Hep C and Prilosec otc

I have sever heartburn and wanted to know what is the best heartburn meds. for someone with hepatitis C.

[merryBe]

you definitely don't want to take regular over the counter antacids.
Such as Mallox or tums, but even the ones that coat all day can cause issues.

It would be best to not take your Riba at the same exact time as your stomach meds,
What coats the stomach, can also coat the riba and stop it's absorption.

It would be best to talk over with your doctor when and how to take these two meds.
You may not be able to discontinue your proton pump blocker, but there may be some forms of those drugs that have less effect on the other meds such as riba.

someone who has had to take both will undoubtedly weigh in here and give you more info.

[roscoe1]

I took prilosec otc and my viral load went sky high. Lloyd Wright will show evidence of this. I just quit eating and drinking things that stirred it up.

[can-do-man]

PPI'S (Proton pump inhibitors) are fine to take before or during tx. I am on tx and taking nexium, prevacid is also a good one. prilosec otc is also fine to take. I took it before starting tx and my viral load had never been lower. Not that prilosec made a difference but it sure did not make it go up. Best to you

cando

[sunshine585]

I had terrible heartburn, and upper abd. pain since before tx. It didn't matter what I ate or didn't eat, nothing worked. The only med I found to help me was Nexium, it took a week or 2 of taking it regularly. I finished tx a couple of weeks ago, stopped taking the Nexium  about a month ago....no heartburn, or abd pain! Hope you find something that works.

[LindaC1207]

I have acid reflux disease and have been on omeprazole for a good while now and it helps out big time!  Both my HepC doctor and my primary care physician say it's okay to take while on treatment.  Ask your doctor what he/she thinks you should do.

Good luck!
Linda

[Facta_non_verba]

Lloyd Wright is a quack and gives downright dangerous advice. He claims to have seen thousands of patients whose viral loads went up with proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec. Assuming he sees 2 new patients a week who have Hep C and take PPI's, it would take about 19 years to see 2000 patients ("thousands of patients"). On top of that, they would have to come to him first, get their viral load checked, then start a PPI and recheck the VL for him to have that kind of information. The chance that he has that type of experience, giving him the benefit of the doubt, is zero! Especially since he is not a physician and has no training in traditional or alternative medicine, which means he doesn't even see patients. He just sells books and supplements

He tells patients to not take interferon and ribavirin, the only drugs proven to be effective for chronic Hep C infection, because "They (medical doctors) do not have any idea what they are doing in regard to hepatitis C." Uh huh, and how many studies has he done? Zero. And could he do a proper study? No, because he is not a researcher and has no formal education in science.

Read the claims on his website then read his disclaimer. All I can say is, "For the love of money."

Jeff
Facta non Verba

[jmjm530]

You don't have to limit the type of hearburn medication you take because of Hepatitis C. That said, if you're treating, try and stay away from antacid-type medications within 2-3 hours of taking your ribavirin. H2 blockers (like Pepsid AC) and PPI's (like Nexium,Prilosec) are OK to take with your ribavirin. The latter category -- PPI's -- have been shown to be the most effective against severe heartburn (GERD) although some docs may have you take them in a probram along with an H2 Blocker or even an antacid. You probably want to be examined by a good Gastro who may run tests and will then give you his opinion.

[Bill1954]

Roscoe- be *very* careful of this scam artist, along with any advise he gives. He is someone to avoid at all costs; nothing but a mercenary that is out to cure his empty pockets.

I won’t even spell Llod Wrongs name properly online; I’d hate to see googlebot give him credit.

Be careful on the internet—

Bill

[jankar]

I am taking something called Quick-Eze, made by Nestle. NZ.  It has calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and magnesium trisillicate. Is this ok to take? jankar

[merryBe]

I'm afraid the calciums, whether in pills (like Tums) or liquids (like Maalox) are the ones that most interfere with Riba absorption.

JmJM's answer is the most definite one, but I'd add that directions say to take all the proton pump inhibitors on an empty stomach (pepcid, nexium, prilosec etc).

Since these work on the principal of coating the stomach with a medication that inhibits the production of stomach acid, anything in the stomach can run interference with that process.  If you are only occasionally having upsets then the Quick-eze would work best if taken either 2-3 hours before or 2 hrs after taking your riba.

If you are having constant issues try to find the least expensive proton type drug, many are now over the counter, and many do work for 12-24 hrs on a single dose.

I might also suggest that you may want to try reducing the number of spicy dishes in your daily cuisine. I know that I love both East Indian and Chinese hot dishes and curries, but lately my stomach cannot handle them very well, so I've had to cut my curry's down to barely spiced at all.  
It's just something the tx tends to cause....indigestion. I think it's sad, but a lot of folk's have to temporaily give up foods they love...either they don't taste good anymore, or they create too much stomach acid in a touchy INF/Riba environment.

The important thing here is to get the most absorption you can from your Riba, so that your treatment will succeed and you can be well. So a word to the wise, try to discover which food give you the acid, and cut them out, so that you won't have to take the meds very often.  

I still do have to take Maalox or tums maybe twice a month....but it's much better since I stopped adding the things that were doing it to me. In my case, spices, onions, pepper, red or black, banana's tuna and chocolate all are out for me.

One reason the above list is common is that spices stimulate stomach acid. The other reason is some foods relax the upper sphinter of the stomach, allowing acid to move upwards. Chocolate and bananas are both well known for this relaxation effect.

hope this helps

mb

[jeremy47]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me your advise I appreciate it very much.