What drug for LPR? - Acid Reflux / GERD Message Board

steve389 · 12-10-2005, 09:42 PM

I was wondering if someone could tell me if Zantac 150 mg would be good to take for LPR?
I was on aciphex and I think it was helping but dont have insurance coverage right now.
I have read that for LPR you need to take the drug twice a day for best effects and the doctor said you can't take aciphex twice a day. Anyway any doctor I have ever gone to is not really knowledgeable on LPR - I mean not with the knowledge I have gleaned from this site. This is why I am asking help from you all instead of my doctor.
If Zantac is not a good choice, could someone tell me of something that is affordable that will help? Thank you

aswander · 12-14-2005, 08:35 PM

I'm sorry Steve, but standard treatment for LPR is 2 doses of a PPI a day. You can try Prilosec, which is available over the counter, if you can't afford a presciption. Prilosec used to be prescription-only, but went OTC 2 years ago. It is very similar to, but not the same as, Nexium, Protonix, Etc. Based on my personal experience, and after reading many of the other posts, Nexium seems to have the biggest following, and it is also my personal savior. But Nexium costs about $400 a month for 2 daily doses.

What I suggest doing is buying Prilosec OTC and seeing how it works for you. It's much much much cheaper than the prescription drugs. If it doesn't work, ask your doctor for some Nexium samples - she will be happy to give you like, 2 weeks, or even a month's worth - she gets them for free from drug company reps. Don't feel about about taking them from her - clean out her drug closet if you feel like it. If the Nexium works, you know you need to make the investment in it or get friendly with an online Canadian pharmancy. Here's an idea that I posit - since almost anyone can get a prescription for Nexium 1x a day - do you have a parent or sibling who can claim acid reflux and get a prescription? Someone close to you who would be willing to "share"? Think about it....

steve389 · 12-15-2005, 09:26 PM

Thank you for your advice. I would like to tell you a little more about my problem. I have never been officially diagnosed with LPR. My problem began three years ago. In the beginning my throat just felt funny, then a little more constricted and more and more so over the years. Right now I feel like I am breathing through a sore straw. My nose also feels constricted without drainage. This is my main symptom. I also have a cough and try to carry warm water with me everywhere I go. I do burp after eating or drinking and I have had some stomach pain and bloating and for years have had chest pains off and on. Also I believe - this is also a self diagnosis - that I have a sliding hiatal hernia because I have pain in my diaphragm with breathing sometimes. I have not had so much problems with this since I quit eating before bed which I have done for years. I also now sleep on a slant. I originally thought I was dealing with thyroid problems, then allergies. Then I found this site the beginning of 2005 and diagnosed myself with LPR. I did have an endoscopy done and the doctor said that the only thing he could see was sluggish swallowing. I can not tell you the number of health care professionals that have described my problem as "nerves." A PA put me on aciphex and I think it was helping? I just couldn't afford it. I want to call the doctor tomorrow and see if he will give me some samples of nexium. Thank you for this advice. I want to be completely honest, though. But does it sound like I have LPR?
Another question: Would this vinegar treatment work for me in the same way it has helped others with Gerd or is it just going to burn my esophagus and make the damage worse? I don't like to take drugs and the vinegar treatment would definitely be cheaper. Also, if I understand right, it is when you eat that your stomach secretes acid. So if I am eating all day - small meals - is this going to make the acid worse? The ENT told me that the drugs should always be taken a half an hour before a meal.

Just for the record, I am not Steve. I am signed in as Charityna but I am not too knowledgeable on computers and can't figure out how to sign in right. Steve is my sons name.

aswander · 12-17-2005, 11:04 AM

Charityna,

It's possible you have LPR. Typically, an ENT will slide a scope up through your nose and down your throat. The camera at the end will record video of your larynx - typically, red and swollen larynxes can be indicative of LPR. May of your symtpoms were the same as mine, but I'd still see an ENT - otherwise known as an otolaryngologist.

Xantac is not a PPI. Xantac is part of another class of earlier acid drugs. The only drugs worth taking for chronic acid reflux are in the PPI class - they are proton pump inhibitors and actually reduce the amount of acid that your body can produce. Currently, Prilosec OTC is the only PPI available over the counter. Others, like Prevacid, Nexium and Protonix are only available through prescription.

You don't need to rely sole on a doctor looking at your throat to see if you have LPR. If you have a positive response to the medication, you likely have LPR. So go to your doctor, and ask her for 2 week's worth of Nexium samples. Then take 2 a day. My response to Nexium (but only at the 2 a day dose) was immediate and confirmed diagnosis. The only way to relieve your larynx of the acid attack on it is to reduce the amount of acid in your stomach, so less comes up.

Do you have any prescription drug covereage?

steve389 · 12-17-2005, 03:15 PM

Thank you for your advice. I did go to the doctors and he gave me enough samples of Nexium to last me a week. I asked for a months worth to take twice a day but they said no. He did give me a prescription for it but it is only for one a day. Except for a miraculous provision, it is out of my budget. I looked up Nexiums web page and they do offer discounts to people sponsored by the drug companies. I am going to check into it. I don't know if I should even start the drug knowing that I only have a weeks worth. Do you think I should go ahead and take it for a week twice a day or once a day for two weeks or maybe start on it and then buy the over the counter drug? What makes Nexium better than the over the counter drug if it does the same thing? My husband may be transferring to another job next year? and then we will have health care coverage. I am encouraged with the information you gave me knowing that possibly with treatment there is hope for recovery. Thank you very much!