IT WORKS WHEN NOTHING ELSE DID
by Molly
(Eagle, CO)
Looking back, our sweet girl had reflux from birth. She was a silent refluxer, though, so wasn't diagnosed until she was 4 months old. That was four months of waking up EVERY 1.5-2 hours to nurse her... I was cracking.
Upon diagnosis, our pediatrician had us try a succession of reflux medications. Some worked better than others, one made it much worse, but none of them stopped our baby from being in pain when she ate.
Thankfully, I read about Infant Acid Reflux Solutions on some of the infant GERD forums, and our pediatrician checked out the info and was supportive of giving it a try. We ordered TCMax, and we were lucky enough that our baby responded to it + generic omeprazole very quickly (same day).
That was almost 8 months ago, and it's still hard for me to talk about her first 4 months without breaking down in overwhelmed tears... I don't think that people understand just how awful and exhausting and heartbreaking infant GERD can be, unless they've been through something similar themselves.
Other reviewers write about TCMax being a lifesaver, and they're right - I don't know what we would have done without it.
Here is more detailed info about our experiences, in case this helps anyone else:
*Ranitidine made her projectile vomit (not normal for her as a silent refluxer), and she went from being unhappy during and after eating to screaming and fighting eating while on it. Also, it tastes like mentholated rubbing alcohol.
Alcohol! No wonder it made her acid worse.
*Prevacid didn't make things worse, but we didn't see measurable improvement. We used the solutabs and they were easy to administer.
*Prilosec packets (mix w a small amount of water just before each use) gave us measurable improvement, especially during the month when insurance okayed us giving her a 2x daily dose. She was still clearly uncomfortable though (arching back when nursing or just on her back, sour breath, hiccups). We gave this to her via small bottle and fast-flow nipple, and she drank it easily.
*TC Max + generic omeprazole (we buy it at Costco) works beautifully for our girl. We found that the easiest way to give it to her is to dose it into a fast-flow bottle nipple, and lean her back so that she can suck all of the liquid out of the nipple quickly and easily.
Now it's part of her routine, and is easy to give.
*When baby girl turned 12 months, we started to slooooowly wean her off of the TCCare Max/omeprazole. Unfortunately, after a week of no medications, she started arching and getting hiccups again, and her sleep patterns went down the drain. So she's back on the TC Max/omeprazole for now.
I'm just so glad we have something that works!!!
*Place your order at least 2 weeks before you're going to run out of TC Max to insure you don't run out of product. Infant Acid Reflux Solutions has truly been a lifesaver, but in case there are any shipping mishaps, which can happen, it's best to plan ahead. Infant Acid Reflux Solutions did what they could to make it right, so I'm completely comfortable recommending Infant Acid Reflux Solutions customer service.
I have been singing their praises at our daughter's daycare, and have passed along the website to other Mommas.