Baby stopping omeprazole?

[WashableVelvet]

Hi there. DC is nearly 5m, has been on omeprazole for six weeks and is back to her old happy self and eating well again, thank goodness. The GP is figuring out what the protocol is for weaning off / referrals etc, she said she wanted to speak to someone as she wasn’t sure but that in adults you try it for a month then try stopping to see if the inflammation and pain has gone.

It’s not that I want to stop, it’s completely brilliant stuff! But I also wouldn’t want to medicate baby longer than she needs it, etc.

Can anyone share experiences of how you or your GP knew baby was ready to stop omeprazole? Did it go ok, do you switch back on to gaviscon instead, is there an age or a duration beyond which they don’t want baby on it any more?

Thanks - I can’t find much online about this. One New Zealand website that mentions weaning off, but basically no other info.

Both my DD’s were on omeprazole from 8 weeks or so. I never really got any advice on weaning off, I did it myself 🙈 I’ve used omeprazole myself as an adult a few times & knew verrrrry well not to stop it dead! The rebound heartburn is hideous!

We didn’t even contemplate wearing off until weaning was well established. That’s one bit of advice my GP did give. They said that solid foods are heavier & so are less likely to come back up. Food is also more complex & gives the stomach acid more to do.

So around 8 months for us, both DD’s were on 3 meals (they loved food) & had reduced the amount of milk they were drinking. I did different approaches with each DD. I don’t know why!

DD1 - I weaned her off by giving her a dose every other day for a while & then a dose every 3 days for a while & then every 4 days. At this point, I was confident she wasn’t in pain & reflux wasn’t bothering her.

DD2 - I slowly reduced the actual dose. So I’d drop by 0.5ml every 3/4 days. Again, by the time we were on a much lower dose, I was confident DD2 was in no pain & stopped.

We had no long term problems. DD2 would sometimes just bring back her bedtime milk until she was 12 months but it didn’t seem bother her!

Oh also, we didn’t go back to Gaviscon at all. By 9 months, mine were on 2x bottles a day and there was no need.

My baby was on it til 6 months. I could tell he had outgrown his reflux - he stopped vomiting and clearly wasn’t in pain anymore. I phoned my GP to check how to stop and she said we should just go cold Turkey. He’s been fine since.

Baby had very severe reflux. He’s been on it since 3 months and is now almost two. It keeps day to day reflux symptoms at bay, for the most part. He still seems to ‘over flow’ some times. Coming off will be managed by his paeds doctor, I’ve been told to keep going until otherwise advised.

Thank you, a mix here then in terms of length of taking it and also of whether you reduced gradually.