Hi, I have a few questions.
For the past 10 months I have been getting really bad heartburn at night, complete with the acid coming up and all the joys that go with it
. I had an UpperGI/small bowel follow through exam this summer which didn't show any reflux at the time. The burning and regurg. is bad some nights, and fine others, and makes no difference what/if anything I eat for dinner. For example, one night I ate spicey spagetti with sauce, chocolate cake, and coffee...and no heartburn. A few nights later I had toast and some yogurt...big time pain and burning. When it happens, I take gaviscon, and feel almost immediately better. I told my doctor that I take gaviscon approx. 4 times per week, and she said it would be better to take zantac on a daily basis to reduce the acid. She put me on 150mg twice a day. I started out taking 150mg at bedtime for a few days, and was extremely dizzy and had terrible diarrhea, so I went back to gaviscon. This was a few weeks ago, and since then my stomach has been upset...gurgling, bubbling, occaisional diarrhea. I'm worried that the zantac has done something to my intestines. Is there a better drug out there, perhaps with less side effects? Would I have gotten used to the zantac if I had stayed on it? Is taking gaviscon bad for me? I"ve tried all the non-drug ways to reduce reflux, and ironically it wasn't until I had lost 30 pounds that I got the hearburn in the first place!
Another thing I should mention, is that during the day, if I drink a big glass of water, I feel the reflux starting, and if I drink any water right before bed, I will get reflux.
Thanks in advance for any insight into this unpleasant problem.
Lynne
Linear Mode
