Ranitidine

[IndecisivePramBuyer81]

Can GPs in Wales prescribe Ranitidine for babies of 4, 5 months? or does it have to be a paediatrician?

GPs can in England... Not sure why it would differ.

Mine's just told me it has to come from the hospital first. We've been waiting two months for an appointment

And apparently there's another 4 months to go.

My GP was very reluctant to prescribe anything for reflux (inc Gaviscon!) but the practice ped has prescribed dd everything under the sun, I love her! Shame it hasnt worked. With ds we waited for a consultants appt for ages but in the end took him to a childrens a&e and showed them how he wouldn't stop screaming and they prescribed ranitidine for us. The consultant then did domperidone and omeprazole (aka the dogs bollocks!).

Ps uk based

Because his weight is ok no one is taking me seriously. He's on Gaviscon but it stopped working well ages ago. We had some v scary projectile vomiting recently culminating in him partially choking last night. I went to my GP today who is re-writing to the hospital and told me to feed him less more often as if that's the answer to all our reflux woes.

Video your baby. Also try a different GP if that's possible? Some GPs specialise in paediatrics - I found the ones that didn't were reluctant to prescribe even though they can.

Good idea. There's another GP at my surgery so I'll try her and will definitely try to get him on video before I go.

Hi I'm in the Cwm Taf health board area and have had ranitidine and omeprazole prescribed for my DD by my GP. The first script was written when she was 8 weeks old, after she choked on her vomit in her sleep.

The GPs have been brilliant and even prescribe the super expensive liquid omeprazole that has to be made specially in the lab. I would definitely try and see a different doctor, you shouldn't need a paediatrician for straightforward reflux.

I'm a GP in Wales and I prescribe it. It depends on the GP's experience and confidence in treating reflux in babies, tbh. We have only really in recent years recognised how common a problem reflux is. Probably many of the poor little mites in the past who were just thought of as 'babies who cry all the time' actually had reflux. My ds1 had severe silent reflux and developed milk refusal by 9 weeks old and was in and out of hospital and tube fed, so I developed a special interest in feeding problems in babies as a result. The NICE guidelines state that ranitidine is second-line treatment after you've tried gaviscon. If you quote that to a GP who seems reluctant to prescribe it then you will hopefully get a prescription. Tbh I think some GPs are afraid of it because you have to calculate and prescribe a tiny dose for a baby, and they probably fear a mistake occurring and the baby being given an overdose. That isn't a good reason not to prescribe it, so mention the NICE guidelines and ask for a paediatrics referral if you feel you aren't getting anywhere or if things aren't improving.

Indecisive I just read your comment that they told you ranitidine has to be prescribed from the hospital. That is not the case. Reflux should have prompt treatment until the symptoms are settling, to avoid feeding problems and reduce discomfort. Waiting another 4 months is ludicrous, as many babies start to improve between 6-12 months as their digestive system matures and they get bigger. If ranitidine could only be given by the hospital then every small baby with moderate-severe reflux would get inadequate treatment. Print this off if you can and take it with you, perhaps to a different GP.

www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=1812332551&linkID=16142&cook=yes

DS was prescribed ranitidene at 8 weeks, GP referred us to hospital but we hadn't heard anything back. We had to take him to A&E for another problem, they saw me feeding him and how he was reacting and prescribed it on the spot. If its that bad I would go to A&E and say how worried you are. DS was barely drinking anything he was in so much pain - good luck!

Thanks mummy that's amazing. Do you mind if I message you to ask your opinion? I'll try to be concise!!

Feel free

We had the same, McWeedie. Unfortunately A&E doctors and nurses and even on-call staff for Paediatrics often have a mind-set of 'is this an on-call emergency?' Ds1's weight wasn't too alarming, he dropped two centiles from birth but then stayed fairly steady, but only because I spent hours and hours a day trying to feed him while he screamed and fought. And he smiled and was a jolly little chap so long as he didn't see a bottle of the dreaded white stuff. So I recall numerous frustrating admissions to hospital where they declared him to be okay, while I tried to point out that he hadn't drunk anything for 20 hours and if that was normal, I was a giraffe. I'm glad you got your prescription McWeedie, but our experience was pretty poor until we saw a consultant, who immediately accepted that I wasn't a lunatic making all this up, and started treating ds1 appropriately. If we're not getting anywhere fast then I usually do an urgent Paeds referral to try to get them seen by a specialist, while we continue with medical treatments in the meantime.

We got ranitidine from the GP. However I had to find the right GP who actually knew about babies and reflux to do it. That's the issue.