domperidone - any side effect I should watch out for?

[hazeyjane]

ds is 23 months and just been started on domperidone for reflux - I just wondered if anyone found it had any side effects?

anyone?

Hi DS has been prescribed this too for reflux. The side effects you most need to look out for are jerky movements. If these occur you need to stop it & see your GP.

As it's a prokinetic i.e makes food travel through faster, I guess more frequent poos

My dd3 has been on domperidone since January and we haven't seen any side effects at all. She has it with lanzoprazole to reduce the production of acid. She was on rinitadin previously. Is your ds on one of these as well?

thankyou

more frequent poos could be a good thing, as ds has very slow transit through his gut, meaning it takes day for him to poo!

I didn't realise that about the jerky movements, so thankyou for that.

Have you seen an improvement in your ds's reflux since taking it?

dd was on this and the only side effect she had was massive weight gain, she was off the charts!

My DD started domperidone at 18m, she's now 2.5. No side effects here, there's much less puke and her weight has ticked up from the 9th to just above the 25th centile. It's marvellous stuff!

Hello Cupoftea, I am one of the many, many mumsnetters that follow Bea's thread. I have just posted this on the SN boards (ds has global developmental delay,low muscle tone and feeding issues) as I thought I hadn't had any responses here, and then along came two!

Ds was on ranitidine for ages, and then switched to omeprazole. He seemed more comfortable with them, but still slept badly (due to reflux) and still had episodes where it seemed as though he was choking. His consultant doesn't know whether this is due to reflux, his poor swallow (he is a champion drooler!) or a type of seizure, but he thought domperidone may help with the overall slowness of his digestive system.

I'm glad Bea hasn't had any side effects from it, and hope she (and you) are doing ok.

Sorry, crossposted with Blackoutthesun and blondieminx, one thing ds doesn't struggle with is weight gain! Despite all his problems with eating, he is a big boy!

He has had reflux since birth, but it is the silent variety, so no vomiting, but lots of discomfort from acid. He also aspirates (due to his poor swallow) so trying to control the acid is important, to prevent him aspirating acid into his lungs.

Thank you for following Bea's progress! Well, now you have explained about your ds' other issues, I feel I can be honest and say I didn't originally find the lanzoprazole and domperidone overly effective on their own. It wasn't until we switched to an NJ tube that we noticed the huge difference, but Beatrice's problem has always been vomitting, which doesn't seem to be the case for your ds. That said, if we are even half an hour late with her domperidone, she is in visible discomfort and vomits more stomach acid (as she has no milk feed into her stomach).

I think, in my limited experience, reflux is the first and easiest thing for the paeds to rule out, so don't be fobbed off if your ds is still struggling at night time after taking domperidone for a while.

Jane I don't know where you are located but Barts in London has a multidisciplinary team who deal with reflux - worth asking your GP for a referral?

A friend of a friend is taking her DD there in a few weeks but seems v impressed so far even just by the info pack for the appt.

Thanks cup, I think you are right wrt reflux being the easiest avenue to explore, and they seem to follow a pattern of drugs to try as well. It has taken a year for his consultant to come to the conclusion that ds may be suffering from seizures causing his episodes, and get round to ordering an eeg, which is happening next Tues.

Ds was supposed to be having a gastrostomy (tube into stomach), because he has frequent chest infections due to aspirating, but fortunately they have decided to hold off on this, because he hasn't had a chest infection for 4 months. I'm glad the NJ tube has made Bea more comfortable.

Thankyou, Blondieminx, that sounds very interesting, i'll look into that.