Indigestion/Heartburn

[Stephanie78]

Soooo...we have been home for 24 hours and I need advice.

Did or does prednisone cause anyone heartburn or indigestion? At first it scared me because he was holding his chest. He said that it is a pressure and painful burn that works its way up his chest and is relieved with a burp. He had a buffalo chicken sandwich for lunch yesterday and spaghetti for dinner so I'm sure that added to it.
If so...what do you use to relieve it?

[Red]

Yes Pred and all the other meds caused me hartburn got dr to prescribe omeprazole 20 mg no more hartburn there are many different med that will work for that check with your dr .

[pberggren1]

Definitely got to be on something like Omeprazole when on pred. Especially at 10mg or more.

[Sangye]

Definitely. Please tell me the doctors have him on an acid blocker. If not, get an OTC one immediately and call his docs tomorrow for a prescription strength acid blocker. I took pantoprazole (Protonix) 40 mg a day and it worked well. The others didn't work for me. Prednisone will quickly destroy the stomach lining and it can be permanent.

[drz]

I had to go to 40 mg Protonix twice a day to control the GERD but hope to cut back as prednisone decreases.

[Stephanie78]

Yikes! They didnt. They have him on...
Dapsone (preventive) 100mg 1 daily

Valtrex (horrible cold sores from pred) 500mg 1 daily
Prednisone 60mg 1x daily
Ocean Nose Spray 2x daily
Docusate (stool softener) 100mg 2x daily (so 200mg)
Flonase 2x day
Pseudoephedrine (nasal congest) 30 mg as needed
Ofloxacin (ears) 2x daily
Bactroban 2x daily (ointment to mix with water and canning salt to use with netti pot for sinus rinse)

He also has scripts for oxycodyne and vicodin to use as needed and is taking monthly treatments of CTX for 6 months (as planned right now)

oh and we have scripts for bloodwork weekly for a few months. But nothing for indigestion. Guess we will be adding one!

Have I ever said...OVERWHELMING!

[pberggren1]

Yikes! They didnt. They have him on...
Dapsone (preventive) 100mg 1 daily

Valtrex (horrible cold sores from pred) 500mg 1 daily
Prednisone 60mg 1x daily
Ocean Nose Spray 2x daily
Docusate (stool softener) 100mg 2x daily (so 200mg)
Flonase 2x day
Pseudoephedrine (nasal congest) 30 mg as needed
Ofloxacin (ears) 2x daily
Bactroban 2x daily (ointment to mix with water and canning salt to use with netti pot for sinus rinse)

He also has scripts for oxycodyne and vicodin to use as needed and is taking monthly treatments of CTX for 6 months (as planned right now)

oh and we have scripts for bloodwork weekly for a few months. But nothing for indigestion. Guess we will be adding one!

Have I ever said...OVERWHELMING!

No doubt this is all overwhelming Steph. This is a major learning curve even for the brightest of people. And the learning never stops with this silly damn disease.

[Stephanie78]

I can only imagine! There were moments where I asked the dr "ok so what exactly are you saying , in my language" ? One, I never knew a disease could progress so fast (lung nodules within 24 hours when ct before showed great).
I know there will be more to come. I know there will be more hospital visits. Its just so much to take in.

[NicShaf]

Preds definately causes really bad indigestion. I have found that, along with the acid blockers everyone is talking about, I eat smaller portions of food more times a day and it seems to help...so instead of 3 large meals, I have 6 snack size meals.

That is really sweet of the nurse to make your "night alone" so special. What a thoughtful person, that is a cute story

[Sangye]

When I read the list of his drugs I actually said an expletive out loud. How on earth could they have missed an acid-blocker??? It's automatic: You prescribe high-dose pred, you prescribe an acid-blocker.

On a side note, I would question the Flonase and Pseudoephedrine. Flonase is a steroid spray. He's already on high-dose steroids so adding more is redundant. Besides, one of the side effects of steroid sprays is "rebound congestion," meaning as soon as it wears off the congestion returns to a greater degree. You can quickly become dependent on steroid nasal sprays. Pseudoephedrine has a lot of nasty side effects, including anxiety and racing heart. High dose pred causes those, too. I don't know if it causes rebound congestion though. He can clear his nasal passages using irrigation--many ways to do that. Others on here can describe them and find one that works for your dad. Obviously, run this info by his doctors and get their okay.