My daughter is on Zantac?

Question

She seems to be restless at night and sleeps more during the day. Could this be because of the medicine? Is there any reason to be concerned?

Please only answer if your child has taken it.

Answer 1

My daughter is six weeks old and has reflux, she is on .4 ml twice a day. I have noticed more restlessness at times and mostly in the evenings, so I took her off the zantac for a couple of days to see if it would help. That was a big mistake, she was miserable by the second evening.

I think what we are seeing is a result of the reflux. Also, at night they might be flat more, and therefore the acid tends to bother their throat more. Make sure to lift the head of her crib up at an angle (you probably already do this). Apparently, zantac is very weight sensitive. I am taking my daughter in to the pedi today to get her dose checked...maybe that would help your daughter as well.

Hope things get better for us both soon!

Answer 2

I took Zantac for years and never had a problem with sleep, even in the early days. The reason she's sleeping more during the day is because she's not getting enough sleep at night. There's any number of reasons why she could be restless at night, but I don't think the Zantac is the culprit.

Answer 3

I don't think you have a concern here. My little girl was on Zantac as well, for about 6 months. She was up and down at night, but eventually it got much better and she didn't need it anymore.

Answer 4

It should not effect her. Zantac is to neutralize acids in the stomach.
It may cause constipation if taken too much.
Feed her apples during the day to alert her.

Answer 5

My children never took zantac, but I did for a duodenal ulcer.

You might also hear it referred to as Ranitidine, which is the generic form.

Brand Names: Zantac, Zantac 150, Zantac 300, Zantac 300 GELdose, Zantac 75, Zantac EFFERdose, Zantac GELdose,

One of the side effects of zantac is Insomnia, so it could be causing your childs problem. I would contact the doctor and find out if the doctor wants your child to continue the medication. There are other medications that she could take, depending on what she is taking the medication for.

Adverse Effects: The following adverse reactions have been reported as events in clinical trials or in the routine management of patients treated with ranitidine. A cause and effect relationship to ranitidine is not always established.

CNS: headache, sometimes severe; malaise; dizziness; somnolence; insomnia; vertigo; and reversible blurred vision suggestive of a change in accommodation. Isolated cases of reversible mental confusion, agitation, depression, and hallucinations have been reported, predominantly in severely ill elderly patients. In addition, reversible involuntary movement disorders have been reported rarely.

Cardiovascular: Isolated reports of tachycardia, bradycardia, premature ventricular beats, and AV block have been noted. Asystole has been reported in very few individuals with and without predisposing conditions following i.v. administration and has not been reported following oral administration of ranitidine (see Precautions and Dosage).

Gastrointestinal: constipation, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting and abdominal discomfort/pain.

Hepatic: In normal volunteers, transient and reversible ALT and AST values were increased to at least twice the pretreatment levels in 6 of 12 subjects receiving ranitidine 100 mg q.i.d. i.v. for 7 days, and in 4 of 24 subjects receiving 50 mg q.i.d. i.v. for 5 days. Therefore, it may be prudent to monitor AST and ALT in patients receiving i.v. treatment for 5 days or longer and in those with pre-existing liver diseases. With oral administration, there have been occasional reports of hepatitis, hepatocellular or hepatocanalicular or mixed, with or without jaundice. In such circumstances, ranitidine should be discontinued immediately. These are usually reversible, but in exceedingly rare circumstances, death has occurred.

Musculoskeletal: rare reports of arthralgia and myalgia.

Hematologic: Blood count changes (leukopenia, thrombocytopenia) have occurred in a few patients. These are usually reversible. Rare cases of agranulocytosis or pancytopenia, sometimes with marrow hypoplasia or aplasia, have been reported.

Endocrine: No clinically significant interference with endocrine or gonadal function has been reported. There have been a few reports of breast symptoms in men taking ranitidine.

Dermatologic: rash, including cases suggestive of mild erythema multiforme. Rare cases of vasculitis and alopecia have been reported.

Other: Rare cases of hypersensitivity reactions (including chest pain, bronchospasm, fever, rash, eosinophilia, anaphylaxis, urticaria, angioneurotic edema, hypotension) and small increases in serum creatinine have occasionally occurred after a single dose. Acute pancreatitis and reversible impotence have been reported rarely.

Here are some links that you might find helpful.

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcmed.nsf/pages/gwczantb/$File/gwczantb.pdf

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/ranit_ad.htm

http://www.drugs.com/zantac.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/ranitidine_75mg-oral/article.htm

http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/zan1494.htm

I said a prayer just now for your child. Good Luck & God Bless.

**As with any medical condition, it is always best to seek help from your health care professional.**

Answer 6

I'm a pharmacist and i would say "no"