with acid reflux worse. I use tums on occasion. My doctor didn't seem to happy about my decision since I have other medicines that I take also on a daily basis. I wasn't sure if it was a drug interaction. I would like to stay away from prescription medicine b/c of my health issues. Acid reflux seems like it is getting worse now. Does anyone know of any other options that help with the acid reflux other then tums? Not sure if it is enough. I seem to have acid reflux more often.
Nancybreeze
I was prescribed ranitidine for acid reflux and stopped taking it. I felt like it made my symptoms?
Question posted by nancybreeze on 26 Jan 2014
Last updated on 10 December 2019 by felkiwi
Added 27 Jan 2014:
some of the other meds are for pain relief, oxycodone, fentanyl patch 25mcg, diazapam, flovent diskus, allergy shots, prolia (for bone density) every 6mos. Newest medicine is the prolia.
I think I might have to find another doctor if this gets worse but was trying over the counter and any suggestions that might help with a solution.
Thanks for taking the time to write in.
Nancybreeze
9 Answers
felkiwi
10 Dec 2019
You must take the Ranitidine twice daily, but I would not recommend it since you can get all the other acid blockers Otc. They are only once daily so take it at the same time every day and you will not have problems. If you do take Tums or Rolaids within 45 min. Of the Prevacid or Nexium then you are blocking them. You should not need Tums if you take an acid blocker. Walmart has generic and they all work fine. Even Dollar General carries them.
Chexa
10 Dec 2019
I stopped taking ranitidine and it made my acid reflux worse too. I knew it wasn't good for me to be taking it. My primary care physician PCP got me on it 3 years ago and never discussed it with me, it showed up at my pharmacy and because I didn't know any better, I began taking it. A few years before that, I had been put on Protonix because I was experiencing heartburn. The doctor never said, "Lay off the coffee and change your lifetstyle to avoid this." Instead, he just told me to take it. Well, I was on that CRAP for a year or so and did not feel right, gained weight and knew I had to get off of it. I did it using Mastica, DGL chewables, and Tagamet. It worked fine. And I felt great! I told my PCP that I was using natural things and how I felt great and then a few years later, I got the RX at the pharmacy for Ranitidine out of the blue - never talking to me about it.
Now that I got of it, I feel worse than ever. The acid reflux is worse. I've used the Mastica, DGL and Tagamet but this time it is not taking care of it. It's almost as that Ranitidine screwed my body up. I am praying it heals and goes away because I do not want to be on acid reducing medicine. I stopped drinking coffee, changed my diet, losing weight, etc. and doing the right things to help myself.
If anyone knows anything else natural that can help with acid reflux, please respond to this thread. Thank you!
WintersMommy
22 Sep 2019
I took Ranitidine for years due to acid reflux and decided to stop after reading about the serious long term side effects. Thankfully I found a couple of natural supplements that helped me. Something called Acid Relief helps me the most, but there are others. I take the chewy tums when I need them. The first day was the worst for the rebound of acid. I have been getting headaches and night sweats, but nothing that some acetaminophen and an air conditioner can't help with. I do have to avoid trigger foods and try to eat healthy. Overall I'm happy with my decision.
felkiwi
21 Nov 2018
I am responding to the chain below. I was on Protonix for a year until I started feeling ill, then I thought I was dying, and finally figured out it was the Protonix. Now the same thing has happened with the Ranitidine I have been on for about 2 years. I quickly found out if you do not take it twice a day every day, your heartburn will quickly return. Now I am having to come off of Ranitidine and looking for information. How do I replace it if I am already on Nexium at night (the Ranitidine alone did not control my acid reflux), and do I come off of it slowly?
Steele1
24 Feb 2018
I have taken 2 pills of ranitidine and it has given me diarrhea bad. Not taking anymore. I was on Pantoprazole (Protonix) for a long time and it worked good, but recently I started getting choked on my saliva so doctor changed it.
OMPEACEFUL
8 Jan 2017
I have used antidepressants, Rx& OTC pain relievers w/ Ranitidine for 20 years but have finally been able to stop (YEAH!) since my doctor prescribed Pancreatic enzymes (Zenpep.)
Now I only occasionally need TUMS when I eat spicy foods.
I have also been treating for leaky gut symptoms for six months by following Dr. Josh Axe's protocol making smoothies with powdered bone broth & taking his soil based probiotic & glutathione supplements.
Emeraldgirl
27 Jan 2014
Hello Nancy - I can understand why your Dr is not happy about you stopping your medication for GERD, as complications such as esophagitis, ulcers and a rarer and more serious complication of GERD is cancer developing inside the esophagus (don’t mean to scare you and it is rare). Antacids such as tums only help mild to moderate cases of GERD and they should not be taken at the same time as other medicines because they can stop other medicines from being properly absorbed into your body. They may also damage the special coating on some types of tablets causing the special coating to break down too early, causing the drug to be released in the stomach instead of in the intestines. Ranitidine can also do this, ask your GP or pharmacist for advice. Thus as KM said without knowing what other medications you are on your worsening condition could be due to an interaction with your other medications.
There are alternatives to Ranitidine which work differently. I don’t know how severe your GERD is but if you are really not keen on medication for this then many life style changes can be made to improve matters. Also if you raise the head of your bed by around 20cm (8 inches/45 degrees) by placing a piece of wood, or blocks under it may help to keep the acid in your stomach. However, make sure your bed is sturdy and safe before adding the wood or blocks. Do not use extra pillows because this may increase pressure on your abdomen. With the exception of raising the head of your bed and lifestyle changes (unless you cannot do these for other reasons) check for interactions with all your other medications that you take and discuss matters further with your Dr – Take care
Emeraldgirl
28 Jan 2014
Hello Nancy - I hope that you are feeling somewhat better today. Looking through your drug regime no obvious drugs that would interact with Ranitidine or Tums is obvious. Flovent diskus can cause lower abdominal pain (which is a description of one’s pain and not a diagnosis as most Dr’s think it is), however this is not your complaint. Also Prolia can cause serious infections in the body and one of those places is in the stomach. Tell your doctor if you develop signs of infection, such as: fever/chills, red/swollen/tender/warm skin (with or without pus), severe abdominal pain, ear pain, frequent/painful/burning urination, pink/bloody urine. Yet again this is not your complaint. A side effect of oxycodone is gastritis, an inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It can be caused by irritation due to excessive alcohol use, chronic vomiting, stress or the use of certain medications such as aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs.
The symptoms of is gastritis are: Nausea or recurrent upset stomach ,abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, vomiting, indigestion, burning or gnawing feeling in the stomach between meals or at night, hiccups, loss of appetite, vomiting blood or coffee ground-like material and black, tarry stools. However this is not what you state as an issue for you. I cannot comment on any interaction with your allergy shots as I do not know what is in them. So I don’t know how long you was taking your Ranitidine before you stopped taking it, but maybe recommencing it after talking to your Dr may be what you need to do. It might be that the dose of Ranitidine needs to be increased. Ranitidine is the first drug of choice to treat your conditions. I would leave the Tums alone so that it makes it easier to identify what is causing your worsening condition and adjust treatment accordingly – Take care EG
nancybreeze
29 Jan 2014
Hi Emeraldgirl,
Thankyou for taking the time and checking into my list of meds. I deal with a lot of anxiety. With that said I am going to stay off the tums, try the ranitidine I have left and see if things workout. I always have adverse effects to my medication and just get tired of changing all the time. Since my health issues are chronic I just get tired of the doctors. Not sure what the mix is with the allergy shots, but never feel like that is a problem since it does keep the asthma attacks down. I do wonder about the prolia, since that is a medicine once injected stays in your system for 5 mos. and of course the side effects are not much you can do after you get the medicine.
I appreciate your reply!
NB
Emeraldgirl
30 Jan 2014
Hello Nancy – I have chronic conditions also so totally appreciate what you are going through with seeing Dr’s who are not the most helpful or understanding. Also being put on and off different medications. I have found that being my own advocate by researching my conditions and understanding them to be most beneficial; also joining DC has helped me a lot and I am sure you will find this too. Regarding medications sometimes it is just the way it is. You have to see what works best for your condition. I don’t know what caused your GERD but in your case Ranitidine has been prescribed to prevent the complications that GERD can cause. I don’t know how long this medication takes to be active but I would assume that it should offer relief after a few doses. If you are not getting adequate relief see your Dr again the dose might need increasing or they can add another drug to work alongside it or switch to another drug.
Also a lot of life style changes can be made to improve your GERD. Regarding Prolia (and this applies to any drug that you are taking) be aware of the potential side effects of the drug and if you are showing symptoms of any of them see your Dr. Infections can be treated so don’t worry about the drug staying in your system for a long time. If it is helping you then go with it or do some research and see if there is an alternative that you would prefer to take instead and see your Dr. Remember it is your body and you get to decide what goes inside it, thus if you want to switch to an alternative to Prolia your Dr should be happy to discuss this with you – Take care
Sabrina1234
27 Jan 2014
Ranitidine is another name for Zantac , ask you doctor but you can take 300 mg twice a day of ranitidine . If that is not working try pepcid it is also called famotidine . It is an h2 blocker like ranitidine , strong and has less drug interaction , but (call your dr.) I think your stuck for life , I take famotidine 20 mg twice a day for 2years now that's life I hope you find relief !!!
kaismama
26 Jan 2014
There are a few otc meds for acid reflux. Don't forget that otc things can interact with your other meds too so you would need to tell us what you take if you want to know interactions.
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tums, ranitidine, gerd, doctor, medicine, prescription, symptom
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