What does ATOT take for Heartburn?

Nov 8, 2012
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I've been having annoying heartburn on a pretty often basis lately.

Personally I've tried stuff like Tums, but the most it ever does is slightly suppress the shitty feeling.

What has been working for me are PPIs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-pump_inhibitor E.g. Prevacid, Prilosec, Nexium.... The problem is on each of these it basically says after taking for 14 consecutive days or so to stop taking it for 3 months straight... Yeaaaah, it doesn't subdue the heartburn THAT much for me.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
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Every few months I take Esomeprazole (Nexium) for 2-3 weeks which mostly eliminates any GERD symptoms.

In between rounds for symptom-relief I've been taking 3/4 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water. I find it more effective then most OTC antacids plus it has zero nasty chemicals added and is super-cheap. Downsides are it tastes kinda gross and is very high sodium.
 

TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
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I've been having annoying heartburn on a pretty often basis lately.

Personally I've tried stuff like Tums, but the most it ever does is slightly suppress the shitty feeling.

What has been working for me are PPIs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-pump_inhibitor E.g. Prevacid, Prilosec, Nexium.... The problem is on each of these it basically says after taking for 14 consecutive days or so to stop taking it for 3 months straight... Yeaaaah, it doesn't subdue the heartburn THAT much for me.
Make an appointment to see your doctor (may only be tele at this point).

Until then, taking a daily PPI for (much) longer than 14 days is fine. Certainly any drug has risks, and PPIs are not without theirs, but for daily heartburn it's a starting place.

Next, figure out why you're having heartburn all of a sudden (have weight to lose?). May need further evaluation.
 
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snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
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Diet and exercise? I've probably only had heartburn a handful of times in my whole life. My dad gets it pretty bad if he eats chocolate at night (which he can't stop), but he is over 70.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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I used to take apple cider vinegar. Nasty stuff but worked way better than medications!

Then I got a Medcline pillow, which helped immensely with the reflux.

Then I found out I had sleep apnea. Now I use a BiPap machine & have zero heartburn & reflux. The breathing machine made it magically disappear! I still get it on occasional if I eat stuff like tomato sauce a few days in a row, but nothing major anymore.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
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Until then, taking a daily PPI for (much) longer than 14 days is fine. Certainly any drug has risks, and PPIs are not without theirs, but for daily heartburn it's a starting place.
Generally, the goal with PPIs is to eliminate your heartburn without causing diarrhea. The tricky part is that the effect on your heartburn comes from the dose you took two days ago or so.

Right now I get 20mg Omeprazole tablets, split them in half with a pill splitter most of the time, and occasionally either take a full one or supplement them with Famotidine.
 

GrumpyMan

Diamond Member
May 14, 2001
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Generally, the goal with PPIs is to eliminate your heartburn without causing diarrhea. The tricky part is that the effect on your heartburn comes from the dose you took two days ago or so.

Right now I get 20mg Omeprazole tablets, split them in half with a pill splitter most of the time, and occasionally either take a full one or supplement them with Famotidine.

Omeprazole has been working great for me, now take one tab a week or so and watch my diet. I quit smoking and most drinking now so that has helped tremendously.
 

local

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Jun 28, 2011
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Omeprazole 40mg daily for about 13 years now. 20mg only works some days I tried to cut back a bit earlier this year so had to go back to 40mg. I have a whole thread about it somewhere.
 

TheVrolok

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Dec 11, 2000
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Omeprazole 40mg daily for about 13 years now. 20mg only works some days I tried to cut back a bit earlier this year so had to go back to 40mg. I have a whole thread about it somewhere.
It's in Health and Fitness
 

brainhulk

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2007
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As always, probably should see your physician for a proper exam.

If it is reflux, i usually recommend liquid maalox for immediate relief. Then H2 blockers like pepcid, and then lastly the ppi's.

ppi's acid reduction can be too good at times and with chronic use, bad bacterial overgrowth can occur because of the lower gastric ph.

You can take a look at diet mods too. There are some food and drinks to avoid that can lower lower esophageal sphincter tone among other things (floppy sphincter!!). alcohol, caffeine, carbonated drinks, chocolate, citrus fruits and juices, tomato-based foods, garlic, mint, onions, spicy foods, fatty foods, and fried foods.

But yeah see your physician, how do you know you don't have angina nstemi, dissection, or barrett's esophagus cancer symptoms? Probably not, but only your doctor can figure that out
 
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TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
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If it is reflux, i usually recommend liquid maalox for immediate relief. Then H2 blockers like pepcid, and then lastly the ppi's.

Step up therapy is not unreasonable for people with mild or occasional symptoms, but with the frequency of the symptoms the OP is having, step down therapy is recommended. PPIs, then de-escalate.

Edit: Well, I guess I should take a step back. I interpreted "pretty often" as more than twice a week, and I may be wrong there.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
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alcohol, caffeine, carbonated drinks, chocolate, citrus fruits and juices, tomato-based foods, garlic, mint, onions, spicy foods, fatty foods, and fried foods

With the exception of carbonated drinks (which I interpret to mean soda) this is like 75% of my diet!

:D
 
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nitsuj3580

Platinum Member
Jun 13, 2001
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Have a look at your diet. Maybe you can change something there.

This! I had heart burn, bloating, constant headaches and was always tired for most of my adult life. I finally took a look at my diet. Long story short, after quite a bit of trial and error, it became extremely clear that I have a gluten issue. Since going gluten free, I've been heart burn, bloat, headache free and my energy is higher at 40 than it was in my 20s and 30s. Wish I had done it years ago.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
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Change your eating habits. I rarely get heartburn these days but on the rare occasion the old plop plop fizz fizz works for me.
 
Nov 8, 2012
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Change your eating habits. I rarely get heartburn these days but on the rare occasion the old plop plop fizz fizz works for me.

God fucking damn - no offense meant but you're old...

No idea what the hell "plop plop fizz fizz" was - took me googling it to find this incredibly stupid video:

 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,574
972
126
God fucking damn - no offense meant but you're old...

No idea what the hell "plop plop fizz fizz" was - took me googling it to find this incredibly stupid video:


LOL, yeah I was just a kid when those commercials played. In my defense they stuck with that ad campaign for quite a long time and may gone back to it at some point.