Famotidine User Reviews & Ratings (Page 2)

• Fla...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 26, 2021

For GERD "When I initially was told to start on this by my doctor, I got really bad stomach aches, and it didn't help my reflux. I developed horrible burping, and my doctor told me to just take it twice a day instead of once. That didn't help, so I stopped taking it. Burping never went away. I started taking it again recently because my reflux was acting up, and I was desperate for relief. Sharp chest pains radiating to my back, severe shortness of breath (I get some with GERD, but this is next level). I'm never taking this again."

• MIk...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 1, 2015

For Allergic Urticaria "I took Zyrtec every day for a month and saw zero improvement with my sudden outbreak of hives. Then I was advised to take double doses of Zyrtec and Allegra. The only thing I got was sleepy. I've been taking Famotidine for three days. I saw almost immediate results. Today is day 3, and all my hives are gone. The itching is virtually gone. Even the dark spots the hives were leaving behind before seem to be fading. I haven't noticed any side effects except my extreme joy that something finally worked!"

• Cra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 18, 2021

For GERD "Took famotidine 20 mg/day for a few weeks back in September 2020. Had the worst side effects: shooting pains in head, racing heart, chest pains, head pressure, burning skin on my arms, muscle spasms on my stomach and collarbone, stiff neck, stiff lower back, stomach issues, GI issues, fatigue. I had the worst feeling of anxiety coming from my stomach. I never knew what anxiety was until I had this experience. I never had problems sleeping before this. It felt like I was poisoned. Took me a week to realize it was the famotidine. I stopped it immediately. Some of the side effects gradually went away. I took magnesium and started B12 supplementation. Took Zantac for years and never had any issues. Many people I spoke with said their side effects went away after 3-4 months. However, I am still dealing with many side effects a year later. If there is anyone who has any insight into this/recommend a doctor who has helped them through this, I would greatly appreciate any help."

• Edd...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 16, 2021

For GERD "PPI gave me panic attacks, all of them, so I took this pathetic medicine, famotidine, for almost 2 months daily. Initially, I felt bloated, burping 24/7; burning in lower abdomen and very foul-smelling flatus. I never had constipation, but after starting famotidine, I was badly constipated. Then it affected my mind gradually; anxiety kicked in; insomnia with twitching of thigh muscles; I was anxious 24/7 with depressive and suicidal thoughts, as if life is all sad and dark, panic attacks as if I am having a heart attack and it's all over. One day, I skipped this med, and that day, I felt better and realized it was famotidine! So I stopped it and realized that my insomnia got better and my twitching of muscles stopped. Anxiety gradually lowered... my personal experience: both PPI and famotidine suck."

• Lrd...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 29, 2023

For GERD "I was taking 40 mg of this poison for about a year at bedtime, as prescribed by my gastroenterologist. A few months ago, I decided to take 20 mg during the day and 40 mg at night as a preventative measure for GERD symptoms. Worst idea ever! I took the 40 mg pill, ate at a restaurant, felt like I was having a panic attack on the drive home, and vomited as soon as I got home. Then, the next weekend, I did the same thing and took 40 mg with food and 2 glasses of wine. I woke up in the middle of the night with a racing heart, shaking, nausea, and eventually projectile and continuous vomiting. It’s been a month now since I’ve stopped taking it, and I still have residual anxiety. I have also been on Zoloft for years, and my GI doctor knew this and still prescribed famotidine to me, even though serious heart issues can be a side effect of combining these 2 medications. I know I should’ve done my research on drug interactions, but shouldn’t the doctor know this stuff too? Never again!!"

• kaj...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 26, 2020

For GERD "First off, let me just say this famotidine works for GERD. Anyone who has GERD symptoms, I took this for 5 days and it simmered down so much I barely have symptoms now. But I have anxiety and muscle twitching, and I think muscle twitching is a reported side effect of this, as well as waking you up as you fall asleep, is another serious symptom this causes. To me, it works but isn't worth the trouble."

• Ala...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 29, 2025

For GERD "As someone who has always had issues with sleep, I noticed in the past month or so that taking this medication my sleep condition got really bad, even though the drug had helped stomach issues. Constipation, bad flatulence, and terrible insomnia. The drug is working, but struggling to deal with the lack of sleep. As one user said, it’s like being on speed or something, then trying to sleep. Not great."

• ste...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 13, 2023

For Peptic Ulcer "I have been through hell with this drug! After many years of taking this off and on, I finally realized that I was not crazy and was having side effects from this drug. I had gone to a psychiatrist and prescribed anti-anxiety meds, antidepressants, and eventually antipsychotics. I finally realized that it was only when I took this 'benign' drug. I had horrible anxiety and woke up constantly panicked. My resting heart rate increased by 30 beats per minute. If I got stressed or something startled me, my heart would pound with such force that I thought I would have a heart attack. I constantly felt like something was horribly wrong. I guess they call it the 'feeling of impending doom.' I would become so depressed that I just didn't see any reason to exist. And don't get me started on how terrible it was to be on the psych med roller coaster. I also had a difficult time digesting anything and a constant pit in my stomach and chest. It is a terrible drug! I take no meds now!"

• ron...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 8, 2023

Famotidine for Hiatal Hernia "Famotidine / Pepcid made matters much worse concerning my hiatal hernia. The first couple of weeks it seemed to help, after that, it was all downhill. Saw an immediate improvement once I went off it. I am now doing apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons with 3 drops of stevia in a glass of water with a squeeze of lemon. Feel so much better off Pepcid and Omeprazole. I also take 2 teaspoons of aloe vera juice for quick relief when needed. Neither can cause side effects if not overdone."

• Its...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 19, 2022

For GERD "Picked up a bottle of OTC famotidine 20 mg from the grocery store as I was experiencing intermittent heartburn. Took probably 5-6 times over the course of maybe 2-3 weeks. Then one day, out of the blue, I started feeling extremely fatigued and weak. A couple of days after that, my knees and feet got sore, like some kind of crazy arthritis. I'm active and have never had these problems. This progressed to random nerve/joint/muscle pains all over. Around the same time, the panic attacks hit hard. Over the next month, I wound up with visits to urgent care, multiple visits to my GP, a rheumatologist, a neurologist, and an orthopedist. None of the physical exams, tests, bloodwork, or MRI showed anything. I really thought I was going crazy. Finally, I stumbled across the reviews here and realized I had taken the famotidine within a day or so of all this starting. This stuff is poison, and none of my doctors had any clue. If not for this site, I'd still be going crazy thinking I was dying."

• Anonymous
• September 20, 2022

For GERD "Pepcid is literally the spawn of Satan. I was prescribed Pepcid twice a day every day for acid reflux/sour mouth. I never felt WORSE in the following categories: one-sided headache/migraines, dizzy, weak, fatigued, depressed, anxious, panicked, crying episodes, joint pain, constipation, swallowing difficulties, chest pain, heart palpitations. I want to emphasize that I NEVER experienced such bad headaches, dizziness, weakness, and joint pain prior to taking Pepcid. I SOMETIMES experience crying episodes, constipation, and depression before/during my menstrual cycles. I took Pepcid even when I wasn't on my period, and I've ruled out those symptoms. The side effects were so bad to the point that I called out at my NEW job, and I really don't want to call out sick. It also does NOT help that I took Pepcid while on Lexapro. As for my acid reflux, there are no improvements in my sour mouth, but I'm not sure if I've been taking it for long enough. DO NOT TAKE THIS PILL!!!!!"

• Yah...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 27, 2020

For Hiatal Hernia "Very bad experience with this drug famotidine. Almost instantly, I started having side effects: very severe headaches, dizziness, and nausea. I also had very bad cramps that led to diarrhea. Only minimally helps with GERD and acid reflux-related diseases."

• Cor...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 22, 2021

For GERD "Stay away from this drug and let me tell you about my experience. I’ve suffered from acid reflux for a number of years. I went to a doctor and was prescribed this medication once daily. I was on it for roughly two years and never felt worse. Although it did help with my GERD, it ruined me in other ways. I had insomnia, anxiety, weight loss, etc. I could not put my finger on why I felt so lousy until I started to narrow down what could be going on. I then realized that the only medication that I was on was famotidine, so I decided to do my homework. After reading other horror story reviews about this drug, I decided to stop taking it and see if this was the cause of why I felt so crappy. Sure enough, it was the root cause. Shortly after going off of the famotidine, my anxiety was gone, I was sleeping soundly again, and I have put on 10 lbs in just two months. I have now been off of the famotidine for six months, and I’ve never felt better."

• Bri...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 8, 2023

For GERD "Was prescribed 40 mg daily, only took it as needed over the course of several years without much issue. Started to develop horrible anxiety in February 2023, which progressed into a whole suite of other symptoms as well, and none of these were ever things I struggled with before. I never really understood intense anxiety until this: significant loss of appetite (I dropped 20 pounds), heart palpitations, chest pain, sleep disruptions and stress dreams, tremors, difficulty thermoregulating, feeling cold, cold hands/feet, headaches, fatigue, depression, and others. I continued to take it for several weeks without pinpointing it as the cause of these issues. I stopped taking it in March, and I'm still experiencing some of these, although not as frequently or as intensely. I hope that I can make a full recovery like many others have written they did. In May 2023 I am still experiencing some anxiety and depression, cold hands/feet, and some lesser chest pain/palpitations. This drug is awful."

• Duk...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 26, 2019

Famotidine for GERD "I had been taking Ranitidine (300 mg twice a day), but after that was recalled, I tried Pepcid Complete. It seemed to work for a month or so, taking one in the morning and one in the evening. But then the acid reflux continued to be a problem, so I am here looking at other drug reviews. On the Pepcid website, it states: PEPCID® products are not indicated for the treatment of GERD. I am going to try my luck with Prilosec OTC, based on the reviews that I found on this site."

• Ale...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 10, 2022

For Hiatal Hernia "Great help from famotidine 40 mg. In my fight against hiatal hernia for more than 30 years. I take 1 pill in the morning and 1 pill in the evening, and I never have had any problem. Before this treatment, I suffered a lot because of the hernia, but thanks to a doctor who really paid attention to my problem, I have been able to have a very good life."

• don...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 20, 2022

For GERD "Shortly after starting this drug for GERD, I developed fascia pain superficial to my muscles. I did not make the correlation to the drug. For the span of a year, the pain progressed to severe muscle cramping, joint and bone pain, stomach cramping, anxiety (related to symptoms), insomnia. After 2 emergency visits, 2 urgent care visits, 3 MRIs, EMG testing, neuro, GI, extensive physical therapy, and several visits to my doctor, a different practitioner said it was the famotidine causing malabsorption. I went off the drug and asked for a bone density scan. The result was osteoporosis, and a dentist appointment showed bone loss to my teeth not there 6 months prior. Additionally, I run a fitness business and should not have developed osteoporosis. Doctors denied that it was the drug that caused bone loss and said one year is not long-term use, despite the warning to not take the drug for longer than 2 weeks. Systemic pain dissipated upon ceasing the medication, bone damage permanent."

• Che...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 12, 2021

For Laryngopharyngeal Reflux "If the manufacturer of your generic drug is Aurobindo Pharm, beware! I know of more than one case of developing urgent diarrhea, which turned into diarrhea with bright red blood. Now I have to get a colonoscopy to assess the damage this drug has caused after only taking 3.5 weeks. The adverse bowel movement symptoms developed after week 2, but the drug never helped my acid reflux symptoms. In other cases, patients had a different drug manufacturer, and the drug worked with no complications. I would like drugs.com to add the name of the manufacturer to the criteria for reviews, as it definitely makes a difference!"

• Den...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 28, 2018

For GERD "Awful! Took this med for 5-6 weeks, explosive diarrhea and unable to control urinating. My throat often closed up when I tried to eat. Had to sleep sitting up; otherwise, I was awakened by insistent coughing, unable to get my breath several times each night. Dr didn’t believe this was the reason for all my symptoms till I took in information from Rx side effects."

• Ren...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 2, 2022

For GERD "I came off this drug because my stomach was getting worse and all the side effects that come with it: constipation, bloated stomach, aching throughout my body, fatigue was so bad I can hardly walk. My doctor told me I needed to take them to protect my stomach (she was wrong). I’m no doctor but I know my body!! This drug has made me feel so ill it wants banning. They might as well tell you to keep giving yourself a dose of poison every day. Never, ever, ever, ever again. Do not take this, it is absolutely horrendous."

• Ree...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 12, 2022

For GERD "Best used very short term, I'm talking about a week MAX. This stuff loses efficacy very quickly, and after that point, the side effects will take over. In one month of on-and-off use, this drug has given me anxiety and irregular heartbeat and stopped working for treating acid reflux/esophagitis. Get off of it while you still can because this will make you very ill in the long run."

• Con...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 21, 2021

For GERD "Doctor prescribed this medication to me for my acid reflux burning sensation in my stomach. Two days into this medication, I started to feel bloated, no appetite, burping for no reason, can't even use the restroom, urine is dark, dry mouth, headaches, and back pain. I am more worried about all the side effects than I was with my stomach burning. Now I am trying to call a doctor to check how long this pill leaves your system. Never taking this medication. Home remedies are the best."

• Won...
• September 4, 2020

For GERD "My doctor switched me to famotidine 6 weeks ago. Since that time, I have had a cough, shortness of breath, and uncontrollable itching. I made an appointment with my PC because of the symptoms I was experiencing. Afterward, I started to think back to changes made within the last 6 weeks and remembered starting a new reflux medication. While researching famotidine side effects, all of the current symptoms were listed. Worst of all, hives was a symptom. I will stop taking it immediately."

• Daw...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 11, 2022

For Laryngopharyngeal Reflux "I am in the U.K. Chronic insomnia, indigestion-like pain in the upper right-hand side rib area, muscle pains the day after, and feelings of anxiety. These symptoms began after taking only 3 tablets. Not for me!"

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 11, 2022

For GERD "I always have famotidine in the house and have taken one now and then for stomach acid. However, after experiencing a reflux attack one night, I decided to take one a day to see if that helped. I don't know if it helped, could only stay on it 3 days. I was suffering so badly with my stomach and anxiety. I became very anxious and started to have what I thought were heart palpitations and almost constant heavy burping. The palpitations I believe weren't the heart though, it seemed to be generating from the esophagus where it joins the stomach, and it felt like spasms that would not stop. Three days of this misery, and the only thing different that I was doing was taking this medicine. Once I saw the side effects, I immediately stopped, and the symptoms became less and less, but it took a few days to get back to normal. I will never take this stuff again. Please be aware of all these symptoms if you try it so you can recognize these side effects. Do not recommend."