How To Know When It Is Time For Acid Reflux Medication

If you are suffering from acid reflux disease, you may be thinking if you should take any acid reflux medication. In most cases, when you see a doctor, the doctor will try to take other forms of treatment before giving you a prescribed acid reflux medication. This is because of the potential side effects of most acid reflux medication. However, in severe acid reflux cases, especially when your esophagus has signs of damages, the doctor may advise you to take acid reflux medication.

What Happens Before Acid Reflux Medication?

When you are diagnosed with acid reflux disease, your doctor will try many different ways to relieve your symptoms. Since acid reflux is the back up of acid from the stomach into the throat and mouth, controlling the acid is often the first thing to be done. The first thing to do is some lifestyle changes, such as avoiding foods that trigger symptoms, cutting down on alcohol, coffee and smoking, staying away from large meals and keeping weight in check.

When Acid Reflux Medication Becomes Necessary

When the symptoms of acid reflux persists after sustained lifestyle changes, your doctor may recommend you to some over-the-counter acid reflux medications first. The common one is antacids.

In most cases, antacids are suggested before the doctor run tests like endoscopy and esophageal monometry to determine if you are really suffering from acid reflux disease. The idea is that if these over-the-counter medications work well, there is no need to conduct the tests since the tests are not cheap. The tests are meant to find out more about the cause and seriousness of your acid reflux condition. For example, test like Upper GI series will help to rule out possible diagnoses such as peptic ulcers while endoscopy can help to identify abnormalities in your esophagus lining.

If the doctor believes that your acid reflux problem has become a risk to your esophagus, the doctor may prescribe acid reflux medication that is usually taken regularly and indefinitely to prevent the acid backup from recurring. These medications may include H2 blockers such as Pepcid or Zantac, or proton pump inhibitors like Prevacid or Prilosec. Often these medications will be prescribed before running tests since the tests to confirm a diagnosis of acid reflux can be invasive and costly.

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