prevacid question

My daughter has reflux and has been on zantac for 3 weeks and it is not helping. I am going to call today to ask that she be switched to prevacid.

My boys were on prevacid and it worked quickly and effectively. They had the granules that were in the little packets and I remember it being easy to administer and I liked that it was just in the morning (15 mg).

Before calling today and asking for the same thing, I wanted to know what kind your child may be on and how often you administer it and how easy it is to do so. Thanks!

 

Alice took the solutabs, 15 mg a day, just crumble it up and put in her mouth. I don't think they made the powder when she was a baby.

I hate reflux.

 

Is a solutab just like a round pill that needs to be crushed? And does it taste ok (although I recently learned flavor can be added to meds...didnt think to ask them for that in the zantac). I know the boys loved their prevacid! This zantac tastes like black licorice!

 

Oh it's like a crushable kid's chewable tablet thingy. I think it's raspberry flavored. Our Zantac was spearmint which just smells so wrong on an 8 week old.

 

Great thanks!!

 

Cathryn is on the 15 mg solutabs. It's strawberry flavored and she likes it! I give her half in the morning and half in the evening. I don't crush it b/c it says not to. ardon: I put half in a syringe, add water (about 1.5ml), let it dissolve, and she takes it really well like that. Another way to do it (what I did with the girls when they were a bit older) is to take the pill (or half) and put it on your finger, wet it a little, then smoosh it into the inside of her cheek and let it dissolve that way.

 

DS was on a compound version. He needed a weird strength. We were able to eventually change him over to the solutab, which was so much easier. I couldn't ever get it to disolve like they tell you to, but someone suggested I just put it in his cheek and it worked. It dissolves really fast.

 

we did a combo thing, My twins were 34weekers and dd had bad reflux. We did Zantac and switched from NeoSure to Nutramign. That was a lifesaver!

 

E&N took the granules. We gave it to them with some sort of gel that would reduce tummy cramps too. I think it was called Polysilane Gel, but that's in France.

 

Cricket did both Prevacid and Prilosec. For some reason, the Prilosec worked better for her. I also found that some pharmacies would compound it for us (both Prevacid and Prilosec) so it was just a liquid. That was easier for me to administer than the granules, so I tried compounding whenever it was possible. The only issue is that it has to be refrigerated. The solutabs that dissolve in their mouth are pretty awesome too if you can get those.

Also, we met with a fantastic pediatric gastroenterologist who told me that while it would be great if I could get Cricket to take the medicine 30 minutes before eating, having it with a meal (in the bottle even) was just fine and she'd get 95% of the benefit. So... don't stress if you have to administer the medicine at the same time as she's eating.

And like Bex, I HATE reflux!

 

Thanks everyone! And Tricia,I just asked the pharmacist today about how soon prior to a feeding because I read online 30 minutes. But what if she wakes in the morning and is ready to eat right away and I wanted to give it first thing in the morning. So thanks for sharing that! I dont worry about that.

Well, I got it in liquid form and gave it yesterday. The Dr said insurance wont cover solutabs (could that be an Illinois thing???) She cried harder yesterday than ever before. I read prevacid can be gassy. I am thinking I should have kept her on the zantac. My thinking though was although the symptoms were very minor on the zantac, I thought she should be totally pain free like my boys were when there meds began to work for them. I called today to tell them about how she was on day 1 and they had me bring her in. He said she was definitely uncomfortable but he did not think it was gas. He gave her a higher dosage (1.6 two times a day instead of .8 2x a day). He said to call him on Mon if it is not better and he will set us up with a GI Dr.

 

One of my boys started on Zantac and it helped a lot for a couple of months, but it seemed to lose effectiveness as he gained weight and grew. He was switched to Prevacid around 6 months. We are in IL and insurance covers the solutab. We pay $5 for the generic. He gets half a tab per day dissolved in water and we squirt it into his mouth with a syringe. He seems to like the taste too. I haven't tasted it but it smells fruity.

 

We did compounded Prevacid and it had to be administered an hour before feedings. It was a bit of a PITA but Sam obviously felt better for it. She never did well on solutabs (tried twice when pharmacy didn't fill prescription in time for long weekend).

Good luck! It's such an individual science.

 

One of my girls is on compounded prevacid (75 mg) that we give her once a day. It's been a lifesaver! It tastes like bubblegum, but as she's never had actual bubblegum, I'm sure she doesn't really like the taste!

 

I meant 7.5 mg, not 75! haha. It's worked like a charm! No more fussy eater!