My Family's Experience Overcoming Severe Infant Acid Reflux

My daughter was born on December 28th, 2001. She was beautiful and other than a slight case of jaundice, she seemed normal. That was true until it was feeding time. She choked and spit up a lot from the first feeding. The nurses reassured me that this was normal and she was just learning. After the mandatory 28 hours in the hospital we went home.

Things only got worse once we got home. She cried all the time and kept spitting up all of her meals. I made several trips to the pediatricians office, insisting that something was wrong. They just told me to try this formula and that formula. Of course I listened, but nothing worked.

After trying all of the formula's and hearing the speech that I shouldn't compare my younger daughter with my older daughter, I returned to the pediatricians office once more. My daughter was now 2 ½ months old. The doctor told me the problem could be severe acid reflux disease. He prescribed Zantac syrup for her to take along with a drug called Reglan. The Reglan stopped her from vomiting across the room.

I saw immediate results with the very first dose. The daughter who did nothing but cry was now all smiles. She is 7 years old now and has never been a child who whines and cries. This proved to me that she was in pain those 2 ½ months.

Infants with severe acid reflux can take Zantac. My daughter had no side effects from this medication. She took it twice per day until she was 5 years of age. Apparently, children grow out of this disease and go on to lead normal lives. I do make sure that I don't feed my daughter any spicy foods or give her any citrus drinks as I feel this may be harder for her stomach to handle.

As for the Reglan, my daughter only took it for the first year. Some children with severe acid reflux may not need this medication. If your child is not keeping their formula down, this medication is a good option. You will need to discuss it with your pediatrician.

Finally, here are some symptoms of acid reflux in infants that you may want to keep an eye out for: constant crying, vomiting, cranky during feeding time, excessive hiccups, excessive coughing, trouble sleeping, and refusing to eat. If you suspect your child has acid reflux you need to get them help. Trust your parental instinct and keep going to the pediatrician until he listens. If he doesn't listen, then get a second opinion.