Protonix - Jenn!

[nanci]

Jenn, took my first pill this morning - can you tell me what to expect?  I ask only because I woke feeling pretty good, slight burning but nothing really bad.  I took a pill and within ten minutes, I started having burning.  The pharmacist told me that Protonix typically starts working the first 1/2 hr, that's why to take it first thing in AM on an empty stomach.

Can you tell me what to expect - instant or gradual relief?

[Lynn28]

I was told by my doctor to take it after breakfast. I don't take on an empty stomach. I'll eat and than wait about a hlf an hour or so and "Than" I'll take it, but not on an empty stomach. It's hard to say. I took 80mg for the first two weeks and than 40 for the next four. The burning went away I would say by the END of the second week. What are you eating, say for breakfast and in general? Nothing hard to digest right?

[nanci]

Really!  Both the doctor's office and the pharmacist said to
take it first thing in the AM before breakfast!  Huh, wonder if it makes a difference.

I took it at 6AN, around 8:30 I had some oatmeal and blueberries and a cup of marshmellow tea.

[Lynn28]

I'm sure it doesn't matter, but if it bothered you, than maybe taking it a half an hour after your breakfast might help. It did for me. Just give your breakfast a "Little" time to digest, that's all. Either way, I think it will work.

[John W. (RPh)]

Hi:

The reason why your doctor and pharmacist instructed you to take your Protonix 1/2 hour before a meal is this:

Pantoprazole is a proton-pump inhibitor ... the catch is that it works best on active pumps (ones that are secreting stomach acid).  It does not act locally (like maalox does); it needs time to enter the bloodstream.  So taking it 1/2 hour before you eat ensures that your pumps are turned on (i.e. you start digesting) while the medicine is already in your system!

Hope this helps

John W. (RPh)

[Aly]

I too was given Protonix but deffered to take it, instead learned about eating for my blood type and the importance of Ph balance in our body's system. Acidosis can be a factor. Lemon juice or coffee 1st thing in the morning is what I do to balance the Ph in my stomach, make it make more acid to digest the food. I'm A+ blood type and if I had been eating the foods for my type all along I may not have become wheat intolerant/have Celiac Sprue.