I’ve become, much to my unhappiness, intimately familiar with antacids. I get heartburn from drinking water! Here’s my rundown:
Liquid Whatever Pro: works immediately. Cons: doesn’t fit in my purse, bad if I have heartburn and a full tummy (that’s not exactly hard as my tummy’s about the size of my fist right now…maybe), I’m not a big fan of the taste.
Maalox Quick Dissolve Pros: dissolves quickly, decent source of calcium. Cons: doesn’t fit in my purse (well it does, but the container’s kind of big), has a kind of chalky taste.
Maalox SoftChews Pros: tastes great, good source of calcium, individually wrapped so I can chuck a few in my purse. Cons: they get stuck in my teeth so I have to suck on them which prevents them from working quickly, they’re individually wrapped so I have wrappers all over my nightstand, they don’t release from the wrapper cleanly so I have to kind of bite them off, they leave my fingers kind of sticky.
Tums Assorted Berries Flavor Pros: tastes like SweetTarts!!!, good source of calcium, I can pack a roll or two in my purse. Cons: I haven’t been able to find them in some sort of mass quantity size.
Tums assorted Berries here as well. I buy the great huge one from Wal Mart for six something.
I used to be a Rolaids person. But they get chalky, and if you have to get up in the middle of the night, like I usually have to do, it left a horrible taste in my mouth.
I’m also on prescrip. but Tums gets me relief fast, and has the best overall taste.
I used Tums for years, but they just don’t stay with you. The heartburn comes back. Are you sure you don’t have Acid Reflux? The best thing I have come across is Tagamet, or the generic equivalent, cimetidine. Works great for hours! I went to the doctor and she gave me some samples of Nexium (The Purple Pill)and Prilosec. They both work too. Heartburn sucks.
Maalox or Mylanta (second choice). Maalox once cured my acute gastritis in about thirty seconds (though I’m just as happy with the store brand versions). And, BTW, I don’t have any objections to its taste.
If I need something to carry, I’d go with the Maalox quick dissolve.
My first choice: A baking soda chaser. ½ teaspoon of the magical white powder in ½ cup of water and nasty acid reflux goes bye-bye almost instantly.
Pros: By far the cheapest remedy available, and IMHO the most effective. I’d have to munch on half a dozen Tums to get the same relief.
Cons: High in sodium, probably around 1400 mg per teaspoon (it is sodium bicarbonate, after all). Tastes awful. Your gag reflex might kick in the first time you try it. Learn to ignore the taste and swallow quickly; the relief is worth it. Not very convenient. You can’t carry an open box of baking soda in your purse.