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Remeron cured GERD?

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 3/2/2009 2:38 PM (GMT 0)

I am a 25year old male and have been suffering w/ acid reflux since I was a child.  The past few years have been the worst though.  I have been taking 40mg of nexium twice a day for about 2 years because the other meds and the smaller doses of nexium are no longer sufficient.  I have taken, under supervision of numerous gastro's: aciphex, prevacid, prilosec, zantac, protonix, ozerp.., nexium, zegrid, etc...., and have found nexium twice a day is really the only thing that manages my heartburn to a poing where it is bearable.  I have tried in the past to stop taking nexium, with the advice of my doctor, to make sure that I was indeed refluxing.  After day 2 of stopping; naseua, intense burning, burping up bile..., pretty much all of the things I experienced before starting nexium commenced.    I have also done numerous endoscopsys that have suggested that GERD is the issue at hand.  I have been contemplating surgery recently and had a BPH probe but it was faulty (the 'so called' nurse failed to attach the probe correctly so I passed it a day after it was attached)

I am explaining these things to demonstrate to whoever reads us that my doctors and I are 99.99% sure that the problems I have been having for years is indeed acid reflux.

----I also have skin allergies that are only treated by the hystamine blockers in drugs such as Zyrtec.  Claritin and others who are not strong in this area are not as effective.  When I do not take Zyrtec, my skin allergies are uncomfortable to the point of not being able to do anything b/c of the itching and scratching.

All of this being said, I have been on SSRI's for Generalized Anxiety disorder for about 1.5 years.  I have always suffered w/ Anxiety but have only recently been prescribed to medication to help.  Lexapro was the best working drug for me.  Just to be clear, Lexapro did nothing for my GERD. 

The problem w/ Lexapro is, it makes me very groggy so my GP and I decided that a switch was in order.  about 20 days ago he switched me to Remeron, a drug commonly used for Depression when other SSRI's do not work.  After a couple of days I began to notice that I wasn't having heartburn after morning coffee(I know, I know...I'm not supposed to drink coffee b/c of my GERD, but it is just too darn good).  I ALWAYS have heartburn w/ morning coffee.   I thought this would be a good opportunity to try a day w/out nexium.  The next day, this is what I did.  No nexium in the morning, no heartburn.  WOW.  I WAS AMAZED.  I haven't been able to drink margaritas in years....I drank margaritas that night with little-no heartburn...The wife and I opened a bottle of red wine out of our collection (which has been collecting dust for the past 2 years b/c of my inablility to drink it).....no acid, no reflux, no nothing.....  Every day following this day about 18 days ago has been the same thing.  I can eat all of the foods I want w/ little or no reflux.  No sore throat in the morning.  No food coming back up through the esophagus gagging me.  No burping up bile/acidy food.  NONE OF THE SYMPTOMS NORMALLY EXPERIENCED!!!!

Oh, and Remeron for those of you who dont know, contains a heavy dosage of Antihysthamines.  This was not shocking to me that my previously mentioned skin condition is now taken care of by Remeron.  Now one less medication in my cabinet...no more Zyrtec...  

Question:  Could Remeron have cured me?  Could it have eliminated my reflux trigger?  Please, if anyone has experienced this same result or know why Remeron might have stopped my acid reflux, please shed some light on my situation.  I am going to the GP next week so I'd like to go there w/ some knowledge b/c i feel he does not always know everything that can happen as the result of taking a medication.

....Also, I feel that the medicine that treated my skin condition in Remeron has something to do w/ my treatment of heartburn.....

thanks      

Posted 3/3/2009 2:31 PM (GMT 0)

Good Morning,

I do not know if Remeron cured your GERD as it has never been used off label for GERD as far as I know but I am not a professional.

I do know that Remeron is the "big gun" often saved for people suffering from severe Major Depressive Disorder.

I am glad you are doing well and I hope you continue to feel good.

Kitt

Posted 3/3/2009 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
 

 Hi :)  Remeron  is sometimes used to treat functional gastrointestinal disorders like IBS  and functional esophageal syndromes .... such as people with GERD symptoms and all negative tests .  Look up visceral hypersensitivity .   You should probably have your ph test repeated .  Many people with bad GERD symptoms have all negative tests , particularly those with depression / and / or  anxiety .

 

Even in people with  clinical GERD,  sometimes these drugs will mask symptoms and act as a bandaid so to speak .
  

Posted 3/4/2009 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you both for the responses.
Trica. I am very interested in your explanation as I have at times felt that issues aside from acid reflux could be at hand. I have never heard of functional GI disorders before, but after some research, feel this may be a plausible explanation for my problems. I am currently searching for a different gastro because I feel that the current one is not effective. Are there specialists that treat these particular conditions as mentioned, or is this just in the realm of a Gastro's responsibility?

I'll keep the post updated with my findings as I meet with my doctors...

Thank again
Posted 3/4/2009 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, and one more thing....
A doc who is not within my vicinity(communication via email), but is highly regarded in this area, had this to say with the belief that the problem was indeed acid reflux. We have not discussed if other problems could be at hand...

'unusual - neither I have heard of this "benefit" from Remeron, but maybe because it works by antagonizing alpha-2 adrenergic and serotonin 5HT2 receptors, it may potentiate competence of the lower esophageal sphincter - possibly by negatively effecting relaxation of the LES? not sure, but sounds good - a lucky beneficial outcome.'
Posted 3/4/2009 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
Tricia,
about 4 years ago my ENT was monitoring severe lesions on my vocal chords, which he attributed to acid reflux. We were contemplating surgery to cauterize these lesions because they were becoming dangerous, but I followed a 2 week plan which consisted of an extremely bland diet, no talking above a whisper, and an elevated use of nexium. This, for the most part, cured the problem. It wasn't until about a year later when my GP recommended that I elevate the head of my bead that I found almost complete elimination of these lesions...these lesions were monitored by a nasal scope. Also, after an endoscopy about a year ago, I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and esophageal damage.
Do you, or anyone else believe that these 2 occurrences confirm that GERD is in fact my condition? I am reluctant to do the BPH probe again b/c of the failure of the last one I attempted. There is only one location in my immediate area that performs this procedure and I refuse to be under their care again.

Thanks
Posted 4/19/2010 5:22 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, if you had esophageal damage, it's GERD no doubt. How are you doing now? I'm taking Remeron on advice from my Gastro and I think it's helping with the symptoms a lot.
Posted 4/23/2010 1:53 PM (GMT 0)
Good Morning All,

Remeron is actually an antidepressant medication, but a few doctors prescribe its use for stomach acid problems.

Remeron actually increases stomach acid, which you may be surprised to learn might actually be your problem according to articles I have read.

The downside to this medication :
Remeron can greatly increase your appetite, especially for sweets - so you can very easily gain significant weight. I don't know how long anyone might be able to tolerate it because of the weight gain, but it is certainly worth a try for a short time or in extreme cases. One might try using it occasionally when the GERD gets intolerable.

Perhaps others have info re the use of Remeron.

Take care,

Kitt
Posted 3/6/2017 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there! Know it's been a while, but was curious what MG of Remeron you were taking? Did it work long-term for you? I just started this after having really bad reflux and it's helping at the 15 MG dose, but not completely resolving the issue. Curious if I need to bump up the MG.
Posted 3/8/2017 9:29 PM (GMT 0)
One thing I can tell you is after taking the 15mg I decided to try taking a 7.5 dose (breaking pill in half). Not a good idea. Lower doses will cause you to feel like you have the worst hangover in the world. Talked to my Dr. about this and he said low dosages will cause this but higher doses do not.
Posted 8/21/2019 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
I know your post was a long time ago but my son sounds so much like you. He had reflux since childhood. He was on so much acid reducers and it eventually made him very sick. He was prescribed remeron to increase his appetite and help him sleep. It cured his reflux. He is 22 and I do not think he can come off this medication. I do worry about long term affects.
Posted 8/21/2019 11:47 AM (GMT 0)
Castkillgirl:

As long as your doctor says it's OK, then I wouldn't worry about your son staying on this antidepressant (Remeron). You may want to consider talking to a surgeon about the alternatives to medication that are out there. I suffered through severe acid reflux through most of my adult life. I had Nissen Fundoplication surgery at age 53 and it completely resolved my gastric issues.

Sharon
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