Seeking Feedback on Medication

My daughter was born two months early and was diagnosed with esophageal reflux. From a newborn, every time she ate, she would spit up 3-4 times.

She was put on reglan. I think it was to help her digest the milk faster. Anyway, it seemed to help or at least she did not have any ill effects. She still kept spitting up, but she was able to thrive and now she's 12 years old.

My son took Reglan at 6 weeks and although he was fine and did not have any side effects the side effect profile for it is nasty. It can attack the nervous system and cause seizures. He also went on Prevacid which does have a safe side effect profile. He took Prevacid Solutab which dissolves and is easy to administer, Reglan is an old drug, my opinion is that Prevacid is safer and works great!
So many things can be taken care of with natural remedies and I have now changed my way of thinking and would pursue a natural way, reflux can be taken care of naturally but if that is not your way then Prevacid is a good way to go.
Good luck, I know that reflux is so tough to deal with. It will pass!

Yes, we tried it for my daughter when she was so young. I don't remember the details, but we found it not workable for us, so the Dr. switched us to Zantac. The stuff just tastes so nasty. We did use it when we really needed to, but I learned simply not to feed her so much - we nursed, and she would love marathon sessions. I was so thrilled when she grew out of it. But having your child throw up in the middle of the night, all over her face and nose, is no fun for anyone. Some people swear by Gripe water (get the kind that has no alcohol - I think my preferred one was from Wellements, rather than Baby Bliss), and I found that helped with tummy aches, and the throwing up, but didn't solve it completely. Chamomile tea (1tsp) may also help.

My son was on Zantac (ranitidine HCL) from 2-5 months of age for acid reflux. I didn't want to give medication to such a young baby but his reflux was so bad that he would spit up almost all the milk he was taking in and he cried everytime he spit up like he was in pain. It really did help and he seemed more comfortable. He fussed less when we held him any way other than upright and he spit up less frequently and smaller amounts. He didn't have any side effects from the medication either. Luckily he outgrew the problem and we just weaned him off of it. If it helps your child to be more comfortable then it's worth a shot. Best of luck!

My friend had to give it to her daughter for severe refulx. She was so thankful for the medicine, never had any side effects....just grateful it finally helped! Good luck.

The action of REGLAN is to expedite the movement of food out of the stomach and into the intestines. This way it minimizes food being spit up in the event of reflux. Our son was on REGLAN but we, along with a GASTROINTESTINAL specialist, decided to just keep him on a proton pump inhibitor such as PREVACID, PRILOSEC, or PROTONIX. PREVACID is the only one approved by the FDA for pediatric use and is available in solu-tabs, bead-filled capsules, etc. Proton pump inhibitors inhibit the little proton pumps in the stomach from releasing a lot of acid which can make the reflux painful with its sting. Go see Dr.Ramon Montes or another GI specialist who will get you on the right track. The specialists know more about their area than the general pediatrician.

My child was on Reglan and Zantac. At one month she turned blue and it was determined that she had reflux and was aspirating. Many of my in-laws were very against me giving her Reglan but my thought was I would rather have her on medication for a few months than have her aspirate and possibly die. She was on Reglan for about 3-4 months and Zantac for 5-6 months. I have also heard something about Reglan not being given to infants any more. This was awhile ago so i would suggest you ask your doctor about that.

R.,
My daughter was put on Reglan by her pediatrician as we waited to see the pediatric GI. She was already on Zantac and Omoprizal (sp?) and was not getting relief. She had reflux and also had been diagnosed with a slow emptying stomach (can't remember the medical term). I consulted my brother, who is a pharmacist, and he did not think we should give her the Reglan because of the numerous serious side effects. I was desperate and started her on it anyway. After 2 weeks, I saw no improvement and in fact she seemed more aggitated and was grinding her teeth. I stopped giving it to her. When we finally got into the GI, he said he does not put his patients on it. Best wishes for you and your son.

Hi R.,

I don't really know anything about Reglan, except that it is a pharmaceutical. And anytime you take a pharmaceutical, you are opening yourself to all types of side effect (read the info sheet accompanying the drug or ask your pharmacist). Sometimes these side effect are far worse than the original ailment!

Of course, that is your personal choice.

However, medical universities have proven over the last 70 years, that most of the diseases we suffer with are caused simply by nutritional deficiencies.

That being said, there is an incredible All-in-One liquid supplement that my family has been using for the last 3 years that we have seen tremendous improvement with our health...including reflux.

This supplement is called Vibe. It was formulated by and MD, is easy to use and is surprisingly good tasting.

Plus the leading edge technology used allows the nutrition to penetrate the cells in minutes...thus feeling results very quickly.

www.vibeforme.com/smartidea

Please let me know if you would like more information on Vibe or some samples to try. Happy to help in any way.

D.
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My twin sons were put on it when they were little. They were premies with severe reflux. I hated it. It made them really cranky and moody so we discontinued it and tried a lot of other methods (held them upright after eating for atleast 30 min, no rocking, or bouncing for comfort, rice cereal in formula, premixed formula b/c I found the powder caused them to throw up more, and unfortunatly I can't remember the name of the medication that they took but I would remember if you told me. It was stronger than Xantac (?I think), different bottles, special style burping (never over the shoulder), burping after after ounce, and then gradually burping less as they improved, etc.

Good luck - it was really hard. Just when I thought it would never improve they started getting better around 9 months, so stay in there.

Our GI doctor wanted to put our 2 month old on reglan we declined because there is a chance of neurological disorders associated with it. It does empty the stomach out faster but, we recently learned from his allergy doctor that the whole problem is he is not having frequent BM's. So, we are sticking to the prevacid and now giving him suppositories which helped right away. As soon as I gave him a suppository he pooped then I feed him and he didn’t spit anything up. I was so happy to see this since we have been going through this now for months and months. Have you tried prevacid yet? That really worked for him. Does he have a bm everyday? Why does the doctor want him on reglan? Is it for spitting up? My main issue was if he is gaining weight while spitting up then do we need to actually risk the danger of that medicine. But, whatever works for your family.

Another thing....what made us not put him on reglan was because my friends ped prescribed for her 4month old and when she took him to the gi doctor he said to take him off of that RIGHT AWAY. That was two years ago.

Another thing we are seen at AZ Childrens GI...when you make an appt there (if you decide too that is where Dr Montes is) Ask for an appt with either Dr Montes or Do Youkis (spelling may be wrong) Otherwise you will get our doctor and only see the PA and the office policy is to not let you swtich after you have been seen by someone there.

Hi R. -

I do not have personal experience with this drug, however, I always encourage parents to do their own investigation on any drugs given to them for their children.

Here is a little blurb from the drugs.com web site:

Before Using This Medicine
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For metoclopramide, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to metoclopramide, procaine, or procainamide. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Not enough studies have been done in humans to determine metoclopramide's safety during pregnancy. However, metoclopramide has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in animal studies.

Breast-feeding—Metoclopramide passes into the breast milk and may cause unwanted effects in nursing babies. Be sure you have discussed the risks and benefits of the medicine with your doctor.

Children—Muscle spasms, especially of jaw, neck, and back, and tic-like (jerky) movements of head and face may be especially likely to occur in children, who are usually more sensitive than adults to the effects of metoclopramide. Premature and full-term infants may develop blood problems if given high doses of metoclopramide.

Older adults—Shuffling walk and trembling and shaking of hands may be especially likely to occur in elderly patients after they have taken metoclopramide over a long time.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking metoclopramide, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking the following:

Central nervous system (CNS) depressants (medicine that causes drowsiness)—Use with metoclopramide may cause severe drowsiness
Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of metoclopramide. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

Abdominal or stomach bleeding or
Asthma or
Cirrhosis (liver disease) or
Congestive heart failure or
High blood pressure or
Intestinal blockage or
Mental depression or
Parkinson's disease or
Pheochromocytoma (catecholamine-producing tumor)—Metoclopramide may make these conditions worse
Epilepsy—Metoclopramide may increase the risk of having a seizure
Kidney disease (severe)—Higher blood levels of metoclopramide may result, possibly increasing the chance of side effects
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) methemoglobin reductase deficiency—Metoclopramide may increase your chance of side effects affecting the blood.

There is much more information on this and other drugs on-line. I hope this helps you with your decision.

There are other natural options available if you choose not to use the pharmaceuticals.

M.

R., yes my daughter was diagnosed at 2 weeks of age w/ esophogial reflux (GERD). She was plut on reglan & previcid. The reglan helps them digest thier food faster & the previcid helps with the acid in the stomach together they will minimize the damage that can be caused to the esphogus due to the reflux. She was finally taken off of it at 1 yr but is still on the previcid. She is now 26 mo old and is still on the previcid but is doing better. MOST kids do out grow the reflux by the time they are 1 but my daughter still battles with it. Her GI Dr. said that there are a small percentage of kids who take longer to grow out of it depending on the severity of the reflux. I know my daughter was diagnosed with one of the worst cases. She has undergone a bronchoscopy & endoscopy when she was 10 mo old and all seemed to be ok at the time. She will most likely have to undergo another one w/ in the next year to make sure there isn't any damage going on to her esophogus. I'm not trying to scare you but just to inform you of the issues that can come w/ reflux. Just make sure he takes his medicine & all will be ok. A good friend of ours thier baby was diagnosed with this too but after 8 mo she has grown out of it. Just remember MOST do, but there is a samll % that don't for awhile. If you have any questions please fell free to contact me back. Good Luck. PS - if you were wondering about any side affects - my daughter didn't have any. She seemed fine on reglan.

Both my boys were on Reglan AND Zantac! Worked wonders for them both! Made a night and day difference.

My oldest suffered BAD with his reflux and the meds were miracles. Neither were on it for very long. I think, once I started on solid foods, they came of the meds.

I don't want to scare you but, double check w/ the Reglan though. I just recently read that they were stopping prescription of it to babies....

My sons never had ANY problems but, I would double check with your Dr.

Good luck! I know how hard reflux can be on the little ones!

I hear that gripe water works great for reflux. It is all natural, safe and you can buy it at health food stores.

My daughter was on it for a small amount of time... It made her not sleep and get very "hyper". She was only a month old and you could see how miserable she was on it. Her reflux was in fact weak back muscles and my chiropractor took care of her, with out medications. Let me know if you want more information.