Ranitidine and Propranolol together?

[Bunny4jeff]

Hi, I have recently been told I have a hiatus hernia, of medium size, whatever that means! I have suffered for years with heartburn and reflux, this must have been the reason why. I self-medicated for years, taking Rennies, until finally a doctor prescribed Lansoprazole 15 mg once a day. This helped for quite a while, but the pain increased over the years, so the doctor increased my dose to 30 mg once a day. At this point nobody knew I had a hiatus hernia...but much better relief of pain. Recently, I saw a new doctor in our surgery. He reviewed my medication, and seemed horrified that I had been taking Lansoprazole for so many years, as he said it puts a layer over the stomach to protect it, but in doing so, many vitamins and minerals cannot be absorbed. My blood tests have always come back normal however. The doctor then changed me from Lansoprazole to Ranitidine 150 mg. Being a bit of a geeky type, I actually read the leaflet that goes with them, and found it doesn't recommend taking Propranolol at the same time as Ranitidine. I have been on Propranolol 40 mg twice a day for years also, originally for mild headache and slightly raised BP. Propranolol has worked perfectly for me. But now I'm noticing a drop in my BP, it is still within normal range; was around 130/85, now 112/67, quite a drop. I am feeling quite sleepy as well, nodding off during the day, which is ok as I am retired...otherwise I feel well. Am I right to feel concerned? I believe the doctor must have known I was taking Propranolol...but I had never seen him before, but surely he'd have read my notes. I dont want to create a fuss, but wonder if I should be taking the two drugs together, which both apparently lower the BP. No other side-effects noticed. In fact, the Ranitidine doesn't work quite so well as the Lansoprazole did, but may be better for the stomach in the long run. Any opinions gladly heard, TIA! Especially, any other recommended options to treat hiatal dyspepsia.

[butterflyEi]

Hi Bunny4jeff

I was prescribed Omeprazole for a long period which is also not good. As you probably know as we get older it is more difficult to absorb all the vitamins and minerals that we need so anything like Lansoprazole (from what you have written) will not be great. If you are in the UK you could discuss your concerns with the local pharmacist who is filling your prescription. I have found my local chap very good at helping with the best time to take medication. I now take one of my tablets when I wake at night anywhwere between 3 and 5 a.m. so that it is as far away from other medication as possible and from his advice I now get the full benefit of my prescription.

I have found that although here in the UK you can see any doctor at the surgery and they have a screen of information about us in front of them we do need to be very aware for ourselves.

Hope this will be of some help to you.

Just as an aside you may like to look at this link:

hernia.org/types/hiatus-her...

[Bunny4jeff in reply to butterflyEi]

Hi and thank you for your helpful reply. I have started taking the Ranitidine about 2-3 hours before eating, to gve it time to work as it suggests in the leaflet. Doctors dont always (if ever) tell you all these little things that will usually help. I guess its a shock to the system to suddenly stop the Lansoprazole, as in the past when I've forgotten to take one, I got heartburn and/or indigestion. The Ranitidene works slightly less well than the Lansoprazole, but I'm prepared to persist with it in the interests of health. I was more worried about the effects of taking Ranitidine and Propranolol together, as they both appear to lower blood pressure, and make me sleepy (this was warned in the leaflet). As you say, the pharmacist may be able to give advice about taking them separately. Thanks, I'll do that first, before speaking to the doc. Thanks for the link, I'll have a read of that too!

[morphalot]

Hi - these days, as soon as the doctor puts medication prescriptions for an individual, the computer programme will issue a warning if the are any needs that don't work well together. So I think your doctor will know what's what. I'm on ramipril, ranitidine and lansoprazole with no side effects. By the way, you're not a Geek - I read the labels too!

[Bunny4jeff in reply to morphalot]

Hi and thanks! Thats reassuring...and I'm sure he wouldn't knowingly prescrbe anything that might clash. In a way I wish I hadn't read the leaflet...as it did mention that Propranolol and Ranitidine shouldn't be taken together. I took it to mean not together at any time. I wouldn't have had a second thought about it had my BP not dropped, and I started to nap during the day, where I didn't before. This is where I'll have a word with the local chemist, just for a little reassurance.

[morphalot in reply to Bunny4jeff]

Great idea! I talk to my local pharmacy a lot of I have been put on a new prescription or if something has changed. They're very knowledgeable and helpful.

[Bunny4jeff]

Hi paincunt,

Normally I'm a good girl who takes her meds, of which are very few, without even a second thought, let alone worry about them. Its only that the leaflet said to inform your doctor if you are taking propranolol, no reason given. This makes you think, I wonder why. I take my BP about once a week, but I'm not fanatical about my health. I dont wear a fitbit watch or even attend a gym. gardening takes up a fair bit of my time and I think I get a reasonable amount of exercise from that. I just happened to notice my BP having dropped where usually its slightly above normal. I know its still within normal range. I wasn't taking Rennies on a regular basis before the Ranitidine, it was Lansoprazole. The doc took me off this, and Gaviscon, which I took occasionally at night, if I woke up with any indigestion. I did keep a packet of Rennies, as I dont find Ranitidine works as well as Lansoprazole in stopping heartburn. Last night for example, I took a couple of Rennies before bed, as I now dont have the Gaviscon, and the heartburn was pretty bad. No doubt its going to have to be a change of diet to suit the different way these new tabs work. Apparently, Ranitidine suppresses the acid produced in the stomach but obviously not all, or the food wouldn't be digested. I'll persevere with it, but if I can't get a hold on this pain I'll get back to the doctor, and see if he recommends a hernia repair. I think its a last gasp treatment fix if nothing else works. Thank you for your input, its always appreciated.