Experiences of Omezaprole for babies

[BirdIsland]

Does anyone have experience of giving Omezaprole (Losec MUPS) to a baby? My 5 month old was prescribed it at 3 months for silent reflux, but her reflux happened to improve naturally so we never gave it to her.

At 5 months the reflux is back, it is seriously affecting her sleep and she's back to gulping/coughing/choking/hiccuping etc. so I want to try the medication route to see if it helps her. I contacted the doctor to ask if we could get ranitidine instead as more people seem to have experience of it, but apparently pharmacies can't get it at the moment, so we're stuck with the Omezaprole.

I suppose I'm just looking for experiences of people who have given it to their babies and whether it helped, I don't know anyone in real life who has given it to such a little baby and I'm a bit hesitant about it given that it's not actually meant for babies under 1. Any advice/experience appreciated.

Yep, my eldest had it (with ranitidine also) for GORD from 16 weeks to 9m. I had the suspension though, not the granules that you have to dissolve in a syringe. It's much easier to give them when they're tiny but they don't like prescribing it because it's much more expensive. Plus it's a bit of a pain because it only lasts a week in the fridge so you have to go to the pharmacy and get it every week.

I've been on a few GORD groups and honestly lots of tiny children take it. Have a look at the UK Living with Reflux FB page if you're in there, there is a wealth of experience on there.

Thanks @itsallopticsanyway, I have the granules, I'm giving the first dose this morning so will see how it goes. Instructions say to give in the morning although I'd prefer to give at night to help her sleep, do you remember when you gave to your little one? The pharmacist didn't really seem to know much about how to give it so I've had to rely on googling which isn't ideal.

Hi, my son had it from 6 months. It was a lifesaver for us. He was IUGR so tiny at 6 months (5 kg) and I think the starting dose was 10 mg.

We had the pills and used to crush them into apple sauce, then he got an NG tube so we used to dissolve them in water, and feed through the tube which was quite an art - we blocked the tube a few times.

We were reassured by his gastroenterologist it is VERY safe for children and babies, and he is still on it many years later.

@LatinforTelly did you find it helped with overnight sleep, as in helping them be more comfortable at night? My DD wakes constantly, sometimes every half hour at the moment, I'm worried she's just not getting the good, restorative sleep she needs and I'm hoping if the omeprazole helps with the reflux that'll help her sleep too.

I didn't notice a change in sleep when he first went on it, but tbh at that point his sleep wasn't too terrible, it was mainly his weight gain and lack of appetite everyone was worried about.

However, after he had a gastrostomy placed, his reflux got much worse (I was warned this might happen) and his sleep was terrible. He tossed and turned and used to lie on his tube (he had night feeds through a pump) and wake me up every half an hour. At that point his omeprazole dose was massively increased and yes, it did make a difference to him and to how restfully he slept.. Also to his ability to tolerate more milk. I would give it a try. It sounds exhausting for you and I did trust my son's gastro totally wrt the safety of it.