# Acid reflux questions - short & long term treatments



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 16, 2011)

I've had acid reflux since about December.  I may have a hiatus hernia, not sure.  In January, I started taking 20 mg of Omeprazole (Prilosec) daily.  Last month my GP said he doesn't like Omeprazole as a long-term acid control med, so he switched me to 300 mg Ranitidine (Zantac) instead.  But it has been clear lately that Ranitidine isn't doing the job the way Omeprazole was.  Over the past few days I've had several acid attacks that made me really nauseous.  The latest acid incident, the one I'm in right now, came about in the middle of the night.  I had a dream that I was having an acid attack, and when I opened my eyes, I realized it wasn't just a dream!  It took all my willpower just not to vomit, and I am currently waiting for my Zofran (anti-nausea) to kick in so that I can stomach taking a Tums.  It's 3 AM here and I hate being up in the middle of the night with nausea!

Which brings me to my question.  For those here who have acid reflux, what do you recommend for both short and long-term control of your reflux?  I'm going to go back on the Omeprazole, at least for a week or two, to get this under control, and I plan on calling my GP on Monday to let him know that the Ranitidine isn't working very well and see what he recommends.  For getting my acid under control quickly, I've just been taking Tums, but since Tums is chewable and flavored, I can't stomach taking it if my nausea is too bad, like it is right now.  Do you guys recommend anything else besides Tums for immediate short-term relief?  A pill I can swallow vs something I have to chew and taste?

Also, my husband said I should drink lots of water when my acid kicks in, as diluting the acid should help me feel better.  I hadn't heard that before, and it makes sense, but sometimes hubby gives me bad health advice (when I first became ill with this gut disease, he said I should eat popcorn!).  What do you guys think, is hubby right?  Should I drink tons of water when my acid reflux is bad?


----------



## Crohn's 35 (Apr 16, 2011)

HI Cat, I have a hiatus hernia and yes they are painful and no doctor likes Omerprazole, it affects your bones.  Make sure you are taking calcium.  I do take Nexium if my heartburn or acid comes up but only once or twice.  I dont live on those.  For short term the only stuff I can tolerate is Maalox extra strength wild berry I take the full dosage and keep it in the fridge it keeps it cool and works faster.  The one I have also has Anti gas.  There are exercises for a hiatus hernia but you would have to pm me for it.  Eat smaller meals, and no coffee (other than the morning hehe) and avoid acidic foods.  I also dont have a gall bladder so that is extra acid.  Popcorn????:shifty-t:


----------



## arrowhead428 (Apr 16, 2011)

My GI put me on Dexilant .

It's working great .

sorry can't post a link yet , not enough posts.:yfrown:


----------



## Mark63 (Apr 16, 2011)

Hi Cat,

Omeprazole and Ranitidine did not work for me, so I'm now on Nexium (Esomeprazole) daily. I also take a dose of Gaviscon Advance before going to bed. The Gaviscon forms a gel like layer on top of the stomach contents and stops the acid coming-up. I've also had the waking in panic trying not to vomit. Horrible experience!

Try not having anything to eat or drink for a couple of hours before you go to bed. Try an extra pillow or get some bricks under the head end of the bed to raise it up. Drinking plenty of water is always a good idea, I certainly don't drink enough.

Mark


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 16, 2011)

Pen:  I think I definitely need to look into Maalox as I need something with anti-gas too.  Been having awful gas pains with this acid attack, and am trying to fart it out as much as I can!  I try to eat smaller meals and I don't drink coffee at all, and I'm honestly not sure what set off this acid attack.  I had plain buttered pasta for dinner.  The only thing I can think of is that I ate one tiny piece of chocolate after dinner.  And yes, popcorn.  When I first got sick, we didn't know what was wrong with me, and hubby decided that I needed to eat more fiber, so he made me a big bowl of the most fibrous thing he could think of, which was of course popcorn!  I ate about two pieces and felt worse, so I stopped.

Arrowhead:  I haven't heard of Dexilant, but I'll do some googling, and if it sounds good I'll mention it to my GP when I call him.

Mark:  I'll ask my GP about Nexium too.  The Gaviscon sounds good, I need something like that to keep my stomach contents where they belong during the night!  My GP also mentioned propping up the head of the bed with a couple bricks, so I'll give that one a try.  My GP said the bricks under the bed should work better than just using an extra pillow because the pillow would just angle my upper torso whereas the bricks would angle the whole body.  That makes sense to me, now I just have to get some bricks and have my hubby put them in place (our bed is ridiculously big and heavy).

Thanks all for your advice.  If anyone else has more advice, please keep it coming!


----------



## D Bergy (Apr 16, 2011)

I had pretty ba reflux at one time.  Part of the problem was a stricture, but the worse part of it was an H-Pylori infection that had moved into my Stomach.

As a defense against the bacteria, the Stomach starts to excrete way more than the normal amount of acid.  What else can it do to try get rid out it?  Once I got rid of the H-Pylori, the reflux went away along with it.

My initial use of Tums and acid blocking drugs made it worse over time.

I know of two people who used an Aloe water product to get rid of this.  I am not sure why it worked, but one of these people had this problem chronically and it was the only thing she had used that worked.  She was literally crying when she told the story, she suffered so badly with this.  My wife happened to be present when she was talking about it.

I have not personally used this Aloe water product and I am not even sure who makes it, but the account was very credible. 

I used a different method to rid myself of the bacteria, but it would not be practical for most people.

Dan


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 16, 2011)

Dan, I'm willing to try anything reasonable to get my acid under control.  So far the only thing that I know that works for me is the Omeprazole, and I know that shouldn't be taken long-term.  I haven't tried aloe water (I've tried aloe vera juice, but I think that stuff has a ton of sugar in it).  I'll look into aloe water, I'm guessing somewhere like Whole Foods would carry that, right?


----------



## D Bergy (Apr 16, 2011)

I grilled my wife on this account and it apparently was an Herbalife product, but Aloe is Aloe and there is probably several similar products.  She did not sell the products, so she had no financial interest in the product.

I am assuming she has to use it regularly to keep the symptoms away, but that is because I do not think Aloe has any ability to kill pathogens.  It does have healing properties.

I have also read about Manuka Honey working for this as it does have antibacterial properties, but I have never used that either.

Dan


----------



## Lee (Apr 16, 2011)

Tums


----------



## littlemissh (Apr 17, 2011)

Ranitidine (h2 blocker) is often not as effective as omeprazole and other ppi's. You could always ask to try the lower dose of 10mg omeprazole and take at night if that is when your worst symptoms are. Many gi's use ppi's long term but like you to be on the lowest dose to control your symptoms. Having a lot of acid reflux can cause you as many problems (oesophagitis/gastritis)as using ppi's long term (it is thought that acid has a basic barrier defence to your gi system and that oversupprresion  of acid limits this).

Domperidone / metoclopramide work as well as well by hastening gastric emptying so food and acid don't sit as long in the stomach. Raising the head of the bed can help.
Gaviscon advance is thick and gloopy and sits on top of the acid to reduce reflux. Remember pred and entocort (less so)can cause these symptoms as well.


----------



## Laura_123 (Apr 18, 2011)

what does omeprazole do to our bones?

i take mebeverine for wind pains and motillium for my acid reflux...kepps it sort of under control unless its severe and then i drink boiled water which i have let cool down until its warmish and no fizzy drinks etc
x


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 18, 2011)

Little Miss H, thanks for that info, I suspected Ranitidine wasn't as effective as Omeprazole.  And yes, my reflux seems to be worst at night.  I've been on Entocort since early October and my reflux issues started around December, but I don't think Entocort is the culprit.  I think I have a hiatus hernia which might have formed around that time.  The reason I think this is because, sometimes when I bend forward, I can feel the acid/stomach contents pouring up my throat towards my mouth.  I talked to someone else on this forum and she said that sounded like a hiatus hernia, and when I asked my GP he seemed to agree (although I haven't had any scopes or scans yet to confirm).  I'm going to call my GP today and see what he thinks.  In the meantime, I put myself back on the Omeprazole and am already feeling a lot better.  I'm currently taking 20 mg of Omeprazole, so I'll ask about 10 mg and see if that's an option.

Laura, why boiled water?  Does warm water help more than cool water?  I drank a lot of water when this latest bout of reflux hit, but I was just drinking cool tap water.  It seemed to help a little but maybe warm water would help more.  Does hot tea help?  If so, any particular type of tea?


----------



## Laura_123 (Apr 18, 2011)

im not sure...my mum just always told me to drink it when i had an upset stomach and it seemed to help a little...not alot but it kept me hydrated and warm water is easier on your stomach than cold or really hot water.

have you tried peppermint tea? helps my stomach although i have heard that peppermint makes reflux worse...or can do.

x


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 18, 2011)

I drink a lot of tea and peppermint is one of my favorites.  I also drink a lot of chamomile tea and ginger tea as those are all very soothing on an upset stomach.  I haven't heard of peppermint tea causing reflux to worsen, I'll have to do some googling on that and ask my GP.  I take peppermint capsules also because they supposedly help calm the guts down (although I'm not sure about that, I haven't really noticed much difference there).


----------



## Laura_123 (Apr 18, 2011)

i take peppermint capsules too...they only work if it isnt too severe...other than that they are crappy altho they give reflux a slightly minty taste lol
x


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 18, 2011)

Laura:  Yep, I like the minty taste too!  And actually, I like it especially because it gives me an indication on how fast my "transit time" is on bad days.  I take my peppermint capsule first thing in the morning, and on bad d days, I can tell how fast stuff is moving through me because at some point my d will smell like peppermint!  Sometimes it'll be only about 15 minutes between the time I take my capsule and the time my d smells minty, so on those days I know I need to pack some extra meds & wipes before leaving the house!

Ugh, so now for a quick update on me - I called my GP's office this morning and I was told that he's on vacation all week.  So the receptionist I spoke with is going to pass the message on to "somebody" (there are other GPs in the clinic, some good and some bad, and one in particular that I hate so I hope the message doesn't go to him) and "somebody" will call me back "sometime" with advice as to what to do about my reflux and whether I should keep taking the Ranitidine and/or Omeprazole or what.  I hope "somebody" gets back to me quickly (and if that somebody is Dr. B I swear I am going to scream!).


----------



## Laura_123 (Apr 18, 2011)

thats a handy tip to have..ive never noticed it smelling minty 

my doctors are crap tbh ! they never want to help and you cannot make an appointment unless you ring at 8am that day..... every tim ei ring my gp is fully booked and he is the one who was with me in hospital because he is a part time surgeon aswell! so he knows everything. they had 3 appointments for tomorrow when i ran earlier so if they arent there at 8am i will be fuming!

i hope you get sorted soon 
xx


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 18, 2011)

Laura, my GI is like that, he is at the clinic some days and at the hospital other days and he's always doing scopes or surgeries or other things so it's hard to get ahold of him!  My GP is usually pretty easy to get ahold of so it's frustrating that he's not there (I see that my GP is on facebook, and I'm tempted to "friend" him as that seems like a quick way to get ahold of him if I need to ask him a question!).  Good luck getting your appointment tomorrow!


----------



## littlemissh (Apr 18, 2011)

Cat- Sounds like you have got reflux / hiatus hernia though it also sounds like the entocort is exacerbating your symptoms. It may be a good plan to get the 10mg omeprazole which will give you flexibility with dosing. If you are in a bad patch take 2 and if ok just the one. Worth asking your gp when they ring you back...hopefully not the horrible one!


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 18, 2011)

Thanks Little Miss H, it sounds like I am going back on Omeprazole but they want me to go on 20 mg for now since that was working well when I was on that dose in the past.  I just got a call back from the nurse practitioner at my GP's office and she's already sent the prescription off to my pharmacy for 20 mg Omeprazole.  I was told that the prescription is for a 30 day supply but she also included a few refills and I was instructed to just keep taking them for awhile (even though the over-the-counter version of 20 mg Omeprazole says not to take longer than 14 days at a time).  I will definitely follow-up with my GP when he returns to make sure this is okay with him, since he wasn't a fan of me being on Omeprazole for extended periods of time.  But for now, I'm just happy to get some relief.  I didn't have any reflux attacks when I was on Omeprazole in the past, so I know that at least I'll feel okay until my GP and I figure out what to do about my reflux.


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 19, 2011)

Quick question on the different types of Omeprazole - when I was taking the over-the-counter version of it, it came in little brown tablets.  Yesterday I picked up my Omeprazole prescription at the pharmacy, and it was little white capsules.  The pharmacist assured me it's the same thing and I shouldn't notice any difference.  I'm just wondering why there are different versions of it though?  Is it just a comfort thing, like some people prefer swallowing capsules rather than tablets or vice versa?  Is the medicine delivered any differently?  Anybody know?


----------



## Mark63 (Apr 19, 2011)

As far as I know the tablets and the capsules both contain enteric coated granules so that the drug is released after it has passed through your stomach. It was probably just a different brand.


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 19, 2011)

Thanks Mark, that's good to know.  I still have some of the brown tablets so in a pinch I could take those but wanted to make sure that it's okay to switch back & forth between capsules & tablets.


----------



## StarGirrrrl (Apr 20, 2011)

Probably the pharmacy has a different supplier so different type of tablet, can happen from time to time.

I'm on the Omeprazole 20mg, 2 daily, and got to take it for 8 weeks minimum.... I don't have a problem with acid reflux so no clue if it's working or not! Think GI just chucking things at me to see if they work. He got out the "little book" with his prescription pad, so when Drs get out their med book, know they are trying everything lol.

The over the counter version probably steers on the side of caution since it's not medically directed how to take like the prescribed version is.

It's always worth finding out why GP isn't keen on you having it for a long period of time, you can then explain it's the only thing that gives you relief, and see if he's any happier. My surgery wanted me to change birth control type but once I explained it took me a long time to find the right one, and periods are very settled, they said it was fine.


----------



## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 20, 2011)

Thanks Star, that makes sense about the tablets vs the capsules.  I did a bit more investigating on this myself, and it looks like they do make the tablets in prescription form as well, and they appear to be the exact same ones that I was getting over-the-counter - but, for some weird reason my insurance doesn't cover the tablets, only the capsules - even though it is the same medicine!  How weird, I don't understand how insurance works, that just seems stupid that they'd cover one but not the other.

I will make sure to check in with my GP when he returns next week and get his thoughts on me being on Omeprazole long-term, and why he didn't like for me to be on it when I saw him last month.  I looked at my Omeprazole prescription info last night - I had thought that the nurse practitioner had given me a few months' worth of refills, but apparently she gave me a whole year's worth - the bottle says, "12 refills remain".  I'm fairly certain that my GP won't be too happy about that!


----------



## Mark63 (Apr 20, 2011)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> - but, for some weird reason my insurance doesn't cover the tablets, only the capsules - even though it is the same medicine!  How weird, I don't understand how insurance works, that just seems stupid that they'd cover one but not the other.


Simple, the capsules are cheaper!


----------



## effdee (Apr 20, 2011)

I've had acid reflux since I was diagnosed, and Aciphex (20mg daily) has done the trick for about 8 years. I would occasionally need to go to 40mg daily during really bad flares, but was able to return to 20mg eventually. Haven't had any side effects. It's a time release tablet, and I'm not sure how much it normally costs.


----------



## Laura_123 (Apr 21, 2011)

ive been on omeprazole 20mg a day for 3 years and had no side affects from it. 

my tablets change aswell in their shape etc they usually work the same though x


----------

