Today we took Jereth to Dr. Henry Thompson, the pediatric gastroenterologist. He will be checking to see how well the Prevacid and Zantac are treating Jereth's reflux. The problem with a baby like Jereth who has a floppy airway is that reflux can irritate the airway, making it even harder to breathe.
When the rerflux is treated the airway issues can clear up or at least improve a little. Dr. Thompson will be taking tissue samples from the esophagus as well as the intestines. He said we should know the results by Wednesday.
He also had a suggestion for how to use the Prevacid dissolving tablets so we don't have to waste over half of the medicine. The instructions we were given is to dissolve one tablet in 4 mL of water, then give Jereth 2 mL of the mixture and throw the rest away since it goes bad before the next dose is due. Dr. Thompson said we can cut the tablets in half (and they should divide very easily), mix the half with 2 mL of water, give the mixture to Jereth and save the other half of the pill for the next day.
As we were discussing family history of stomach problems Roy mentioned taking over the counter Prilosec. Dr. Thompson took a couple of minutes to explain how Prilosec is best used according to studies - and it isn't the way the over the counter medicine is labeled. So Roy is going to be taking Prilosec daily for the next 8-12 weeks which should allow his esophagus to heal much more effectively than using the medicine sporadically to treat the symptoms of heartburn.
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