Our Happy Boy

by Laura
(Indianapolis, IN)

Our Happy Boy

As first time parents, my husband and I were truly overjoyed (and a bit overwhelmed) when we were handed our newborn son. He was just precious to us!

When we got him home though, we noticed that he was not very interested in eating and would only take very small amounts of expressed breast milk at each feeding. He also was very congested, had the hiccups often, and was a very restless sleeper, constantly squirming and waking himself up. As first time parents, we didn't know what to make of these now telltale silent reflux symptoms at the time.

At our 1-month check-up with the pediatrician, our son was not gaining weight as he should and we were referred to the local Children's Hospital to determine why his feedings were so difficult. A swallow study indicated aspiration and severe reflux. He was put on a naso-gastric feeding tube so that we could safely feed him without the risk of aspiration; however, the larger volumes of breast milk in combination with the naso-gastric tube (which keeps the lower esophageal sphincter open) made him increasingly uncomfortable.

When he was six weeks old, we noticed foam coming from his mouth and he would arch his back and scream in the middle of feedings. He also would wake from sleeping abruptly crying out in pain. We elevated him most of the day and placed him in an elevated bassinet to sleep at night. We spoke to the pediatrician and he agreed it seemed like reflux. Our son started on Acid (an H2-blocker), and did not get any relief. We then tried compounded Prevacid; however, his initial prescribed dose was too low to be effective. We took all of the dosing information from Dr Tamika and Infant Acid Reflux Solutions to the next pediatrician appointment and got our son on the correct compounded Prevacid dosage regimen based on his age and weight.

Only then, when he was 3 months old, did we see an improvement. For the first time since he was 1-month old we were able to feed him orally and remove his feeding tube. He still had some difficult feedings and would wake occasionally during the night crying, but we had glimpses of what it was like to have a happy, healthy baby boy. We were ecstatic and thought we had his reflux problem solved!

Ugh-if only it had been that easy! At 3.5 months old, our son began to display all of his old signs of reflux, primarily bottle refusals and increasingly restless sleep. We were terrified that we were going to have to reinsert his feeding tube.

After trouble-shooting and research, we discovered that the compounded Prevacid we were getting from the pharmacy was becoming less potent with time (after 7-14 days) and thus, was not adequately controlling his reflux. We also discovered that he had a double ear infection due to uncontrolled reflux. My husband and I decided that we needed to try to find another solution for his reflux problem.

After much more research (and sleepless nights caring for a baby with uncontrolled reflux as well as recurrent ear infections secondary to reflux), we found ourselves at this site wanting to try the buffer Dr Tamika recommended. We placed our order and within the week we received our first shipment of TCMax.

Our son was started on the adjusted dosing of Prevacid dosing buffered with TCMax when he was 4.5 months old. Within 2 weeks, his reflux was 99% controlled. No more bottle refusals due to the pain associated with eating. No more waking during the night in pain. No more fussy, upset little boy for the majority of the day. Instead, we had a happy, healthy baby. He was was finally able to nap for longer than 30 minutes during the day. He also slept through the night for the first time ever.

Why write this review? Well, we have now been on Prevacid and TCMax for 3 months and they have been the best 3 months of his short life. Eating has become a joy for him. He loves his bottles and solids now and is eating with gusto! He is such a happy, relaxed baby-smiling and laughing most of the time. He is totally comfortable playing on his back and tummy and loves to sit and stand now too.

We are so thankful to the parents, pharmacists and physicians who helped us arrive at Infant Acid Reflux Solutions. We are also so grateful for the staff at Infant Acid Reflux Solutions, who provide this help as well as support for parents trying to relieve their baby's infant acid reflux.

My husband and I attribute our son's well being to the efficacy of these products and encourage other parents to investigate these products as an option to work with prescribed or OTC PPI medications for uncontrolled acid reflux.