# Prevacid side effects w/infant



## Family4Christ (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi mamas,

My DD went on zantac after refusing to feed. That worked for a couple weeks, but she started the same pattern again. Her ped put her on prevacid. It worked immediately (I thought it was supposed to take time??) and cut her actual spitting up by 80% and she nursed much better and gained .2lbs overnight! Problem is it seems to upset her tummy. About 15 minutes after giving her the dose, she'll go from happy to crying. She's really gassy. She tends to remain miserable the rest of the day. I just gave her the dose an hour ago and she's been fussy and crying since. She didn't do this on zantac, though it didn't seem to help her much at all.

The other thing I noticed is she has a tough time sleeping. She normally goes to bed around 8 and she was so tired last night and kept falling asleep, only to wake up 15 minutes later. She finally settled around 11:30. She slept ok last night but not like she normally does. I should note that instead of giving her one dose in the morning, I broke it in two doses, after reading that is more effective. I'm thinking I should have kept it at one.

I hate having her on this stuff (especially since it's a blocker), but I hate her refusing to eat more. Any ideas for more things we can do would be so welcome. We bought the pollywog nursing positioner and hug me joey for her carseat.

Anyway, will these side effects go away or should we spend yet another $60 on another RX of something different? Obviously, if she remains miserable today, I'm going to assume she doesn't tolerate it well and try something different.


----------



## NJ*Doula (Apr 14, 2006)

Hmm, those sound like odd side effects for Prevacid. Are you sure that's what's causing it?

My first suggestion would be to cut dairy out of your diet for a while (all dairy, even the stuff way down the ingredient list, even if it's called something else, like casein or whey) and see if that eliminates the need for Prevacid. We had our little man on it for months, but after being completely dairy free for a while we did a trial without it, and haven't put him back on it. The dairy allergy was the real problem.


----------



## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

Actually, kids metabolize these medications quickly. Once a day is a serious mis-judgement on your doctor's part that would make things worse--with rebound acid.

She actually should dosed 3 times per day. Make sure she's at adequate dosage levels too. Your pediatrician has a reference book with pediatric dosage guidelines for all medications in it. He either didn't look (most likely) or didn't follow it. It would not say dose once per day.

http://www.marci-kids.com/dosing.html Dosing information.

PPI's usually aren't effective for 2 weeks. So the increased fussiness may well be reflux pain. The description of night sleep sounds much like that to me. Were you noticing that when you dosed only once per day and was that dose in the morning? Could have been rebound acid but I sort of doubt it because I think you need more time for response.

Prevacid solutabs have lactose so if your child is dairy intolerant another PPI is a better choice and maybe that would account for the symptoms you're seeing. Though honestly I know lots of dairy intolerant kids who do fine with Prevacid as it doesn't have milk protein to my knowledge. Still we avoided it because my son had a dairy allergy. FWIW, going dairy/gluten/egg free didn't affect his reflux at all.

The best PPI is Zegerid. Prilosec is ok too though the compounded nature loses effectiveness after two weeks in the fridge. When we figured that out we had the doctor write it to re-fill every two weeks. It also might be possible for a pharmacist to split the prescription into two and let you mix the second two week dose. If your doctor dose zegerid give me a PM and I'll let you know the easy way to adminster it. We didn't get my son's pain under control until we did Zegerid. It's good because it isn't affected negatively by food and you mix it yourself so it stays potent unlike our experience with prilosec.


----------



## abomgardner417 (Jun 19, 2007)

One of my twins was on Prevacid for three weeks before I took him off myself and took him to the chiropractor instead. Even with severe reflux he was never a screamer. On Prevacid, the vomiting stopped but he would scream for hours with gas pain. The doctor wouldn't listen to me and just kept telling me to keep him on it. That's when I finally went to the chiro. Ds spit up only one time after the first adjustment and had another adjustment a few days later and never spit up again.


----------



## LizLizard (Jul 16, 2007)

My youngest has MSPI, we've been completely dairy/soy free for almost 4 months and she's still gassy.







I think it's something else in my diet, or maybe a combo of things that she just doesn't like. My oldest had a bad time with tomatoes, for instance. She's also been on Zantac, then Prevacid, now she's med free and I haven't noticed any change for good or bad in the gas. I just make sure to spend extra time burping, belly rubbing and as much tummy time as she'll stand, all of that helps quite a bit. Her toots are earth-shattering, LOL.


----------



## TefferTWH (May 13, 2008)

Kari, you are getting great advice here, especially about the dairy intolerance possibility and the dosage. Have you considered keeping a food diary? That way you could note what causes more spit rather than less. I didn't do that because my son's reflux was just like his dad's, so I already had a guide of what to avoid! We dosed K twice a day instead of just once, and my neighbor dosed three times a day with her son.


----------



## Family4Christ (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks for all the great info, mamas! I guess the solutabs being time release doesn't matter?

I will be taking her to the chiro just asap. I took her for reflux once and the relief lasted for 2 days and then it was back to normal. So, I'm assuming she'll need to go quite a bit.

I've been off obvious dairy for about 5 weeks and hidden for almost 2 weeks. The obvious dairy improved her fussiness, and I've seen no improvement with the hidden. I'm considering doing the total ED, though I'm a bit nervous, as I've heard of mama's losing a considerable amount of milk supply from that (losing weight, I presume).

Quote:

On Prevacid, the vomiting stopped but he would scream for hours with gas pain.
Unfortunately, this continues for us. I'm not sure what to do, as I can get her to the chiro next week, but it will be near impossible to afford to continue taking her for the following 2 weeks, so will that even help?

Quote:

Actually, kids metabolize these medications quickly. Once a day is a serious mis-judgement on your doctor's part that would make things worse--with rebound acid.

She actually should dosed 3 times per day. Make sure she's at adequate dosage levels too. Your pediatrician has a reference book with pediatric dosage guidelines for all medications in it. He either didn't look (most likely) or didn't follow it. It would not say dose once per day.

http://www.marci-kids.com/dosing.html Dosing information.
She's on half of the 15mg pill - so, 7mg/day. So, i should break the solutab in thirds and give it 3x/day?

Quote:

Kari, you are getting great advice here, especially about the dairy intolerance possibility and the dosage. Have you considered keeping a food diary?
I tried that, but because my diet tends to vary a lot, it was hard to pinpoint the problem. So, this is why I'm considering TED.


----------



## mtm (Dec 4, 2003)

My little one reacts when I eat tomatos or spicy food. I've been dairy and soy free since before she was born. I hadn't heard the 3 times a day rule. My little one is on 15mg prevacid a day but I give her one dose at night, sounds like 2-3 doses may be better.

Can I ask if any of you have started solids with your little ones? Mine is 8 months and having an awful time of it. Everything seems to bother her. I was giving her small tastes (tried avocado, sweet potato, pears, peas, rice) because she is desperate to eat but it all seem to bother her tummy and then she has a hard time pooping.


----------



## abomgardner417 (Jun 19, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Family4Christ* 
Unfortunately, this continues for us. I'm not sure what to do, as I can get her to the chiro next week, but it will be near impossible to afford to continue taking her for the following 2 weeks, so will that even help?


If it seems to help, even for a couple days, then I would take her as much as you can afford to. We went two days a week for two weeks and that cleared everything right up for him, but of course it'll vary depending on the child and severity. I'd ask and see if there's anything the chiro suggests if you haven't already.


----------

