@Beth Gallagher I started taking PPIs a few weeks ago because for some reason the vinegar no longer works. I wondered how you're doing with getting off of these. I'm weighing my Remaining Life Years risk.
Actually, I just gave up. Omeprazole is the only thing that works for me, and my doctor does not seem to be concerned with long-term use, so I'll keep taking what works for me.
Cool. You just took a lot of pressure off of me. So is a script cheap enough that I should bother my doctor for one, or is OTC close to the cost?
I have always used OTC so I don't know about a script. If you have good drug coverage it might be cheaper to go that route. (And I buy generic Omeprazole.)
too bad you all can't get off the drugs... I had heartburn once when I was pregnant over 86 yrs ago. Wonder what it's about my system I'm Free of HB, Could be a genetic thing, Iand I don't recall my parents ever mentioning HB. I was not into all the alt medicine for the first 40 yrs of my life and anHB never reared it's ugly ad. I take stuff today and could be the stuff I take keeps it away from me too.
Maybe 20 yrs ago I was getting ready to go to TX to visit a bf and was hit with a Horrible stomaach pain and drove myself to the ER..I believe it was the start of an ulcer and they gave me Tagamet in the hospital and I took at home for a short time and it was gone -- all. I keep Tagamet HB at home and may take one every 6 months or so. The product is OTC and reads Tagamet HB.Tagamet (cimetidine) is a histamine receptor antagonist used to treat and prevent certain types of ulcer, and to treat conditions that cause the stomach to produce too much acid. Tagamet is also used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus and causes heartburn.
That's interesting, because I was reading about my bee sting allergy and some EMTs said they administer a PPI along with benadryl to reduce symptoms better and faster. I think it has something to do with histamines increasing the production of stomach acid so the PPI addresses that issue, as opposed to the PPI actually making the benadryl work more effectively.
I cannot find Omeprazole in a 10mg dose, so may go to an every-other-day regime and see if that works. Being time-released, "they" do not recommend that you cut the pills in half.
I have been stung by a wasp twice in the last week or so, and I do NOT like it at all ! I am not allergic to it, but it really messed my heart up when one stung me last night. I did an ekg with my Apple Watch, and the whole heartbeat was really erratic. I didn’t have a-fib, because the pacemaker controls my heart, but the readout looked abnormal to me. I have been reading about the nicotine being and antidote to snake venom, and Bobby said that he remembers being told to put tobacco on a sting, so I am hoping that the nicotine dose might also help get the wasp venom out of my body. This is what it showed last night about an hour after the sting. I could feel like my heart was erratic, so I got up out of bed and took the ekg. Everything was fine before the sting. The wasp had gotten into the house and was crawling on me, and when I went to brush it off (didn’t know it was a wasp), it stung me on my finger. You can see there are some odd little blips on the ekg. It said poor recording because the heart was too erratic to read properly.
Damned insects need to just leave us bee!!! I'd poop my pants if I had a poor EKG. Since I go into anaphylactic shock, I'd be afraid to put another substance into the mix. I see that nicotine increases blood pressure, but I don't know what the mechanism is. If it is solely by increased heart rate (a side effect of nicotine), that would not be a good thing. If it constricts blood vessels, then that would counter the effects of anaphylaxis.
The dose you want could be on ebay, I do well on ebay. Another thing I do and it keeps overall acid to a good place, I add a short 1/4t baking soda to my morning 1 cup coffee, every day for years.. And for good measure I take NOW digestive enzyme daily.
I don't think they make Omeprazole in a dose lower than 20mg OTC. The script version is available that way (interesting, huh?), and other PPIs come in 10mg. It's frustrating because my acid reflux was controlled by vinegar (which increases acid levels) for so long. Then I was good on my own with no vinegar or antacids for a while (yeh, 2 different things.) The Omeprazole works fine, but I'm gonna try every-other-day to see how I do.
If vinegar no longer works for you @John Brunner you could try something like this. Betaine HCl is an acidifier that allows pepsin to work. When the acid is blocked, you have difficulty digesting protein. Also, as far as histamine goes, it definitely increases stomach acid and was used specifically for that purpose in days gone by when testing for vitamin B12 deficiency. Alcohol does it too, but since you don't drink, that is not an issue.
Read Don's comment immediately preceding yours, Mary. I've tagged it in my Amazon wish list for further research. I may take a stab at Amazon's pharmacy to get the 10mg dose of Omeprazole prescribed, if the price is right.