Carafate - how long to see improvement?

[nhagerty74]

I am taking Carafate for a gastric erosion with gastritis.  All of the ppi medicines failed to help.  How long should it take to see an improvement in symptoms with Carafate?  I've only been on it for 4 days so far.  I usually have pain everyday and have been dealing with this for about a year now.  

[likestoknow]

Have you improve Ed since this post?

[nhagerty74]

Do gastric ulcer patients normally take carafate or a ppi, and not a combination of the two?

[cjc320]

My doc just put me on Zantac 150mg 2x a day & carafate 4x a day. I have GERD, gastritis with mild erosion. There is bile in my stomach since I no longer have my gall bladder. My throat burns like crazy I am concerned about further damage to my esophagus and stomach. I took the zantac for the 1st time last night. It took a while for it to start to help. However I woke up in the middle of the night burning again. I took another pill even though I was not due for several hours. He originally wanted to give me pepcid. However, I tried that over the counter this weekend & my BP skyrocketed. Could the pecid cause that or do you think it was because I was in so much pain. do you have any other suggestions for this constant burning in my throat? One more thing i will burp even on an empty stomach.    

[cjc320]

My doc just put me on Zantac 150mg 2x a day & carafate 4x a day. I have GERD, gastritis with mild erosion. There is bile in my stomach since I no longer have my gall bladder. My throat burns like crazy I am concerned about further damage to my esophagus and stomach. I took the zantac for the 1st time last night. It took a while for it to start to help. However I woke up in the middle of the night burning again. I took another pill even though I was not due for several hours. He originally wanted to give me pepcid. However, I tried that over the counter this weekend & my BP skyrocketed. Could the pecid cause that or do you think it was because I was in so much pain. do you have any other suggestions for this constant burning in my throat? One more thing i will burp even on an empty stomach.    

[Designerdebbie1359]

Its because you are not producing enough HCL acid in your stomach! You are suffering from low stomach acid! The docs have it wrong! Im in same situation and was just told by a naturopath that we need bile salts and enzymes or digestive bitters!!!

[jojokdz]

I HAVE pain everyday with acid reflux.  Its in the middle of my breasts at the bottom of my esphagus.  Its sore, its painful at times. I am on prilosec 2x a day. Lately it doesn't help from time to time.  This pain is in my back too. And I also get pain that radiates under my left breast..  is this all part of Gerd? or a muscular thing combined with Gerd.  I have had numerous tests done.. carafate is something my Dr. did not prescribe.. this will help heal it? I know how u feel.. one day without pain would be so very nice

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

I would at least expect some improvement after two weeks of treatment.

[nhagerty74]

Excuse me if this is a stupid question, but when you say a one month trial, does that mean that the patient should have no more pain by the end of the 30 days?  Today is 2 weeks for me and still pretty much the same.  I know I need to be patient, but I thought ulcer medicines were supposed to stop the pain from happening.  Am I expecting it to happen too fast?  My Dr. had me stop the ppi medicine when I started carafate....is that normally how it works, you take one or the other?  

I'm also going to see my pcp next week to get something for my anxiety.  I think the more stressed out I get the worse it's making this whole situation.  

[nhagerty74]

Ok, thank you.  Have you had patients whose ulcers wouldn't heal with ppi's or carafate?  What happens in those situations?  I've had this problem for about a year now and it started with periods of pain then feeling ok for awhile to now feeling sore everyday.  I was told a few months ago after the endoscopy that my erosion was small and already looked like it was trying to heal, but there has to be a reason why it won't go away.  Do some people just not respond to the medications, or is there usually some underlying factor that hasn't been initially identified?

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

I typically use a one month trial.

[nhagerty74]

How long would you tell a patient give carafate to show improvement before having them come back?

[CalGal]

Nhagerty, following a GERD-friendly diet might be a good idea. Check with your doctor about his suggestions. You can also find a representative example of what should and should not be avoided at gicare.com under the diet category. Look for the 'GERD' diet.

[nhagerty74]

Should I be following any kind of special diet?

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

The idea of using Carafate is to protect the stomach lining so it can heal. This process can take several days to several weeks.