Can you guys tell me what test you think is better at diagnosing the severity of reflux. I have 2 different doctors with 2 opinions, of course. My son had the barium swallow which showed minor reflux, but he was pinned down crying and being force fed the barium stuff. my son has the inspiratory stridor where he gasps for air at times going in, this is his only symptom. They are now talking about the ph probe. If your kids had it was it in the hospital or at home, did they mind it? Also do any of your kids have tracheaomalacia? Thanks for your reply!!!

They are now talking about the ph probe. If your kids had it was it in the hospital or at home, did they mind it? Also do any of your kids have tracheaomalacia? Thanks for your reply!!!
I would have to say definitely not the barium swallow. My little guy's reflux is pretty severe. He didn't puke during the test (just majorly in the waiting room right after it!) so nothing showed. The ph probe, as far as I understand, will show how much acidity there is in the reflux. Evan's ped. has decided not to put him through any unnecessary tests, as we know that he has reflux from the symptoms. He was actually kind of upset that we went ahead with the upper GI/barium swallow while he was on holidays, but at least it got him to finally listen!

The ph probe will show the acidity, how often, and how long the child refluxes. Also, you can push buttons on the box that records the info so that you can correlate the results with things such as eating, lying down, and symptoms like coughing and breathing fast. (You can set your own symptoms.) I didn't think Daniel refluxed at all during the 24 hours of his ph probe, but it turns out he had 96 episodes up to six minutes long and refluxed 8% of the time he was upright and 20% of the time he was lying down. It was really good information.

On the down side, it stinks to have something in their nose for 24 hours and to follow them around with the box. And you have to take them off their meds about a week before.

We didn't need the PH probe, although that is the one I recommend, because the swallow study revealed major reflux and delayed emptying.

Hi Carrie, How old is your baby? My baby is almost 4 months old and has had so many tests done. He never did have the ph probe but he did do the barrium swallow which showed him refluxing but not much else( in my opinion it was a waste of time! We already knew he had reflux! He also had pretty bad stridor and was sent to a pulminologist who ordered a modified barrium swallow to make sure he wasn't aspirating formula. Then from there they did a scope to make sure there wasn't any abnormalities causing the stridor thank god that came back clear and the pulminologist said the stridor was probably caused by a immature trachea and it would go away as he got older. He barely ever makes the stridor sounds anymore!

I've been reading an astronomical amount of reports and studies on reflux for a research paper. This, in no way, makes me correct, but they all say that the pH probe is the ONLY accurate way to diagnose reflux, and it too, can have some faults.

Moms' testimonies are more reliable, if you ask me. Just wanted to share what I've been reading.