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Original poster

Omeprazole suspension

58 replies

Smellybears · 13/04/2018 03:17

Hello all!
Little one is on 5ml omeprazole suspension twice daily. He absolutely hates it and I’m really struggling to get him to take it. Using a syringe, he spits the majority of it out. I’ve been putting it into a teat but he realised after a ml what it is and is hysterical. I’ve tried giving him a little water after a mouth full of medicine to try take the taste away but he still screams. It takes a good 20-30 minutes of screaming to get it in him. He was that bad last night that he started choking on it.
I’m wondering if anyone can advise please on how to give or do i need to go back to the doctors and see what else they can give? Ranitidine doesn’t work, neither does gaviscon and he’s allergic to carobel. He’s also got a cows milk allergy and is on neocate milk. I know it’s got to be given half an hour before a bottle or one hour afterwards. It is working but getting him to take it is a nightmare, it was scary when he was choking Sad
Thanks all! Flowers

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llmb · 13/04/2018 12:39

Both mine had domperidone along side omeperazole and it did help but omeperazole was the best of them all but I’m sure mine had omeperazole 3 times a day and domperidone 4 times as I remember being frazzled as had to be done x amount of time before a feed!!

You do need a paediatrician for that. I take it you are under a paed? I would ring the secretary and tell her/him how hard it is etc try to get an appointment to discuss asap

llmb · 13/04/2018 12:41

smelly calpol and the liquid omeperazole are such strong tastes when you are only used to having milk! It will get easier but you must persevere.

Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 12:45

Thank you lamb, yes I need to call the paed back on Monday so I will discuss domperidone with her then. She’s been good in the past, calling me on her days off and going out of her way to help, so fingers crossed she’ll sort something for his sickness

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llmb · 13/04/2018 12:54

I appreciate some gp’s are amazing but my experience with both dc wAs they were unsupportive and not understanding when it came to reflux but once paed had sorted a good mix of medications they were then ok. Stick with it. Although people with scream and shout about this but I weaned both of mine at 16 weeks as it helped as baby rice is heavier than milk so less came out if they were sick and they were happier as had more in their stomachs. Eldest would projectile across the room after every feed and I mean properly across the room so was always in pain and always hungry. Youngest had/s silent reflux which came up but went back down which was worse as it damaged his osophagus. It will get easier as he grows though.

PumpingIron · 13/04/2018 12:55

Smelly, I feel your pain. If you do get a repeat prescription of the omeprazole solution, talk to your pharmacist about what flavours they can offer for a baby.

My son had omeprazole solution, the first time I got it from Asda pharmacy as my local said it had to be made up especially and would take a couple of days to come in. We had no problem with that batch, it was tasteless. The next prescription I took to local pharmacy and it had a menthol flavour. My son went crazy!

Fortunately my pharmacist was very kind and helpful, called Asda to get the batch number and supplier and went to the same supplier to get the same taste. My son would only have summer fruits (flatly refused orange, strawberry, and any attempts to disguise the flavour). Our local pharmacist battled with unhelpful labs on our behalf when they said they had run out of summer fruits flavour, it was all ridiculous and just not things you would ever think about unless it is your child!

I do hope you are able to get your baby taking the medicine. My son benefited enormously from omeprazole. We were advised by paediatrician to wean him early, which fortunately he was happy to do at 5 months, and as soon as the volume of milk reduced his reflux settled. Good luck to you and your child.

Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 13:01

They never offered a flavour? They have to order it in as a special and there was no mention of a flavour. I even told the pharmacist today that I’m struggling getting him to take it as it tastes vile and she didn’t say anything. Hopefully these tablets will be easier, I’ll let you know how we get on!!

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Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 13:04

When he was on anti reflux milk he was great, no sickness at all. Just a shame he has cmpa. He’s on gaviscon but it doesn’t seem to do anything. I’ve tried carobel but he had an allergic reaction. Early weaning has been mentioned so hopefully that’ll help him and his little tummy!

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llmb · 13/04/2018 13:11

Sorry if I missed it but how many formulas has he been tried on? There are so many ones for reflux that aren’t dairy? I know there’s a hoo ha about soya and I’m not up to date with what they prescribe anymore but there are definitely non dairy milk formulas designed for reflux. We had loads of different ones to try then found one that made such a difference.

HoppingPavlova · 13/04/2018 13:12

No, you don’t split the tablet. You disperse the whole tablet, create a uniform suspension and then only draw up the dose required. The amount left over can’t be kept, it needs to be thrown out.

So for instance when mine was a baby we used one 10mg tablet in the morning to draw up the required dose and we used another 10mg tablet at night to draw up the required dose. It’s a waste but it is what it is. The paed wrote the script so you got double the amount of tablets if that makes sense.

HoppingPavlova · 13/04/2018 13:25

To add I tried it myself as I always liked to know what the kids were experiencing in that regard whenever possible.

From memory it was tasteless but quite gritty due to the bits of tablet shell coating and binders that are in the suspension as the tablet breaks down along with the micro pellets containing the actual medicine.

Also we found dispersing in the least amount of water possible to give a proper suspension was great as the baby can’t really spit it out, syringe into the cheek and most suspension sticks in the mouth. It’s a case of playing around with what works best for your baby. You can do this with the pharmacist if needing help with correct dosing using different amount of water to suspend.

Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 14:36

He was on cow and gate, then hipp, then hipp reflux, then nutramigen then finally neocate.
I’ll try giving him the full dose in the evening then and see how we get on. If inneed to split the tablet and make another appointment to get another script then so be it!

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Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 14:41

Split the dose not the tablet

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Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 14:43

So if I make it with half the amount of water, so it’s thicker, that’s ok to do then?

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PumpingIron · 13/04/2018 14:46

Hi Smelly, mine didn't offer a flavour either, it was only because I said the flavour was different from the previous batch and my son wouldn't take it that the whole flavour issue came up at all. My point was more that when you tried it and it tasted salty, the lab that makes up the medicine does have options to improve the taste, you might have to ask your pharmacist to ask on your behalf. Hope that helps!

Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 14:55

Thank you pumping!

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Original poster
Smellybears · 13/04/2018 18:11

It’s a bit messy so I’m going to make it into a paste tomorrow. Definately a lot easier compared to the liquid! Still cried but I think that’s because he wants his bath and bottle.

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Rockandrollwithit · 13/04/2018 18:15

GPs are in my experience not good with reflux.

My seven month old is on max dose of ranitidine and omeprazole. This has been prescribed by his surgeon (a consultant) and agreed by his paediatrician (another consultant), at two different hospitals. STILL the GP is reluctant to prescribe 😡

Anyway, I now think my DS muat be weird as he loves his omeprazole suspension, always wants more.

Acorncat · 13/04/2018 21:08

If it's the losec mups then I'd half the tablet and then dissolve. If you just suck up the required dose then you have no idea how much just water and how much of the little balls you're getting.

Original poster
Smellybears · 14/04/2018 07:10

Reflux through the night has been awful, he’s had about three hours of broken sleep, poor thing. Very tired house this morning! I’m hoping the tablets just need more time to work

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Original poster
Smellybears · 14/04/2018 07:43

Thank you to whoever suggested dissolving on a spoon, worked perfectly! Gave him a little water in his bottle afterwards to rinse his mouth. Ended up with a tiny bit of the tablet round his mouth but I’ve put the majority back in his mouth. So much easier than the suspension and stress free for him!
I’m hoping the refluxing last night was because the tablet needs time to work, although he’s been on the omeprazole suspension so he’s already got it in his system?

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Original poster
Smellybears · 15/04/2018 00:48

This is going to be a very long night. Waking himself (and me) every half hour since 8pm flailing his arms round and grunting. Feel so sorry for him

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Original poster
Smellybears · 15/04/2018 04:07

What can I do?

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llmb · 15/04/2018 09:35

My ds dose was doubled yesterday, despite being on omeperazole ages so it’s already in his system, the gp said it will take a couple of weeks to make a difference. I don’t know how changing the set up of the medication (liquid to tablets) affects the body..... you make have to unfortunately grin and bear it for now sorry. One thing I will say as iv been there with it through 2 dc that never slept as babies, I think it’s easier to deal with if you accept you won’t get decent sleep for a while. I used to go to bed dreading the night ahead but that gets you into a vicious circle. Live for the now, get yourself to bed early, think to yourself, it’s ok we will have a rough night. I found that better for my mental health than getting stressed about it as that in turn used to make them worse as they pick up on how you feel.

Forgive me but I take it you’re aware of the things to help a reflux baby? The keeping upright as Best you can etc etc? What does he sleep in? Do you prop him up at night etc?

Original poster
Smellybears · 15/04/2018 13:00

He’s in a Moses basket with a reflux wedge. I even went downstairs at silly o clock this morning and brought his pram up as that has slightly more of an incline. He still struggled with his reflux though.
It’s difficult because during the day he only naps for half an hour at a time so I can’t grab any sleep. But yes you’re right, I need to get in the mind set of accepting I won’t be getting any sleep anytime soon!

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llmb · 15/04/2018 14:27

The trouble is when there are this young they spend so much time laying down (obviously) which isn’t good. Have a think also during the day regarding his positioning, not just at night. For example when changing nappy.... I used to put a rolled up towel at the end of the change mat so he wasn’t flat and changed as quick as I could. I also uSed to put them in a bouncy chair and if they fell asleep, left them in it (with me being there obviously) just resting will do you good even if you don’t nap in the day. I know it feels like hell but it will get easier I promise. Does he sleep in his pram? One of my mine always fell asleep in the pram and I would leave him in it to sleep. The other one would only fall asleep in his car seat when out driving and I would often just drive around just so he would sleep!!

Think about also how you wind him. I found patting/bouncing them around made their reflux worse so just rubbing their back with them over my shoulder.

I’m sure you’ve already worked what is good for you, but for me, a quiet and relaxing bath/warm flannel on his tummy, then his bottle and then sitting up with him for a while, not putting him straight into bed, this is how I ended up reading to them both from babies! More to pass the time but it was a nice time to bond and relax whilst the milk settled down before laying them down to sleep. I don’t know what you clothe him in in, but any kind of jeans/trousers would aggravate their stomachs so they stayed in all in ones until about 6 months!

It’s such a rubbish time, but please don’t do what I did and wish away the time. My 2 are getting so old now and it makes me so sad how quick the time has gone as I didn’t/couldn’t enjoy them as babies!