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.
LOL
We have pollen allergies but rarely like only every 5 or so years get a lil cold.
So LOL I have heard that line too.
What a Pool Table Can Teach You About Unstirring the Coffee
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. Anyone can post any unrelated link as they see fit.
They'll have to pry the last prilosec out of my cold dead fingers first....
I quit smoking, get exercise, lost 60 lbs, and I still need prilosec or pepcid from time to time.
And I eat a very careful diet, low in fat and anything I know that triggers problems.
Some of us lost in the lottery for good digestions.
But I don't use it on a daily basis any more, although with my tummy I could get a scrip for it. But when I do need it, I use it, and am glad it is there.
That's certainly been my experience with two family members who both had severe GERD.
One elevated her bed, eliminated all foods and drinks from the prohibited list, stopped taking even a sip of water within three hours of bed, and was vigilant to never overload her stomach. She refused the Prilosec the ER docs tried to push on her. Attacks lessened, then disppeared after a few months to heal the esophagus. No she can bend the rules with no problems.
The other eats everything, stuffs himself, and eats before bed. He's spent more than $1,000 on Prilosec, but is still bothered by minor attacks.
You've got freepmail.
Mine, several years old, becomes a December doorstop; works great, and nothing can budge it.
Stomach problems? Take DGL.....Deglycyrrhized Licorice Tabs....from Enzymatic Therapy Natural Medicines....you can get them at most Health Food stores, and in Health Food Depts of major grocery stores.....AND, because it's DE-glycyrrhized licorice, it doesn't affect blood pressure.
see post 89
Things like this must get worse with age, (or I'm just noticing them more) I really notice the reflux after a few donuts.
I think you are right. I used to be able to eat a slice of pizza at 2am, and go to sleep with no problems.
Now I'd probably end up in the ER.
Creeping up on 50? I'm creeping up on 70 and take NO drugs and see nothing in the future where I will. I'm big on Ester C. I found it worked miracles on my shoulder when I injured it. I've also found that a few grams of Ester C a day makes one feel much better. We also take phytovitamins and Omega oils and calcium. I also give Mr. CGG Coenzyme Q 10.
duh...
We have acid in the stomach for two reasons: ONe to digest food, Two, to kill germs.
C Dif is a "normal" germ that usually is kept in place by "good" germs...and if you take Antibiotics, and kill the "good" germs, it multiplies and voila, C.Dif diarrhea, a nasty nasty disease...
However, dying from bleeding ulcers is nasty, dying from aspiration pneumonia from Reflux is nasty, and sitting up all night unable to sleep from heartburn is nasty...
Most old peole taking these strong medicines already have other diseases that make C.Dif more likely (heart disease, diabetes for example) or are elderly...
And the epidemics in England were spread thru hospitals due to their lack of clean up crews...
Well, I avoid soy because of the phytoestrogens. Got enough estrogen in my environment as it is. :)
Oh, and I rarely eat donuts. :)
good 'un
What do you think of eating yoghurt with acidophilus (sp?)after taking antibiotics? It has always worked wonders in my family. Of course, we take antibiotics very rarely.
I agree, Prilosec and/or Prevacid has made my feel very sick when I tried it. Good old Tums seems to be the best for occasional heartburn. Plus doctors used to recommend Tums to get extra calcium. A nice glass of skim milk would have the same effect, wouldn't it?
Not that I am asking for a diagnosis. The more natural remedies seem to work the best.
I just picked you at random to pick on.
Many cases of acid reflex have nothing whatsoever to do with diet or fluid intake.
I could be on IV nutrition only and would still have severe heartburn.
When people say eat better and exercise it kind of reminds me of when lay people prescribe the same thing for severe depression and think it's going to work.
The PPIs remove the symptoms, but I am starting to get worried about the c.diff infection, which I might in fact have contracted over the last six months.
From that one situation I can tell you understand the disorder. Not all MDs do.
I get a kick out of it when people suggest taking a Tums. It does work for me for a little while -- I timed it. 45 seconds.
For me, the best thing seems to be a PPI on a somewhat stretched schedule: one about every 31 hours. It's the dickens to keep track of the administration time but I believe it does give the acid a chance to build up to just below painful levels. But I am worried about a change in stool over the last six months.
That is scary, isn't it. People with mild, occasional heartburn have no idea what that's like.
Not everything can be cured with a good diet and excercise, some things are physical!!!
Agreed. Some people think that because a simple, pet cure worked for their mild condition that it will work for everybody. It's like the difference between seasonal flu and bird flu! Lots of fluids won't necessarily get you through the latter.
Turns out I had the hyper-pyloric bacteria infection.
I was actually disappointed my h.pylori test came back negative. Nothing there to treat.
situation=sentence in post to LadyDoc
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