...give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done... isaiah 12:4

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Acid Reflux

On Monday morning, with the company of my friend Erin, Grayson and I made the early morning trek to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA for his appointment with a pediatric Gastroenterologist.

Thankfully, we left with a pretty certain diagnosis and treatment plan for Grayson's "extreme fussiness" (who knew this condition actually has it's own diagnosis code).  The NP we saw was fairly certain Grayson does not have a sensitivity to milk or soy in my diet (relief!) but is sure that he has acid reflux that is not well controlled with the Zantac that he's been frequenting.

In the last two weeks Grayson's fussiness has hit a new high and he spends many hours a day either inconsolably crying or whimpering, even while being held.  His eating schedule has remained fixed but his sleeping schedule is out the window for now.  The poor little man can't keep himself asleep even while swaddled and sucking in the swing or in our arms.  It's heartbreaking, to say the least, to watch him arch his rigid body while he cries a cry as if he's just broken a limb.  We are thankful for a game plan and praying that it produces some happier results for our Grayson.

The plan is to switch his dose of Zantac first from 2mL twice a day to 1mL three times a day, until his new prescription is available.  Once the insurance authorizes the switch, he will be put on Prevacid tablets to hopefully (within about two weeks) more potently squelch the acid situation.  With that, we've been advised to add rice cereal to his bottles, give him Maalox or Mylanta and a Probiotic, as well as elevate his crib and hold him upright for at least 30 minutes after each feeding.

Grayson is also scheduled for an Upper G.I. Series next Thursday to make sure we aren't missing anything anatomically that might be contributing to his discomfort.  Though I'm not expecting anything to come of this (he really isn't a huge spitter despite his other symptoms), I will be glad to be thorough.

I hope in a couple of weeks I can report back with better news!

1 comment:

Lori said...

Kathryn - I was a Nanny for a little newborn who sounds JUST like Grayson with his acid reflux problem. I mean - it is the same even down to the doses I had to give him to Zantac, and then switching to Prevacid. I will tell you that the switch was amazing. He was suddenly eating better and sleeping better. Though it took a while to get him back on a sleeping schedule, once I did, all was well. He went through this phase where because he wasn't sleeping well enough during the day, he wouldn't sleep well at night. So at times, I would try to get him to take 3-4 naps a day.... so just his parents could sleep at night for a decent number of hours at a time. It might take a little while - but hang in there. It is possible with consistency and Grayson will be eating and sleeping soon! I will pray for this to be an easy transition for all of you!