Hi Anyone using Ranitidine instead of Lansoprazole for reflux? If so any problems.

[quince]

[yorkshirerose]

Hi

I was prescribed Ranitidine as well as Omeprazole (same as Lansoprazole) to be taken at night as my reflux was so bad. I took it for about 3 months with no problems, and it solved my problem.

Not sure if this is of any help

Edwina

[quince in reply to yorkshirerose]

Hi Edwina,

Thank you for that,

My Doctor has taken me off Lansoprazole and replaced it with Ranitidine.

Only 2 days into this but things seem to have settled

[Demon]

Hi Quince

I have been using Ranitidine for almost 5 years as I found Lansoprazole to be as much use a chocolate teapot. Ranitidine is the generic form of Zantac, however my personal experience has been that the Zantac has a better coating which works better for me. I started on two 120mg per day but have now reduced to one per day. I take one 120mg at night with a shot of Gaviscon and one Rennie. I can sleep on one pillow on both sides but not on my back and manage to sleep all night with no reflux whatsoever. The secret is to experiment but give each experiment time to work and chart your progress before switching to another.

Steve

[quince in reply to Demon]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your answer,just found this web site which is so helpful.

[Phil5]

Hi Quince,

In January (two months after my Ivor Lewis) I was sent for a dilation endoscopy. The consultant endoscopist only saw inflammation so did not do dilation. He did however proscribe 300 mg of ranitidine at night in preference to losartan and 20mg of Omeprazole in the morning. So I have been taking ranitidine for 4 months and have had no problems at all. They did try to cut the dosage to 150mg but at that level I feel a little reflux burn when I wake up in the morning so I am still taking 300mg.

Best Wishes

Phil

[quince in reply to Phil5]

Thanks Phil,

The Ranitidine for me is to sort a problem with bad egg smell after a burp.

[golfking]

I take lanzoprazole since I a had full oesophojectomy 3 years ago,however I now eat a apple before I go to bed and the reflux has stopped completely,why not try this and see if it works for you.

[bmwhatchback in reply to golfking]

I will get my husband to try your apple remedy - he takes no medicine at all, he gave up all tablets about 2 months ago, (2 months after his op). He does suffer some reflux. Many thanks for the interesting advice - Lynj

[quince]

Thanks Golfking,

I will try that

Quince

[Spikey]

My doctor prescribed Ranitidine (300mg once a day) about two years ago, after I had what I thought was an adverse reaction to pantoprazole. I took it for about six months with no ill effects. However, it eventually stopped working in terms of controlling acid reflux, so I decided to try pantoprazole again. This time, I experienced no adverse reaction and I've been on it ever since.

The question is why has your doctor put you on ranitidine, which is a somewhat old remedy, instead of PPI's, to control reflux? If you were having a problem with lansoprazole, there are plenty of others you could try. I sometimes get a bad egg smell after a burp, depending on what I've eaten. Don't we all?

Good luck,

G

[quince]

Operation details

Had Laparoscopic assisted Oesophagogastrectomy to remove aT3 tumor

From the bottom of my oesophugus. That was just over a year ago.

Had problems with chemo over the post time in the end had to stop the last 3 week session.

Making good progress

Do not have a reflux problem at this time but did have a rotten egg smell after burp.

Had a holiday 2 weeks ago.

Came back with a virus, coughing and light coloured stools, rotten egg smell after burp.

Went to Doctor he did the following

Cancelled Lansoprazole replaced with Ranitidine,also stopped

Calogen 200ml supplement which I have taken 9months.

3 days on no smell ,virus appears to have gone. Stools normal

quince.

[Hidden]

The bad egg smell is to do with the process of swallowing air when we eat. The oxygen gets absorbed from the liquid in your system, leaving more nitrogen behind. Actimel and bio yoghurts might help a bit. Plus trial and error re changes of diet.

The light coloured stools might be to do with how fat gets absorbed by your system eg steattorhea). Sometimes creon helps.

All these things help to monitor how your digestive system is coping - and it is worth adjusting things to try to get it right rather than simply thinking it is an automatic thing after surgery that you have to put up with.

PPI medication (like omeprazole) turns off the acid production in whatever is left of your stomach, but reflux may not just be acid; it could be bile, which PPIs will not touch because it is alkali. Sometimes sucralfate is prescribed.

Every medication is liable to have some side effects, and there are indeed variations of PPIs that may help. Also not having stomach acid will have various side effects because the acid helps to remove harmful bacteria, and helps the absorption process of calcium.

None of which means that any medication is a bad thing - it just has to be tailored for our changing circumstances.

[quince in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for that,

[TCSJ]

Hi quince.

My GP switched me from Lansoprazole to Zantac and I am up all night again! Rennies are keeping the acid down. Zantac has the same effect as taking sweets!! It is different for different people so you will know soon enough! I will be requesting a prescription for lansoprazole on Monday.

[Stevewellswood]

My surgen told me not to let them change my lansoprazole for ranatidine as its not as good and it's because it's cheaper

[afgolick]

My doctor of 15 years who was partially responsible for me taking Prevacid beginning in 2000, has just told me to start to reduce my 30mg intake to 15 mg. ( I am 70.) Zantac will be a supplent for a few weeks, and we will see what happens. The idea is to go to zantac 100% in a month. The reasoning is that if you take Prevacid long enough, there "may be" side effects. I leave it to you to research this. But obviously my doctor got a memo for his long term patients on prevacid. My problem was chest pains and heart burn from not having "the valve", a life long problem since birth, minimalized to an extent by my-life long good eating habbits and minimal intake of bier. The Doc encouraged me to cut back further on fats, meats, alcohol (ha), caffeine, acidic foods, chocolate, and you know the other stuff. Hope this is helpful.

[quince in reply to afgolick]

Hi,

I am 2 years post op now , was put on these pills over a year ago mainly due to a breath smell problem which was sorted with these pills.

Do not get any reflux.

Thanks for your reply

Quince

[Johncameron]

I used Ranitidine for two years with limited results. I changed to Omeprazole recently -what a difference. So far I have hardly had any heartburn or reflux. Just hope it stays that way.

[Hidden in reply to Johncameron]

Hi, I was advised to use Omeprazole almost 3 years ago following an Ivor Lewis procedure but still had regular bouts of reflux. A few months ago after a bad reflux whilst asleep I was hospitalised and diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. I must admit the experience scared me so after I left hospital I decided to change my eating habits. Now even though I sleep almost upright I do not sleep for at least 5 hours after a meal, If I do feel peckish within this period I only eat fish sticks or ice cream and so far so good my reflux problem has been non existant.

[casalbordino]

I stopped taking Omeprazole about 9 months ago and now just take Ranitidine has and when required, no problems and the bloating disappeared immediately