digestive enzymes

dmbfan

I don't have info for you about the Bromaline, but I too am wondering about the hydrochloric acid. I have also read that one should not take this without the advise of a physician. Some stomach problems can be caused by low stomach acid, in which hydrochloric acid will help, but I'm not sure what the dosing is for it.

I had a doctor prescribe prevacid after saying I have reflux. It did not help my problems at all (heartburn was never even a symptom!) I started reading about different conditions, and my symptoms sounded much more like low stomach acid. As with many things, I don't believe an MD is acknowledge this condition. Therefore I took it upon myself to buy some Betaine (a type/brand of hydrochloric acid). I also began taking digestive enzymes (that do not contain hydro. acid). The Betaine I believe was beginning to give me heartburn after meals, which means that I already had enough stomach acid..therefore I stopped taking them. I continue taking the enzymes..they really don't help my symptoms significantly, but I paid a lot for them so I'm going to use them!!

I know I'm not really answering your questions, but I thought I'd share my limited knowledge and experience with you!

I would recommend reading/doing a web search on low stomach acid before taking the enzyme with hydro.. acid...if you feel that lack of acid could be your problem, try it...but if you have a burning sensation in your stomach after taking it, it means your either taking too high of a dose, or you probably don't need it all.

HRH

Spirit,
Previcid is a medicine that decreases the acid in your stomach. Hydrocloric acid is what your doctor is tring to reduce for your gastritis. Use only Digeative Enzymes that don't contain acid --I think it's called Betaine.

Hazel

purple2067

Medications like Prevacid are for both gastritis and acid reflux, since usually when you have gastritis you have an irritation in your gastrointestinal tract, usually caused by too much acid. Medications like that are also used to help prevent and treat ulcers.

Here is a good link if you want to learn more about PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) such as Prevacid or any other sort of medication. It provides info on every medication out there. [url="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/"]http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/[/url]

Canyonbabe

Hi, well you can have acid reflux without even knowing it. It can be silent. I have Barretts esophagous caused by acid and never had the burning sensation, burping or regurgitation that one would expect. I found out when they did an endoscopy because of bloating and gas. As for gastritis. I recently read a study that was done on mice that showed that in some gastritis the reduction of acid actually made the gastritis worse depending on what caused it in the first place. If you want to read this look up Dr. Juanita L. Merchant on your search engine. She is with the Howard Hughes Institute and University of Michigan and has great credentials. I plan to take it to my doctor even though I am not a mouse. All they tell me to do is keep up with my acid reducers which is necessary for me with Barretts but my gastritis is not getting better and I didn't have it before I started with the PPI's like Prevacid, Nexium, etc. Worth checking out.