Omeprasole-Anyone else's babies on this?

[ains73]

Just wondering if anyone else has experience with omeprasole? My little one has had terrible reflux from birth (now 10wks). Gaviscon, ranitidine didn't work so just been given omeprasole. Would love to hear your thoughts/experiences if you have tried this. Getting desperate.

I have used it myself as has my DH. We have had no problems with the adult version and it had been very helpful for my DP in particular. he has to take it long term and no side affects.

My daughter also had terrible reflux but I wasn't keen on her having lots of medication so we struggled on with Gaviscon. Eventually found out it was due to a dairy intolerance and wasn't sorted until she was 3! Couldn't even get her diagnosed with reflux until 12 weeks as no one would take me seriously!

My son has been on it for nearly 6 years as he has severe GERD. is your baby dairy free? Often reflux is a symptom of intolerance. My son is in terrible pain if he has dairy.

I have asked about dairy intolerance but was told by Health Visitor that by the time she got tested via nhs she would probably have outgrown it. Mmm, think I will speak to my doctor about this. Do you know if they can they prescribe dairy free milk?

Yes, they can prescribe either hydrolysed formula or an elemental formula like neocate or nutramigen AA. The trouble with the latter two is that they are seriously expensive and therefore many GPs aren't keen, and also they taste awful so some babies (mine included) won't drink them. Pepti tastes the best of the bunch I think, but if your baby has a severe dairy allergy it mightn't be broken down enough. Worth a try tho.

My Ds is on lansoprazole which is similar to omeprazole. Did the GP mention that omeprazole needs to be given on an empty stomach, so first thing in the morning? Often they don't. Also, you need to leave at least 30 minutes after giving it before feeding your baby.

Hi Narmada. Thanks so much for the advice on Omeprazole. I wasn't told how to give it but after checking on google I saw that it was best on an empty stomach and to wait 30 mins before feeding. Can't believe they don't tell you these things!

Will speak to my GP about those milks.

That's alright. Hope it's working a bit, ains73. Re. the testing for dairy allergy, there is no reliable test for it in infants unless they have a true allergy - e.g., hives, swelling, anaphylaxis in the severest cases, in which case a RAST blood test would probably show up positive. In milder cases, the RAST blood test will likely be negative, but that doesn't necessarily mean there's not a problem. Patch testing is not usually done for dairy allergy. The way to rule an allergy/ intolerance in or out is to try a dairy-free or extensively hydrolysed formula for a good two weeks and exclude any other sources of dairy from your baby's diet (although she's probably not weaning yet anyway). If you're breastfeeding at all, then you will need to exclude all traces of dairy from your diet, too, as the proteins can pass through your milk. If the vomiting and other symptoms stop, you have your answer!

Your health visitor isn't correct about her 'growing out' of it quickly - sometimes this does happen, but dairy intolerances often persist beyond the first few months - our dietician told us it commonly takes 1 1/2 to 2 years to outgrow if it's going to be outgrown. In the meantime, if dairy is a problem, then it's advisable to get it out of her diet in its unmodified form (under dietician supervision).

Also, it's important that the little beads in the omeprazole tablet aren't crushed (e.g., with a pestle and mortar). If they are, they won't be protected from stomach acid during transit and the drug isn't properly absorbed. I always found omeprazole to be a right pain to administer as the tabs don't dissolve properly in water, so we went on to lansoprazole which is very similar but dissolves properly (ask for oro-dispersible format) and tastes of strawberry rather than nasty and bitter.