GERD and Hydrocodone...will a med change help?

[lisatampa]

OK, 3years ago I was pregnant, on 60-90mg MSIR a day, and I NEVER had one twinge of heartburn..when most women are guzzling Mylanta, I didn't need a thing......then,when he was 2 I, as urged by my PM, had a MS pain pump implanted--what a nightmare that was--it almost burned up my endocrine system.....i had it taken out in May....I think my PM was a little upset with me, and only gave me Vicodin....I told him the Vicodin was giving me a severe headache and bad cramps in my calfs at night...i stopped it for 2weeks and the headache/cramps went away.....he switched me to Lortab (same strength 7.5 TID) for whatever reason, the headaches went away, but the cramps continued...he added Zanaflex prn..whatever..(only took one for a couple days--made me too tired the next day)..............ok, for about a month now i've been having sharp pains in my stomach,and last week I had a bad case of burning in my esophagus when swallowing.....saw my PCP who started me on Nexium (which is helping)....she referred me to a GI, saying I have esophagitis (perhaps from the meds) and i needed to be 'scoped/and or start on meds like Reglan........ugh.......
If I can get my PM to believe that this is from the Lortab, and request a med change, will all meds do the same thing now???????

thanks,Lisa

p.s. years ago, when i first hurt my back, Vicodin gave me bad cramps back then.,the only other med i'm on is Lyrica low dose, which i'll be complaining about that too next visit--too expensive...i hate to be a complainer...

[BrokenBladder]

Hi Lisa!! I take Vicoden and have noticed that I have heartburn more often now than ever before. My doctor told me to make sure I eat something when I take the medication to help coat my stomach. My suggestion would be to have your PCP contact your PM so that your PM believes what you're saying. As far as new meds, I don't know if you will continue to have the same problem or not. That's a tough one as medication affects everyone so differently.
You mentioned that you're on Lyrica. I have been prescribed this but have been hesitant to take it. Could you tell me if it helps you at all and what your dosage is? Thanks!!
I wish the best for you in your quest to find the right meds.

[sallyb]

I have GERD, and certain meds have flared it up so badly that WATER caused acid to well up in my throat. After quite a long time using Prevacid, I seem to be able to handle most things. But when I start to feel the signs that acid is about to come back, I baby myself on what I consume. I always coat my stomache!!! Yes...take meds on a full stomache unless advised otherwise.

[lisatampa]

thank you for the nice replies....Broken B-I've heard alot of people have success with Lyrica...it is a re-formulated form of Neurontin...they made it stronger so the doseage is less,with supposedly less side-effects....the biggie is that it is name brand,and very expensive....personnally, I never like Neurontin-just took it because they 'wanted' me too....and higher doses of Neurontin(higher than 600mg/day) gave me double vision....I spent the $60bucks on Lyrica(opposed to 10$ for Neurontin) so i figured I'd try it..... i suppose i could probobly get used to it if i had to, but even low dose 75mg has given me a bad headache every single day so far, and does nothing different for my pain......I'll tell my PM about this, as well as what Hyrdrocodone is doing next visit in Dec.....ugh, we'll be starting from ground zero....(I should really be happy if he does start from scratch,as i'm sick of THESE side-effects )
oh, and about the Lyrica....the studies are scarry....the baby mice/rats? that were exposed to Lyrica intrauterine have serious long term problems......male rats taking Lyrica have deformed offspring, and it has also been found to cause tumors...(sarcoma) i think.....it is on the www.Lyrica.com website, and it is even mentioned on the www.Neurontin.com website

Thanks again,Lisa