Those who have acid reflux - what do you take to tame it?

[Anonymous]

Cutting out grains healed my acid reflux completely, same for my spouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pepcid chewable OTC

This one and stop coffee and wine til better and any food after 7 pm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:American Gaviscon lacks the crucial ingredient that makes British Gaviscon so effective: sodium alginate. It’s a seaweed derivative that forms a “bubble” that physically blocks the acid from rising and it is MAGICAL.

You cannot eat or drink after taking it, though, or the barrier may be disrupted.

I stock up on it when in the UK and when I run out, I buy the large bottles of liquid Gaviscon Advance from a British pharmacy that sells on Amazon.com — the peppermint is bearable, but if they’re out, I will choke down the aniseed/licorice flavor.

Best of all, it not only works SO MUCH BETTER than any American med I’ve tried, it also does not contribute to cancer as PPIs do over extended use.

There is an American product now on Amazon that also contains sodium alginate (Reflux Gourmet) that I have used in a pinch when a British shipment was delayed. But I don’t think it’s quite as effective. British Gaviscon also comes in tablets and the flavor is better than the liquid but they’re like chalk and get stuck in your teeth. Still better than any US option though.

Do you take it preventatively before meals/bedtime or do you take it in the middle of an acid attack?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:American Gaviscon lacks the crucial ingredient that makes British Gaviscon so effective: sodium alginate. It’s a seaweed derivative that forms a “bubble” that physically blocks the acid from rising and it is MAGICAL.

You cannot eat or drink after taking it, though, or the barrier may be disrupted.

I stock up on it when in the UK and when I run out, I buy the large bottles of liquid Gaviscon Advance from a British pharmacy that sells on Amazon.com — the peppermint is bearable, but if they’re out, I will choke down the aniseed/licorice flavor.

Best of all, it not only works SO MUCH BETTER than any American med I’ve tried, it also does not contribute to cancer as PPIs do over extended use.

There is an American product now on Amazon that also contains sodium alginate (Reflux Gourmet) that I have used in a pinch when a British shipment was delayed. But I don’t think it’s quite as effective. British Gaviscon also comes in tablets and the flavor is better than the liquid but they’re like chalk and get stuck in your teeth. Still better than any US option though.

Do you take it preventatively before meals/bedtime or do you take it in the middle of an acid attack?

DP. Either one. I'll take it as soon as I finish a meal if I need to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:American Gaviscon lacks the crucial ingredient that makes British Gaviscon so effective: sodium alginate. It’s a seaweed derivative that forms a “bubble” that physically blocks the acid from rising and it is MAGICAL.

You cannot eat or drink after taking it, though, or the barrier may be disrupted.

I stock up on it when in the UK and when I run out, I buy the large bottles of liquid Gaviscon Advance from a British pharmacy that sells on Amazon.com — the peppermint is bearable, but if they’re out, I will choke down the aniseed/licorice flavor.

Best of all, it not only works SO MUCH BETTER than any American med I’ve tried, it also does not contribute to cancer as PPIs do over extended use.

There is an American product now on Amazon that also contains sodium alginate (Reflux Gourmet) that I have used in a pinch when a British shipment was delayed. But I don’t think it’s quite as effective. British Gaviscon also comes in tablets and the flavor is better than the liquid but they’re like chalk and get stuck in your teeth. Still better than any US option though.

Do you take it preventatively before meals/bedtime or do you take it in the middle of an acid attack?

DP. Either one. I'll take it as soon as I finish a meal if I need to.

Is there a downside to taking it very regularly or daily at bedtime? My problem is that I’m on a PPI but don’t really know when the reflux attacks are happening.

[Anonymous]

I take 80 mg of Pepcid. 40 mg before dinner, and 40 mg before bed. I also watch my diet very carefully (modified version of the acid watchers diet).

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one who takes Tums?

[Anonymous]

Don’t take TUMS. They cause kidney stones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take 80 mg of Pepcid. 40 mg before dinner, and 40 mg before bed. I also watch my diet very carefully (modified version of the acid watchers diet).

Same, but I take my first 40mg in the morning. The second 40mg before bed.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the gaviscon PPs. I’m going to try taking it at bedtime.

How do you know if it’s successfully blocked acid - do you have zero reflux symptoms upon taking it, or do you maybe taste the mint/aniseed flavor or what? How do you know?

[Anonymous]

My dr. advised Pepcid.

[Anonymous]

My doctor also recommended Pepcid, though it didn’t seem to do anything for me except give my throat a weird tight, slightly gassy feeling.

[Anonymous]

Famotidine, 40mg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the gaviscon PPs. I’m going to try taking it at bedtime.

How do you know if it’s successfully blocked acid - do you have zero reflux symptoms upon taking it, or do you maybe taste the mint/aniseed flavor or what? How do you know?

The burning and throat clearing stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who takes Tums?

They do nothing for a lot of people I know with reflux. Ocassional heartburn yes, but not reflux.