reflux in older kids

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dd (6) has had reflux on an off since birth. we had the ph monitoring when he was a baby which came out inconclusive. (although at the time he was going through a good phase)

we keep it in check with alternative therapy at it hadn't been diagnosed until it was seen at a multidisciplinary assessment recently

it has become a major problem because one of ds baby teeth has fallen apart through acid erosion. I'm now trying to persuade him to spit when it happens and I'm fairly horrified when a mouth full of food comes out.

can't find much on the Web and what is there scares me silly.

has anyone been through this? We're under the care of a paediatrician but all the same some real life experiences would really be appreciated

I know a couple of children who have had reflux. Do you use positioning in bed? One of the children I know used to have a profiling bed so that they could be put in a flexed position, raising the head above the abdomen to reduce the reflux. There is also fundoplication surgery, to tighten the sphincter so that they can't reflux.

I don't have any personal experience, I'm afraid, but I hope that's helpful in some small way.

thanks. really need someone to talk to right now.

no help at all. notes from baby investigations say not reflux, they told me it was. osteopathy helped so we have that whenever it gets bad. I thought that was good enough

The multidisciplinary was really to get to the bottom of what is going on with him. It was a problem they hadn't expected to see aa I hadn't talked about it.

but so worried about ds teeth. His back ones are literally falling apart.

more a Google more I worry.

but things like asking for bed blocks are the stuff I need to know

You could try putting pillows under the mattress to raise the head end. Does he wake at night? Dentists can paint the teeth with a special coating, too to protect them.

You could ask for a pH study - it's not pleasant (tube is in for 24-48 hours) but it would give definitive proof of his pH levels.

he had that and barium swallow at 10 months, but he was doing alright with it at that point and it didn't show up

it's on the magical diagnosis letter now so can start asking for help.

that stuff they paint on teeth had a vague feeling it existed but couldn't find any information about it.

seriously his baby tooth situation is horrific and have suddenly realised that however much I improve his brushing it isn't going to help his adult teeth. really need to get it sorted now

Speak to your dentist about having teeth coated every six months my niece had this done for years due to particularly soft teeth , had baby teeth removed etc. her adults teeth are good cause of this .
Then get gp to refer you to peads gastro team , explain situation and ask for repeat of test or they may try some low dose meds to reduce amount of acid produced . This is also know to give night time coughs , ??? Induce asthma though acid into lungs due lying flat and backflow .
Lying more upright like some else suggest will also help either by puting blocks under head of bed , or having them sleep more upright on pillows . ( they tend to just slip back down the bed) .
Hope helps a little .

DS3 had severe reflux as a baby, although barium swallow was negative and ph study was inconclusive. He had to fast for both those tests and fasting always improved the reflux for a week or so. He's 3 now and although he doesn't get it all the time as soon as he has a cold it upsets his asthma and then the reflux comes back. He's never had much acid, he is what the medical people call a "happy chucker"! Keeping him upright as possible seemed to help DS3 the most.

I have a DD who had reflux. She is 14.

A. Does he suffer from chest infections at all? Reflux causes acid to be aspirated into the lungs thus causing reflux.
B. Night time cough - most nights around the same time ime
C. Poor sleep
D. Poor teeth
E. Burning sensations in the throat
F. Nothing tastes right

Ph probe generally takes 24 hours, but they can also now X-ray using air to fill the stomach and see what comes up. A friend's DS is having this done next week at GOSH.

Is your GP or Paed any good? I would ask to be put on a course of Omeprazole MUPS for the reflux. One tablet once a day. If he suffers from chest infections more than two in a year would constitute investigations, then I would ask to put him on a prophylactic antibiotic one tablet, three times a week called Azithromycin.

I should add that the pills are tiny and easy to swallow.

Is his main problem reflux or are you under the multi-disciplinary team for something else? I ask only because, if he has ASD it could have developed into a behaviour. My DS learnt to regurgitate at will and did so on and off for some years. We went backwards and forwards to gastro doctors and I think it started with genuine sickness and then he developed a fondness for making himself sick, he's always liked his body fluids! It wasn't just for the reaction he got as he would do it on his own in his room at night. It was all pretty unpleasant and to this day it's not really clear what was happening as he couldn't tell us. Eventually it reduced and then stopped. Maybe his behaviours were being better managed and he found other things more enjoyable or maybe his system matured or both?!

My 5 year old had reflux but has now recently had an operation to correct it. Feel free to PM me

wow thank you for the replies. a lot going on atm. having trouble getting to grips with it all tbh.

we had the suggestion it might be behavioural but I couldn't see it in ds' case.

ds has actually just "lost" his ASD diagnosis. Its been replaced with a barrage of other stuff but basically comes down to a cross between a muscle fatigue condition, a language disorder, and all over dyspraxia.

I know there will be coming up an overhaul of everything to do with ds' therapy and care. knowing the right questions to ask really helps

The reflux I felt like I was going nuts about. as I baby they told me it was but wrote in the notes it wasn't (don't know what they thought it was ). told me he'd grow out of it but still prescribed gaviscon when it got bad at 3 1/2. didn't get any help for it so didn't expect any. suddenly become an issue because of teeth and thankfully both the slt and ot saw it at a multidisciplinary assessment.

Sally bear- can I ask about your experiences of omneprezole?

twoface - did the operation come as a result of investigations?

We started off with ranitidine and cisapride. Cisapride was pulled as it caused heart problems and was replaced by Domperidone. The Domperidone was a disaster as it worked to well and after being on it for 9mos DD hadn't put on any weight. Not good when you're only 18mos. We persevered with ranitidine for the reflux and then were told when she was about 4 that it was ancient history and she no longer required it. For the next four years we had persistent chest infections, pneumonia twice and she was constantly off school being ill. We went to GOSH for some Speech investigations and that's when the SLT said to us about night time reflux. It was like a lightbulb moment. The paed px Omeprazole Mups dispersible tablets and also Azithromycin as a prophylactic antibiotic. She has been on the Omeprazole now for about six years and honestly it's been a god send. No side effects that we are aware of. She now swallows tablets so we no longer need the dispersible ones.

The Nissen Fundoplication operation is good, though it can mean that certain foods can't be eaten. I know an adult who had one done about four months ago and she's unable to eat bread now because of the Nissen. We turned down the Nissen when DD had her gastrostomy op at 11mos as I wanted her to be able to be sick if she had gastroenteritis or had ingested a noxious substance. That's my personal opinion/choice for her.

thank you that is absolutely the sort of life experience I need to know about right now.

Do you have teeth issues too?

Most of the time reflux seems in check with osteopathy. but if ds' teeth are stuffed I'm thinking that isn't good enough.

Reflux definitely stripped her tooth enamel and she had many dental caries in her baby teeth. Also in her adult teeth but not as many.

have you tried teeth painting?

No we didn't. It's not such a problem now the Mups have kept the reflux under control.