Hi Nancy,I have an adopted Korean 7 yr old son who has reflux and asthma.
We have been with HMOs that have been neglectful to say the least. I
noticed when Peter was 8 months old, that he might have reflux. They did
nothing to look into this. When he was 2 I noticed that the enamel was
wearing off his teeth. The doctor and the dentist believed it could have
been poor prenatel care, nursing bottle syndrome, etc. Meanwhile he has had
pneumonia at least 4 times and hospitalized for it. As he got older all I
heard was Mommy my tummy hurts. Also he would come over to me and say
"Guess what Mommy, I just threw up!" Then he would go off and play.
Needless to say in 1998, we tried baseball but he was in pain so much, he
couldn't do it. He kept saying "My chest hurts." I thought it was the
asthma and increased his meds. Meanwhile the teeth began to decay and hurt.
The new dentist (after 3 others) filled his 11 cavities. One tooth never
stopped being infected so she filled it anyway. This past summer, I saw him
reflux in front of me for the first time. Then for a week, it was constant.
He was on zantac but it did nothing. Anyway we've been through an endoscopy
in November and changes in meds. He is now on zantac at night and
Sucralfate in the morning. It's doing nothing. In fact I am waiting for a
call today from his Gastroenterologist. The doctor saw some inflamation but
no damage. He also told me there were no food restrictions. His asthma is
the same, his chest hurts, his tummy hurts, and I'm frustrated. I
homeschool my children so that's a plus. What happens to kids that go to
school? They can't just go lie down when they want. Also I read that
sometimes there is a corelation between reflux and learning disabilities.
Has anyone read that, also. Thanks for reading my long letter. Pam