My son is a 30 weeker who has been on reglan for reflux ever since he was in the NICU. He is now 4 months old, and 8 weeks adjusted. About a week and a half ago my pediatrician said we could try him off the reglan and see how he does, if he starts spitting up more then put him back on it. wow- within a couple of days it was like we had a completely different baby! He was sleeping better, not fussy with feedings, breastfeeding better, and generally happier. He did great for about a week and then he started spitting up more and even projectile vomited 2x on Friday (which he also did a few times on the reglan as well). The doctor said to put him back on it. Ugh- we're now back to what my husband refers to as "devil child"! Yesterday he hardly napped, was fussy all day until he tired himself out, and just now I tried to feed him and he was HYSTERICAL. I really don't know what to do, has anyone else experienced this with reglan? It's a holiday weekend and we can't go see the doctor. I really think I'm not going to give him any more reglan, it's not worth it, it just really changes him! He is also on prevacid which helps with heartburn. Any advice would be great! Thanks!
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Problems with Reglan?
- By anniem222
- Posted December 23, 2007 at 7:08 am · 8 replies
- In Going home/family
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this discussion:
Bethanecol Prevacid Pain Heartburn Depression Parkinson's disease Erythromycin Ranitidine Reglan
8 replies
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- By rekhabose
- Posted December 23, 2007 at 11:22 am
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Reglan in adults as well as babies is linked to irritability and depression. It crosses the blood-brain barrier, unlike some other motility agents. I think that if your baby can eat enough and grow without it, you're doing the right thing. I would avoid it in my child. So would my pediatrician--we're treating reflux too. Do you have a peds GI person? Who knows how many calories you save by allowing him to fuss less/sleep more. Good Luck.
- By katek
- Posted December 23, 2007 at 4:08 pm
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We went through a similar problem with our son Henry (25-weeker who is now over 4 months age adjusted). Henry was diagnosed with "moderate" reflux when he was in the NICU after having a series of bradys from food traveling up his esophagus. About 2-3 weeks before he left the NICU, he was put on Reglan and Flamotidine. The Flamotidine was switched to Ranitidine after we left the NICU for insurance reasons, but it didn't work for him, so he ended up on Prevacid for acid, like your son.
He rarely slept once he was put on the reflux medications. When he came home around his due date, it was bad. He only slept an hour or two total during an entire day (only in short 5-20 minute naps). Around 5 weeks age adjusted, we took him to my parents' house and forgot the Reglan. And he finally slept! After that, we kept him off the Reglan, because we realized how taxing it was for his system not being able to sleep. It affected him...and then us too! We told his ped and GI doctors about our decision...waiting for them to contradict it or to suggest otherwise, but when that didn't happen, we just kept him off it. We monitored his weight gain closely and that was OK. He had had problems with high volume spit ups (frequently) and projectile vomiting (occasionally) right before we took him off the Reglan and after. I'm not sure that Reglan made much of a difference. The one medication that did help minimize his reflux was switching from Ranitidine to Prevacid for his acid blocker. I'm not saying it cured his reflux by any stretch, but it was the one medication where we noticed a difference (a good one). The thing that has helped Henry the most is simply getting longer. The longer the esophagus, the less like that the food will come back out.
We stopped the Prevacid for awhile when we thought that his reflux was no longer a problem. We reversed this decision a couple weeks ago when it appeared that Henry was still having some issues with "silent" reflux. Basically, his head was moving back and forth like he was having discomfort, and he was also doing some back arching around his feeds (another sign of reflux).
Reflux is such a tricky thing. The thing that improves it most is weight and length gain. But that may not happen if your little one is vomiting too much of his feeds back out. Sleep is also crucial important to growth, which creates a bit of a conundrum over what to do.
If you decide to take him off the Reglan over the holidays, you might want to get a baby scale, if you don't have one already. Of course, just like in the NICU, you shouldn't base your decision about whether the Reglan is working off of day-to-day changes in weight. But it might help to get a baseline weight on your son, and then take his weight after a few days or week...just to make sure that he is gaining weight and isn't losing it.
One more thought. I've read on some Internet sites via Google that some people claim that the antibiotic Erythromycin also works as a motility drug. You might want to ask your doctor to look into it. I hesitate giving this information, because I wasn't familiar with the sponsors of some of the websites that I read this on. And, as everyone knows, there's probably more "misinformation" on the Internet at times than useful information. But it may at least be something to look into to see if that would work. Or, perhaps there's another motility drug out there that doesn't have the same negative side effect on your son.
Best wishes,
== Kate
- By anniem222
- Posted December 24, 2007 at 12:21 am
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Thank you both for your input, it helps! My husband and I decided to stop the reglan today, so we'll see if our son's temperment improves tomorrow. We have a Dr. appt on Thursday, so I think we'll see how it goes until then. If the spitting up gets worse I think we need to see a GI specialist to figure this thing out. Jaxson (my son) steadily gains, and always has... he is a big eater so we are lucky. He's now 11lb. 11 oz at 8 weeks adjusted, so I don't think we need to worry about weight. I just worry about his pain in the esophagus w/ all of that stomach acid coming up. hopefully we'll get it figured out. Maybe the vomiting and excessive spitting up on Friday was just a fluke? I can only hope. He did have some of it ON the reglan as well, that's why I didn't think the reglan was helping much at all in the first place.
Also, after searching side effects online, there are so many crazy side effects of that drug, it scares me! I read that it's not even approved for use in children. Scary. Also, that the FDA says you shouldn't use it longer than 4-12 weeks. He had been on it for over 16 weeks! How has it been affecting my son's brain all this time??? That's just really scary. Thank you all again for your help!
Ann
- By vcalderazzo
- Posted December 24, 2007 at 9:31 am
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My twins were born at 26 weeks they are now 15 months- My daughter Natalia had severe reflux. The GI doctor said that if possible to avoid Reglan it causes them to be irritable. We tried several things -finally what worked was prevacid, these drops that start with Hydro ( cant remember the name) but I know it was prescribed to relax her stomach muscles and finally a special Formula called NEOCATE. These 3 things in combination worked like a charm. I know how frustrating it can be to deal with reflux. Talk to the ped see if they can prescribe something other than Reglan. Good luck
- By cathynnp
- Posted December 24, 2007 at 3:08 pm
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hi and merry christmas! Erythromycin can increase motility(like if you take certain antibiotics and you get the runs) but to a lesser degree. Ask your dr, about bethanecol. It also affects motility. I have a question. If a baby is on an antacid, sleeping well,happy and is gaining weight, does it matter if they spit up? How does a mom know if this is normal baby spitup or something worrisome? We don't use reglan in our NICU due the concern for Parkinson disease later in life. Have your drs discussed long term studies with you? I'm glad that your baby is happier,
- By anniem222
- Posted December 25, 2007 at 1:15 am
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Merry Christmas to you too! Thank all of you for your comments, they help me realize that we made the right decision. Jaxson seems to be doing just fine and nursed well tonight (on the reglan he was fussy with it and we've had a hard time full-time nursing. I still have to pump 4x a day and give him bottles in addition to boob.... but that's a whole different discussion) I had no idea about the link to Parkinson's... actually when we were in the NICU I asked the doctors and nurses about the safety of reglan because I had read on this board that reglan caused neurological issues. They all said they had never heard anything like that. I'm a little upset about that, I can't imagine the doctors didn't know. I wish they had been up front with me and maybe we could have tried alternative medications. I guess all I can do now is pray that there are no long term effects. It's interesting that a whole NICU doesn't use reglan, that the side effects are significant enough for that policy to be in place. I wish I had taken him off that stuff sooner!
I very much appreciate your help! You're right, I shouldn't worry if he's eating well, sleeping well, and growing! Have a wonderful holiday!
- By babycooper
- Posted October 24, 2009 at 9:38 pm
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I know this is old, but did not putting your child on reflux meds cause him to not want to eat?
To develop an oral adversion?
My daughter already dislikes eating, but she cries hysterically when she throws up, which is 7/8 feeds.
The only medicine she can have is Reglan, due to her renal insufficiency... so we are bothered with this entire situation.
I am completely against reglan, but I am terrified of what these many months of throwing up will do to/for her.///
- By anniem222
- Posted October 24, 2009 at 11:35 pm
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Hi there,
Sorry about your situation! i can imagine how frustrating it is! Yes, my son was happier off of reglan, but yes, the reflux came back and he was in a lot of pain from it.
After this thread was posted I found a new pediatrician who was sooooo much more proactive than the one we were seeing the Christmas I wrote this post (wow- almost 2 years ago). He referred us to a GI specialist in The Woodlands (don't you live in Conroe?) named Bryan Vartabedian. Awesome doctor- he wrote the book "Colic Solved", which is worth reading if you're dealing with reflux. Anyway, he put my son on bethanechol which has to be compounded... maybe a reason it isn't prescribed more. It works similarly to reglan, but without the side effects of reglan. My son needed it until he was about 7 months adjusted. He came off the prevacid 2 months later. Have you asked about bethanechol? Have you seen a pediatric GI specialist? It may be worth asking for a referral.
Reflux can be very rough for both baby and parents. I don't know if it caused oral aversions for us.... it's possible. My son did actually have some texture issues when he started on solids, but he seems to be over that now. He is picky, but that may be normal toddler behavior. He's now 26 months old.
I am so sorry you have to deal with reflux! I wish you the best... let me know if I can answer anymore of your questions. Take care.
Ann
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