From: jmc on
Suddenly, without warning, Howard McCollister exclaimed (3/15/2006 4:38 AM):
> "jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
> news:47osqrFgru6tU1(a)individual.net...
>> Is coughing a possible side effect of Lansoprazole? With extended use
>> (over a year at 30mg 1/day) can it actually cause reflux?
>>
>> Reason I ask is, I forgot to take it this morning, and didn't cough most
>> of the day. Took it when I got home, and I've been coughing all night.
>>
>> So now I'm thinking I didn't forget my meds a while back when I started
>> coughing real bad.
>>
>> jmc
>
> Lansoprazole, doesn't stop reflux. There is no medication that stops reflux.
>
> HMc
>
>
>
Howard:

Interestingly enough, I picked up a product at the chemist today (UK)
that calls itself a "reflux suppressant". It's a really thick
suspension. Active ingredients: sodium alginate Ph Eur 1000mg and
potassium bicarbonate Ph Eur 200mg. Has calcium carbonate and some
other stuff as well. The package says "[it]forms a protective layer
that floats on top of the stomach contents. This layer prevents reflux
and keeps the stomach contents away from the lining of the food pipe."
Says it's good for controlling hiatus hernia symptoms...

This is a well-know, respected brand in the UK, the product is called
Gaviscon Advance - it a pharmacy only med (here, there's three types of
meds - OTC, pharmacist only, and prescription).

I'm wondering what you think of the product's claims?

jodi
From: Howard McCollister on

"jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
news:47r1c4Fh20agU1(a)individual.net...
> Suddenly, without warning, Howard McCollister exclaimed (3/15/2006 4:38
> AM):
>> "jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
>> news:47osqrFgru6tU1(a)individual.net...
>>> Is coughing a possible side effect of Lansoprazole? With extended use
>>> (over a year at 30mg 1/day) can it actually cause reflux?
>>>
>>> Reason I ask is, I forgot to take it this morning, and didn't cough most
>>> of the day. Took it when I got home, and I've been coughing all night.
>>>
>>> So now I'm thinking I didn't forget my meds a while back when I started
>>> coughing real bad.
>>>
>>> jmc
>>
>> Lansoprazole, doesn't stop reflux. There is no medication that stops
>> reflux.
>>
>> HMc
>>
>>
>>
> Howard:
>
> Interestingly enough, I picked up a product at the chemist today (UK) that
> calls itself a "reflux suppressant". It's a really thick suspension.
> Active ingredients: sodium alginate Ph Eur 1000mg and potassium
> bicarbonate Ph Eur 200mg. Has calcium carbonate and some other stuff as
> well. The package says "[it]forms a protective layer that floats on top
> of the stomach contents. This layer prevents reflux and keeps the stomach
> contents away from the lining of the food pipe." Says it's good for
> controlling hiatus hernia symptoms...
>
> This is a well-know, respected brand in the UK, the product is called
> Gaviscon Advance - it a pharmacy only med (here, there's three types of
> meds - OTC, pharmacist only, and prescription).
>
> I'm wondering what you think of the product's claims?
>

Gaviscon has been around for many years. It's function is as described, but
it acts and an antacid that neutralizes acid before it can come into contact
with the esophageal lining. It doesn't stop reflux, just neutralizes the
acid that IS refluxed. Gastric contents can still get up the esophagus and
into the posterior pharynx. Anything that hits the vocal cords can cause
coughing.

HMc



From: Howard McCollister on

"jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
news:47rfkbFh4844U1(a)individual.net...
> Suddenly, without warning, Howard McCollister exclaimed (3/15/2006 6:42
> PM):
>> "jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
>> news:47r1c4Fh20agU1(a)individual.net...
>>> Suddenly, without warning, Howard McCollister exclaimed (3/15/2006 4:38
>>> AM):
>>>> "jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
>>>> news:47osqrFgru6tU1(a)individual.net...
>>>>> Is coughing a possible side effect of Lansoprazole? With extended use
>>>>> (over a year at 30mg 1/day) can it actually cause reflux?
>>>>>
>>>>> Reason I ask is, I forgot to take it this morning, and didn't cough
>>>>> most of the day. Took it when I got home, and I've been coughing all
>>>>> night.
>>>>>
>>>>> So now I'm thinking I didn't forget my meds a while back when I
>>>>> started coughing real bad.
>>>>>
>>>>> jmc
>>>> Lansoprazole, doesn't stop reflux. There is no medication that stops
>>>> reflux.
>>>>
>>>> HMc
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Howard:
>>>
>>> Interestingly enough, I picked up a product at the chemist today (UK)
>>> that calls itself a "reflux suppressant". It's a really thick
>>> suspension. Active ingredients: sodium alginate Ph Eur 1000mg and
>>> potassium bicarbonate Ph Eur 200mg. Has calcium carbonate and some
>>> other stuff as well. The package says "[it]forms a protective layer
>>> that floats on top of the stomach contents. This layer prevents reflux
>>> and keeps the stomach contents away from the lining of the food pipe."
>>> Says it's good for controlling hiatus hernia symptoms...
>>>
>>> This is a well-know, respected brand in the UK, the product is called
>>> Gaviscon Advance - it a pharmacy only med (here, there's three types of
>>> meds - OTC, pharmacist only, and prescription).
>>>
>>> I'm wondering what you think of the product's claims?
>>>
>>
>> Gaviscon has been around for many years. It's function is as described,
>> but it acts and an antacid that neutralizes acid before it can come into
>> contact with the esophageal lining. It doesn't stop reflux, just
>> neutralizes the acid that IS refluxed. Gastric contents can still get up
>> the esophagus and into the posterior pharynx. Anything that hits the
>> vocal cords can cause coughing.
>>
>> HMc
>>
>>
>>
> Well, the Gaviscon Advance is new. I don't have some old gaviscon handy
> to compare ingredients, just assumed (after talking to the pharmacist)
> that this was indeed something new and different. At any rate, I think
> it's working.
>
> I know the old stuff just neutralized. This stuff says it does more, but
> I'm unfamiliar with the UK laws concerning truth in advertising...
>
> Is Gaviscon available in the States? I don't remember seeing it there.
> Before I got on prescription meds, I always found it worked better than
> malox or the other US antacids.
>
> jmc

Yes, still available. As I've said - whatever works in controlling symptoms.

HMc




From: Pete on
Howard McCollister wrote:
> "jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
> news:47r1c4Fh20agU1(a)individual.net...
>> Suddenly, without warning, Howard McCollister exclaimed (3/15/2006
>> 4:38 AM):
>>> "jmc" <NOnewsgroupsSPAM(a)NOjodiBODY.HOMEus> wrote in message
>>> news:47osqrFgru6tU1(a)individual.net...
>>>> Is coughing a possible side effect of Lansoprazole? With extended
>>>> use (over a year at 30mg 1/day) can it actually cause reflux?
>>>>
>>>> Reason I ask is, I forgot to take it this morning, and didn't
>>>> cough most of the day. Took it when I got home, and I've been
>>>> coughing all night. So now I'm thinking I didn't forget my meds a while
>>>> back when I
>>>> started coughing real bad.
>>>>
>>>> jmc
>>>
>>> Lansoprazole, doesn't stop reflux. There is no medication that stops
>>> reflux.
>>>
>>> HMc
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Howard:
>>
>> Interestingly enough, I picked up a product at the chemist today
>> (UK) that calls itself a "reflux suppressant". It's a really thick
>> suspension. Active ingredients: sodium alginate Ph Eur 1000mg and
>> potassium bicarbonate Ph Eur 200mg. Has calcium carbonate and some
>> other stuff as well. The package says "[it]forms a protective layer
>> that floats on top of the stomach contents. This layer prevents
>> reflux and keeps the stomach contents away from the lining of the
>> food pipe." Says it's good for controlling hiatus hernia symptoms...
>>
>> This is a well-know, respected brand in the UK, the product is called
>> Gaviscon Advance - it a pharmacy only med (here, there's three types
>> of meds - OTC, pharmacist only, and prescription).
>>
>> I'm wondering what you think of the product's claims?
>>
>
> Gaviscon has been around for many years. It's function is as
> described, but it acts and an antacid that neutralizes acid before it
> can come into contact with the esophageal lining. It doesn't stop
> reflux, just neutralizes the acid that IS refluxed. Gastric contents
> can still get up the esophagus and into the posterior pharynx.
> Anything that hits the vocal cords can cause coughing.
>
> HMc

Howard...I was going to comment on this, but decided not to. I follow your
posts in here and in sci.med, and I have been quite active in here in the
last six weeks or so, as I'm sure you know (let me change that to "I know
you know").

IMO, you are a very dedicated doctor (volunteering your time and knowledge
to this ng and the sci med ng), and I have continually praised you for this.

One major problem with newsgroups is that you have to continually say the
same thing over and over (you do it, and I do it - all the time), not only
to new people who may have just joined (and didn't search previous posts),
but also to existing people who have been reading your (and my) posts, but
perhaps what we said just didn't sink in, or they just chose not to pay any
attention to it.

I would like to have a dollar for every time you said that drugs only change
the nature of the refluxate, and do not effect the reflux mechanism, and
that GERD is a surgical disease. And I would like to have the same dollar
for all my posts about the H2 blockers versus the PPI's :-) .

So let me ask you, at what point do you become uninterested because of the
repetition, and quit...Pete


From: Howard McCollister on

"Pete" <pete(a)nospam.net> wrote in message
news:121ha6mbu2ogj86(a)corp.supernews.com...
>
> So let me ask you, at what point do you become uninterested because of the
> repetition, and quit...Pete

Medicine's a tricky landscape, and people get lot of bad information -- from
their friends, from the internet, and sometimes from their doctors. I post
here and sci.med about things where I have some expertise just doing my
little part to try to counter some of that. I find the whole process
fascinating, and I'm always interested in understanding what people think
about medical subjects and why. Sometimes it's outrageous, sometimes
pathetic, sometimes even accurate, but it's always interesting.

HMc