Pain, Depression, and Reflux

Harry Said:

What could happen if you have acid reflux and don't take medicine for it?

We Answered:

You can get rid of it by changing ur lifestyle a bit.....avoid spicy oily foods, avoid colas an other carbonated drinks. Eat atleast 5 hours before you sleep, maintain proper posture, dont slouch. Mebbe a glass of milk before bed might help coz milk is like an antacid.
If you dont take ur meds altogether, there may be complications like gastric ulcers and perforation of the stomach in severe cases.

Brenda Said:

Can acid reflux medicine cause weight gain?

We Answered:

Absolutely not.
I take the same medication.

Anne Said:

How should I give acid reflux medication(Ranitidine) properly to a 11 weeks old baby?

We Answered:

I'll give you my overall advice on reflux before addressing the meds specifically:

Technically, the only way to officially diagnose reflux is a GI probe test, which is extremely invasive, especially for an infant, so most doctors make a unofficial diagnosis based on symptoms. Here's a list of reflux symptoms in infants: http://heartburn.about.com/od/infantschi…

What symptoms does your baby have that made your doctor diagnose reflux? Did your baby lose weight or have trouble gaining? Was he not wetting adequate diapers?

Be aware that excessive spitting up, or spitting up in general, is *not* the same as reflux. All babies spit up at some point or another, and some spit up a lot, but reflux is not always the cause. Reflux, or GERD, occurs when the valve that separates the stomach from the esophagus doesn't close completely after a feeding, causing stomach acids and food (or, in a baby's case, milk) to come back up. This often causes damage to the esophageal wall as well, as stomach acids are extremely corrosive. This is why true reflux or GERD can only truly be diagnosed by a GI probe test. The probe searches the esophagus for damage and checks to see if the valve doesn't close properly.

Spitting up is sometimes a symptom of reflux, obviously, since milk will come back up if the valve doesn't close completely, but there are many other possible causes of spitting up: oversupply or overactive letdown, excessive swallowing of air during feeding, pyloric stenosis, allergies (sometimes food allergies or sensitivities, such as a dairy allergy), or sometimes overeating/overfeeding. Many of these issues are mistakenly diagnosed as reflux, when they're not reflux at all. Often, they're easily fixable with dietary changes, altering feeding methods or positions, or, in the case of pyloric stenosis, surgery would be required. Babies can also have what's known as silent reflux - reflux without the obvious symptom of frequent spitting up. So, spitting up isn't always an accurate indicator of reflux. They're two completely different things.

Personally, I think it's best to try solutions for some of the problems listed above before resorting to prescription medications for reflux. If the baby is breastfed, block feeding, eliminating dairy, and altering feeding positions can help eliminate the issues. If the baby is formula fed, sometimes changing formulas can help, specifically if it's suspected that the baby has a dairy allergy or sensitivity. You might consider talking to your doctor about testing for allergies as well, before trying any reflux medications.

Chiropractic care is also shown to help reflux, or other issues that mimic reflux. Chiropractic adjustments help body stay in proper alignment, which can aid in proper digestion and help reduce the symptoms of reflux, colic, allergies, and other issues. Here's more info on chiropractic care for reflux: http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/forum… This is a very detailed report on how chiropractic care helped infants with reflux and similar issues: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles…

Be aware that many doctors still recommend adding rice cereal to an infant's diet in order to help reflux. This is actually not proven to lower reflux index scores or heal esophageal damage. It's basically a bandage that can occasionally help a symptom of a problem, but the underlying issue (silent reflux) will still persist. Here's a link to an article that references a study on thickening feeds with cereal to treat reflux: http://www.hini.org/HINI/pdfs/InTouchVol… and another: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38062… In some cases, the rice cereal made the reflux worse.

In other words, treating reflux with rice cereal is like treating a broken bone with Vicodin. The Vicodin will help the pain - a symptom of the broken bone - but the bone will still be broken. Personally, I would avoid thickened feeds, given that there are no known benefits, and actually some risks. Introducing solids before an infant is developmentally and biologically ready (which is around 6 months of age, based on the medical evidence we have now), can lead to digestive issues, allergies, iron deficiency anemia later in life, and other issues: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids…

Overall, if your baby is wetting adequate diapers and gaining weight, it is likely more of a laundry issue than anything else. Did your baby lose weight or have trouble gaining? Was he not wetting adequate diapers?

Here's a good page on reflux. A lot of the information is directed toward breastfed babies, but most of it will apply to formula fed babies as well: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/ref…

Allen Said:

I need a good over the counter medicine for acid reflux / nausea. It is a few days before I can get in the dr.

We Answered:

I'm a nurse and any generic antacid will work. You really don't have to spend a lot of money to get the desired results, try any one of them. However prilosec will also work. Take care and all the best.

Katrina Said:

baby has acid reflux and pediatrician is advising axid solution?

We Answered:

My son takes prevacid and does well on it. My pediatrician says he stopped prescribing Zantac because the bad taste, plus kids weren't doing well on it (mine included) Ask about the Prevacid it works better, I think. It could at least be worth a try.

Tracy Lane McNally said:

My 2mo. old Granddaughter is at the hospital for severe reflux or vomiting and weight loss and dehydration. My son had pylorisc stenosis when he was 6 wks., her Father. What are the chances it could be that or could it just be reflux or something much worse. Anyone have any advice???