I don’t have the answer to your question about the timing of the meds, but I do have this…
reglan and zantac seem to be the first meds prescribed by peds, “Just Because.” It’s probably just what they were taught and that’s that. Jonah was even prescribed reglan in the nicu and they had DONE testing and they pretty much knew he didn’t have DGE (Delayed Gastric Emptying- this is what reglan is for). Personally, in retrospect, I think they gave it to him to cover their butts legally- he was having apnea episodes (stopped breathing) and rather than have a dead newborn on their hands, they figured the possible risks of reglan, and the help it MIGHT provide, sure outweighed the apnea episodes.
anyway, there’s a lot of bad hype about reglan, but it has worked wonders for some babies, with diagnosed/VERIFIED DGE, in small doses. there ARE other motility drugs out there, too, such as bethanecol (sp?) and erythromyacin (sp?)…I feel that if a baby has been given the stomach emptying scan (this is not just an Upper GI- it’s a specific test looking for DGE) and doesn’t respond well to other drugs, then by all means trying reglan is worth it…
just my 2 cents…
hope someone can answer you question!