I took Andrew to see Dr. Wagner, and she said he is still having problems with the acid reflux. Based on what she could hear in his little tummy and based on the things that I have noticed, she advised me to put him on Zantac. This medicine should regulate the acid throughout the day and keep him more level instead of using the Mylanta, which was a temporary fix. Also, we are keeping him upright after each feeding for about 20-30 minutes, I have added a small amount of rice cereal to his bottles, and I have elevated his mattress.
After 3 days of taking the Zantac, he wasn't doing any better and in fact, I think he was worse. Dr. Wagner recommended another medication for Andrew called Axid. Our health insurance doesn't cover anything except generic drugs, and since there isn't a generic for Axid, we knew it was going to be pretty expensive. At this point, it didn't matter because we would do anything we could to help Andrew feel better. After picking up the prescription, we found out that the medicine is about $75 a month. I was shocked!
After taking the new medicine for a few days, we had to take Andrew back to the doctor because he was still crying a lot during the day. Dr. Hamp agreed and said Andrew is probably dealing with acid reflux and that he might possibly have a milk allergy. He wrote another prescription for Prevacid, which was more expensive than the Axid :( He said we need to address the acid reflux before we find out if he has a milk allergy. We are planning to wait until Tuesday and call the doctor with any updates. At that point, we may have to switch him to a lactose-free formula and we may have to take him for an x-ray to make sure everything in his body in anatomically correct in his stomach. We are just waiting and hoping that the medicine will start working soon.
Both of the pediatricians that we've seen in the last week said that Andrew was probably still waking up during the night because of the reflux. This makes sense now because he was always so upset when he woke up. I thought he was just hungry because he would eat so quickly around 4:00AM, but the milk with soothing his throat for a short time. It just breaks my heart when he cries throughout the day and in the middle of the night when he is uncomfortable.
I am trying to be patient with this whole situation, but I am hoping that he will start feeling better soon. He was screaming at the top of his lungs this weekend, and I just started crying with him because I felt so helpless. It can be pretty overwhelming being a new mom, but the Lord has provided me the strength and ability to make it through each and every situation that we deal with. Also, these prescriptions that we've tried have been really expensive, but the Lord is always reminding us that He will provide for us as He always has and always will. Throughout all of this, I am just praying for the Lord's discernment and guidance for how to help Andrew and that He will heal and comfort his little body. It is pretty amazing that God has entrusted us to care for this precious baby. I can just look at him for hours, and I am overwhelmed by the Lord's gift of life and his abundant blessings for our family.
2 comments:
Poor Andrew!!! I know what it is like to feel helpless when your baby is sick or in pain. I pray that the Dr.'s will figure this all out very soon!!!!
Hey Natalie - I just wanted to give you some encouragement that the Lord knows what is going on with Andrew... that is one thing I have had to remind myself with all Eden's doctors visits - when no one could tell me what is going on.
I was going to send you a message a few days ago after I saw you in WalMart and tell you to ask your doctor about prevacid:) Thats what Eden took and it helped her alot with her spitting up. Our insurance did cover it, but I wanted to tell you that if you ask your doctor, they shoud have some samples they can give you and the prevacid sample (at least the ones in our office) have rebates/coupons with the - its for $25-30 off each prescription. I know its not alot- but every little bit helps. Sometimes you can call the drug company itself and they might help you out too since its not covered under your insurance! Its defintely worth a try... And your doctor probably told you this already - but prevacid can take up to 2 weeks to get in there system, so don't get discouraged if you dont' see a change right away. It took a week or so for us to see a difference with Eden's reflux... And they do grow out of it! Eden's not on it anymore (some it was related to her diaphragmatic hernia, but some of it was reflux)... give me a call if you ever need anything!!!
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