Acid reflux?

[Blondie]

My 14 y.o. son had an Endoscopy a few weeks ago. They found esophogeal inflammation from the acid reflux, but no H. Pylori.

He is to continue with the acid reflux meds. One of the side affects of Prevacid is hair loss and diarrhea, and he had both of those, so we discontinued that and now he is on Prilosec OTC, but it doesn't seem to work as well as the Prevacid. He'll have to watch what he eats and put up with the acid refulx. When he gets a little older, he'll be able to try some of the other acid refulx medications.

Oh...and he started with acid reflux about 2 years ago, he wasn't born with it.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Ragmop
Esmerelda, what types of tests did your Dr. do?

This is going to sound really dumb but I can't remember. I saw over 4 doctors during the course of 5 years to try and figure out what was causing my stomach pains. They did a barrage of tests and I can't recall which one was for the acid reflux. I know they took ultra sounds, x-rays, tested me on different meds (nothing worked until these two), upper GI and some others.

I can handle the pain from acid reflux, but IBS was what was really hurting me. That they diagnosed based on, um, behavior (is that the right word) and the that even though I weigh about 120, my stomach is often so bloated that I look several months pregnant. All the time.

 

[DisneyVillain]

My son saw a gastroenterologist several times when he was in 6th grade. In addition to the scope, he also wore a pH meter for 24 hours, to record acid levels over the day. (A small tube from the meter into his nose and down to his stomach.) It didn't bother him at all. He wanted to go to school to show it off, but his teacher said she would rather he stay home.

The gastroenterologist put him on Prevacid, and it made a huge difference in his asthma.

 

[Ragmop]

Originally posted by Blondie

He is to continue with the acid reflux meds. One of the side affects of Prevacid is hair loss and diarrhea, and he had both of those, so we discontinued that and now he is on Prilosec OTC, but it doesn't seem to work as well as the Prevacid..

Thanks for the hair loss info. He already has this (hereditary) so that's something to look out for. Also ,being away at college, bad dietary habits are a consideration.

 

[ironwood58]

I am a x ray tech so I deal with this everyday. First off most doctors will order an upper gi series since it is a noninvasive test.What happens is we will give the patient a cup of barium to drink. This outlines the stomach and esophagus looking for abnormalities. after several xrays to determine problem the next thing is usually medication. Prilosec, Zantac more often than not take care of the problem. The medication reduces the amount of acid in your stomach which in your case is producing too much tostop the reflux.With a good diet you can practically eliminate problems.

 

[Micca]

Over the years I've had Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium. I never had any tests, but they all worked great for me. I think the only reason the doc changed the meds was due to insurance.

 

[Snowysmom]

My 18 year old DS was diagnosed with acid rellux at 16. He was having laryngospasms that actually caused his larynx to swell and cut off his breathing for about 60 seconds. We had to call the paramedics one night. Our doctor did not know what was going on but we went to Boston Children's Hospital. The ENT doctor in the ER had him diagnosed in about 5 minutes. He put a scope down his nose into his throat and saw a very red, angry looking larynx. DS spent 4 days in the hospital until the prilosec starting working. When he was 14 he had upper abdominal pains and diarrhea. The GI doctor did a lactose tolerance test, stool culture, and upper GI, all normal. He is thinking it was acid all along. He takes 40 mg prilosec daily. I an happy it is over the counter now. He will be seeing an adult GI doctor for his primary care. Younger DS had an endoscopy done when he was having gall bladder problems. They needed to rule out ulcers etc. He had his gall bladder out 2 days later. He said the endoscopy was not bad, he doesn't even remember it with the sedation they gave him. I am amazed at the number of children who have acid reflux.