with empty stomach and timing either, but when I weaned my son at 14 mo, after 4 days I thought oh, no more reflux and then the nightmare sleep waking up screaming from naps started. And the day I started him back on prevacid, it was good baby times again. You might try weaning a little maybe 15 mg once and 7.5 once, but I wouldn’t go all out at such a young age. But these again are my opinion.

If he’s spitting that much, he still has pretty good reflux. If you take the meds away, it will most likely be painful.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Erica in that it is a little early, in my opinion. The large amount of spit up and the frequency would tell me that he is still refluxing a lot but the acid has been eliminated with the meds. I wouldn’t really think of coming off the meds right now….again, just my opinion. Although, you could always give it a try and see…as long as your doctor is on board to start the meds back up if the reflux begins to bother him again. Good luck in which ever you decide! That would be wonderful if he could be med free!

[Anonymous]

I have to agree that it’s a bit too early too. He is probably much more alert and easily distracted from the reflux than he was earlier. He is sitting up and moving more, so that could be the cause of the increased spitting as well.

[Anonymous]

I too think it is early. Cooper hasn’t really spit up since he was 9 months old and I haven’t even contemplated weaning his meds yet. I figure I will work on his dairy trials and then I will wean meds between 15-18 months. The meds aren’t hurting him so i figure if it isn’t broke I’m not changing it.

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