I am a mother of two children, a girl and boy. I also have GERD. So I know what my kids are going through, or atleast I thought! My 8 year old boy, had a terrible time with GERD as an infant, but is fine at this point in his little life. My 11 year daughter, is not. I just returned to work after being off a week with her. She had a sinus infection, but the biggest problem was her stomach. All she did was complain of a stomach ache. I had her to the pediatric gastrointestineral doctor two years and she was diagnosed with GERD. She was perscribed Prevacid. It seemed to help and they gradually whined her off of it. Occasionallly she would complain of a bellyache again, and sit in the bathroom with her head in the tiolet, but nothing happened. I gave her Tums and everything was fine the next morning. This week we started her back on the Prevacid. She wouldn't eat, and just said her belly hurt. I knew that some of the cause was her sinus infection and all the stuff draining into her stomach, with the acid, and no food to neutralize everything. How do you get a child to eat to break that cycle? I told her that she had to eat, even if her belly hurt because that was why it hurt, it had nothing in it, but acid and, infection. My husband doesn't understand and gets mad at both of us. We both have a phobia of throwing up which doesn't help the situation. I don't know when to push her to school and when not to. Last year she missed 10 days of school, and we got a letter from school, saying we would be reported if she missed any more days. She sitting in the tiolet crying in the morning, but by afternoon she is fine if she eats. What do you????? Advise is greatly appreciated.
Hello Christy,
An illness can make reflux worse for days or weeks after...You are right that the increased secretions from a sinus infection can trigger symptoms. Antibiotics can kill off the good bacteria or flora in the stomach too. I often give my children acidophilus during and after antibiotics. Ask the doctor or pharmacist about a kid friendly formulation. We use chewable tablets but there are powders and liquids too.
Changing her diet may help too. Easy to digest carbohydrates such as crackers, toast, plain cereal may settle better. Make sure her head is elevated for sleep so her nose can drain and help her reflux too.
My refluxers often could not eat breakfast due to their stomach aches. The GI doctor wrote a note giving them permission to have snacks and drinks as needed at school. A little nibble here, a little sip of water there all morning was much better than a big breakfast.
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom
Jan,
thank you so much for your reply. We do have her bed elevated. We started that two years ago. I am lucky because they can eat a snack at 10AM since they don't eat lunch until 12:30. Breakfast is very hard for her. In addition to her reflux, she is a picky eater. She does not like most breakfast foods. She don't drink milk, eat toast, oatmeal, or eggs. This morning she had jello with apples! We had a good morning today, so hopefully the antibiotic is helping. Thanks again.
Hello!
My kids are the same...most breakfast foods are low on their list. They often eat non traditional breakfast foods or eat a late breakfast/early lunch. In my book, Reflux 101 I talk about this topic. It seems that many children and adults with GERD have a "eating window". Often the middle of the day is when the food is tolerated and most calories are consumed. Early morning and night are the worst times for eating when you have reflux.
I tend to think of kids with reflux as being "careful eaters" rather than picky eaters.They are extremely careful about what they eat because many foods cause discomfort going down or come back up the esophagus and cause pain going back up again. They are not trying to be controlling or oppositional, they are just trying to eat without pain...
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom