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Zac's Reflux Success Story
There I was, curled up in a ball in the hallway, just crying my eyes out while my poor infant son laid screaming in his crib. I tried the swing, the bouncy, rocking, walking, you name it. Nothing was working. It seemed like there were many days like this, where I would just cry and cry along with him. My poor little man was suffering from Acid Reflux (GERD).
I had an extremely figgity, squirmy, back arching, grunting, fussy infant on my hands. I used to get comments about how "odd" it was to have such a squirmy newborn. Indeed it was; we later found out why.
It was at about three weeks of age that Zachary was diagnosed with Acid Reflux. After one day of many "red faced screaming/grunting" episodes, I called my pediatrician. I knew there was something wrong. I suspected constipation, as that was the only thing that came to mind. The problem was, he had been having bowel movements. The pediatrician suggested that I try some Mylanta and see if it seemed to help soothe him. It did! Zac was put on Zantac which worked okay for a while.
We endured many sleepless nights. In the end, we found that sleeping with Zac on my chest worked the best in helping us all to get some decent sleep for a while. Zac could never lie flat for too long without screaming. He was not the best napper, mostly twenty minutes here, forty minutes there (if we were lucky!) Those first few months were the most trying times of my life.
At three months of age, his reflux hit its peak and we were back to those horrible days again. We had some really bad, inconsolable days and it is the absolute worst feeling in the world to see your baby in so much pain when you can do nothing to help ease it. Zac was then put on a PPI (Prevacid) and we saw him make a turn for the better in no time. Zac started having many more good days and less and less bad days. He was napping a bit better and stopped refusing to nurse. This was great! THEN we introduced solids.
The pain seemed to be managed well. This was, however, when the spitting up went into over drive. Zac had about thirty bibs and changed bibs at least three times a day. He was pouring out of the mouth most of the day. It was not a rare occurance to see him spitting up breakfast just before dinnertime.
About the time we started solids, Zachary had a pretty bad experience with constipation. It was awful. It got to the point where I had to help him out by laying him down and spreading his tush a bit. He would scream and cry while trying to pass the bowel movement and would proceed to bleed. I felt awful for the poor guy. We used a liquid suppository that helped clear him right out. The problem was, we had no idea that this was the beginning of an awful road of poop issues ahead.
Zac quickly started to "hold back" his bowel movements, because he associated them with pain. Rightfully so after that episode! We battled constipation for about five months. In the meantime we tried adjusting his diet with prunes, peaches, pears, papaya, karo syrup with water, etc.. The only natural remedy that seemed to help Zac was mineral oil. We finally saw a gastroenterologist about this issue and Zachary was labeled as a "Stool Holder." Due to this, he was prescribed Miralax, which is an agent that helps soften the stools so they are easier to pass. Miralax really has been a lifesaver for the little man. He rarely has issues with his bowels and currently remains on Miralax. Reason being, I was told that as long as the constipation bout lasts, it takes that much longer for the intestines to heal and shrink back down to a normal, functional size. In Zac's case, he was constipated for about five months. We are hesitant to take him off of it yet because #1, it's working so well for him, and #2, we don't need anymore traumas just before potty training. I'd say on average, I've had to use a suppository once a month because he still will start holding on occasion. I've recently found that eating sweet potatoes or beans seems to help soften his stools, as well. Zac started out with three to four teaspoons of Miralax and now maintains his stools with one teaspoon. I consider that great progress!
At approximately 9 months of age, Zac's spitting up drastically decreased to almost nothing. The Pediatrician urged me to attempt to wean him off of his Prevacid. I was a bit nervous, but figured that I would never know unless I tried, right? We gave him half of his dose for a few days, and then nothing. He did well for approximately two days. Shortly after that, however, during lunch one day, Zac started grabbing at his throat and panicking. For a moment, I was wondering what the heck was wrong. Well...hello! Yes, it was a reflux episode. He was turning red/purple, grabbing at his throat and throwing himself back. He would then cry. It brought back horrible memories and I felt awful. It was at that moment I realized how beneficial the Prevacid truely was for him! We put him straight back to his full dose (7.5 mg twice a day) and he was back to his happy self in no time.
Zac continued to do well and we were encouraged to try to wean again at twelve months. I was nervous again, but figured it was worth another shot. The difference was, this time it was a VERY slow process. I took him down to half his dose for one full month. After seeing that he was no worse for the wear on the half dose, I took him down to one quarter of his dose for three weeks. He continued to do well. I then went from one quarter dose to a tiny crumb for a few days. The whole process took about two months and I am VERY HAPPY to say that Zachary has been completely off of his reflux meds. since 14 months of age!!
Looking back, I would have never thought I'd see the day that I would be able to say that my son has "outgrown his reflux!" We had some very dark days and I do not wish those upon any mother or child. We are in a much better place now. I remember being told that "things will get better," but I never wanted to hear that, as things seemed SO bad at the time. I felt that I had to accept that this was as good as it gets. How wrong I was! I am so happy to admit that I was wrong.
Written by: Zac's Mom, Sara
Read more about Children's Stories:
Noah's Story,
Emma Claire's Story,
Evan's Story,
The Story of Andrew,
Owen's Story,
Raeden's Story,
Olivia's Story,
Hannah's Story,
Samuel and Jennifer's Stories
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