Our Arsenal #4

This was going to be a blog about how great Katie is doing and then she cried nearly the entire 2 hour drive home from Eric's parent's house yesterday.

So instead, Our Arsenal #4 - Prescription Medications.

Our pediatrician first prescribed her Zantac. It is an H2 antagonist. It acts by blocking H2, one of the chemicals that stimulates acid secretion in the stomach. It's a mint flavored syrup and she doesn't really care for it much. We noticed pretty quickly that she could lay flat without screaming so much and her sleeping improved also. She still did her fair share of crying, but there was definite improvement.

After a few weeks, we noticed she was getting screamier and the amount she was spitting up had started to increase in volume again. The pediatrician increased her Zantac slightly and also prescribed Reglan. It helps the stomach empty faster which means there is less to spit up. After a little of my own research, we decided to wait on the reglan because of the possibility of unpleasant side effects. The increase in the Zantac worked for awhile, but after a particularly rough day, I decided to try the Reglan. I called the pharmacist and asked about it. She said it was perfectly safe and very commonly given with Zantac. With the Reglan, there was a huge decrease in the amount of spit up, but only with the feeding after the dose. After other feedings, she was still spitting up quite a bit. It seemed to make her a little sleepy, which wasn't bad, but during her awake periods she was gradually becoming more agitated and screamy than before. We stopped the Reglan after about 4 days.

Another type of medication used to treat reflux are proton pump inhibitors. They work by blocking the production of stomach acid. Since the Zantac seems to still be working well, we haven't had to switch or try something else yet and I'm hopeful that we won't have to.