Acid Reflux Disease

[Kia3238]

I have acid reflux I took Prevacid and it worked great, but as anyone without health insurance would know it cost about $100 a bottle Anyway, I'm trying to treat my symptoms with OTC counter medication. Is Prilosec a sister drug of Prevacid, also I've heard of trying Zantac or Pepcid. I do not have heartburn though just the reflux. What works??

[mlgable]

All of those meds will work although you may find the Prilosec to be more effective for GERD on a long term basis. Since you do have GERD you need to be sure that you use a wedge cushion to sleep with or raise the head of your bed up on blocks so that your head is elevated some when you sleep. Also when you don't have prescription insurance you can find many programs that will help you obtain the meds you need for free or at a reduced cost. It may take some searching to find a low cost/free med program that will work for you but if the meds work that well it might be worth the effort. Since you have seen how expensive medication can be please think about what it is like to be a senior citizen on a fixed income and to need more than just that one drug every month and you will see why many people can't even afford drugs that are vital in their life.

[normorcrazy]

Some pharmeceutical companies offer meds at a really low cost. I'm not sure how to get this started, but either talk to the pharmacy you go through or your doctor. From what I understand you fill out a form, your doctor signs it and within a few months you are paying little to nothing for these meds. My Uncle does this for Celebrex and he pays like $10 for an $80 month supply. Hopefully you can find this info. If you have any problems let me know and I will ask him what the name of the program is. Good luck and take care!!!

[glenn1971]

This is my experience with acid reflux and how I fixed it.......

Maybe a lot of people do have a reflux disease, and I thought I had it, but it was merely me slouching when I ate or laying sidewards on the bed while eating. So as soon as I sat upwards with a straight back(good posture) the food went down good(sometimes I'd stand up and eat) to make sure I wasn't slouching, and my acid reflux went away just like that!!! It was just bad posture so my stomach organs was just being squished and not digesting well.

I think for a lot of people, it's just that they aren't in good posture when eating. What works best is that if I'm gulping my food down really fast(when I'm really hungry or in a rush), I stand up and twist my body sideways or jump up and down a bit so the food goes from my asophogus into my stomach smoothly, and I never had acid reflux ever again using these techniques i mentioned above.

When I did have an upset tummy or heartburn type symptoms when I drank too much alcohol or ate something extremely spicy or hot, Zantacs worked the best!!! Zantac is my miracle pill when I need it(although I've never needed it for awhile now). Read the box and take it like it says and the problem should go away.

However, like i mentioned, I am free of all the symptoms just keeping my body straight while I eat. Or if you can't help slouching, after you eat, or during you're eating fest, stand up or sit up straight and stick your chest out and take deep breaths and the food will go to your tummy instead of being stuck, which may cause reflux. I think it has a lot to do with the food not going down into your stomach properly. Oh, I almost forgot, drink a lot of water while you eat, too, that also helps the food go down better.

[This message has been edited by glenn1971 (edited 10-10-2003).]

[MamaLambNC]

What does everybody think about the times our meals are eaten? I mean like a hearty breakfast, "dinner" at lunch time, & eating very light at supper? I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks, Patty