Horrible Heartburn, what do you take OTC?

[endless80 697]

I am 18 days post op and my heartburn is horrible and all day long. I take 2 pepcid daily, one in the morning and one at night but it's not enough.

What do you take that works that I can get over the counter?

[jenlen 58]

Tums, chewable, 5 at a time when needed (per my doc)

[endless80 697]

Tums, chewable, 5 at a time when needed (per my doc)

I have a friend who used to take Tums daily, multiple times a day. He ended up in the hospital and his kidneys were shutting down because the chalky buildup. He almost died. Ever since then I have been weary of taking too many Tums.

[jenlen 58]

I totally understand. I always heard that taking tums as a regular habit makes the acid worsen. However for the first 2-3 weeks while healing I found them to be a life saver. Can also go with liquid Prilosec ( sp?)

[endless80 697]

I totally understand. I always heard that taking tums as a regular habit makes the acid worsen. However for the first 2-3 weeks while healing I found them to be a life saver. Can also go with liquid Prilosec ( sp?)

I'm gonna have to do something. I'm experiencing heartburn before I eat anything in the morning or drink anything. It's horrible.

[Decembersleever 154]

I'd recommend a cracker before you eat and then another cracker afterwards. Really saved me! I take one Off brand omezaprele? in the morning and another one just before bed. That cured me.

[Jiggly Puff 53]

Hello! I know exactly what you're going through. It's horrible! I've never felt anything like that before in my life. So I take one Prilosec every morning and I've never had heartburn since. I am planning on going to my doctor to get a prescription for it because it'll be cheaper for me. Right now I'm buying them at Sam's for about $28 a package. They have 3 boxes in each one. And the box says to only take them for 2 wks at a time. Which is ridiculous. My dad has been taking prescription strength Prilosec for years, every single day. At least you just take it once in the morning and forget all about it for the rest of the day. Good luck!

[endless80 697]

Hello! I know exactly what you're going through. It's horrible! I've never felt anything like that before in my life. So I take one Prilosec every morning and I've never had heartburn since. I am planning on going to my doctor to get a prescription for it because it'll be cheaper for me. Right now I'm buying them at Sam's for about $28 a package. They have 3 boxes in each one. And the box says to only take them for 2 wks at a time. Which is ridiculous. My dad has been taking prescription strength Prilosec for years, every single day. At least you just take it once in the morning and forget all about it for the rest of the day. Good luck!

I've been scared to take any pill since I am 18 days post op. Is it okay, I know it's a small pill? I LOVE prilosec, absolutely love it. Before surgery I would take it and for that 2 weeks I would feel a complete night and day difference.

[jenlen 58]

I was scared to take any pills too as my doc told me not to. I know some folks seem to do alright with small pills right after surgery. Hope you find some relief. It will get better soon.

[AtlantaRed 651]

Nothing over the counter works for me, I take Protonix. However, even that was not working for a bit. The pharmacist recommended taking it an hour before I eat anything for the day, and that has helped. He also said that prescription versions of over the counter meds are "cleaner" and seem to work better than the OTC meds such as prilosec and such.

When I have issues now, I drink a couple of swigs of generic Maalox and that really helps. It may be in my head, but I feel like it almost numbs the area on the way down.

[kiwi17 54]

I take Prevacid, but I break the capsule open and sprinkle the med on some yogurt which I have every morning. In the early days post-op, I thought I was having heartburn, but it turned out to be my Super B Complex. I now take it with a more dense Protein later in the day and it doesn't hurt my stomach.

[Sydney Susan 333]

Why OTC? Sounds like you need a prescription med. I take Nexium, 40mg a day and sometimes I double up - 1 in morning, 1 before bed. .

Incidentally boring old bicarbonate of soda in a glass of Water works wonders. Tastes foul though.

Try raising the top half of your bed slightly - pillows under the mattress eg. Can make a huge diff in the morning.

[Jiggly Puff 53]

I've been scared to take any pill since I am 18 days post op. Is it okay, I know it's a small pill? I LOVE prilosec, absolutely love it. Before surgery I would take it and for that 2 weeks I would feel a complete night and day difference.

I think I lived on Tums for about a month. Then I started taking the Prilosec. And my doctor didn't have any issues with me taking a tiny little birth control pill and my Ambien from day one. So I didn't even think twice about taking the Prilosec and I've been fine ever since.

[marfar7 1,531]

I took 2 20mg Prilosec pre op (reflux from slipped lapband) but after surgery my dr also put me on Pepcid. By the 2nd wk, I had horrible heartburn, unrelated to food, time, position. So I went back to my Prilosec and it works like a charm. PPIs worj differently on diffferent people. Maybe u just need a different 1. Pre op I also take OTC Zantac and Tums. Yep, I was a walking pharmacy. The surgery helped my nightime reflux but now I have heartburn (actually, not as long as I take my meds). I pop an occasioanl Tums, but for the most part the Prilosec does the trick.

Id call ur dr to try a different PPI.

Good luck

[Madam Reverie 2,958]

I actually came back from my GP yesterday on an un-bariatric-related issue and had to drop into the conversation about GERD. I stated that the drugs they gave me at the private hospital for reflux/heartburn were rubbish and that I'd reverted to taking Omeprazole (which I had leftover from catching HPylori whilst overseas) and said they were much better. His response was 'certain PPI and antacids work for one person and don't work that well for another - sadly it is trial and error'. That being said, the dude was kind enough to prescribe me some more Omeprazole 20mg which i only have to take before my evening meal, because he said 'clearly these work for you'. I can recommend those - although I doubt they're OTC. Failing that, I found that 150mg of Zantac (generic name 'ranitidine'), which is what I took before the surgery and when I was feeling particularly rubbish, is pretty darn good. Make sure to take it on an empty stomach, let it do its thing for a bit, then you're set for a good few hours - if not the rest of the day. Best of luck! x