Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Mommy Pills - Update

I've learned a few new things regarding the medication I was prescribed so I wanted to be sure to pass the information along to you guys...

1st- It seems that Dr's are bit conflicted about Xanax's safety if you're breastfeeding. My OB obviously thought it was fine but I decided to go ahead and get a 2nd opinion from Sophie's pediatrician because the online information seemed to be a bit contradictory. (and you never know the reliability of what you're reading online) She did some research and came back with a "no", she would not recommend taking Xanax while breastfeeding. Luckily I hadn't needed to take it for the last several days so I didn't go into complete panic. Also she gave me a GREAT reliable resource for looking up alternatives to Xanax & also for any future medication safety concerns I have.

The website is http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/ , once there click on "LactMed" on the left sidebar. That will give you a search box to type in any drug that you want to know about it's possible interactions with breastfeeding. It also gives you "alternative drug recommendations" if the one you're looking up isn't considered safe. The Xanax alternatives they recommend are Lorazepam or Oxazepam. I'm going to do some more homework on those but it's nice to know there are alternatives out there.

2nd little tidbit is I sent an exert from the Mommy Pills post over to the Oprah show, I'm sure they get a bazillion show ideas a day but I really think it's a great topic that deserves some exposure. You can only imagine my utter SHOCK when a Oprah Show producer called me back the next morning!! I was beyond excited, I talked the poor girl's ear off for about 30 minutes. She was actually really nice & said they were planning an upcoming show on "Happiness" and that research has shown that parents are actually less happy & more stressed when they first have kids verses when they didn't have children. She wasn't sure if the mommy pills angle was going to fit in with the show but if it did they would call in the next few days. (at that point I ran around the house in circles yelling "OPRAH! OPRAH! OPRAH! GOTTA GO TO CHICAGO & SEE OPRAH!!!) That was one week ago so I'm pretty sure it's not going to pan out but how exciting nonetheless right?! I can't even imagine being on Oprah for her final season, SO FREAKIN' AWESOME! But, not getting my hopes up. (trying not to at least)

Ok, on a different note, the last thing I wanted to share doesn't have to do with the Mommy Pills post or Oprah but it does have to do with some interesting medicine info that I've discovered...

I don't know if I've mentioned this but Sophie has acid reflux. It sucks. At 2 mths we started off with Zantac & then switched to Prevacid. The problem with Prevacid is that pharmacies have a hard time breaking it down into an infant dose so our pediatrician recommended going to a compounding pharmacy to have a suspension dose made. This is supposed to last 30 days in the fridge but what no one told me is that it's highly controversial as to whether or not compounding the medication breaks it down too much to remain stable for the full 30 days!

For the last couple of months I started noticing that towards the end of the month Sophie was crying more & sleeping less, a LOT more & a LOT less, like the reflux had come back. Last night she cried every 45 min & would only take 20 min naps during the day. After having a meltdown at 4am I finally googled "does compounded Prevacid lose it's strength" & up popped a hundred different research articles about how the medication begins to break down after 5 days!! ACK! Not only that but one study showed that by day 30 the medication had lost 90% of it's effectiveness!! Whyyyyy does no one tell you to look out for this when you start the medication?!? I called the pediatrician & she agreed that there is that potential, she gave us a different route to try so I PRAY that this will work, my poor baby needs to sleep!

I know that so many babies have reflux so I just wanted to share that bit of knowledge in case you find yourself in the same situation...

Please do not copy & paste any of my content without prior permission, pictures of Samster & Sophie are strictly prohibited. Links to my post however are always welcome!
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39 comments:

  1. Melissa DixonJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    I belong to a group for mothers of multiple babies. Most of the moms in the group highly recommend Axid. One of my little guys was on it until he was 12 months old. I also heard that giving it to them on an emptier stomach (30minutes before feeding) might help. Not sure if you've been to a gastro doc, but if it has been a big problem.... seeing a specialist is well worth it! They are more likely to mess around with dosage amounts until they find something that works than a pedi.

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  2. UnknownJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    My son had bad acid reflux and we did have him on Zantac until he was about 8 mons old. I dont know if you are already doing this or not but we realized that it made it much worse for him in his crib so he actually slept through the night in his swing until he was almost 7 months old. We would put it all the way up (inclined) too and he would pass out for 8 hrs! I didnt figure that one out until he was 4 mos so just thought I would share. Also if you ever have to pump the only bottles that he would keep stuff down were Dr. Browns. Im due with #2 in 4 wks and praying that he or she doesnt have it!! Good luck!!

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  3. KrystinaJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    We used to crush up our prevacid and give it to our first because he had terrible reflux. Just take the pill, crush it, mix with a little expressed breast milk (no more than a tiny baby spoon's worth) and give it to her!

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  4. Melissa DixonJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    You can also put them in one of the vibrating chairs to sleep. Many of my friends would set the chair inside the crib. You can also use rolled towels under the mattress to incline the mattress! I ditto the Dr Browns!

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  5. sarahJanuary 19, 2011 at 2:54 PM

    i have several friends who are chiropractors and have seen great results with giving babies a little adjustment to fix their reflux issues. just a thought if you'd like to try something non medicinal.

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  6. Gabby MalcuitJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    That's good that you checked it out with the pediatrician. Woah, that's sooooooooo exciting about Oprah. You'll have to keep us updated on that. That must be so frustrating about the reflux and the fact that nobody said anything about the drug's effectiveness!

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  7. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    I went through that prevacid compounding issue and what we ended up doing was getting the solutabs and then taking a baby spoon and putting a bit of water on it, letting it dissolve and then giving it that way (via spoon). We tried dissolving and then giving via syringe but the little bits of medicine got stuck in in the dropper. Hope that helps!

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  8. LauraJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    Yuck, I hear ya about the acid reflux. Both of my kiddos had it too. We would cut the tablet in half and then let it dissolve in the water in the dropper. It just dissolved into all these little balls and then they drank it right up.

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  9. KatieJanuary 19, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    That Prevacid info is VERY helpful! Good to know!

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  10. Princess HoodieJanuary 19, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    RE: Pills - Lorazepam goes through your system very quickly so you don't end up feeling spaced out (like with Xanax). Good luck!

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  11. TennjennyJanuary 19, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    Moms of kids on Singulair should be aware, too, that there are revised warnings. It can cause severe mood and behavioral disorders. My son had been on it over a year, so I wasn't in the habit of reading the package insert/pharmacy information. Plus, we upped his dose when he turned 5 (because he weighed more). My husband did some googling one day and found out thousands of kids have had adverse mood and behavior changes linked to Singulair. We took him right off and are getting our child back, after almost 2 years of increasingly bad behavior, anxiety, and depression.

    Just a head's up for anyone reading, while we're (sort-of) on the topic.

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  12. WendyJanuary 19, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    I commented on your Mommy Pills as the LPC who recommended that you do some more research on the Xanax/breastfeeding aspect (another commenter promptly told you to ignore my advice since I was not an MD).

    I just wanted to let you know that I have a lot of respect for you for doing more research on the issue, as opposed to just becoming defensive. In my experience as a mommy, a patient AND someone in the mental health field(I won't say medical field, though I have worked in a hospital and learned a thing or two along the way), if you ask several doctors the same question, you'll likely get several different answers. In fact, psychiatrists in my practice have different opinions regarding the safety of prescribing various psychotropics to breastfeeding moms. Everyone is different, and we all make decisions based on what is best for us and for our children.

    I've also heard that for people who have a lot of anxiety issues, that sometimes just knowing they HAVE Xanax (or a similar alternative) in their pocket as a rescue is enough to help, without needing to actually take it. Sometimes, just knowing that there IS something - an alternative - a rescue - is enough.

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  13. Clandestine RoadJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    I'm glad for the followup. I hope poor Sophie gets a respite.

    You are amazing.

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  14. SarahJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:06 PM

    Thanks for the link for the info on meds for BFing moms!

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  15. KarriJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    So sorry to hear about the reflux. We suffered for a long time with all 3 of our babies. One ped put my twins on reglan and they were on it for awhile until I read what awful things I did! Chiropractic did help alleviate it some, but some, they just had to outgrow :( I do suggest a GI doc, though...they really know their thing.

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  16. JennaJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:48 PM

    Thank you for being brave and talking about all aspects of parenthood! I have quietly followed your blog for over a year now, and have continually been inspired by you, both by your craftiness and your honesty in what it's like to be a mommy. I hope that when I have my children that I will be able to have the strength to do whatever I need to for my family.

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  17. JennyJanuary 19, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    My daughter was on Prevacid 6 years ago and nothing was ever brought up about it losing it's strength. Very interesting, because she would get worse at times and we never figured out why!

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  18. MegJanuary 19, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    I hope they get your little one sorted out. My son has had severe acid reflux since birth which has led us down the sleep apnea road, and he is also diagnosed with Sandifers Syndrome which is caused by reflux. After 3 months with zantac and a doctor that would not listen when I told her it wasn't working... I was in florida for 2 weeks to visit with my mom when he started having what we thought were seizures and would scream after it was done, I immediately took him to the hospital and after a 2 days stay he was diagnosed with sandifers syndrome. But they put him on the compound which as you said broke down too fast. We switched 2 months later to the prevacid solu-tabs half a 15 mg tab 2 times a day and he is doing great! No more sandifers syndrome symptoms because the solu-tabs completely control it. All we do is put a bit of water on a spoon and put the tab in let it dissolve and he drinks it.

    I hope this helps if the new stuff they gave does not help (if this is not what they did already).

    oh and YAY OPRAH! :P

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  19. Carrie EmeryJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    Prevacid was the only acid medicine to help my daughter and we just used the dissolving tablets. We watered them down like mentioned above but only for a short time. By the time she was Sophies age we just put the tablet in her cheeks and it dissolved right away. Sorry you had to go through all of that. I also hope that Oprah calls b/c I think it would help a lot of people. Number 2 is right around the corner for me and I think things you have said will really help me out. Thanks

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  20. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    My baby had the WORST reflux ever! I actually planted myself in the doctors waiting room until they would help me or else I wasn't going to make it. To be totally honey I loved my baby but didn't enjoy him until he was almost 4 months. It sounds horrible but like you I believe the truth helps others too! Anyway, we were able to wean him off the meeds slowly at around 4-6 months with baby massage specifically for reflux. We also NEVER put him on his back. We propped the mattress crib, sat him up during feeding. We even propped the changing table ( this was hilarious adventure into diaper changes). Anyway, I hated giving such a little baby meeds and did everything I could to prevent it. The bland diet was torture but we lived through it. I hope you get through it. He was my first baby so I wasn't completely aware of how hard it was until I've been around other babies recently ( really babies don't need to wear a bib all the time or how can you not have 52 burp cloths and 3 changes of clothes in the diaper bag?) it DOES get better when they start eating solid food and around 9 months it was almost gone! Good luck!

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  21. StepherellaJanuary 19, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    My daughter had bad reflux too :(
    After talking with my cousin, and noticing a few other things, like her bm's were green and was starting to get eczema behind her ears. I also noticed she was more fussy after I had dairy! So I completely cut (ALL forms) of dairy protein out of my diet, and she got MUCH better. Then I realized soy products were also bugging her...and let me tell you I had my wonderful happy sleeping through the night baby back! (sidenote: my daughter is exclusively breastfed, and through my research I learned that pretty much all formula has soy products or dairy proteins and lactose and casein intolerance are very different)
    Anyways on a small chance this info might help, I thought I'd share, from one mom, to another :)

    (also http://www.kellymom.com/ is a wonderful resource!)

    Good luck!

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  22. lotts to doJanuary 19, 2011 at 10:42 PM

    Just wanted to let you know that my little guy (almost 9 months) has severe reflux. We wound up finding out that he has a milk allergy. As soon as I stopped eating all milk, stopped feeding him all milk & soy, his reflux pretty much went away. Not sure that sophie has the same problem, but its worth looking into.

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  23. Triplet MamiJanuary 20, 2011 at 1:03 AM

    So putting my 2 cents in on the reflux subject...here we go. I had triplets 2 girls, 1 boy. After a little over 2 months in the NICU my son came come on a heart monitor that went off louder than a fire alarm because his heart rate would drop and occasionally turn blue. Why they let me take him home is beyond me, but according to them, there was not much else they could do. I brought him home and about 2 months later made a trip to the local ER and they transferred us to Texas Childrens. My son spent the next 10 days in the NICU only to find out he was diagnosed with REFLUX!!! After months of worrying, it turned out we had an answer. The doctors initial orders were to give him his feeding with cereal. But seriously, there is no way I was going to do that. An obese 4 month old was just not the way to go for me. The other alternative was a product called SIMPLYTHICK. The website here http://www.simplythick.com/ can tell you all about it. It is a gel like thickening agent that does not change the taste of the milk but thickens it enough to stay inside. And trust me after months of projectile vomiting and non stop crying, I was happy to find a solution. So all together, we were also given a wedge pillow so that he could sleep at an incline strapped to the pillow. A little weird to see, but it worked. And also the simplythick and reflux medication. It didn't take long to see the MASS difference with all these things combined. Noone on here has mentioned this product, but I can honestly swear by it. My son is now 2 1/2 and eats like a horse. I'm not saying that is your path, but this product was a life saver for me. Had I not put him on this and had him continue to gain weight, he would have ended up back at the hospital for who knows how long. After being born at 27 weeks, 5 days and spending over 2 months in the NICU with his sisters, I wanted to make sure we NEVER went back for something I could control.

    I hope this helps. I know the post is kinda long...if you have any questions, you can email me at schultz.family5@hotmail.com

    Erica
    http://mamioftriplets.blogspot.com/

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  24. Cheryl @ a pretty cool life.January 20, 2011 at 1:16 AM

    If your new route doesn't work out, you could always fill her Rx in 1 or 2 week increments. I did it with my Zofran...I didn't know if it was going to work, if I was going to have any side effects, how long I was going to feel pukey, etc. Just a thought.

    And if you come to Chicago, say hi! :)

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  25. kitty_wenchJanuary 20, 2011 at 3:42 AM

    My little girl is on Omeprazole for Silent Reflux and it was a few months before I learnt the same thing. It doesn't last the whole month.
    Luckily the pharmacy I got to makes it up in 2 week batches which seems to be working heaps better.

    It's so heart breaking when you hear them screaming because they're in pain. I'm so glad we seem to be through the worst of it. I've slowly starting to wean her off her medication now and so far, so good.

    Hope Sophie feels better soon.

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  26. Lil Mama StuartJanuary 20, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    SO exciting about Oprah. Chicago is amazing ;)

    I also thought your post should be read by non-parents, and linked over at my blog if you don't mind.

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  27. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2011 at 3:25 PM

    Try cutting all dairy out of your diet...."acid reflux" could be just a wick here is a pill to solve your problem. As it was for my daughter. She does not have acid reflux, but a milk allergy, and my consumption of dairy made that happen to her through the breast milk. Give it a few weeks as it can take that long to get fully out of your system. It ,eight just do the trick and no nasty drugs for your baby. You could see symptoms subside in just three days!!!!

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  28. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:39 PM

    You should send it over to the Nate Berkus show. I could see him doing a show like this. Plus your a blogger, he would love your ideas!!

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  29. heather's notepadJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:53 PM

    We had to use a thickening powder called Thick it, that you can get at almost any pharmacy,it helped my niece out a lot with her reflux. We also would take half a previcid and dissolve it in a medicine dropper with water, it worked well for her. Acid reflux can be a tricky and not so nice problem to have. The good thing is that now there are more ways to treat it!

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  30. TheSavvyKitchenJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    I hope you get to go on Oprah! Luckily and fortunatley I was able to go see her show back in October...it was amazing! Best of luck with everything :)

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  31. MelissaJanuary 21, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    your awesome! keep up the good work mamma!

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  32. TinaJanuary 21, 2011 at 5:16 PM

    Just wanted to agree with all the dairy posts- my daughter also had a dairy intolerance and was exclusively breastfed so I had to cut all dairy out of my diet and I saw a huge difference, she was still on Zantac until around a year old but any time I tried to phase dairy into my diet I saw her fussiness return.
    Hope you find something that works so she gets relief, I feel so bad for them when they are suffering with reflux!

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  33. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    I agree with Laura. I too had to break the solu-tab in half and dissolve in water in the syringe. The good news is it works!

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  34. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2011 at 8:58 PM

    Chamomile tea is the cure for acid reflux. She doesn't need to take medicine. All it takes is tea. My boyfriend has had acid reflux for years and we started drinking chamomile (Im into natural medicine) and he hasn't had it for months now. Try it and you will be amazed. Chamomile tea will also help her sleep because its very calming.

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  35. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2011 at 1:05 AM

    I wish it was as easy as Chamomile tea, but that wont cure it...it *might* help, but it never helped my daughter at all. I'd stick with what the doctor said.

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  36. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    I also have a baby with reflux. I highly recommend reading the book "Colic Solved: The Essential Guide to Infant Reflux and the Care of Your Crying, Difficult-to- Soothe Baby" by Bryan Vartabedian. Dr. Varabedian is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children's Hospital.

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  37. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    Oh man Natasha! I wish I had known that Sophie had reflux sooner. My cousin Traci has had that same experience with her kids. (She has 3 girls- and I think 2 have had it) You can check out her blog--find the link on mine. It is called Riddle Me This on my blog list. I am sure she would answer any questions you have, and she is pretty knowledgable now. :-)

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  38. Catie-didJanuary 24, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    This may seem a bit out of left field, but since you mention alternatives to Xanax, perhaps it's worth a shot to investigate alternative treatments such as acupuncture. It's not for everyone, but in my experience it's made an amazing difference with both physical and emotional aspects similar to the ones you mentioned in your post.
    Sending all kinds of support your way!

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  39. ShellJanuary 25, 2011 at 4:34 AM

    Im also jumping on the dairy bandwagon. My 17 month old has suffered with acid reflux since birth and we eventually discovered she is allergic to the protein in dairy.

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