Heartburn Medication

Medication for Your Acid Reflux - Heartburn

August 30, 2007

If you suffer form heartburn, or acid reflux, then you’ll know that you need medication to prevent an attack. By visiting your local drugstore you should be able to find many acid medication reflux treatments to prevent your reflux.

There are different forms of medication that can be taken for heartburn and acid reflux. Each one will react in a different way. Their effect on acid reflux varies for each person, but with all these forms of acid medication reflux relief is the still might not be at hand for you. Especially if you suffer from serious acid reflux.

Mild forms of acid reflux can be treated with antacids. There are stronger forms of antacids like Mylanta II, Maalox II and Riopan. The liquid forms of antacid are more preferred by a greater number of people than the tablet variety. Whatever type of antacid that you take, they need to be swallowed 30 to 60 minutes after your meals and before going to bed.

Many doctors advise against eating certain types of foods. These foods have chemicals that can trigger acid reflux. Thus avoiding foods like chocolate and peppermints as well as tomatoes and products that are made from tomatoes can lessen the chance of stomach acid refluxing into the esophagus and causing heartburn and acid reflux.

There is a number of stomach acid medication reflux reducing drugs on the market these days. These acid reducers are called histamine receptor blockers.

Discount Pharmacy - Buy Pharmacy at discount prices including free shipping.Discount Pharmacy provides confortable and easy way to order discount pharmacy online.Proton-Pump Inhibitors or PPIs are found to be just as effective at inhibiting the acid production within your stomach and prevent excess stomach acids from refluxing into the esophagus. Drugs like Prokinetic or Motility have the ability to close the lower esophageal sphincter muscle more tightly. The use of additional drug therapy, like Omepraxole or Lansoprazole can heal esophageal inflammation very quickly. These drugs are a valuable aid in acid medication reflux.

Surgery is considered only if the symptoms of acid reflux don’t respond to other acid medication reflux treatments. About less than 25% of people who have acid reflux requires surgery. During this minimally invasive reflux procedure which is carried out through the belly button, specialists use pencil-thin cameras to see a detailed picture inside of the body.

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PEOPLE’S PHARMACY: Learning lessons from drug disasters

August 23, 2007

Americans are justifiably bewildered. On the one hand, they are told to “take your medicine — it’s necessary to maintain good health.” On the other, they read that many of their medicines may cause the very problems they are trying to prevent. Some drugs may trigger troubles they never even imagined.

The asthma drug salmeterol (found in Advair and Serevent) is supposed to improve lung function for people with this serious breathing problem. But in recent years, physicians have been warned not to use this drug as initial treatment for asthma. It may increase the risk of serious asthma attacks and asthma-related deaths.

Pain relievers like ibuprofen and diclofenac may raise blood pressure and increase the risk for heart attack or stroke. Some data even suggest that such nonsteroidal anti-

inflammatory drugs are not very effective over the long term against osteoarthritis of the knee. NSAIDs might even accelerate joint degeneration.

After years of foot-dragging, the Food and Drug Administration now warns that antidepressants might prompt suicidal thoughts in some vulnerable patients.

Heartburn drugs that suppress acid such as Aciphex, Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec have become incredibly popular. But recent reports have linked long-term use of these drugs to an increased risk of hip fractures (Journal of the American Medical Association, Dec. 27, 2006) and pneumonia (Archives of Internal Medicine, May 14).

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The most recent example of a confusing drug dilemma involves the diabetes medicine Avandia. On July 30, the FDA convened a panel of experts to make sense out of the murky data surrounding this popular medication. Diabetes doctors and drug experts determined that Avandia increases the risk of heart attacks. This medicine also carries a clear risk for heart failure.

One FDA safety officer, David Graham, M.D., encouraged the agency to take the drug off the market. According to his calculations, more than 200,000 people might have suffered heart attacks or strokes from this medicine. He estimated that for every month it remains on the market, as many as 2,200 patients may suffer a serious cardiovascular complication.

Nevertheless, the assembled experts recommended that Avandia stay on the market. They encouraged the FDA to strengthen the warning on the label, however.

This mixed message leaves physicians and patients in a quandary. On the one hand, diabetes drugs are supposed to prevent the complications of diabetes. That means lowering the risk for heart problems. Taking a drug that might increase this risk seems counterintuitive.

Doctors may wonder why patients have become skeptical about new drug breakthroughs. The Vioxx and Avandia spectacles have made some people question whether they are guinea pigs in huge drug experiments.

New drugs are usually promoted aggressively. Sometimes older medications are safer solutions. There are many ways to treat arthritis, depression, diabetes, heartburn and high cholesterol. Surprisingly, even inexpensive home remedies are sometimes helpful.

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DELUGE OF PHARMACEUTICAL STARTED WITH PURPLE RAIN

August 19, 2007

The Purple Pill started it, I think, about a decade ago, and it has been all downhill since.

I remember when the slogan, “Ask your doctor about the Purple Pill,'’ first appeared on TV, because my patients did ask me about the Purple Pill.

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A drug for gastro-esophageal reflux, commonly known as heartburn, the Purple Pill was one of the first prescription drugs to be marketed directly to the “consumer'’ (also known as the patient). The success of the Purple Pill strategy made it a model for the Big Pharma industry.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, gets heartburn at …

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Be wary of drug interactions

August 18, 2007

Is mixing over-the-counter medicine with prescription drugs dangerous? My 70-year-old husband is currently taking six different prescription medications and two over-the-counter drugs. I’m worried he’s taking too much medicine. Any suggestions? - Doped UpDEAR DOPED: Most people, when they think about drug interactions or other problems concerning medicine, they think about prescription drugs. But each year, more than 500,000 Americans end up in hospitals because of unintentional over-the-counter (OTC) drug overdoses, or due to OTC remedies interacting with prescription medication. Here’s what you should know.

Just because OTC medications are available without a doctor’s prescription doesn’t mean they’re safe for everyone. OTC medicines (drugs that can help with coughs, colds, aches, pains, fever, allergies, heartburn and many other ailments) are powerful drugs that offer real benefits when used correctly and real risks when misused.

Those most vulnerable to these risks are seniors because they typically take more medication (OTC and prescription) than any other age group, and the fact is, the more drugs you take the greater your risk for potential problems.

With more than 100,000 OTC medicines on the market today, you need to be very aware of what you’re taking, and as always talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions or concerns. Here are some tips to help you avoid potential OTC and prescription medication problems:

• Always read the “Drug Facts” label on the OTC product and follow directions. It tells you what the medicine is for, how and when (and when not) to take the medication, the product’s active and inactive ingredients, possible interactions, side effects, warnings and more.

• Choose OTC products that treat only the symptoms you have.

• Use extra caution when taking more than one OTC drug at a time. Many OTC medicines contain the same active ingredients, which means you may be getting more than the recommended dose without even knowing it. Always compare active ingredients on the label.

Discount Pharmacy - Buy Pharmacy at discount prices including free shipping.Discount Pharmacy provides confortable and easy way to order discount pharmacy online.• Don’t combine prescription medicines and OTC drugs without first talking to your doctor. Combining drugs can cause adverse reactions or one drug can interfere with the other drug’s effectiveness.

• If taking an OTC medicine becomes more than temporary, or if your symptoms don’t go away, talk to your doctor.

• Make a medicine chart (see www.fda.gov/usemedicinesafely/my_medicine_record.htm) of all the prescription and OTC medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements you take and share it with your doctor.

• Don’t use OTC medicines after their expiration date.

New warning labels: The Food and Drug Administration will soon be requiring bolder new warning labels on hundreds of OTC products that contain acetaminophen, aspirin and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Here’s what to look for in the coming months:

• Products containing acetaminophen: (Sold under the brand name Tylenol and in multiple generic versions too. Other products that contain acetaminophen are Excedrin, Dayquil, Nyquil, Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus, Sudafed Sinus & Cold and many others.) The new warning labels will alert consumers of the risk of severe liver damage if taken in high doses or when consuming moderate amounts of alcohol.

• Products containing NSAIDs: (Aspirin; ibuprofen, which is sold as Advil and Motrin and in generic form; naproxen, best known as Aleve, also sold generically; and ketoprofen.) New labels will warn of the risk of stomach bleeding in people over age 60, or in those who have stomach ulcers, take blood-thinning drugs or steroids, use other drugs that contain an NSAID or remain on the medications for an extended period.

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The agency says clinical data appear to link Nexium and Prilosec to serious heart risks, but it advises no change in medication usage.

August 10, 2007

Federal regulators said Thursday that they had opened a safety investigation of two popular heartburn drugs — Nexium, widely marketed as the “purple pill,” and Prilosec, its older chemical cousin — after receiving clinical data that appeared to link them to serious heart problems.

But the Food and Drug Administration emphasized that it had found no firm evidence of such a connection, and advised doctors and patients not to change medication practices. The agency promised a more complete answer within three months.

“At this time, FDA’s preliminary conclusion is that collectively these data do not suggest an increased risk of heart problems,” said an agency statement. “Therefore, FDA does not believe that healthcare providers or patients should change either their prescribing practices or their use of these products at this time.”

The data were supplied to the FDA and drug regulators in other countries by AstraZeneca, maker of both medications. In a statement, the company said that based on all data available, Prilosec and Nexium “are not associated with an increased risk of cardiac events.”

Nonetheless, the FDA said it was notifying the public of the safety review in keeping with efforts to foster greater openness at the agency, which has been criticized for keeping a lid on problems with painkillers, antidepressants and, most recently, the diabetes drug Avandia.

Nexium and Prilosec are part of a family of drugs that reduce production of stomach acid. Intended to relieve chronic heartburn and acid reflux disease, which can damage the esophagus, they are also widely taken for routine stomach upset.

The two drugs have been taken by more than 1 billion patients worldwide. Many doctors believe such medications are overused, according to Consumer Reports.

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Nexium was the sixth-most commonly prescribed brand-name drug last year, according to Drug Topics, an Internet magazine.

Prilosec is available over the counter, by prescription and in generic formulations. Prilosec OTC, the nonprescription version, had more than $360 million in sales last year, accounting for about one-third of the market for antacid tablets, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based marketing services firm.

The data that raised a caution flag came from a long-term clinical study on Prilosec and an ongoing study on Nexium that compared the drugs’ effectiveness with that of surgery in controlling severe gastroesophageal reflux disease. In people with the condition, the ring of muscle between the esophagus and the stomach does not work well, allowing gastric acid into the esophagus, a tube-like organ that delivers food to the stomach.

A higher number of patients taking either one of the drugs suffered heart attacks, heart failure or sudden heart-related death, the FDA said. But the studies involved only a few hundred patients, a relatively small number, and larger research studies showed no indication of heart problems.

In the study involving Prilosec, 17 patients taking the medication had serious heart problems, compared with eight in the group that had surgery, AstraZeneca said. However, the Prilosec patients appeared to have been in poorer health to begin with. Six of the Prilosec patients had had previous heart attacks, compared with none in the group that had surgery.

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Don’t Let Acid Reflux Ruin Your Vacation

August 7, 2007

Acid reflux, also called GERD, is an annoying and painful condition that occurs when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus. This results in a burning sensation after you eat, or for some, while sleeping at night.The majority of symptoms can be controlled with lifestyle changes, and occasional medication. Vacations can induce a bout of acid reflux due to irregular meal times, unusual foods, and the basic urge to over indulge in both food and alcohol while at play.

For most of us, it really isn’t a vacation unless we loosen up a bit, so here are a few tips to help you keep your acid reflux symptoms under control and still enjoy your vacation.

1. When you indulge, limit the high fat foods, and high spice foods. You can enjoy a taste of the local foods, but in moderation. Use your common sense, if you know a particular food is one of your heartburn triggers, avoid it.

2. Drinks mixed with citrus juices can bring on the symptoms of GERD, as can alcohol. Drink both in moderation.

Discount Pharmacy - Buy Pharmacy at discount prices including free shipping.Discount Pharmacy provides confortable and easy way to order discount pharmacy online.3. Try to eat small meals or snacks through out the day. Starving all day and making up for it at suppertime is a sure way to start a severe episode of acid reflux at night.

4. Wear comfortable clothing. The pressure of a tight waistband can promote heartburn symptoms. Don’t force yourself into your favorite pants just to look good- dress comfortably, and you will look and feel great.

5. Remember to bring your medication. Even if your symptoms are under control at home, don’t let heartburn ruin your vacation. Pack some extra medication, just in case you end up eating and drinking more than you anticipated.

6. Don’t spend all your time lying down. Sleeping too much and relaxing in the sun can encourage acid reflux symptoms. When you recline, it is easier for stomach acid to back up into your esophagus. To prevent this, be sure to elevate your head on two or more pillows at all times

While this list sounds like you will be missing all the fun of vacation time, taking precautions against heartburn will make your time off much more enjoyable

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The Claim: Chewing Gum After a Meal Can Prevent Heartburn

August 2, 2007

The list of ideas for easing heartburn is long and filled with home remedies, many unproved. But one of the simplest, chewing gum, may be among the most effective.

Heartburn results from digestive fluids’ traveling from stomach to esophagus in a process known as gastroesophageal reflux. When scientists set out to study whether this could be countered by chewing gum, they assumed the answer would be no. Instead they found that the saliva stimulated by chewing seemed to neutralize acid and help force fluids back to the stomach.

In a study published in The Journal of Dental Research in 2005, researchers had 31 people eat heartburn-inducing meals and then asked random subjects to chew sugar-free gum for 30 minutes. Acid levels after the meals were significantly lower when the participants chewed gum.

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Another option is antacid chewing gums. One study in 2002, by scientists at the nonprofit Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research, found that antacid chewing gum was more effective after a meal than chewable tablets.

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Monroe eat Sultan? Idea causes heartburn

July 29, 2007

SULTAN - Should Monroe swallow Sultan?

Monroe City Councilman Mitch Ruth thinks so. He wants Monroe to annex Sultan to help solve the smaller city’s looming problems.

Never mind that the two cities sit six miles apart in the Skykomish Valley. What happens in Sultan still affects Monroe, Ruth said. If crime increases in Sultan, that will spread to Monroe.

“As Sultan suffers financial woes, it does impact Monroe,” Ruth said.

Ruth’s proposal amuses Sultan Mayor Ben Tolson.

“Not going to happen,” Tolson said chuckling. “His concept is delusional, to say the least.”

Ruth wasn’t elected to represent people in Sultan, Tolson said.

“He should pay his attention to the city of Monroe and keep his nose out of Sultan,” Tolson said. “It shows his arrogance and ignorance.”

A few cities have merged through annexation in Washington, although it’s rare.

Ruth says that he plans to pitch the annexation idea to other Monroe officials at an Aug. 14 meeting.

If Monroe is a pie, Sultan is a slice of pie, in terms of population. Monroe has 16,290 people, more than 31/2 times the 4,530 residents of Sultan, according to the state Office of Financial Management.

Monroe has more tax revenues than Sultan, Ruth said. Monroe has more city employees and businesses than Sultan does.

The annexation could help people in Sultan receive better services, Ruth said.

“This is about issues for people in Sultan. My heart goes out to those people,” Ruth said, adding that some Sultan residents have expressed support for his proposal.

Sultan has struggled to balance its budget over the last several years. This year, the city’s general fund is expected to be about $450,000 short mainly because of unexpected bills for internal investigations at its police department and a revenue shortfall in building permit fees.

The projected budget deficit prompted city officials to consider turning off streetlights and closing the town’s library earlier this month.

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“This is about issues for people in Sultan. My heart goes out to those people,” Ruth said, adding that some Sultan residents have expressed support for his proposal.

Sultan has struggled to balance its budget over the last several years. This year, the city’s general fund is expected to be about $450,000 short mainly because of unexpected bills for internal investigations at its police department and a revenue shortfall in building permit fees.

The projected budget deficit prompted city officials to consider turning off streetlights and closing the town’s library earlier this month.

But city officials have come up with ideas to cut expenses to balance the $2.2 million general fund, city administrator Deborah Knight said. Those ideas include cutting patrol officers from eight to four, making staff work shorter hours and eliminating custodial service at city facilities.

Closing the library is off the table for now, Knight said.

The city is also forming a citizen advisory group to improve the situation. Sultan leaders - not outsiders - will make decisions for the city’s future, Knight said.

“We are going to continue as a city,” she said. “We need to live within our means.”

The idea of Sultan becoming a part of Monroe is pie in the sky, Sultan residents and business owners said on Thursday.

“This town has been around for about 100 years,” Arnold Jordan, 73, said last week.

Sultan was incorporated in 1905, three years after Monroe became incorporated.

Jordan has lived his entire life in Sultan except for a few years that he served in the Army. Sultan has been and will be independent, he said.

“Let (Ruth) take care of Monroe,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ruth said he’s trying to find out what it takes for one city to annex another.

The process could begin if the councils of the two cities adopt resolutions supporting Sultan’s annexation into Monroe.

Finishing it would be another matter.

“There are a number of legal issues that need to be explored to see if one could even pursue it under state law,” said Pat Mason, legal consultant for the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington.

One immediate concern of the state and the county boundary review panel is the fact the cities are miles apart, he said.

Leaders of Aberdeen and Hoquiam, which sit side by side in Grays Harbor County, considered a union a few years back but didn’t pursue it, he said.

Since the birth of Washington, a handful of towns have disincorporated and annexed into a neighboring city.

East Stanwood did it in 1961 to join Stanwood, according to a chart on the organization’s Web site. Seven years later, Kirkland annexed Houghton.

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The Hypochondriac Market

July 26, 2007

Here we go again. Jittery financial market participants have extrapolated a case of indigestion, and some heartburn, into the “big one.” But, recent market action looks much more like a panic attack than a heart attack. Tuesday’s market sell-off (small cap stocks fell 3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 226 points), has convinced many that problems in the sub-prime market are spreading.

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Significantly worse than expected Q2 earnings at Countrywide Financial, and problems in financing a few large leveraged business deals, have caused pessimistic market participants to fear an economy-wide credit crunch.

Clearly, this year’s increase in long-term interest rates could throw a wrench into some leveraged deals. But the current financial environment does not reflect conditions normally associated with a credit crunch. For example, it is in no way comparable to the one that existed at the time of the infamous failed leveraged buyout of United Airlines on October 13, 1989. That failure precipitated a one-day drop of 6.9% in the Dow, which presaged a recession in 1990.

Most people do not remember, but in 1989, the Federal Reserve lifted the federal funds rate to 9.75%. After subtracting inflation (as measured by the “core” PCE deflator), the real federal funds rate was over 5% in 1989 when the United Airlines deal fell apart.

Discount Pharmacy - Buy Pharmacy at discount prices including free shipping.Discount Pharmacy provides confortable and easy way to order discount pharmacy online.Also during the late 1980s, US government policy was forcing the S&L industry to suddenly divest itself of its highyield bonds. This draconian policy change led to an investor stampede that pushed bond spreads markedly higher and hindered financing across a broad range of industries. This junk bond sell off came at the same time tougher capital standards at commercial banks (from the Basel I Accords in 1988 and FDIC reform in 1991) rendered it more difficult for firms to get loans from traditional sources of capital. This “perfect storm” of policy changes caused a true credit crunch.

Today’s issues don’t come close. Although risk spreads have widened, they remain very narrow in an historical context and do not signal impending economic problems. The high-yield bond spread, which we calculate as the yield on BB-rated Bonds (Source: Merrill Lynch) minus the yield on 10-year Treasury securities, was 249 basis points last week versus 176 bps as recently as May 2007. This spread is below the March 2005 - September 2006 average, and below the 294 bps average of the past 10 years.

The real (inflation-adjusted) federal funds rate is only 3.3% - the highest so far in this business cycle, but well below the 5% level that has preceded every recession since 1970. And while tax hikes and regulatory expansion are being discussed, they remain a distant risk and face a high likelihood of veto.

The bottom line is that fears about the underlying health of the economy and financial markets are more about hypochondria than reality. The Fed is not tight, just less loose, the economy is strong, tax rates are low, and corporate earnings remain robust. Let’s not confuse indigestion and heartburn with the “big one.”

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Heartburn Treatment

July 22, 2007

Are you forced to give up some of your favorite foods in the fight against heartburn? If so, you are not alone.

40% of Americans experience heartburn and there are plenty of treatments.

However, Dr. Daniel Demarco, a Baylor University gastroenterologist, said too many people ignore their symptoms.

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‘);”If it’s new onset heartburn and you’ve been doing well for 40 years and all of a sudden you have heartburn, you should wonder why,” said Demarco.

According to Dr. Demarco, there are 3 levels of treatments.

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The first level includes mild “over the counter” remedies that neutralize existing acid right away.

In the second level you take treatment in anticipation of heartburn later in the day.

Finally, the third and most powerful remedies are doctor prescribed.

Doctors actually destroy the acid producing mechanisms within the stomach.

Dr. Demarco said sudden weight loss, trouble swallowing or pain swallowing are all red flags for serious heartburn.

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