Anyone suffer from Indigestion? Suggest medication

[Kenny202]

Talking about the type of indigestion / heartburn when you get the waves of pain in your chest. Not acid reflux. I don't get it often but when I do man it is uncomfortable. Always took a medication here called Ranidine, which is generic Zantac. I believe these products have been banned in the States and indeed in Thailand as they were found to have cancer causing agents. 

 

My pharmacist gave me some other pills but they just don't work. The Ranidine (Zantac) was almost instant relief. Can anyone can suggest anything? Photo of the pack would be great I can show my chemist.

[LosLobo]

Omeprazole .... a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) ..... one local brand is Miracid.  Though it can take an hour or so to work.

 

Gaviscon is an effective antacid and works almost immediately.

[jak2002003]

Just change your diet and cut out the food that causes you to have the problem.

 

 

 

[Meat Pie 47]

I can't offer any advice I never had any indigestion all my live or any heart burn

 

[soi3eddie]

I find that I only get indigestion or heartburn or acid reflux when I'm a greedy pig and eat too much <deleted> food. Other than that no medication required.

 

[farang51]

4 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Talking about the type of indigestion / heartburn when you get the waves of pain in your chest. Not acid reflux.

 

Sounds like what I suffered from for a long time. I never suspected heartburn as there were no acid reflux.

 

3 hours ago, LosLobo said:

Omeprazole .... a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) ..... one local brand is Miracid.  Though it can take an hour or so to work.

 

That's what I take for a few days and then the heartburn goes away for weeks or months at a time.

 

You can get something to take when you eat and that works right away; although, I cannot remember the name - any pharmacy will know.

[daveAustin]

I used to but simply moderated foods (and stressors (wife )) that were causing it. I'd address that (set up a spreadsheet) first before looking into pharmaceuticals, with the likes of omeprazole potentially causing different issues. Stuff like red wine, coffee, spices, chocolate and bread can mess up the gut. 

[scubascuba3]

Omeprazole helped me get rid of gastritis, took a few weeks before changing diet, mainly less coffee and chilli. A couple weeks to ween myself off. 

 

Recently I've been trying Apple cider vinegar or other vinegars, I've noticed better digestion. Once I run out I'll see how my digestion is effected

[northsouthdevide]

These work well for me.

Can't remember the price, but reasonable.

 

[Moonlover]

As with earlier posters, I do my best to avoid this problem by being cautious about what I eat and when I eat it.

 

But the best laid plans sometimes get screwed up mainly due to social obligations, so Madam Moon always has a bottle of this stuff in the fridge. It's worked very quickly every time I've used it. 

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, northsouthdevide said:

These work well for me.

Can't remember the price, but reasonable.

 

This is a brand of omeprazole.

 

If it is just an occasional problem I'd just take Gaviscon. No systemic effects.

 

If it is happening more often then need ro be evaluated for possible h. Pylori and treated if present.

[Kenny202]

7 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

This is a brand of omeprazole.

 

If it is just an occasional problem I'd just take Gaviscon. No systemic effects.

 

If it is happening more often then need ro be evaluated for possible h. Pylori and treated if present.

Thanks Sheryl. Most of the pharmacies here keep suggesting Omeprazole products but it looks like to me that is for chronic ulcer or intestinal type issues. I do only get it very infrequently so wont be keeping spreadsheets etc. It's that awful pain in the chest area, where it feels like a balloon is inflating / deflating inside you. Comes in waves. Is that indigestion or heartburn?

 

Anyway, I ordered some Gaviscon off Lazada. Strangely if you search Gaviscon on Lazada it doesn't come up. If you google search Gaviscon, it comes up Lazada suggestions lol.

 

What do you think of a medication called Siam Diasgest Sheryl? I got that some time ago and seemed to remember it worked well. Maybe it is also a Ranitdine type product that I believe has been banned. Is that a similar quick relief thing? Also have a medication called Miracid.

[Surelynot]

12 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Not acid reflux

If it is not acid reflux what on earth do you think is causing the pain?

[Surelynot]

2 hours ago, northsouthdevide said:

These work well for me.

Can't remember the price, but reasonable.

 

Been on this for 12 years now.....tried to come off it a few times....no way.....it is as close to a miracle drug (for me) as you can get.

[Surelynot]

11 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Omeprazole products but it looks like to me that is for chronic ulcer or intestinal type issues

No...it is a proton pump inhibitor.....it basically stop 95% of your stomach cell from producing acid.....this stops the pain....but not necessarily the reflux which is often caused by diet...life style.....or hiatal hernia.

[rumak]

10 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Just change your diet and cut out the food that causes you to have the problem.

 

 

 

 

That for sure is a great suggestion.    Getting people to actually change is almost impossible  555

 

I drink some warm water with a teaspoon of  baking soda once in a while.  Solves any gas or similar

indigestion matters.   Of course anyone can GOOGLE  this to see the potential benefits.

 

But all you ever hear about is  pills,  pills,   pills  from the pharmaceutical establishment

[NanLaew]

This one seems to be the most favored by my tribe.

 

[Sheryl]

22 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Thanks Sheryl. Most of the pharmacies here keep suggesting Omeprazole products but it looks like to me that is for chronic ulcer or intestinal type issues. I do only get it very infrequently so wont be keeping spreadsheets etc. It's that awful pain in the chest area, where it feels like a balloon is inflating / deflating inside you. Comes in waves. Is that indigestion or heartburn?

 

Anyway, I ordered some Gaviscon off Lazada. Strangely if you search Gaviscon on Lazada it doesn't come up. If you google search Gaviscon, it comes up Lazada suggestions lol.

 

What do you think of a medication called Siam Diasgest Sheryl? I got that some time ago and seemed to remember it worked well. Maybe it is also a Ranitdine type product that I believe has been banned. Is that a similar quick relief thing? Also have a medication called Miracid.

Miracid is a brand of omeprazole.

 

Diasgest is an antacid.

 

Indigestion and heartburn are lay terms with no precise medical meaning. Most people would probably use those terms interchangeably.

 

Basically what to be concerned about with the symptoms you describe is

 

(1) whether it might actually be a cardiac problem. Pain due to ischemic heart disease can mimic that of gastric pain abd vice versa. Even a doctor cannot tell these apart without running specific tests. Many a person brought to hospital with suspected heart attack turned out to have gastritis,  and many a heart attack has been overlooked because the patient thought it was just gastritis ("heartburn" or "indigestion").  If you have not had a recent check up that included a cardiac stress test I would advise it.

 

(2) whether it is gastritis due (as gastritis often is) to h. Pylori. If so that needs to be eradicated. There are several ways of testing for h. Pylori including breath test, stool test (hard to obtain in Thailand) and endoscopy with biopsy.  The last will also identify if ulceration is present and can rule out presence of a tumor, but is more expensive.

 

(3) less common but may need to consider if it persists, is gastric malignancy.

 

 

[Kenny202]

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

This one seems to be the most favored by my tribe.

 

I find this one good for when you get acid coming up in your mouth. But not for the reflux pain

[Kenny202]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Miracid is a brand of omeprazole.

 

Diasgest is an antacid.

 

Indigestion and heartburn are lay terms with no precise medical meaning. Most people would probably use those terms interchangeably.

 

Basically what to be concerned about with the symptoms you describe is

 

(1) whether it might actually be a cardiac problem. Pain due to ischemic heart disease can mimic that of gastric pain abd vice versa. Even a doctor cannot tell these apart without running specific tests. Many a person brought to hospital with suspected heart attack turned out to have gastritis,  and many a heart attack has been overlooked because the patient thought it was just gastritis ("heartburn" or "indigestion").  If you have not had a recent check up that included a cardiac stress test I would advise it.

 

(2) whether it is gastritis due (as gastritis often is) to h. Pylori. If so that needs to be eradicated. There are several ways of testing for h. Pylori including breath test, stool test (hard to obtain in Thailand) and endoscopy with biopsy.  The last will also identify if ulceration is present and can rule out presence of a tumor, but is more expensive.

 

(3) less common but may need to consider if it persists, is gastric malignancy.

 

 

I rarely get it Sheryl, usually once in 2 or 3 months, and have had it on and off for 20 years as do many people. Coconut can do it to me, probably other things too. The first time I got it I actually did think it was a heart attack. Was getting referred pain from my chest up the outside of my neck, around my jaw. When I would take Zantac or Ranidine would be gone in minutes. I got that Diagest once before while I was away and I think it worked ok though not that quickly. Thanks for your advice

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, Kenny202 said:

I find this one good for when you get acid coming up in your mouth. But not for the reflux pain

Trying to work this one out......presumably the acid reaches your mouth.....but the oesophagus is not sensitized enough to the acid so you don't experience the reflux pain????? just the burning of the acid when it reaches your mouth???

[Sheryl]

Reflux = the gastric contents (acidic)  flow back up into the throat.

 

What you describe is not reflux. It may be gastric pain, but it is not reflux. Reflux means flowing back.

 

The treatment for reflux and for gastritis is the same, medication that one way or the other reduces the acidity of gastric fluids.  This does nto stop reflux (if present) but makes it less painful/noticeable, and it will also decrease pain form gastritis and promote healing, though if h. pylori is present acid reducing drugs alone will nto be enough.

 

 

[Kenny202]

5 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Trying to work this one out......presumably the acid reaches your mouth.....but the oesophagus is not sensitized enough to the acid so you don't experience the reflux pain????? just the burning of the acid when it reaches your mouth???

For me it is two different things and get either / or very infrequently. Obviously eating something doesn't agree with me. Two things I know can do it coconut or very charred meat. The acid thing is when I get like some acid coming up in my throat and neck. No biggy just noticeable and mildly uncomfortable. A sip of antacid normally does the trick

 

The other one is like a sharp pain in the chest area that comes and goes in waves. Not really the chest but inside the chest area. Obviously the stomach or intestinal pipe inside the chest area. I don't necessarily get acid in the mouth or throat when I get the latter

[Sheryl]

1 minute ago, Surelynot said:

Trying to work this one out......presumably the acid reaches your mouth.....but the oesophagus is not sensitized enough to the acid so you don't experience the reflux pain????? just the burning of the acid when it reaches your mouth???

 

 

He does not have reflux and his pain has nothing to do with reflux.

 

People often confuse gastritis with reflux. Although both conditions will have symptomatic relief from drugs that neutralize  or reduce stomach acid, they are entirely different conditions.  In reflux (GERD) the cause is weakness of the lower esophageal sphincter allowing gastric fluids to flow back (reflux) into the esophagus or even upoper throat and mouth. In gastritis the cause is inflammation (with or without ulceration) of the lining of the stomach.

 

It is possible to suffer from both conditions but they are not at all the same thing.

 

OP does not have any sign of reflux. He may have gastritis, but would do well to rule out cardiac problem just to be safe.

 

 

[neillyweilly]

Omeaprazole

[lopburi3]

For occasional use Air-X (Simethicone) is cheap, good teste, easy to carry and available everywhere.

[Sheryl]

OP just to recap:

 

The safest course of action would be to first have a cardiac check up (including stress test) and, assuming negative,  then see a GI specialist for an endoscopy, which can also test for h. pylori, odds are more than 50% that h. pylori test would be positive.

 

Then treat according to endoscopy results. May include 10 - 14 days therapy to eradicate h. pylori and then, depending ion what was seen in terms of inflamation/ulceration, a course of a PPI thereafter.

 

If you prefer to just self treat with antacids and/or PPIs you can, but be aware that taking that approach you cannot be sure you do not have a cardiac problem, stomach  cancer or h. pylori.  If h. pylori is present, PPIS/antacids will give temporary pain relief but will not cure it and left untreated you can develop ulcers; it is also a risk factor for gastric cancer.

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

OP just to recap:

 

The safest course of action would be to first have a cardiac check up (including stress test) and, assuming negative,  then see a GI specialist for an endoscopy, which can also test for h. pylori, odds are more than 50% that h. pylori test would be positive.

 

Then treat according to endoscopy results. May include 10 - 14 days therapy to eradicate h. pylori and then, depending ion what was seen in terms of inflamation/ulceration, a course of a PPI thereafter.

 

If you prefer to just self treat with antacids and/or PPIs you can, but be aware that taking that approach you cannot be sure you do not have a cardiac problem, stomach  cancer or h. pylori.  If h. pylori is present, PPIS/antacids will give temporary pain relief but will not cure it and left untreated you can develop ulcers; it is also a risk factor for gastric cancer.

Plus the risk of Barrett's esophagus....which I was steadily traveling towards.....but the endoscopy would pick that up at the same time I guess.

[BritManToo]

Gallstones = same symptoms.

Just saying, you really need a doctor to diagnose the problem and the correct treatment.

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Surelynot said:

Been on this for 12 years now.....tried to come off it a few times....no way.....it is as close to a miracle drug (for me) as you can get.

did you change your diet? for me that was the problem, stomach had enough of high levels of chilli and coffee. 

 

Hunting for H. Pylori can be barking up the wrong tree, I wouldn't bother to start with, based on my experience