Ritalin + Acid Reflux - Advice?

[Maxibear]

Hello, new here. Have read many posts to date, but have never published. I haven't seen any posts on this subject, but am hopeful I may find a few of you who have experience in this area.

I have had LPR for a number of years, with occasional GERD symptoms as well, but not consistent GERD. I have used Ritalin as needed for 10 years since receiving a diagnosis of ADD in my early 20s. Not only did it stop the freefall in the quality of my work, but I have been much more successful than I thought I could be dealing with the ADD symptoms without medication.

Anyway, after the onset of LPR 2 years ago, I have not been able to take Ritalin on a regular basis to control the symptoms. While I used to take it 3-5 days a week, I can no longer take it more than 1x per week. Even taking it just 1x per week exacerbates the reflux, causing lots of coughing, and also is directly correlated with my having GERD symptoms (the only time I get heartburn). I only keep the Ritalin around because there are parts of my job that I absolutely cannot accomplish without Ritalin - so I save these parts (deck writing, for instance) for the 1 day I allow myself to use Ritalin. I wish I didn't have to take it, but I literally cannot force myself to write a presentation without it. A career change isn't an option right now.

Has anyone else here experienced worsened reflux with Ritalin use? I am wondering if Ritalin played a factor in my developing LPR, but I suspect the main culprit was the 3-4 cigarettes I was smoking daily for a period of a few years. No more smoking for me these days. I've talked to my prescribing psychiatrist about Ritalin alternative, and the best we could find was Provigil which is like Ritalin without such a kick, but even the Provigil ties my stomach in knots and worsens the reflux.

If there is anyone else out there dealing with both ADD and LPR/GERD, I'd love to know how you're handling it. BTW, I've been on 2 Nexium a day for the past 2 years.

Cheers

[mackey73]

I take Ritalin (a lot) per day, and I think it exacerbates GERD and GERD symptoms because of its tendency to cause dry mouth/decrease salivation. Swallowing saliva helps neutralize acid in the esophagus, which is one reason GERD is worse when you sleep, cause you don't swallow as much...

I take Provigil, too, but it upsets my stomach, and causes dry mouth, too.

To make matters worse, Ritalin always makes me want to smoke more

Anyway, I'd suggest staying on the ritalin, but drink more water--and try to chew or suck on some non-GERD-aggravating gum or candy (if you have dry mouth).

If your ritalin is in tablet form, you might try putting the tablets into gelatin capsules to rule out the possibility that methylphenidate is causing more GERD symptoms simply by contact with your esophagus

[Maxibear]

I figured this one out a few months ago. I started drinking Malox or Mylanta before taking a Ritalin. This cuts down the severity of the coughing/Gerd by about 90%. The Ritalin makes reflux worse for sure, but as long as I don't take it every day, I think I'll be OK