[OT] Help! Medication question

Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I'm merely curious from an academic perspective. Actually, it's
for a friend of mine. Yes, that's it, I have this friend who...

Thanks!
Joyce

My husband would take one tablet daily for six months then, lay off for two
months when the problem would arise again. However, your friend should
probably ask a physical or than man behind the drug counter, (avoiding
spelling the word) as people may vary. This was under the watch of a
physican but who knows for others. Not much help I know.
wrote in message
...
Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I'm merely curious from an academic perspective. Actually, it's
for a friend of mine. Yes, that's it, I have this friend who...

Thanks!
Joyce

wrote in message
...
Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I'm merely curious from an academic perspective. Actually, it's
for a friend of mine. Yes, that's it, I have this friend who...

Thanks!
Joyce

I took Ranitidine as a prescription at double the OTC for over a year. I
think the box says something like 4 weeks max without a doctors
prescription. I don't recall being constipated, but I believe this stuff can
cause Cancer in the long term. I found it made me feel worse than the Acid
Reflux so I just take Tums now.

Bill Stock wrote:

I took Ranitidine as a prescription at double the OTC for over a year. I
think the box says something like 4 weeks max without a doctors
prescription. I don't recall being constipated, but I believe this stuff can
cause Cancer in the long term. I found it made me feel worse than the Acid
Reflux so I just take Tums now.

Cancer? Eek. But ranitidine is different from famotidine, so I don't
know if the risks are the same.

I've been taking it for about 3 weeks, twice a day. I feel like I have
lead in my intestines. And I'm all bloated, even my pants feel tighter.
I guess I should stop taking it.

Maybe I should call an advice nurse. My HMO has those.

Thanks,
Joyce

My husband had to stop the tums, they burned the lineing of his stomace.
None of that can really be good olong term I wouldn't think.
"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I'm merely curious from an academic perspective. Actually, it's
for a friend of mine. Yes, that's it, I have this friend who...

Thanks!
Joyce

I took Ranitidine as a prescription at double the OTC for over a year. I
think the box says something like 4 weeks max without a doctors
prescription. I don't recall being constipated, but I believe this stuff
can cause Cancer in the long term. I found it made me feel worse than the
Acid Reflux so I just take Tums now.

wrote in message
...
Bill Stock wrote:

I took Ranitidine as a prescription at double the OTC for over a year. I
think the box says something like 4 weeks max without a doctors
prescription. I don't recall being constipated, but I believe this stuff
can
cause Cancer in the long term. I found it made me feel worse than the
Acid
Reflux so I just take Tums now.

Cancer? Eek. But ranitidine is different from famotidine, so I don't
know if the risks are the same.

I've been taking it for about 3 weeks, twice a day. I feel like I have
lead in my intestines. And I'm all bloated, even my pants feel tighter.
I guess I should stop taking it.

Maybe I should call an advice nurse. My HMO has those.

Thanks,
Joyce

You need some Thanksgiving pants (kidding). I've also taken Pariet which I
liked better for me. I believe there are newer versions of PPIs that are
even more effective. I found the high dose of Ranitidine (same action as
famotidine) made me light headed and short of breath.

--
Bill, who had to buy BIGGER Thanksgiving pants.

I'm guessing this is an acid blocker? I took one for years with an RX
before it went OTC. Finally had stomach surgery to correct the reflux. But
if I hadn't I'd still be taking it, And I was at double the recommended
dose, which I believe is 4x the otc dose.

While I don't remember all the potential side effects, I do remember what we
were trying to avoid. I already had Barrets esophagitus which puts me at a
10x normal rate for esophageal cancer for the rest of my life.

However it is a really bad idea to take anything like this without some
medical supervision.

Jo

"Granby" wrote in message
...
My husband would take one tablet daily for six months then, lay off for
two months when the problem would arise again. However, your friend
should probably ask a physical or than man behind the drug counter,
(avoiding spelling the word) as people may vary. This was under the watch
of a physican but who knows for others. Not much help I know.
wrote in message
...
Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I'm merely curious from an academic perspective. Actually, it's
for a friend of mine. Yes, that's it, I have this friend who...

Thanks!
Joyce

jofirey wrote:

I'm guessing this is an acid blocker? I took one for years with an RX
before it went OTC. Finally had stomach surgery to correct the reflux. But
if I hadn't I'd still be taking it, And I was at double the recommended
dose, which I believe is 4x the otc dose.

While I don't remember all the potential side effects, I do remember what we
were trying to avoid. I already had Barrets esophagitus which puts me at a
10x normal rate for esophageal cancer for the rest of my life.

However it is a really bad idea to take anything like this without some
medical supervision.

Oh, this is a prescription from my doctor. And I have quite a few refills
on it, too.

My theory is that if it's neutralizing some of the acid in my stomach,
then some of the food I'm eating isn't getting digested as well as it
would if the acid were normal. So more stuff is getting passed along to
the intestines undigested, or perhaps, under-digested. Which means that
there are some unfamiliar things in my intestines, and maybe that's
creating some problems?

After all, the issue isn't that I have too much stomach acid, or it's
too strong or too acidic. The problem is that the acid is going places
where it doesn't belong. So a neutralizer is only a stopgap solution -
it's not solving the real problem. And perhaps it's creating other
problems. I will say, though, that I don't have the discomfort from
reflux while I'm taking it. So obviously, it's working.

Joyce

Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I've looked up a few reference books here. They don't suggest
constipation and bloating as a cause for worry - the serious issues
are with hypersensitivity reactions, and nothing you've posted
suggests that might happen to you.

But they suggest two weeks as the limit for OTC use. My guess as
to why is that if you have a problem that doesn't go away after
that time, you ought to be seeing a doctor about it. In a place
with a mediaeval healthcare system like the US that's only an
option for the rich, so I guess you just have to carry on with it.
I haven't read anything that suggests long-term use of the drug is
risky in itself, even at very high doses.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

I used to take so much of it that we bought the "club size " from Sam's,
that was a while back but I think I was cautioned to drink more water...
blessedly after losing over 75 pounds we don't even buy it, HATH, Lee
wrote in message
...
Does anyone here take Pepcid for acid reflux? (The chemical name for
the drug is famotidine, in case it is marketed under a different name
outside the US.)

If so, do you know if there is a suggested limit as to how long one
should be taking it? (ie, how many days?) Can it lead to intestinal
problems, specifically, constipation?

I'm merely curious from an academic perspective. Actually, it's
for a friend of mine. Yes, that's it, I have this friend who...

Thanks!
Joyce