Lansoprazole and gaviscon question

[JoFranks01]

Hello! My LO is on gaviscon and lansoprazole for silent reflux, he's nearly 5 months old. He was on omeprazole for a few weeks but it was giving him side effects so the paedatrician switched him to lansoprazole. I've noticed he's been spitting up more since being on this, sometimes it smells acidic which then really upsets him. Thankfully the dummy pushes any acid back down! When he was on the omep, that never happened.

I know spit up is very normal, but just seems odd it's starting now when he's never really had a problem with that. I thought the gaviscon stopped that, he's on 3 a day. I don't want to increase as he's backed up as it is haha! Anyone else experienced this? Should I just accept it as a side effect?

I don’t have any advice ref the medication but have you seen a cranial osteopath? My daughter suffered and two sessions with the osteopath and they fixed her reflux and constipation so I can highly recommend!

From what you have said I would go back to the paediatrician. The lansoperazole would normally stop that.

Some children (and adults) don't tolerate lanzoprazole or omeprazole very well and it can cause vomiting. I'd go back to your paed and ask if there are any other options you can explore

My daughter was on Lanzoperazole and Gaviscon when she was a baby. From what I remember, it didn't stop her bringing up milk completely but it did mean she wasn't in pain with it.

If he's still upset, then it probably isn't doing the job it's meant to and you might want to get it reviewed. Maybe a dosage thing?

And yes to cranial osteopathy as pp suggested. It seemed to work for us, but then at 5 months you probably aren't far away from him growing out of it naturally (as the esophagus lengthens).

I’d be wanting to find out the root cause of the reflux and seeing if you can help it in other ways before medication x

Thanks everyone! He's on the highest dose for his weight so don't think we can go up anymore. I saw an NHS Paedatrician and a private one. NHS one said we'd need to investigate the oesophagus if medication didn't work and the private one was convinced there's no underlying cause, just that he'll grow out of it. I'll speak to my doctor and get a referral back for the paedatrician. Although the waiting list is so long at the moment understandably that he'll probably be weaning by then 🤣

Great shout about the cranial osteopath. I've read a lot about this as he had torticollis (sp?), probably because he was in the birth canal for a while. I've always wondered if that's the root cause to be honest, I've read a lot about it with other babies. Can I ask if you ever discovered what the root cause was for your little ones?

I really don't think there is a 'root cause' necessarily. The paediatrician told me it was heritable, which made sense because I had terrible heart burn in pregnancy (took omeprazole) and it appears in my family. It's also developmental in some babies because of the length of the oesophagus, and they will grow out of it as this develops and grows.

I had a traumatic birth and my baby was born with forceps damage including facial palsy from nerve damage. She had deep lacerations and significant bruising, so she was probably very uncomfortable. The CO helped her to become more settled, but it might not have been anything to do with reflux and probably more to do with the physical trauma of the birth. I'd say anything's worth a try though.

Good luck - it all got a lot easier for me (and her) when she could sit up unaided and we weaned onto solids (early on the Paed's advice)

@Ihaveoflate yes the advice of ‘they’ll grow out of it’ is often given by GP’s. They don’t grow out of it they just learn to over compensate drinking in other ways which may not be the correct way.
For my boy I’m still learning but so far his reflux has been due to suspected CMPA, tongue tie, and a lotttt of tension in his body from his birth.
Having his tongue cut and seeing an osteopath has helped massively. I’m so happy I’ve been through this with my first so that if I’m fortunate to have another I will know how to tackle it straight away. I wouldn’t wish reflux on any mummy. It’s awful xxx