Posted on 12/21/2005 12:46:31 AM PST by neverdem
Associated Press
CHICAGO — Holiday revelers beware: Seasonal indulgences such as eggnog and fruitcake might give you heartburn, but the acid-fighting medicine you take for relief might lead to something worse, researchers say.
People on popular prescription drugs for treating acid reflux — Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium — seem more prone to getting a potentially dangerous diarrhea caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile, new research shows. C-diff, as it's known, can cause severe diarrhea and crampy intestinal inflammation called colitis.
Dr. Sandra Dial and colleagues at McGill University in Montreal examined data on more than 18,000 patients in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 2004. During that time, 1,672 cases of C-diff were diagnosed, and the numbers increased from less than 1 per 100,000 in 1994 to 22 per 100,000 last year.
Patients with prescriptions for powerful acid fighters called proton pump inhibitors, which include Prilosec and Prevacid, were almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with the bug than those not taking the drugs.
Those on less potent prescription drugs called H2 receptor antagonists, which include Pepcid and Zantac, were two times more likely than nonusers to get C-diff infections.
The widely used and heavily promoted drugs reduce levels of gastric acid that can keep C-diff at bay.
Dr. L. Clifford McDonald, a researcher at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said proton pump inhibitors recently were implicated in a C-diff outbreak in Maine.
"It's not surprising in my mind that there could be some association" with acid-fighting drugs, said McDonald.
Most study patients hadn't been recently hospitalized and weren't taking antibiotics, both risk factors for C-difficile infections. The study will appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
A co-author is a consultant for AstraZeneca, which markets Prilosec and Nexium, and Altana Pharma, which makes and markets another prescription heartburn drug, Protonix, in Europe.
A spokesman for Wyeth, which markets Protonix in the United States, said the company hadn't seen the research and declined to comment.
AstraZeneca spokeswoman Cindy Callaghan said, "Further research is needed ... to determine the validity of a potential link."
Dr. Michael Brown, a gastroenterologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was not involved in the study, said short-term use of potent acid-fighting drugs is unlikely to increase infection risks in otherwise healthy people. But he said the study results suggest doctors and patients "have to think twice about using such heavy acid suppression" over the long term.
Ummmmmm......bread.
[don't remind me!]
Try Revival Soy shakes.
They're pretty tasty and very good for you.
I use the vanilla unsweetened ones but they came in a lot of flavors and offer several sweetener choices.
Revival also makes soy pasta and chips that taste almost "real".
They're low carb and gluten/milk free, too.
The only downside is that the stuff is kinda pricey.
Rats.
I'm hungry now.
See ya later....LOL!
Bah.
The only difference is the altitude....:))
Merry Christmas to you and your bunch, too...:)
My sure cure for heartburn:
1) Cut back about 60% on food intake for at least three days (maybe forever.)
2) drink at least 4 large glasses of water each day (force it.)
3) no salt.
4) no sugar or sweets.
5. coffee-only half and half, 12 oz max per day and only in the morning.
6) no alcohol.
7) one brisk walk each morning (maybe forever.)
P.S.
I am not a physician.
bump 4 simplicity
Papaya enzyme works like a charm and does not give these side effects. Sometimes apple cider vinegar will do the same thing.
You shouldn't be taking Lipitor if it is causing muscle pains. This is one of the main warnings that they give you.
Well, I wouldn't eat or drink soy except at gunpoint, but I'll probably have to go along with your suggestions otherwise.
Things like this must get worse with age, (or I'm just noticing them more) I really notice the reflux after a few donuts. The only dairy I generally consume is half 'n half in my coffee, and that seems OK. (so far)
Hubby doesn't go either. He's 71, a smoker but we're in far better shape than others we know our age who regularly visit doctors. I'm keeping it this way until we can find a doctor we can trust to do thing in our best interest.
Nope.
I was so ditzy (still am) when I signed up for FR back in 98 it did not dawn on my to have a screen name condusive to the forum ideology.
So I looked out my window and at the Bay and thought OceanPerch just what I enjoy fishing for.
However in defense of my ditzyness I was new to the internet at the time.
I have only strayed to one other forum and boy what a shock to be on a local little newspaper forum with no mods. I tried to be a big bad flamer for about X amount of posts and relized I could not be anything but me. Got a wild hair without rules fer a minute there. : )
A friend of ours is in a wheelchair due to one of the statin drugs. I don't recall which one.
Back in 79 I darn near died of a bleeding ulcer. At the time I was in exceptional physical shape; I was a starter for my college soccer and rugby teams. I've been on anti-acid drugs ever since.........no problems.
It's strange to see all these opinions. I guess that I'm one of the exceptions. Exercise did no good and the pills work fine.
Amen! I had hideous heartburn, to the point I'd wake up chocking on the reflux. Turns out I had the hyper-pyloric bacteria infection. I took a four week regimine of drugs, and it went away. Not everything can be cured with a good diet and excercise, some things are physical!!! Zantac is still a blessing for me when I need it. Believe me, I'd put up with any amount of colitis rather than waking up terrified, gasping and wheezing, unable to breathe because my throat was full of reflux.
I found out that a lot of my problems was lactose intolerance. My doc said it is very common as we get older to develop it. Cut out the dairy and watch things get better!
See my post 54. I had an infection, no amount of diet or excercise would have done any good. I agree lots of diseases are affected by lifestyle, but you can't control everything. Sometimes you just get sick.
A few weeks ago I got a horrible craving for corn meal as in tamales or real mexican corn tortillas.
I caved and went down to the real as you can get in Newport Mexican food place and ordered nachos.
Then bought the Elk tamales, Duck Tamales and Wild Boar Tamales appitizer size combo pack from Williams and Sonoma. What a waste of good money that was. Yes it was small like I wanted per serving and yes corn mesa but I could not distinguish what the filling was as it was so un there.LOL Buyer beware.
The fruit salsa that came with the very expensive Texas Tamales was very good though. I wrote Williams and Sonoma and told them my opinion oh and Dancing Deer Cookies via them suppose to be "healthy and organic" they were horrible they tasted like hard crunchy oreos with out the creme filling. YUK
RE Gifting them since they came in packets of 3 in a fancy box.
I am assuming my corn mesa craving is oming from a craving for gluten.
It was divine providence, I'm sure...:))
Actually, hubby builds trike kits for motorcycles and one of his customers was a local WV guy who told hubby about the doc.
The doctor does *not* accept new patients any more.
He's so full up and so in demand that we routinely sit for at least an hour for our appointments.
The WV customer was so well-liked by the doctor [who's also a wild man and a biker] that he agreed to interview us to see if he could take us.
And he did.
His ability to notice and diagnose subtle things that our other doctors missed for -years- is absolutely uncanny.
The first time we went there, we were in the waiting room and this huge hairy lunatic walked down the hall laughing maniacally and barking.
That was the doctor.
I turned to hubby and said "Oh dear God...he's mad. Can we go home now?"....LOL!
We didn't and I could not be gladder of it.
God blesses people in strange ways sometimes and this guy is one of those *very* strange ways....:)
If it isn't already obvious, we seriously love the guy.
If he also doctored critters, he'd be perfection in a white coat.
[did I mention he makes -house calls-?]...:-O
Wow Thanks for the tip.
I have promised not to go tofu but very willing to try soy pasta.
Revival. Got remember that BG as in Billy Graham/Blood Glucose or perhaps out here in rural land look for soy pasta and read label.
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