Does anyone have any words of wisdom? My son has been on Prilosec for a few weeks (compounded liquid first which he gagged and retched on before spitting it out all over) then the little beads from the capsule mixed with a tiny bit of fruit & cereal. I had posted a few days ago about the fact that I'm finding undigested beads in his stool, and he is also starting to gag on and spit out the beads, so his GI prescribed Zegerid at my request to see if he does better on it. I gave him his first dose today, you mix the flavored powder with water and give 1 hour before a meal, and he kept spitting it out and gagging. I even used one of those special pacifiers that you put the medicine into which works great for his 1 ml dose of Pepcid at bedtime. The problem with the Zegerid is that it is about 10 ml after adding the water and it has a very strong sweet flavor of peach & mint! He was so mad and he ended up wearing most of the dose. I'm at my wits end and if he isn't any better by the beginning of next week, they are going to schedule an endoscopy. I can't tell if the meds are going to help if I can't get them into him! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.....I'm going to go take a Xanax now :(

Hi

I'm sorry I don't have any helpful advice...I just wanted to say that I had to take my refluxer OFF zegerid because I couldn't get her to take it, and she's the type of refluxer that will suck down anything...unflavored prilosec etc BUT would cry/scream when I tried to give her zegerid

I forget how much your giving him but I was told by the zegerid maker since it doesn't matter when it's given that you could add it to their bottle of formula as long as they drink the entire amount/bottle
I also tried this but that taste was still too over powering...just wanted to pass it on

GOOD LUCK!!!
Kim

I don't know if this will work or not, but it worked a few times with my little guy.

It's kinda mean and I hated doing it, but you got to get it in there some how.

Try putting the med into a syringe and squirt it either as far back as you can get it (which may not be a good idea if you have a gagger) or between the gums and cheek towards the back. Then with your other hand push his chin up and blow in his face. The blowing makes them swallow. Now I'm not saying that he won't choke a little and who knows if it will stay down for you (mine isn't a puker) but you could give it a try.

Once the meds were in his system and he was feeling better I didn't have to do it this way any more. That made me so happy, because I felt like I was making his oral aversions worse by doing it.

Hopefully some one will have an even better Idea for you.

Is it absolutely necessary for it not to be given with a little food? Not a whole serving but just a spoon full. maybe ask the doc if it would be alright for a while just to get it some in there.

Good Luck
I hope you figure out a way and it works wonders for him

Peach and mint- yuck!

Amy- I wonder why they decided on those flavorings when Chocobase and Caracream tasted so good (that was half the point of them in the first place). For those unfamiliar the developer of those products, Dr. Phillips (which were developed to compound with Prevacid and improve not only the taste but delivery system of the medication) sold his formulation to the makers of Zegerid. Kattmc3 said that you can e-mail Dr. Phillips on the marci-kids website. I wonder if he could explain why or if you could squeeze some leftover Chocobase out of him?

If you don't mind me asking how are you mixing it? You can check out marci-kids.com and they tell you the best way to mix it. You can add it to almost anything. If its the 20mg. packet you mix it in 6.5mls of water. It makes 10ml total. How much do you have to give him? At his age you could split it up three times a day. I know that just sounds more difficult because you are already having trouble getting him to take it. Also my son likes it cold so we put it in the refrigerator before we give it to him.

I have done the "blow in his face to get him to swallow" thing for a long time as he has been on meds since birth. His heart meds (which he is no longer on :-D) Digoxin and Lasix tasted nasty, but he only needed 1/2 ml of each and his Pepcid is 1 ml so it's not too much of a problem. His dosage of Zegerid is 2/3 of a packet 1 hour before a meal once a day as per GI. She told me to mix it with 1.5TBS water, but I used a little less water since I knew he would have an issue with it. I will try to make it even more concentrated (4mls of water or so) tomarrow morning. I was told not to mix it with anything other than water...I don't know if anything would make it taste better anyway. Peach & mint?!?! What were they thinking? It tastes alot better that the plain compounded Prilosec & sodium bicarbonate suspension, but it's still pretty horrendous. I'm thinking of putting the Zegerid suspension in his medication dosing pacifier before he wakes up in the morning since the only way he takes a bottle these days is sleep feeding anyway. I'll let you know how it goes tomarrow and if I'm successful, I'll pass along the technique to anyone else who is having these issues. Thanks again everyone! This message board is the only way I'm preserving any shred of sanity I have left :???:

Hi

I e-mailed the marci kids folks begging them to make a NON flavored form of zegerid
My point was, that if it's an immediate release med and you could add it to a liquid and drink it....why does it NEED a flavor
I could easily add the packet to my ds's morning cup of milk and he would be good to go...i tried putting a pack of zegerid in his milk cup and he gagged and threw it across the room!
I understand 'some' kids like the taste but I would think they are the minority..especially when our kids are so sensitive to taste/textures etc

I also wanted to say that i would contact the makers of zegerid as far as mixing and the best ways to administer..this is a fairly new med and I hate to say the Dr I spoke to about it had NO clue
I just want to make sure you mix it the proper way so that it is effective!
Also, again, since it is an immediate release form of omep. you don't NEED to wait to give your ds a bottle/food

Good Luck, Kim

I gave the Zegerid to Asher this morning while he was sleeping in his little medicine dosing pacifier and he sucked it down! Apparently that's the only way to give him anything by mouth these days! (including his bottles) Those pacifiers are wonderful! It is made by Munchkin and I purchased it at Rite Aid pharmacy upon the suggestion of my pharmacist. I've been using it for his pepcid for a while and it's great. Now I can use it to sleep feed Asher his Zegerid. If anyone else is having a problem giving meds and has a baby they sleep feed give it a try. I get excited about anything that makes life a little easier for him and mommy :).

Fantastic discovery, Amy! I never used those, but I have seen them around. Great that it is working for you. We had no luck with our first try of prevacid as Iain was not eating at the time and was suffering from many aversions. We did the capsules in fruit and an immediate bottle in the mouth and whatever he did not spit back into our faces went down, but not easily. It took forever as we could only give him a wee bit at at time. Our second trial is much more successful as Iain eats now and has a good swallow. Sometimes it is a vicious circle as in order to get the meds into them you need to have a non-aversion kiddo.

I am very much of the opinion that ALL children's meds should be in suppository form.:shock: :razz: