Omeprazole for reflux - your experiences?

[WhiteDenim]

3mo has been prescribed Losec MUPS (omeprazole) for silent reflux. I know it's unlicensed for under 1s, but GPs prescribe it all the time. Curious to hear experiences of using this to treat reflux (in our case, mostly silent reflux). Haven't given it to her yet but first dose this evening. Were EBF on demand so the 20-30 mins before eating thing might be tricky... Thanks!

[piscesangel]

It made a huge difference for my eldest - his silent reflux was quite bad to the point that he was losing weight because he was refusing to feed (in addition to the crying and not sleeping..), and it really helped. Took a little while though - saw some improvement quite quickly but probably a month before he was back on track.

[WhiteDenim]

Thanks @piscesangel that's reassuring. I'd read somewhere effects should be immediate so it's good to know sometimes you need to stick at it longer

[FairfaxAikman]

DS was EBF and had silent reflux.
Omeprazole changed him into a different baby

[WhiteDenim]

Thanks @FairfaxAikman, that's good to know. Just tried giving it to her and think she got more down her front than in her mouth... Oh well!

[PurpleFrames]

I'm an adult and taking it changed my life! I can imagine it's exactly the same for the wee ones.

[Acornacorn]

My DD has been taking it for a month. Brilliant stuff. She’s like a different baby now. So much happier!

[Gunpowder]

It’s such a pain to give, particularly if they are EBF but it made a huge difference to DS too. Apparently his oesophagus was being damaged by the acid reflux. It took a couple of weeks to kick in rather than being an instant fix. We mixed it with apple juice which helped with getting him to take it.

[Bol87]

It’s wonderful stuff. Both my girls have been on it (and myself through both pregnancies). Literally made them different babies. They went from screaming, angry, loosing weight & refusing feed babies to happy, good feeding chunks! I’d say in took about 3/4 days to kick in for both DD’s and they def correlates to myself taking it in pregnancy. Once on it regularly though, I found if I missed a dose or DD’s miss(ed) a dose, you can tell within 12 or so hours! That heartburn came right back with avengence!

My DD’s were/are bottle fed but I syringe (d) in the meds. I’ve never been told any other way to do it so I can’t see how it’s different for BF or bottle fed babas? I find laying her flat on her back and aiming for the side of her mouth best. I do a little bit at a time and she rarely spits any out.. but she is good at meds I think. She didn’t spit out a singe bit of her rota virus vaccine and doesn’t spit out calpol either!

Ps. Don’t forget the dose needs to increase as they grow! We are onto our 3rd increase now.

[BornOnThe4thJuly]

Both my 2 have been on it and youngest still is at 2. It took over a week to start to work properly both time. Losec MUPS is a total pain though having to dissolve it, then the enteric coated balls getting stuck in the syringe and coating their tongue. Getting it made up into a syrup with a flavouring in is much better, but they’ve started to do an off the shelf liquid version, it tastes awful compared to the flavoured syrup but it better than the Losec. It worked like magic for my eldest and has helped my youngest but she does still suffer at times. I agree with the previous poster that you can tell that night if you miss a dose. My eldest was weaned off it before 1 with no problems. Both DC were suffering mainly silent reflux.
I hope it helps!

[lauryloo]

Glad to read this.

My 9 week old definitely has reflux. Had been just using carobel but it's not cutting it and he is so wheezy after each feed, so thinking about going back to ask for something different

[IFeelTheNeedTheNeedForSleep]

AVOID it at all costs!! Yes it stops the pain from the reflux but it's just not worth the long term problems it creates. I was on it for 2 years for acid reflux and it was like a miracle cure for the painful heartburn - but then I started having other problems and I've been left with various stomach problems including gluten and dairy intolerances. We produce stomach acid for a reason so it's not unimagineable that stopping it's production causes it's own set of problems. There is lots of research on it on the internet

[Gunpowder]

Bol87 IIRC (as I was in a haze of sleep deprivation at the time!) you have to give the omeprazole 20/30 mins before milk which can be hard with a young baby that’s BF on demand. It’s the timing rather than the method that’s particularly different/tricky if that makes sense? Not saying it’s true for you/everyone but a friend who bottle-fed had more of a routine and could give a dose at 6.30 knowing her baby’s first feed would be at 7ish for example - so she was better at fitting it in.

Very good point about increasing the dose with weight. I didn’t even think about this at first and couldn’t work out why it had stopped working!

[WhiteDenim]

@IFeelTheNeedTheNeedForSleep yes, this was my worry too. I have also heard that once you stop the acid comes back with a vengeance. But I guess it's always a toss up and won't be a miracle cure... She's in so much pain and is so little, I worry about it causing lasting damage to her oesophagus. Hopefully once her stomach sphincter muscle is stronger she can come off and no long term harm done

[Alltherum]

It made me very unwell - like a previous poster the problems it caused were way worse than the reflux. Pain, gas, intolerances. I began to think there was something really wrong. I saw a consultant who said omeprazole is great stuff but for some people it can cause more trouble than it’s worth.

[stopchewingeverything]

It made a huge difference to my son. He started at 8 weeks and was on it until 6.5 months. We weaned him off it gradually over about 3 weeks firstly by lowering the dose and then skipping days. We had a compound mixture of it made up so we didn't have to dissolve tablets. We gave it first thing in the morning. He is 14 months now and no problems whatsoever!

[FairfaxAikman]

If it's in tablet form I found it helpful to pop it in an empty calpol syringe then draw up water to the 2.5 mark. I'd then draw it up to 5ml with air to give me room to shake it and distribute it after it had dissolved. Return the plunger to 2.5ml to give and aim for the inside of the cheek while she's lying on her back.

[BornOnThe4thJuly]

[quote WhiteDenim]@IFeelTheNeedTheNeedForSleep yes, this was my worry too. I have also heard that once you stop the acid comes back with a vengeance. But I guess it's always a toss up and won't be a miracle cure... She's in so much pain and is so little, I worry about it causing lasting damage to her oesophagus. Hopefully once her stomach sphincter muscle is stronger she can come off and no long term harm done[/quote]
It was a miracle cure for my eldest, but hasn’t been for my youngest. It has helped enormously though, DC was dropping centiles fast and was in a lot of pain and couldn’t sleep. I was also worried about ulcers forming in her oesophagus and possible cancer in later life. Ranitadine didn’t work and obviously has been withdrawn now anyway. She was already on carobel, and gaviscon made no difference for her and made her vomit.

[BornOnThe4thJuly]

@IFeelTheNeedTheNeedForSleep

AVOID it at all costs!! Yes it stops the pain from the reflux but it's just not worth the long term problems it creates. I was on it for 2 years for acid reflux and it was like a miracle cure for the painful heartburn - but then I started having other problems and I've been left with various stomach problems including gluten and dairy intolerances. We produce stomach acid for a reason so it's not unimagineable that stopping it's production causes it's own set of problems. There is lots of research on it on the internet

I think this is a really irresponsible post. All meds have side effects, it’s up to the doctors and parents to decide the best course of action considering the possible side effects.
I’m not sure my DC would still be here if we hadn’t given her Omeprazole, she couldn’t feed without it, so eventually would’ve starved I guess.

[WhiteDenim]

@FairfaxAikman yes that's the method we're trying - did you find a lot of granules get stuck in the syringe? With that and the amount she spits out, it's a miracle of any gets into her stomach at all! I suppose we'll get better at it the more we do it

[BornOnThe4thJuly]

[quote WhiteDenim]@FairfaxAikman yes that's the method we're trying - did you find a lot of granules get stuck in the syringe? With that and the amount she spits out, it's a miracle of any gets into her stomach at all! I suppose we'll get better at it the more we do it[/quote]
You’ll very likely find it easier with either a syrup made up by a compounding pharmacy or the Liquid Omeprazole made by Rosemont, that can be ordered as normal by the pharmacy.

[IFeelTheNeedTheNeedForSleep]

@BornOnThe4thJuly it's not irresponsible at all - what IS irresponsible is doctors prescribing this medication without making people fully aware of the issues it can cause. There are other options that help so to say the other option was starvation is ridiculous

[BornOnThe4thJuly]

[quote IFeelTheNeedTheNeedForSleep]@BornOnThe4thJuly it's not irresponsible at all - what IS irresponsible is doctors prescribing this medication without making people fully aware of the issues it can cause. There are other options that help so to say the other option was starvation is ridiculous [/quote]
Such as?

[namechange30000]

It made no difference to dd

[FairfaxAikman]

[quote WhiteDenim]@FairfaxAikman yes that's the method we're trying - did you find a lot of granules get stuck in the syringe? With that and the amount she spits out, it's a miracle of any gets into her stomach at all! I suppose we'll get better at it the more we do it[/quote]
I just suck up a little more water then shake with my thumb over the hole. Maybe have a tiny bit left at the end but most is gone

[Ellax]

Hi there, I’m in a similar position with 8 week old. Pediatrician, HV and osteopath all suspect silent reflux. He’s literally constantly unsettled. At first thought it was colic but he has all the symptoms of silent reflux. He also constantly constantly wants to feed which I think he’s doing to soothe himself because it’s not possible for him to be hungry all the time. I now have to actively space out the feeds and the most I can do is 1.5 hours. One thing though is that he doesn’t have a problem with weight gain. Could this be an indicator that perhaps it’s not silent reflux after all?

Don’t want to start him on the omeprazole if there’s a chance it’s something else