After many years of taking a PPI and now having heart arrhythmias, so I am trying to wean off of them.
I have a hiatal hernia along with gastritis and am trying Pepcid for now but wonder if any of you have found greater relief from one v. the other.
And in case anyone wonders, I am making diet adjustments but pablum would be one of the few foods I could eat without medication (and I can't eat that because I don't eat wheat!).
FYI the gastritis is SjS related, I had H. Pylori years ago but that was treated then cleared up.
Did you check with the doctor about going off your med?? When you don't take your PPI meds the acid eats at your esophagus and can cause precancerous condition that can turn to cancer and demands very serious surgery. It is wise not to make any changes in meds, etc. without talking things over with the doctor. If we try to change things a lot we can be labeled as noncompliant patients and man the docs try to avoid us then. Hope you feel better.
Also, with the PPIs everyone is different in the way they respond. I don't think there is a bad or good drug as we are all individuals. Also, gastritis demands that our stomach acid needs to be decreased as we can end up with holes eaten in our stomach or worse problems. From what you said your heart issues have nothing to do with your Reflux and acid problems. Is that right. Irish
the only thing that I noticed after 20 years of ppi is that it diminishes my saliva. since sjogren started.i take now ranitidine and it is ok
I know what you mean. I take one rantidine and one omeprazole a day. I am supposed to take 2 omeprazole a day but because of the side effects I keep it to one a day. When my acid gets bad I increase it to 1 pill morning and one pill night. My doctor is ok with me doing this. As long as I keep the reflux down. I have had reflux for years...back in the 80's I believe it was. I have etaken just about every PPI there is and then some and these are the 2 that work the best for me. I get my esophagus scoped every couple of years and so far so good.
It is a battle to keep the acid down but worth the battle. I have been told by nurse friends to drink water when you have a lot of acid also. This helps to dilute the acid and I think it does help some. Years ago some doctors told me that I was having reflux because of some problems with my asthma....I was not diagnosed with Sjogrens then. Anything that causes stress will increase the reflux so the asthma thing does make some sense. I have found that dry toast with grape jelly goes down good when I have reflux also.We all have out ideas on how to decrease our misery. Thanks Irish
Irish, yes I definitely conferred with my doc. The PA typically responds and did this time. She told me to wean off of the PPI and try Pepcid or Zantac. I am just a few days in with Pepcid and it is working so far, fingers crossed that it continues.
Interestingly, before I even stopped taking the PPI my saliva reappeared one day. I found myself almost drooling at night and had plenty of saliva during the day. I can only think this may have been related to stopping other meds which may have been causing dry mouth (and I did confer with docs about stopping those meds).
The good news is that the last time I checked all of the pre-cancerous conditions were gone. I am aware that they can all too quickly return and I can't stand the pain from the reflux so I will almost surely always be taking a med for this as long as I live.
Hi :)
I had a haital hernia, wanted to get off PPIs, so I decided to get it fixed. I had a Toupet fundiplication done. No more PPIs, no more reflux, no more heartburn. Tooka it to get over it - but I did and it was worth it.
Take care - Scottie :)
Sjogirl,
I tried to wean myself off my PPI, but was terribly unsuccessful😞. I have Barrette?s esophagus, esophagitis, and gastritis. My acid heartburn came back full force and was very painful.
My doctor told me to just take the PPI and that I?d probably never be able to stop taking them. I take two daily - one in the AM and one at night. I find I can?t do without. I tried to substitute Zantac and Tagamet but was very unsuccessful.
I hope you have more success than I did.
Kathy
Hi all, I have all of the types of issues mentioned, the hernia, esophagus issues, etc.
I am pleased to report that the shift to Pepcid has worked! I had a few days of terrible burning after I stopped the PPI but I'm just about four days in on the Pepcid and it's working very well. I do still have to take a Tums on occasion for breakthrough burn but not that much. I also feel a lot better in general. I'm not sure why but wonder if the PPI was doing a number on me in ways I had not considered.
I have wondered if having the hernia fixed would address these issues. I have other matters with my heart and my hand to figure out first. If those prove to not to be big issues I may ask about whether it would prove helpful.
I've been able to transition off Nexium to Pepsid. It took some time and I had to cut back on the caffeine, but it seems to be working. I also elevated the head of my bed to keep the acid from coming up too easily while I sleep. Good luck!
Deb, thanks, so far so good. I mostly need to avoid vinegar, which I find funny since so many people recommend using vinegar to calm a stomach or keep it in line.
Diet adjustment and Zantac for me. Low dose. 75 mg twice a day. I periodically need to do this. Then I switch to one a day. Now, I?m back to as needed.
I eat lower fat, no junk, no flour, no sugar ...lots of water. Low fat dairy now and then...no milk. Light cheese on e in awhile.
Nomad, thanks. I've been off of wheat and most dairy. I do admit to eating some chips and some sugar. I went for about 10 years without any junk or sugar I just got tired of it. I do know that too much sugar does tip scales so have to take care.
Hello folks,
Just thought I would say that Pepcid is generally working beautifully for me! I am so grateful to be off of the PPI, which I believe was causing a host of problems. FYI I had horrendous GERD, Barretts' Esophagus, and so on so this is a miracle for me.
That is great news!
Sjogirl,
Happy that this all worked out for you! It?s pretty amazing, really🤗
Kathy
Yes, it is all amazing. Even more so is the fact that I don't have to take something every day. So far I using something every other day.
This is after about 11-12 years of suffering. I am going to credit Imuran for potentially having put my immune issues into remission. The credit for that also goes to my former rheumatologist who prescribed that drug after Plaquenil and Mexotrathate did real numbers on me.
Now my biggest issue is my osteoarthritis. That said even that is not as bad most days (of course it's summer, when the cold weather comes that will change).
So grateful!
I find that almond milk is great on my cereal and doesn't both my stomach. I started using this cause of the high calcium and low calories, etc and found that I really like it. I drink the low calorie, unsweetened, vanilla flavored and it is really so nutritious. Irish
Hi all, Yes it is amazing. I'm also realizing that there are still limits and a need to take Pepcid regularly. This weekend my sour stomach returned and I can feel the acid coming back a bit. Hopefully an ounce of prevention will result in a pound of cure.
I have taken a lot of different meds for my reflux. The Pepcid was one I took for a long time and it just didn't seem to work all that well. I finally bought the Zantac or Rantidine and tried that and it works so much better for me. WE are all different and have to find what works. Irish
Zantac is now being removed from the market .. the latest I've heard.
I never could take that one. I do well on Pepcid.
hey are testing all these drug ingredients and before you know it we will lose a whole bunch of drugs. Zantac was found to have a tiny bit of cancer causing something or other in it. I heard a college lecture for the public about 30 years ago and he basically said that everything we eat and all the pills we take have something that will cause something or other. Relax he said cause the testing is done and we can't get rid of all the items that cause cancer.
Case in point: he said that apricots or peaches ( I forget which right now) had a pit that carried cyanide. The soft flesh of the fruit is right next to the pit.....I am waiting for the scientists to take that off the market. This professor said that nature makes a lot of products that in large amounts are dangerous but in smaller amounts are not. We have to use our head.
Sometimes I think that we get so carried away trying to keep things safe that we sort of shoot ourselves in the foot. Stop and think about the drugs taken off for a tiny amount of cancer causing product that many say is safe. Does their saying its dangerous help some other drug company. Just some thoughts. Irish
I saw the reports about Zantac and thought the same. All you have to do is listen to a drug commercial's list of side effects to know that many can hurt or even kill you. I am taking Pepcid and it's working. I just hope they don't take all these drugs off the market, some of use need regular help.
I have a hiatal hernia that has been repaired. I also have a lap band and each time I needed surgery on the lap band (its been moved or reattached twice) he had to undo the hernia and redo it. I took omeprazole for years then all of a sudden I started with my throat swelling when I took it so I stopped. Gave my system time to get it out and started on ranitidine. Now they are recalling it because of a cancer threat. So I guess I will have to stop that too. I guess my next move will be Pepcid.
bdnews I am sorry to hear of your troubles. Here's hoping you have better days ahead.
I just started Pepcid yesterday. My family doctor recomended I take Zantac, but my local store didn’t carry it, so I decided to try Pepcid.
Do you take it at a different time than HydroxyCloroquine? I read somewhere that it may bind with it and make it less effective, but I couldn?t find much else.
I have had terrible heartburn and reflux for the past few years, and this year is particularily bad. I was on PPIs for two months in June from a Gastro Specialist, but right now I have to rely on my family doctor. She had me try these over the counter first before she prescribes me a PPI.
I feel fine since taking Pepcid yesterday. I hope there isn’t other bad side effects, but so far I feel none. In Canada we can still get Zantac (Walmart), but I hear its been banned in the US.
Zantac is no more available in all Europe so I had to go to Pepcid but its not the same, for me is less effective so I have to take PPi again even in a very low dosage because of its shortage of saliva
My own experience has taught me to never take any other meds with my hydroxychloroquin. I have problems with the hydroxy so I make sure to take it alone with food and several hours either side of any other meds. I have found that taking it around 4PM works the best for me.
I am sitting up and can eat crackers or half a peanut butter sandwich to help cushion my stomach. A couple of years ago my reflux and heartburn got so bad and it took me a few days to figure out that it got much worse when I took my hydroxy. Sooo, I took myself off until my stomach improved and it took me about 8 months before I felt good enough to start taking it again.
Out of curiosity, are there any other meds that people take for reflux? I have been on the omeprazole for so long that I don't know what is out there anymore. Thanks. meirish
Thank you to Bluegardenia and Meirish, that is very helpful reply.
I’m think I made the right decision getting Pepcid instead of Zantac then. But yes, I had to take two the day before yesterday for it to really work. I think PPI would be better but my family doctor always likes to take things slow (which can be a good thing too).
I’m starting to think Irish, that my increased reflux and discomfort could be caused by the hydroxychloroquine as well with what you said. I take 1.5 pills a day, so I have to cut one pill in half. Maybe that is not the best idea. Yesterday I didn’t take any pepcid as I felt better, and wanted to see if I could make it through the whole day without, which I did.
I have found that if I have some pure aloe vera juice every day (1/4th cup) that it keeps the acid down pretty good. But I don’t know if that is safe to do long term, so now I only have it occasionally, which brought the reflux back in full force.
I’ll also take your advice and have the HCQ apart from other stuff, and separate by a few hours. I depend on it so I need it to be fully effective.