Today we had Emmersen's follow-up appointment with the pediatric GI specialist to review the results from her impedance study and x-rays. Quite eye-opening.
The good news is that her x-rays came back perfect. All of her organs formed as they should.
The bad news is that she has severe reflux. We already knew this, but not the extent of it. The wire sensor was able to tell that her reflux is NOT acidic which means her Zantac medication is working to cut down the acid so it will not damage her esophagus. The shocking part came when the doctor gave us the actual breakdown of her episodes. Apparently, all babies have reflux due to the "flap/valve" that connects the esophagus and stomach not being fully developed until roughly 18 months of age. On average, a baby will reflux 73 times or less in a 24 hour period.
Emmersen refluxed 157 times in 22 hours. No wonder she feels rotten!
Our two options for treatment are either surgery or medication. The doctor does not recommend surgery as it may or may not work correctly. So we are left with medication. A muscle relaxer called Baclofen, to be exact. This is scary to me because she is only 4 months old. However, it sounds much better than the alternative. This medicine will relax her digestive tract so that it doesn't "overreact" when she refluxes. Worst case scenario is that she will be on this until 18 months of age, but we may be able to start weaning her at 1 year.
Emmersen began her new medication tonight. Here's hoping...
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