Acid reflux help OTC.

Factual Questions
1

Okay, I don’t want to run in foul of the no medical advice rule here. So I’m just asking for personal recomendations on acid reflux medicine.

I don’t have any health insurance, or prescription assistance at the moment, so no fancy stuff. Just Over the counter.

For the third time in 16 months I found myself scraping myself off the floor/sidewalk in pure panic mode, trying to cough out the stomach acid that suddenly surged up my gut and down into my lungs… All dead sober while walking around or sitting on a chair, two of the times(including tonight) I think I passed out.

What of the stuff out there keeps the acid in control, I’m up to about 30 Tums a day, and I know that isn’t healthy, and it doesn’t work completely anyway.

2

And I know it’s ‘afoul’ not ‘in foul’

3

You shouldn’t eat 30 Tums a day. I used to do that and ended up doing some damage to my kidneys.

I take Nexium right now, which works great, but that’s prescription only. Just before that I took Prilosec for a while, before it went OTC. I’ve never tried Prilosec in its OTC strength, but I’d have to say it (or one of its generic equivalents) is problably the best thing you can get OTC for acid reflux.

4

I’ll second the Prilosec OTC recommendation; in fact, after eating handfuls of Tums daily for a few months, I tried out Prilosec OTC, and was feeling better the next day. I ran out of Prilosec after about 2 weeks and was too lazy to go get more. I rarely have had problems since, and it has been months. (I am not saying I was cured by Prilosec, I am just saying that after being on that stuff for a couple of weeks, I went from ‘consuming a big jar of Tums every two weeks’ to ‘been on the same jar of Tums since October’.). I am currently not on Prilosec and have not been since October, and the occasional heartburn/stomach problem has been handled easily by 1 or 2 Tums.

My experience is anecdotal and wan’t part of a controlled study, IANAD, correlation is not causation, YMMV, and all the other cliches. To be completely honest, I made some efforts to lower my stress at the same time I went on the Prilosec, which may be part or all of the reason my stomach improved. In fact, I find it hard to believe that such a short duration of treatment could turn me around so dramatically and suspect that the placebo effect and a new attitude may have helped as much as the actual pill. However, I doubt it can hurt you, and you never know if it will help.

5

IANAD. When I complained to my doctor about my GERD (acid reflux) she put me on Nexium for a couple of weeks and told me to try taking Pepcid AC afterwards. I had to go back to the Nexium, but maybe the Pepcid will work for you. No guarantees, though.

Sometimes you can get prescription payment help. I have no idea where to get it. I hope you find something that works.

I have several “trigger foods” which I still must avoid. Caffeine, bacon, black pepper, and uncooked onions, or onion family members (garlic, shallots, etc.) will give me horrid heartburn. You might want to try a very bland diet (no seasoning, very low fat) and gradually add foods to see if you are sensitive to anything in particular.

Good luck.

6

I am not a physician, but just this week I saw a piece on television on surgery to repair damage done by Barrett’s Syndrome (?) – I think that is the name of it. I know that it is a serious and painful illness and has to do with acid reflux. I think the procedure is performed either at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville or at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville.

Just thought I would pass this information along to anyone reading who might have the problem.

7

Prilosec was a godsend to me, I started taking it nearly 10 years ago… prior to that, nothing I could find OTC would control my reflux for long, like you, I’d eat tums or gaviscon like they were going out of style, but it would still get bad enough that I’d need to throw up from the burning nausea on a depressingly regular basis. I had to go to the doctor for my prilosec then, but it’s OTC nowdays, though in a lower dosage. I still take a 40mg. Rx pill, and I think the otc stuff is 10 mg, if I recall. I still buy the otc stuff now and again to stash away in the car /work etc in the handy little foil packages.

8

I tell my patients who suffer from GERD to modify their lifestyles a bit, along with medication.

First, avoid foods that you know bother you. Many people have trouble with tomato sauces, for example.

Secondly, don’t eat within a few hours of bedtime.

Thirdly, don’t lie down after eating.

Fourthly, wear loose-fitting clothes.

Fifth, drop a few pounds unless you’re at or under your ideal body weight.

Sixth, and actually most important: Knock off any substances that relax your lower esophageal sphincter which works to keep stomach contents in the stomach. Biggest offenders here are nicotine and alcohol. Also prescription meds like muscle relaxers (cyclobenzaprine, robaxin, valium, nitrates). But don’t stop the prescription ones without consulting your doctor.

Seventh, elevate the head of your bed by using a few bricks under the legs at the head end, or a bed wedge. Pillows will not help.

Eighth, chewable or liquid antacids like maalox or tums may help.

If that doesn’t do it, OTC ranitidine (Zantac) may help, start at 75 twice a day as needed, and one can go up to 300 mg twice a day.

If that still doesn’t help, 10 mg omeprazole (prilosec) once a day to start, and max of 20 twice a day.

If that still doesn’t help, one really really really should consult a doctor.

The above are my standard instructions for my generic GERD sufferers. Consulting one’s doctor anywhere along this decision hierarchy is to be encouraged, and if one’s symptoms are unlike GERD, then one should consult a doctor even sooner to rule out entities like ulcers, varices, and tumors, among but a few possible diagnoses.

9

Like most everybody responding, IANAD.

I’ve had GERD since I had to go on anti-inflamatories plus other stuff for chronic pain. The anti-inflamatories are really hard on most anybody’s stomach. There are, of course, some foods and/or drinks that will do it, too. One that QtM probably forgot to mention is caffeine-containing drinks. And another thing I heard an “ask the doctor” radio program mention recently was, when you do lie down, lie on your left side. The way the stomach is oriented, gravity helps. OTOH, lying on your right side is counter-productive. I hadn’t ever thought about it, but they were right; that’s the way the stomach is angled inside the human body.

Last year I went through a bad spell (too long on the same anti-inflamatory). There was one thing I hadn’t thought of in a long while. I got some papaya tablets and took them at the end of meals. They really helped me, and kept me from needing Tums most days. I still keep the papaya tablets (really cheap at WallyWorld) in a convenient location, but things are much better now.

10

Yeah, I forgot NSAIDS and caffeine.

The “lying on your left side” thing is something to try, but don’t expect a miracle. While anatomic diagrams would indicate that left-sided lying would have gravity help push things out faster, in the real world, 4 dimensional anatomy (including time) is much more complex than that.

Never heard of the papaya thing, I suppose it contains chymopapain which would digest some foods quicker. I’m not sure how it would help, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt.

11

Ten or so years ago I was having lots of indigestion problems. I blamed it on many things and tried altering my diet, all to no avail.
I finally figured out that I had developed lactose intolerance. I always loved a cold glass of milk and drank lots of it, so it wasn’t easy to give up, but it solved 90% of my digestion problems.
I still eat some cheese and cottage cheese and occasionaly ice cream. Only the ice cream seems to cause me problems.

12

I hugely second the lifestyle suggestions from QtM. I cut essentially all heartburn triggers out of my diet for a while. Since I do most of the cooking for my husband and me, this actually cut out his borderline-excessive Tums usage down to very normal levels. Main triggers for me are onion and garlic, especially raw.

13

The above is a truly outstanding forum for GERD sufferers. These people really know their stuff and have helped me beat this nasty condition. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

14

One thing that has helped me anyway. (And I only rarely have problems with acid reflux.)

If you drink beer or any carbonated beverages------never drink straight from the can or bottle. Always pour it into a glass and then drink.

15

I found that screwing with the normal order of meals works.

I do small meals along the course of the day, being diabetic i find that smaller more frequent meals works better with my body than 3 traditional meals. My heavier meals are midday, and my evening meal is more a soup and salad sort of meal - very light and easily digested.

I am a side/stomach sleeper, and puzzle people because my fall asleep position is with my arms folded under me and face down propped up on a couple of pillows. I find it pretty much impossible to fall asleep on my back, and mraAru tells me that he has never seen me actually sleeping on my back. I do know that i developed the facedown mummy position because of an IV set into my left wrist when I was in the hospital fairly young.

16

Tums, Rolaids, Maalox and the like are more likely to INCREASE the incidence of heartburn. They are fine for the occassional minor discomfort, but if one or two don’t work, you’re going to get resurges that are worse than the original attack and it turns into a vicious cycle. That’s why people who use these remedies usually end up over-using them. They work for an hour or so and then the heartburn returns worse than ever.

If you have prolonged or recurrent attacks, try Zantac or something similar. Then, avoid cigarettes, coffee, carbonated beverages, orange juice and milk during the attack and for a couple hours after symptoms stop.

Zantac, prilosec and the like stop the production of stomach acid, so you may not feel very hungry while taking them. Don’t forget to eat. Within a few hours of the attack stick with light, mildly seasoned foods. Avoid onions, garlic, pepper(s), curry and too much salt. Avoid fatty foods. Baked or grilled chicken or fish is good, with a side salad. Drink lots of water.