Managing Reflux

Until I got pregnant, I honestly never thought much of reflux-- but it is awful! So here are some general tips for handling it. One bit of good news is that (unlike in pregnancy), with chemo, most of the reflux drugs are safe and available to you. In pregnancy, your only option may be Tums and that can be very tough...

Keep in mind that Tums acts the most quickly (5-20 minutes or so) but has the shortest duration of action, and can actually worsen reflux symptoms in the long-term. So, it is good for very short-term immediate control-- but not much else.

Pepcid (or other members of the H-2 class) work in a fast-to-intermediate time frame (1-2 hours), but have a somewhat longer duration of action.

Prevacid (or other members of the proton-pump inhibitor class) work in the longest time frame (3-4 days before full effect!) and so are not particularly useful for immediate relief of reflux. These medications are really designed for people with chronic reflux, or ulcers-- but not for short-term control.

What works the best for me is taking Tums as I need it (ie, if immediate symptoms are very bad), and then taking an H2 blocker twice daily for the duration of the reflux symptoms (for me, with TCH, this seems to be 4-5 days). I have not tried the proton pump inhibitors, because they take too long to act, given the duration of my symptoms (but might be useful if symptoms last longer).

Just remember- don't take something that will work in three days for a problem that is happening right now!!