Does a bottle of ranitidine lose its potency quite quickly?

[NoDontLookAtMeImShy]

I have some bottles (for DS) that last 3 months and some that last 28 days before they are supposed to be discarded.

But he's been on it 9 months now and I'm finding after the 4th week his reflux gets really out of hand again.

I'm assuming it's reflux anyway, waking everyone 10-15 minutes all night, screaming all day particularly in the early evening.

And it usually goes when I get a new bottle of ranitidine.

It can't be coincidence? Did anyone else find the same thing?

Bump

Hasn’t ranitidine been recalled due to contamination concerns?

Ranitidine recall aside....do you have regular appointments to adjust dosage with weight gain?

I’d suggest it’s more to do with weight gain and dosage.
The equation is regularly shared on the reflux support Facebook group.
I get my dd weighed by the HV and ring the surgery, the GP or Pharmacist then usually recalculates the dose and I get an email telling me what to up it to.

I’m unsure which of these specifically applies to ranitidine but medicines can have a short shelf life once opened for a few reasons:

1. The drug decomposes or changes chemical structure upon exposure to air. Sometimes they can change to potentially harmful chemicals, normally though it just results in a loss of potency of the drug.

1. The formulation is unstable. Exposure to air can cause some mixtures to separate or coagulate and become less effective.

1. The medication may not contain preservatives, or use short acting preservatives, this means there is a possibility of bacterial contamination over time once opened.

Previous posters are correct, there is currently a recall on certain brands of ranitidine so best check with your local pharmacy. Also for babies and young children it is dosed on weight so regular check ups and weigh ins are needed.

We had to get DS weighed every 2 weeks and his dose adjusted accordingly as even the slightest of gain can mess with the dosage, do you do this too?

Sorry should have mentioned he has a heart condition so gets weighed really regularly. Last time was a week ago and it didn't need adjusting.

He is on the highest dose as well.

Just looked at our bottle, it says discard after 90 days.
Dd is on maximum dose for her weight too, it’s a battle!

The last bottle said 3 months the new one is 28 days.

So perhaps I'm wrong and it isn't reflux. It just seems to return (if that's even what it is) a month after we have started a new bottle.

Just to say, I'm pretty sure its 28 days officially, but I've seen others online report the same as you, a new bottle seeming less effective in weeks 3-4. I'm surprised there are 3 month bottles. Must be a different kind if stabilizing agent.

Ranatidine stopped working for us after about 2 months despite increasing dose frequently with weight (not uncommon according to google), and my LO was moved to omeprazole. Been on that for 6 months now and it's done the trick nicely :)

Liland we found it lost effect when he was about 3 months and we tried omeprazole.

We found that made him 100 times worse and he was already really really bad.

However, I then learned that the original dose of ranitidine was on the lowest dose so we upped it to the mid dose and then again to the highest dose and it worked really well.

I'd be gutted if now it just stopped working!

He's having a really good nap with no support from me for the first time in over a week so I'm hoping it's working.

Although I only gave him a dose from the new bottle 3-4 hours ago.

Can it work that quickly?!

Read in to CMPA. My dd was the same until we got her special formula on prescription and she was like a new baby

Read in to CMPA. My dd was the same until we got her special formula on prescription and she was like a new baby

He's breastfed and I did a huge elimination diet for 3 months and it didn't work at all.

My middle child has CMPA and other allergies so I really thought that was it here as well. But he's fine with dairy.