Ranitidine - does it act fast?

[Iks]

Hi,

My DD is 4 weeks old and has been throwing up her feed on average once a day. This can happen up to 90 minutes after she finishes eating. She is not in pain before or after throwing up but is unsettled and hungry again straight after.

I took her to the GP that quickly suggested Infant Gaviscon. That had seemed to work well but in the past week she started throwing up again.

So the GP now gave us Ranitidine to try.

After 36 hours on Ranitidine she is throwing up more. So I am thinking of stopping it.

My question is from your experience is Ranitidine fast acting or does it take time?

ranitidine is an antacid, not an antiemetic. It helps with acid not vomiting. IME it takes 3-4 days to get into the system.

if its vomiting you struggle with try domperidone

Adult experience is that it is fast acting (within 20-30 minutes of taking a dose you should start to see some effect). It can take a while for acid levels to go down enough to stop the reflux completely though, but only of the order of a few days. But it shouldn't worsen symptoms in the meantime.

And yes, it's for reducing acid in the stomach, not for stopping vomiting.

I'd suggest going back to the doctors.

Thanks for your quick responses.

I think I will persevere with the Ranitidine for a couple more days see if it starts to make a difference.

These extra vomits could be a coincidence ( hopefully).

as an adult i took ranitidine for a while and then started taking manuka honey, and found it was just as effective but with less side effects. manuka honey has been clinically proven to be ffective on stomach ulcers so is very good for stomach acidity. i know they say not to give honey to babies under 1 year old but if they're prescribing other artificial chemical substances i don't see what harm honey could do. but maybe ask your doctor first.

Honey can contain botulism spores - far more dangerous than a medication that has been well tested!