I’ve had bad heartburn for several years and sometimes eat Tums like candy. Friends tell me, “Don’t you know that when you neutralize stomach acid your stomach starts producing more acid to make up for it?” and things to that effect. While I acknowledge that’s a possibility, it doesn’t mean anything to me unless it’s been tested scientifically; they’re only spouting theories.
So I ask you, does prolonged ingestion of antacids only serve to make heartburn worse in the long run? Does your body in any way begin to rely on (or counteract) the antacids, causing a physical addiction to them? What about acid blockers such as Pepcid AC?
No. Eating Tums (and other antacids of that type) is really harmless. Milk counteracts your stomach acids to some extent (it coats your linings and the calcium bonds with the acid) and drinking too much of that will only make you fat. There is really no harm in eating Tums if you want to.
I beg to differ. Tums (and Rolaids, etc.) gave me kidney stones.
If your situation is chronic, find an alternative. There is such a thing as too much calcium.
I work in a GI clinic; one of our doctors specializes in GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, which is the condition for which heaartburn is the layman’s term).
I’ll ask for further details if you like.
Oh, yeah, Lissener’s right. I never thought of anyone eating enough Tums to get problems from eating all that calcium. And if you do have a problem with acid see a doctor.
I recommend the H2 blockers (Pepsid and that ilk) over antacid anyday. I’ve done both for many years and antacid does not give relief for very long compared to the other stuff. That’s why you have to eat it like candy as opposed to taking a single pill. But if you do take Pepsid, don’t take antacid. Antacid can reduce the effectiveness of H2 blockers.
I second Derleth’s suggestion to see a doctor. It’s quite possible that your heartburn is due to H. pylori, a bacteria that can live in your stomach. It’s easily found by a blood test and can be cured by antibiotics.
Well, it’s good to know it doesn’t cause a dependency. Actually, I was aware of the kidney stone problem; a friend of mine, who eats Tums like I eat Tums, had kidney stones as a result a few years ago. Fortunately I haven’t had that problem. ::knocking on wood::
I did go to see a doctor about it a few years ago, and I do know I have a hiatal hernia (small, at the time, but I’m sure it’s gotten worse). I’ve been thinking I might oughta go back, try some Prilosec, and get it checked again before too long; I searched the board to see if this topic had come up before, and read a little about Barrett’s esophagus. Scary stuff.
Thanks, I’d never heard that before, I’ll have to look into it. I actually take both regularly, Pepcid to try and keep it under control for several hours at a time, and then supplement it with Tums whenever I need some immediate relief. Pepcid’s effectiveness for me varies quite a bit, sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s nonexistent; I’ll try it without the antacid.
Anway, thanks for the info everybody!
H. pylori does not cause GERD; in fact there’s some recent evidence that suggests that H. pylori is protective against GERD. H. pylori has, however, been found to be the cause of up to 80% of gastric ulcers. So if you have GERD and subsequently get an ulcer, you’re probably in the 20% whose ulcer is caused by factors other than H. pylori (stress, diet, etc.). And though it can be detected by a blood test, there’s also a breath test, which is of course 100% needle free.
Get some Prilosec or Prevacid and lay down the Tums!
My doctor put me on Axxid to help my heartburn. It’s worked remarkably well. In fact, it’s worked so well that I don’t need to take it every day. Ask your doctor, seriously, it might be something that can be easily taken care of by a daily pill.