heartburn and treatment

lately ive been having really bad heartburn, never had it before i started treatment and i havent changed anything im eating or my diet at all really, just wondering if anyone else ever experienced this during treatment, nothing seems to help.  

[Bill1954]

Yeah, there have been a number of patients that have complained of this. Mention it too your doctor, he might prescribe something like Nexium, or any one of the PPI (proton pump inhibitor) drugs. They’re well tolerated, and don’t seem to interfere with any of our treatment drugs. If you end up taking something like Tums or Rolaid-type antacids, try to space them away from your ribavirin dosing; avoid them one hour before of two hours after riba, to avoid reducing bioavailability.

Heartburn and GERD are managed by GI docs; at least we’re already seeing one of them anyway, huh :o).

--Bill

[ktee319]

thank you bill!

[fashion345]

Yes, absolutely.  About 3-4 months into treatment, I had heartburn and gerd.  Have been taking Nexium and very helpful.  I am on the 40mg in the morning and helping.
I was also coughing, which I attribute to Riba and gerd.

Another SX that will pass.  Hope you feel better.

[Magnum]

I tried several things for the same condition and found the best (with no side effects) was Aciphex...

Magnum

[portann]

Katie, the others have made great suggestions about possible meds to look into but I want to add some non-med things that may help a little.  

Try to avoid lying down after eating and going to sleep within a couple of hours of eating. And elevate the head of your bed, if possible.

"■Delay lying down after a meal. Wait at least two to three hours after eating before lying down or going to bed.

■Elevate the head of your bed. An elevation of about six to nine inches puts gravity to work for you. Place wood or cement blocks under the feet of your bed at the head end. If it's not possible to elevate your bed, you can insert a wedge between your mattress and box spring to elevate your body from the waist up. Wedges are available at drugstores and medical supply stores."

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heartburn-gerd/DS00095/DSECTION=lifestyle-and-home-remedies

Susan

[Bill1954]

Oooh, Susan; good thinking. Prevention is always preferable to treatment, huh? Good ideas. Ktee, you’ll be an expert at this before you know it :o). Good luck with the rest of your treatment,

--Bill

[Diane12855]

I'm taking Pepsid OTC. My doctor said I could take it twice a day, but I started just taking it in the AM until the afternoon nausea started recently, so I added the PM pill, and the stomach feels much better. I'd like to go the "non-chemical" route, but I can't go that long after eating before I lay down lots of times.

[Mary4now]

The other thing is to be careful what you eat.  I got some chinese food the other night and even though it was good, it really stimulated the heartburn.  So I'm back to bland, and lots of yogurt, lots of water. cant hurt

[evangelin]

It seems like I remember that some of these need to be taken away from the time you take your Ribavirin.  It is a hazy memory but I don't think I made it up.  I think it came from a really smart guy that used to be here a lot named Jmjm who has Svr'd and retired from Medhelp.  Maybe someone else will remember the particulars. My mind lets loose of somethings on a regular basis.
Ev

[virt111]

I'm with Susan.  Nexium has a nickname of Purple Crack for good reason.  When you get on a progam of proton pump inhibitors, acid reducers, etc., the GI sphincter no longer feels a need to do its job, which is, keep acid where it belongs...in the stomach.  It relaxes and allows acid to creep into the esophagus.  Only, since the drug reduces the acid, you no longer feel it.

Pharmaceutical companies that make these drugs love this.  The short-term 'cure' necessitates the continued use of their products. I've heard a lot of people complain that "as soon as I stop taking my [acid reducer of choice], I get heartburn."

Try acidophilus (good guy bacteria) in the form of capsules and found in most yogurt that has live cultures.  You break open the capsules and swallow it down.  I mix them in plain yogurt as well.  Sometimes a combination of acidophilus and digestive enzymes are the key.  As counter-intuitive as this may sound, more acid in the stomach will help trigger the GI sphincter to resume its job of keeping acid where it belongs.

Sorry for the rant.  I just think when you treat heartburn, GERD, or whatever, you're treating the symptoms and not getting the the root of the cause.

I've got hepC as well, just in case you wanted to know.  I try to live clean and not put any chemist-made chemicals in my body...

V

[IMstacie]

I suggest eating yogurt daily and plenty of water.

[Bali05]

"nothing seems to help..." I know that feeling believe me.
I have gastritis before tx and tx is not helping to say the least.
When I first started predosing Riba I noticed it getting worse.
Tx kind of dries you out , from sinuses to eyes and mouth and gums , skin ect.....
Your saliva actually nutralizes stomach acid and that is compramised
by tx in my opinion.
Try take Riba with high fat, besides better absorption that also protects the
stomach walls from it. The GI docs tell you not to eat high fat food with gastritis
but that is controversial.
I try to take my Riba in between , like I eat 1/2 cup of full fat organic yogurt than take
pills than another portion of yogurt.

Let me know if you find something that works for you , i think i tried everything....