What do I do when my son is still throwing up while being on Zantac?
My son is 2 years old and has been suffering from reflux since he was around 15 months old. He did not have it as an infact, in fact, he spit up less than my other son. My son has been on Zantac the majority of the time with a few weeks of switching to Prevacid. The prevacid made him very aggitated and he cont' to throw up. However, the past month since he's been back on Zantac he's been throwing up once per week, and 3 times in the last 48 hours. He has night time cough, constant runny nose, coughing fits during the day, aggitated a lot, and throws up frequently. I'm getting very frustrated b/c he con't to have these symptoms even while being on medication. I don't know what to do. We've tried taking him off milk thinking it was a milk allergy, but that didn't work...he still threw up. Now we're thinking it could be an allergy to red sauce...I guess we'll see. He cannot get into a GI doctor for another 2 months. Any suggestions?
I know you are very frustrated and with good reason. My daughter needed a very high dosage of Zantac to keep her under control and she too was irritable on Prevacid the first time we tried it. When we tried it again when she was older she told us that it was causing her stomach cramping.
Did the GI doc or the pediatrician prescribe the Zantac? My pediatrician would only go so high but our GI doc went further.
In general, I've always been told that the medications don't actually help the vomiting, they decrease the acidity. But, at his age, it seems odd that he's still vomiting so much. Have they done any allergy testing? While the respiratory/cold symptoms can be due to reflux they are often seen with food allergies and sensitivities (which you are obviously already aware since you've been trying to figure out the foods). A simple blood test would be able to rule out food allergies.
Have you asked to be put on the cancellation list at the GI docs? They might wind up being able to give you a closer appt if they get a cancellation but oftentimes you need to be able to take these at last minute.
Good Luck - Stephanie
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IH Farm
Monday, November 02, 2009 at 07:56 PM
Stephanie
Monday, November 02, 2009 at 08:49 PM
My GI doc did an upper GI series on my daughter because she was still projectile vomiting near a year. He said the main reason he was doing this was to look for something structural. He did not take her off meds before this and the test came back completely normal. This is a hard test for kids as they have to drink barium and then be x-rayed. My daughter was 11 months when she got hers. I would assume that someone would want to consider pyloric stenosis for your son given that he is still vomiting so often. Is is at all possible that your pediatrician would order the Upper GI test so that you would have the results in hand when you went to GI? Also, your ped may be able to get you moved up sooner in the wait if she calls to move things along.
She also did an upper endoscopy at 11 months. She was put into twilight for this which was easier on her but harder on me seeing her knocked out. This test also came back negative which her GI doc said was a good sign as it meant she was being adequately treated on her meds. He only felt the need to do the test as she still had symptoms despite meds. Neither of my boys ever needed testing as they were close to symptom free on meds and were never projectile vomiters.
My niece is unfortunately allergic to peanuts. She has her allergies tested periodically through normal blood testing. I know that it won't always demonstrate food sensitivities but it seems like maybe this is something to look into.
Stephanie
IH Farm
Monday, November 02, 2009 at 09:07 PM
That is a great idea!!! In fact, my son has his 2 year well baby check up this Thursday so I can see if his pediatrician will order an upper GI to have it already done. I have been keeping a diary, and with him taking the Zantac 2x/day, he is still throwing up 1x/week...however, he threw up 3 times from Friday to Sunday. So it could be an allergy thing along with the reflux. And when he throws up...it's not a little bit...it's his entire meal or everything in his stomach at the time. We've also noticed that he tends to throw up if he overeats...so we've been trying to limit the amount he eats at meals. I would like to do a scope of his throat/esophagus because another concern of mine is the shape his lining is in. My son's grandfather died of esophageal cancer (he had reflux very bad) and my husband (same side of the family) has reflux but not quite as bad. Since you've mentioned the food allergy testing. My other son (who is 3 1/2 years) has horrible skin allergies. He can break into a rash from anything. He's allergic to laundry detergent, sun screen, soaps other than Johnson/Johnson, fabrics with bright colors/dyes that have not been washed several times. If he catches a virus, his symptoms are a rash (which is soemtimes nice b/c he doesn't usually get the diarrhea, vomitting,etc) and he easily breaks out into welps. I wonder if a blood test for allergies can tell us anything about his rashes. They never bother him or itch...just look bad. Thanks again, Rachael.
Stephanie
Monday, November 02, 2009 at 09:26 PM
The blood test can show environmental allergens as well. And, with a first degree relative having environmental allergens your 2 year old is more likely to have food allergies. Maybe you could get a referral to an allergist for the boys?
My middle child is an easy vomiter and will vomit his entire meal but this is only when he's sick. He just has a very sensitive gag reflex and when he coughs a lot he will vomit. Your son sounds a lot more severe than that though and with your family history I would think that the docs will definitely want to get everything checked out.
Good Luck at his appt on Thursday!
Stephanie
