Anandtech MD, I need some heartburn medication

[fustercluck]

Tums are doing nothing for me lately, nada. My body has grown resistant to them it seems. Been getting really bad heartburn lately and got nothing to solve it. Doesn't say much for my health or diet.

Buuut, could anyone recommend some good anti-heartburn/stomach acid medication? I guess I could do a one pill a day thing but I think i'd rather just take a pill when needed that works fast.

 

[Pardus]

Tums is a joke. Take a spoonful of baking soda and dissolve it in a glass of water. Take the whole solution when you feel the irritation. The baking soda is a good acid neutralizer, and in a few seconds, you will lower the acidity of your stomach contents.

You can also try Marshmallows, cinnamon sticks, applesauce and green tea to reduce the acid production. Change your diet is key, stop eating spicy foods if you cant handle it.

If your stomach burns for more than 12-hours, see a doctor for something stronger.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Have you tried an OTC acid reflux medication like Prilosec or Prevacid?

 

[TheVrolok]

OTC generic Omeprazole (Priolsec).

 

[dman]

You have to fool with your diet to determine the cause of the heartburn. Tums reduces the immediate acid but then, in most cases, your body just creates more acid to compensate. Then there are the OTC and prescription reducers. The PPI's (like Omeprazole) have been shown to slow down the digestive system causing other side effects. And of course low acid impacts your ability to get nutrients so you start becoming malnourished leading to even more problems. And the great part, when you finally come to that realization, getting off the antacids will be that much harder because when you stop using them your body overcompensates and creates a lot more acid causing horrible heartburn.

For some people it's a necessary evil, but, a lot of people could modify their diet and do a lot better without them. You can also read up on DGL Licorice (does not reduce acid, but, if taken before meals helps coat the digestive system and reduce the symptoms before they start) and some other herbs which may be helpful, but nutrition first.

 

[ch33zw1z]

OTC generic Omeprazole (Priolsec).

This is what I'm taking currently. Once you get it going you don't have to take it everyday either..

I was having persistent heartburn for a long time and Tums stopped cutting it. Doc said to give Prilosec (I buy the BJ's brand) a shot and it worked like a charm.

 

[fustercluck]

Well I think the long term solution is a big diet change, but the short term answer is Omerprazole. I am curious though why my heartburn has gone from being fairly bad to being awful in the past couple weeks. I used to be able to manage with tums and/or drinking a protein shake with digestive enzymes, but they stopped working in an instant it seems. Asking an actual Doctor would seem to be the way to go, but it's going to take forever to get an appointment, and Doctors are all drug peddlers anyways so I'd likely just end up with a perscription to omepalooza (or whatever it is) anyways.

So you have to start out taking the pill every day for a while then after a while you can kinda take it as needed?

Thanks for the replies

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Getting old sucks. Thankfully I can not join in on the heartburn med discussion. I can eat what I want with no old man problems. I also am very strict on my diet as well and exercise regularly.

 

[fustercluck]

Getting old sucks. Thankfully I can not join in on the heartburn med discussion. I can eat what I want with no old man problems. I also am very strict on my diet as well and exercise regularly.

Well you must be young with that avatar ^_^. Buuuut I'm only 24 myself. Too early to be having old man problems. Have had heartburn troubles for at least 4 years.

 

[hclarkjr]

Well you must be young with that avatar ^_^. Buuuut I'm only 24 myself. Too early to be having old man problems. Have had heartburn troubles for at least 4 years.

if your only 24 and having that kind of problem i would suggest visit to doctor. maybe something wrong other than heartburn

 

[crashtestdummy]

Tums is a joke. Take a spoonful of baking soda and dissolve it in a glass of water. Take the whole solution when you feel the irritation. The baking soda is a good acid neutralizer, and in a few seconds, you will lower the acidity of your stomach contents.

There's almost no difference in what you described vs. Tums (and alka-seltzer is actually sodium bicarbonate with aspirin). In fact, because the baking soda is already mono-protonated, it is a weaker base than the calcium carbonate.

 

[Mo0o]

Avoid foods like alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, spicy foods, peppermint. Lose weight!

PPIs (like omeprazole) tend to have better results than H2 blockers (like zantac). You can start off with 20mg of prilosec(omeprazole) once a day. Take it about 60 minutes before your first meal. If you find that it's wearing off by night time, you can take another one before dinner. If you find that it's not working by the time of the first meal, you can try doubling the dose to 40mg.

If you have good insurance, you can also speak with your doc about some of the other PPis like esomeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole etc etc. They all work about the same but for some people one works better than the other.

 

[sactwnguy]

Dont assume its your diet, I made that mistake and suffered more than I needed to. I suffered from severe heartburn for two years and used tums and prilosec to mask the symptoms. I finally went to the Dr. and it turned out to be h.pylori, which is actually pretty common. My Dr. gave me a test in his office by drinking something then blowing into a bag that is sent off to a lab. The cure was taking massive amounts of antibiotics for a month.
Also he gave me a prescription for Zegerid which I think is OTC now and it was way better than Prilocsec.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori