# Favorite Antacid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2002, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756 "2002-11-25T21:23:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/1 "2002-11-25T21:23:52Z")
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. So that’s my fave, the Tums Assorted Berries. You? ---
**Author:** ![SlightDistrurbance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SlightDistrurbance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlightDistrurbance)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/2 "2002-11-25T21:45:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![SlightDistrurbance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SlightDistrurbance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlightDistrurbance)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/3 "2002-11-25T21:47:48Z")
Sorry to get a little more descripted Tums in 96 count (I bought the lesser amount this time so it may be more.) At Wal Mart, 6.36 or so. I’ve got a roll container they were giving away with the bottles, for buying the rolls was expensive! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/4 "2002-11-25T22:11:57Z")
I keep some emergency Tums in the car but it’s liquid Mylanta around the house. (No, we don’t have a moat). ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/5 "2002-11-25T22:15:41Z")
Slight, I’ll check for the 96 count the next time I’m at WalMart or Target. Thanks. Just curious, lieu, do you even bother with a spoon? ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/6 "2002-11-26T00:31:43Z")
Well, it’s not TECHNICALLY an antacid, but Zantac is a gift from the gods. Got me through my heartburn stage, with flying colors. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/7 "2002-11-26T14:56:16Z")
Nope. Mylanta was made for swiggin’. ---
**Author:** ![dono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@dono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dono)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/8 "2002-11-26T15:42:23Z")
Another vote for the TumsBerries. They’re so good they’re almost like candy. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/9 "2002-11-26T15:54:55Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![SlightDistrurbance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SlightDistrurbance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlightDistrurbance)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/10 "2002-11-26T22:20:44Z")
I’m on Zantac, but for relief right now, Tums gets the job done. And as an addendum, I have the 96 count right now, theres an even bigger one, perhaps 136 or more. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/11 "2002-11-27T01:36:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-antacid/138756/12 "2002-11-27T13:46:24Z")
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.