zantac dosing

[Anonymous]

I have tried to read through all the info that the groupie had to offer but didn’t find my question.

Today we went to the GI doctor and he recommended we start back up on zantac for my 9 week daughter. She is taking prevacid but when we discontinued the zantac she started crying again like she was before the meds. I agree she needs to be on it. However before… she was taking 0.6ml of zantac 2 times a day. That was from her pediatrician. Now the GI specialist said to give her 1ml one time a day in the evening. We also were taking prevacid 7.5mg twice a day. Now he said to give 15mg once a day in the morning. I am concerned about this dosing pattern because everywhere I read it says to give twice a day. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. My daughter has silent reflux with slow weight gain.

[hellbennt]

try the 7.5mg 2 x a day & give the zantac, too- just make sure to space it about 4hrs from the prevacid

zantac max dose is 10mgs per kilo

I would start there and give in 2 doses- they can be ‘uneven’ doses- more at night if needed or more in day/morning if needed

unfortunately a lot of this is trial & error, but you’re getting there!

[Anonymous]

Maybe you could do 7.5 prevacid in the am, zantac in the afternoon, then prevacid in the pm-that way there would be all day coverage.

[Anonymous]

Okay I am just so confused though. Do you know why prevacid and zantac need to be taken at certain times and/or 30-60 minutes before meals? I have read some people say it is as effective if not. My daughter doesn’t spit up much. She is just a silent refluxer. Also the GI specialist said to give 1ml zantac once a day but everywhere I read says twice a day. Can someone give me an idea on how that might affect her? I am so clueless on this and I have tried to read the groupie info. He also said to take prevacid once a day instead of twice. So we take the whole dose at one time instead of broken into two. I didn’t really like the GI specialist and he seemed really goofy to me and rushed me in and out and didnt’ really even ask many questions. Just jumped to telling us to give her zantac along with prevacid because it seemed she was hurting more with only prevacid and each time we stopped the zantac she was hurting again. So if someone can explain the whys behind the dosing that would help me understand so much more. thanks a bunch!!

[Anonymous]

Zantac and Prevacid are different classes of medications. Zantac is an H2 blocker which means it just kind of lessens the acid production. Prevacid is a PPI (Proton pump inhibitor) which means it pretty much stops the acid production. They have to be spaced apart b/c the Zantac will damage the protective coating on the prevacid that allows it to function in the part of the body it is designed to. The prevacid has to be given on a empty stomach for the same reason and you have wait the 30-60 min b/c that is how long it takes for it to make its passage through the body to be able to work. There are many babies on here who have only gotten relief by doing both meds, I would do what was said above and give the prevacid in the a.m. and pm with Zantac mid day and if you wish “save” some to use middle of the night if needed. HTH>

[Anonymous]

Oh my gosh, where did you learn all the information about how the medications affect one another? I tried to ask her GI doctor about the whys of when to dose and he just said give one at this time and one at this time and didn’t even explain to take on an empty stomach. My prescription bottle just said to take before meals. So I was giving it just before the meal. Hmm, why can’t the docs explain more… It seems strange that my daughter needs both meds cause if one med slows the production and one stops the production than why would the slowed med be needed if the other stops it? haha, doesn’t make sense but I can see it works for my daughter. Thanks for all of your help!!

[Anonymous]

I am very fortunate that I work in a hospital and am married to a pharmacist so if I ever have a question that I can’t find the answer to then I know where to go for the answers. I will say however that the not eating for 30-60 min came from these ladies, my husband still thinks it is odd since in the hospital they don’t time around meals for adults. My ped gi told us to wait 20 min which is more than most. I hang around here know b/c I have good background knowledge on the meds for all the newbie like yourself and if anyone gets stumped and none of us know the answer I know where to go to find out!

[hellbennt]

THANK YOU BETH!!!

I don’t have that answer off the top of my head, but I DO have zantac dosing off the top of my head, as well as tons of other info, LOL!

I am so grateful to everyone who has stuck around to help newcomers!

also: if you go to the Medicines Forum there are some stickies (posts that are ‘stuck’ at the top of the page) that should have this info in there…

but I have to say that what Beth writes is entirely accurate! yay beth!

so: if you need help figuring out zantac dose, just give me your baby’s weight…

[Anonymous]

She is 9weeks and 9lb6oz. She was given 0.6ml zantac 2x a day. But the GI specialist just said to switch to 1ml once a day in the evening. Also she taking 15mg prevacid divided into two doses but the GI specialist said give that once a day in the morning. From all I read it says to divide all this up into multiple doses. Why would the specialist want one dose a day of each?

[hellbennt]

unfortuntely they don’t know everything- they are not pharmacologists-

not sure what to tell you- we all gave advice- you gotta follow your baby’s needs- if 2 doses of prevacid w/ zantac inbetween takes care of the pain then that’s what you do- if following the dr to the T works for your baby, then that’s what you gotta do…not that I can tell you what to do! research and make your own decisions…

gotta dash but to figure out zantac: divide 9.5 by 2.2

then that answer is weight in kilos

take weight in kilos and multiply by 10

this gives you 10mgs per kilo

you’ll get big number, this is the amount of MGS total for the day of zantac

you need MLs, so take the MG number & divide by 15 (look at your bottle it says 15mgs/ml)

then you have total MLs for the day

take this and divide into 2 doses however you want…

I bet someone ca nhelp you wilth the math- I won’t be back online till this evening…

[Anonymous]

So research has proven that babies metabolize meds quicker than adults, so that’s where the need to dose more than once a day comes from. Some babies still do okay on the once daily dosing. I think GI’s start there to make it easier on parents. Meds are stressfull for alot of folks and having to give them multiple times a day is even more stressfull. Its all trial and error until you find what works best. We actually have to dose 3 times a day to keep him comfy.

[Author]

Posts