Question re: OTC for heartburn

Avatar for sapphireperidot
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Question re: OTC for heartburn
8
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 11:27pm

Still don't know the cause of my acid reflux/GERD. I'm "passing" all of my physical exams the doctors order for me. So the doctors are focused on just treating my symptoms. Kinda going backwards here - at the first sign of the problem I consulted my doctor. It's now been almost 4 months of the same frustration. About the only drugs I haven't tried are OTC.

Are they all created equal? Which one works for you? And these aren't meant to be taken long term, right? That was part of the reason I consulted the doctor in the first place.

~K

~K

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Thu, 03-23-2006 - 7:30pm

Hey K


How's it going??

 
Avatar for sapphireperidot
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 03-26-2006 - 5:06pm

Upper endoscopy last month showed irritation only in the lower stomach but cause unknown. Upper gastrointestinal x-ray scheduled Mar 27. No ambulatory acid (PH) probe test.

Have you changed your diet? Yes, but that didn't work. I've kept a food diary. Shared it with docs.

What are your trigger foods? None. I have it when I drink water and on an empty stomache. Seems there's no correlation b/t diet and the heartburn, gas, belching, bloating, etc. Do you eat smaller meals? I have to at this point. Due to not being able to eat, my stomach has shrunk.

Do you smoke? Never. Do you limit fatty foods? Yes. Do you sleep with your head/chest elevated 6-9 inches higher than the foot of your bed? Yes and I make sure not to eat & lie down. Do you take other meds? Yes, but no changes in last 3 years. The only thing that changed was a surgery Nov 28 which my docs swear that has nothing at all to do with my symptoms.

What type of doctor do you see? Physiatrist who referred me to my regular doc who referred me to a gastroenterologist who referred me to a cardiologist where everything with my heart checked out. Now I'm back with the gastro trying to figure all this out.

This is getting expensive and is very stressful.

Thanks.

~Keron

~K

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 8:10pm

HI Keron,


Yes, I agree it can get expensive.

 
Avatar for sapphireperidot
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 03-30-2006 - 3:30pm

>> Mix Maalox, Donnatol and Xylocain together. <<

I'm assuming these are all OTC. Bonk, because I've never even heard of them!

My barium swallow & upper GI xrays came out OK. The test took forever though because my system just wasn't moving fast enough for them to take the series of xrays they needed to take. It was me mostly sitting and waiting for the next set of Xrays to be taken. I was there 5 hours!

I eat really well, high fiber diet anyway. I'm just at a loss.

~K

~K

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Sun, 04-02-2006 - 9:58am

Hey K,


YOu can't get the donnatol and xylocain over the counter.

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-04-2006 - 9:26pm
Hi, I 've just been dx with a hiatal hernia. It's minor so my GI didn't do any repair on it. He wants me to do a CAT scan of my pancreas to check for anything abnormal because he doesn't believe the hernia is causing my GERD. I had a u/s of my gallbladder and everything was o.k. there. I go in thinking it's just going to be H. pylori that's causing my GERD and it turns out to be this. I still don't have relief because I'm not following the diet. I don't see how one can really do the diet. I'm taking omeprazole (substitute for Prilosec)because my insurance refuse to pay for. I'm not doing my CAT scan until I switch to an HMO in the fall. It does get expensive and watch, when I do switch to the HMO they probably won't allow my doc to order the CAT scan. It does suck, I hope you do find out what you have and get some relief.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-27-2000
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 4:42pm
I've apparently had GERD since I was a kid, but they didn't know what it WAS back then. When a GI finally did the tests and found out what it is, we went thru the whole list of meds available, but nothing really worked a lot until we landed on Prilosec, and I got the most relief on the larger dose twice a day. But your body chemistry is unique to you, so what works for me might not be the right one for you. Lots of us do take them long-term, I've been on Prilosec/Nexium for many years now, and it works like a charm. And the ads you keep seeing saying Nexium can take a week or two to work, that also won't be true for everybody - I felt better within about two days. I wouldn't recommend you start anything OTC until you see your doctor, though.

 


~~joannaran~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-06-2004
Mon, 04-10-2006 - 10:24pm

KMADR,

I'm sorry that you are having trouble with your GERD and insurance company to boot. I suffer with GERD and a hiatal hernia as well along with IBS and I do get some relief from watching what I eat. I had an upper endoscopy last February and was told that I had grade 2(on a scale of 1- 4) erosive esophagitis. I wasn't even having a lot of reflux i.e. sour liquid burps just wicked bad indigestion with chest pain so bad that I thougth I was having a heart attack. Once I went to the ER because I didn't know what it was.

Anyway you really should try the GERD diet? In the past year I have given up all caffeine,chocolate, carbonated beverages, spicy and fried foods. The hard one for me is to limit spaghetti. I also limit rich fatty foods due to my IBS. It is not always fun But the alternative for not following it is a miserable and very painful night of indigestion and after too many of those I decided it was not worth it. I also stop eating 3 hours before I go to bed and have my bed on 6 inch blocks. One benefit of watching what I eat is that I have lost 50 pounds. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help out if I can. You really want to protect your esophagus at all costs because if you don't you could develop serious trouble like Barretts esophaghus.

Take Care!

P.S. My doctor had to start me off on Protonix and then we tried Prilosec and finally after no relief he was able to get the insurance company to approve Nexium. I just started it a month ago and it is a little more help.

Don't give up!