BarbecueMom Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'm taking 40mg/day omeprazole for reflux, have been for about two weeks, but for some reason today I'm still having pretty severe heartburn, all the way up to my shoulders. Drinking water feels like drinking straight acid right now. What else can I take to get this under control? I think I have some Tums unless DH took them to work, and I have some 150mg Zantac. And I'm about to run to the store and can pick up whatever. FYI, I'm still nursing the baby, and they were a bit wary of me taking the 40mg dose of omeprazole anyway, but I couldn't wait any longer to get relief from this. I kind of want to throw stuff across the room today because I'm tired of feeling like garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 You can layer both zantac and tums on to pof the omeprazole but it may not help. My 9 year old has fairly severe reflux and we had to try a few different proton pump inhibitors before we found one that worked for her (omperazole was the first attempt and a failure). It is also very important to take it on an empty stomach an hour before you eat (it turns off the acid production before it starts). If necessary you can also talk to your doc about trying a switch to 20mg twice a day (both times on an empty stomach) before trying a different med. Good luck. The process of finding what works is tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 For some people (whose reflux is actually low stomach acid related), a PPI can make it worse. Make sure you're taking it on an empty stomach at least an hour before you eat. My son had to do it in split doses, morning and night. If I recall correctly, you can't put a H2 blocker with a PPI,. I would check that out before you try Zantac on top. You could, though, do the PPI in the morning and Zantac before bed. I think tums on top are ok. If you have trouble at night, consider elevating the top/head of the bed 6 inches. We put ours on blocks when I was pregnant. It looked weird, but really helped me. You could try massage. I was taught something like this but the therapist added to pull the hands to the left (or maybe right, I can't remember but either seems to help me) along the under side of the rib cage, sort of like this one which is pregnancy specific! but going the other direction! So we started at that mid point, pressed in, and then went left. You could easily try and see if something like these works for you. You'd know immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Zantac alone did nothing. 20mg Prilosec did nothing. Nexium worked for a short while, then stopped. I'm on a prescription generic delayed release thing now, but I think I haven't been waiting long enough to eat in the morning. I'm only hungry first thing in the morning, the rest of the day alternates between feeling full long after eating and shaking from hunger (and still not feeling an appetite). Trying to figure out if the GERD is causing all the problems or if something else is going on. Really trying to put off a second endoscopy. I'm going to try to wait longer before eating in the morning and call the doctor's office on Monday to see what she thinks. I ate a bowl of carrots and that seemed to calm things down a bit today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeepa Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Sorry you're feeling so poorly! Are you following a GERD diet as well as taking meds? It took me about a month of a very strict GERD diet plus 20 mg Prilosec daily to stop the heartburn once I was diagnosed 5 years ago. I've had a few bad episodes since and during those times I take 20mg first thing in the morning and 20mg around 7p at night. That really helped me. Drinking milk and eating plain full fat Greek yogurt helps me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Sorry you're feeling so poorly! Are you following a GERD diet as well as taking meds? It took me about a month of a very strict GERD diet plus 20 mg Prilosec daily to stop the heartburn once I was diagnosed 5 years ago. I've had a few bad episodes since and during those times I take 20mg first thing in the morning and 20mg around 7p at night. That really helped me. Drinking milk and eating plain full fat Greek yogurt helps me too. I took dairy out of my diet because the baby has terrible eczema and possibly a dairy allergy. I can't seem to get it back in my diet without feeling sick, either. I could be stricter with the diet. I drink half a cup of coffee in the morning, and I have a couple dark chocolate chips when I feel I'm about to blow my stack. No tomatoes, citrus, carbonated drinks, raw onions, or fried foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeepa Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Have you tried low acid coffee? When first diagnosed, I gave up coffee for a month. Miserable. I then tried a low acid coffee made by Trader Joe's and was able to tolerate one cup of that each day with no problems. There are other brands of low acid coffee too if you don't have a Trader Joe's near you. Surprisingly, the coffee still tastes great - at least the Trader Joe's brand does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I think that's actually a fairly low dose. My dd was on 20 mg twice a day and I was told that that was nowhere near the highest dose she could take (she is 45 lb). Regarding the water: one of my friends just told me that she drinks alkaline water. She says it neutralizes the bile that is in the throat bc of the gerd. She said that the bile gets into the throat and then anything acidic at all reactivates the burning. The alkaline water stops this process. I haven't done any research on this or anything, but am going to try it with my dd. I thought I'd pass it on bc of what you said about the throat burning with water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Eating carrots was surprisingly effective for my pregnancy heartburn. Also my MIL swears by Gaviscon, but I don't know if that can be taken with Omeprazole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I am having good results with silent reflux (as is Husband, who has it much worse than I do) by eating a very low fat diet and avoiding fizzy drinks, acid foods and chocolate. He is on medication in addition to the diet; I have avoided it so far. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Eating an apple is surprisingly effective for my reflux. I was on 80mg of pro-- something.. but have weaned myself down to 20 mg of omeprazole(sp?) .. And chewing gum. It adds saliva to the stomach which helps take care of the acid. Works like a charm , I don't have to use tums if i have gum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I take Protonix for GERD, and it mostly keeps it under control. If I do get breakthrough reflux, two Gaviscon seem to work best. I can drink one cup of coffee/day without problems. I also have had the water causing terrible reflux, too. My dr looked at me like I was crazy when I said water makes if worse. I could drink a soda and have less reflux than having water. I don't know why, but it definitely caused a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I take Protonix for GERD, and it mostly keeps it under control. If I do get breakthrough reflux, two Gaviscon seem to work best. I can drink one cup of coffee/day without problems. I also have had the water causing terrible reflux, too. My dr looked at me like I was crazy when I said water makes if worse. I could drink a soda and have less reflux than having water. I don't know why, but it definitely caused a problem.Yes, my dd's daughter thought the water thing was odd, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Omeprazole does nothing for me. I have to take Pantoprazole (I might be misspelling). Different people respond differently so maybe try another type of PPI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I take Protonix for GERD, and it mostly keeps it under control. If I do get breakthrough reflux, two Gaviscon seem to work best. I can drink one cup of coffee/day without problems. I also have had the water causing terrible reflux, too. My dr looked at me like I was crazy when I said water makes if worse. I could drink a soda and have less reflux than having water. I don't know why, but it definitely caused a problem. DH's theory is that water goes in and makes the acid float to the top... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Also, my DH can't drink even a small coffee without causing problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 I am having good results with silent reflux (as is Husband, who has it much worse than I do) by eating a very low fat diet and avoiding fizzy drinks, acid foods and chocolate. He is on medication in addition to the diet; I have avoided it so far. L What kinds of calorie-dense foods do you eat that are low fat, besides dairy? Chicken and turkey? I've lost too much weight in the past year from all this and am hesitant to lower my fat and calorie intake any more, especially while nursing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 What kinds of calorie-dense foods do you eat that are low fat, besides dairy? Chicken and turkey? I've lost too much weight in the past year from all this and am hesitant to lower my fat and calorie intake any more, especially while nursing. It's a good question. I'm a normal weight but wouldn't mind losing a bit, so I tend to look for highly nutritious, rather than calorie-dense foods. I eat a lot of whole grains, fresh veg and fruit, fish, chicken, venison, etc. Things like rice pudding can be made low fat (with skimmed milk) and the texture is still good because of the rice. Pasta is also good - I make carbonara without the cream - the mackerel in this one ups the fat a bit, but you could play with that. We all like Japanese noodle soups - the noodles can be quite calorific, but made with fish, the soup will be low fat. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I take Protonix for GERD, and it mostly keeps it under control. If I do get breakthrough reflux, two Gaviscon seem to work best. I can drink one cup of coffee/day without problems. I also have had the water causing terrible reflux, too. My dr looked at me like I was crazy when I said water makes if worse. I could drink a soda and have less reflux than having water. I don't know why, but it definitely caused a problem.My ds has suffered from stomach ulcers and acid reflux for many years. Omeprazole helped for a while and then it stopped working. Switching to Protonix (generic Pantoprazole) was the trick. It's a prescription for my son so I'm not sure if it's in an OTC form or not. Hope you feel better soon! Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camelfeet Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Switch to a different PPI? I took Pantoprazole with good results for gastritis/ulcers caused by excess acid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 My MIL had a pamphlet with the GERD diet. I would rather take a pill. I just started trying to eliminate foods that cause silent acid reflux. I would rather do that than take a pill. I had to be on blood thinners and other heart meds for a year, no thank you!! So far I know dairy and cherries, I'm not 100% sure about wheat, it was the first thing I eliminated and I am afraid to add it back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBearTeacher Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 We tried Omeprazole, Prilosec and Prevacid with my son and with all of them he started vomiting a huge amount and could not keep any food down. Can this be explained in any way? The doctor just said that he had an intolerance to those particular medications and we should try another one. I was too scared. It improved somewhat when we increased his calories significantly and with herbal bitters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatohaleybug Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Haven't read all the responses but my young DD has been on 80 mg of omeprazole for over a year after 40 mg didn't work. Her doctors (specialists) all agree that there is no risk to her at this dose. So maybe it's just not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 We tried Omeprazole, Prilosec and Prevacid with my son and with all of them he started vomiting a huge amount and could not keep any food down. Can this be explained in any way? The doctor just said that he had an intolerance to those particular medications and we should try another one. I was too scared. It improved somewhat when we increased his calories significantly and with herbal bitters. I've heard some people have too little acid rather than too much, and I would assume blocking acid production in those people would cause significant digestive problems. I'm dealing with chronic nausea too, which may or may not be the GERD. I just read a book to my kids after dinner, against my better judgement, and now I have stomach cramps. Usually I throw up, so this is an improvement, I guess. I'm going to call the doctor about switching meds. Protonix looks like it might be safer for nursing, as less of it passes into the milk, if I'm reading the studies right. I am 900% done with GI problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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