Question re: OTC for heartburn
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Question re: OTC for heartburn
| 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

Hey K
How's it going??
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
HI Keron,
Yes, I agree it can get expensive.
>> 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
Hey K,
YOu can't get the donnatol and xylocain over the counter.
~~joannaran~~
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!