looking for alternative to taking pepcid

[humanrising]

hi my new doc thinks that i have mast cell and wants me to start taking Allegra and Pepcid . I was not "all there" at my appointment.

when I got home and realized that Pepcid is a "acid blocker" I would rather not take if I can avoid it since I don't have stomach issues and I don't want to create them by blocking my digestive acid.

wondering if anyone has an alternative H2 blocker that is not an acid blocker?
hoping for something else like Quercetin ( not sure if it works as H2 or only H1 haven't researched that yet.
Thanks so much!! appreciate your help!

 

[Rufous McKinney]

hi my new doc thinks that i have mast cell and wants me to start taking Allegra and Pepcid . I was not "all there" at my appointment.

Its odd to me that you have brought this up....

My dentist saw that I was having these bad inflammatory events in my gums, palette, sinus, lips etc. He was trying to help me (more than I can say for the doctor, whom I later abandoned). He recommended some compounded formula for rinsing my mouth, wrote an RX and I went down to the drug store. It was four things, one was a prescription the rest weren't and it included Pepcid or something like that.

Well my main point is: this stuff can cause dry mouth (I double checked, its listed as a side effect). So I don't know what your dealing with, but quite literally- if I take anything with a dry mouth symptom, I'm choking within 24 hours.

So thats what happened there. It was so horrible my entire throat and mouth just arrested and i could not swallow or eat or anthing.

That was 75$, insurance won't pay if a pharmacist has to mix something together (compounded). and so I threw it out on Day 3.

So there is that...issue.

 

[bensmith]

Have you tried baking soda?

Cant everyday though, i dont think.

I have mast cell and havent even started looking on what to do yet. Or
Its hi, not sure.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

hi my new doc thinks that i have mast cell and wants me to start taking Allegra and Pepcid .

Neither one of them will deal with the root cause, and as @Rufous McKinney has pointed out, may create more issues than you really need.

I was not "all there" at my appointment.

Apparently, neither was your Dr ....

DGL (a form of de-glycerrhizinated licorice root) was a life-saver for me in terms of dealing with stomach issues related to excess acid. It has no side effects that I encountered, unlike baking soda and Pepcid, but I'm a really small test group.

Not entirely sure why it was recommended for MAST issues ....

Allegra is just a standard antihistamine, generally prescribed for hay fever symptoms, whch are caused by aggravated MAST cell activation .... but it doesnt 'treat' anything, it just deals with the symptoms ...

If you want to start with a more 'natural' anti-allergy treatment, stinging nettles have been used for donkey's years, as well as rosemary, turmeric, fenugreek, bamboo root, and others I cant recall right now ....

 

[MCASMike]

About 20 years ago I developed a wasting disorder, which involved a kind of food poisoning episode followed by losing weight rapidly. The food was clearly not being digested. After having tests done and the doctors had no idea what the problem was, because I was negative for Celiac's, etc., I figured out on my own that I wasn't producing enough stomach acid. I took Betaine HCl for a year or so and that was resolved (never had any heartburn even taking 2 grams of the HCl per large meal). Then I was put on beta blockers several years ago for postural hypotension, which apparently caused some acid reflux. I got off the beta blockers, since they made little difference, and slept for a few hours sitting up (that's when the acid reflux occurred), and haven't had the reflux for several months now. Of course I believe that this was all MCAS-related. I now take loratidine (30 mg per day) and aspiring (stll trying to get the dosage right but it's no more than 650 mg per day at this point).

 

[Cipher]

I don't know much about MCAS, but I've heard some use cromolyn sodium, a mast cell stabilizer.

 

[CatNap]

It may be possible to take try the Pepcid and add a digestive enzyme. Plant based enzymes are generally considered less potent than porcine based enzymes. My experience in this area is (mostly) due to caring for dogs with EPI, IBD and megaesophagus. When I have run out of RX enzymes, I have bought porcine based Pancreatin, and it worked. SID/SIBO can also co-occur with gastrointestinal issues.

 

[humanrising]

I don't know much about MCAS, but I've heard some use cromolyn sodium, a mast cell stabilizer.

thank you for telling me about this,

I will look into it and then bring it up to my doctor.

When I told him I didn't want to take it due to side affects, ... he didn't think that the pepcid would be a problem its " well tolerated" he other suggestion was another med that did the same thing , blocked stomach acid..... ......again not interested in possibly causing GI problems I don't have to begin with.

I do have dry mouth along with "dry" everything so also don't want to have that saga made worse. thank you everyone!!!!

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I think I posted this, either in this thread or another, but I had great results from DGL, a licorice-y chewable lozenge that moderates acidity beautifully.

Because the glycchirizin has ben removed from the licorice root, there's no issues with increased blood pressure ...

It's readily available at health food stores or on Amazon .... maybe give it a shot while you're dealing with a Dr who doesnt seem concerned about the problems associated with interfering with the body's natural functions ....

 

[humanrising]

I think I posted this, either in this thread or another, but I had great results from DGL, a licorice-y chewable lozenge that moderates acidity beautifully.

Because the glycchirizin has ben removed from the licorice root, there's no issues with increased blood pressure ...

It's readily available at health food stores or on Amazon .... maybe give it a shot while you're dealing with a Dr who doesnt seem concerned about the problems associated with interfering with the body's natural functions ....

I am sorry, should have responded.... I LOVE DGL been taking it for years.... when I remember of course!

I like to take it when i take any pain meds to protect my stomach, especially if its late at night on an empty stomach.

Really think its saved my stomach from drugs in general, but I am not sure it would make a real difference with taking a high dose anti acid. Since I am not medically trained I don't know that but I am not willing to do it.

I told my doc I am not willing to take it . I plan on discussing the possibility of cromolyn sodium working instead

Honestly, there are times I feel it would be more advantageous to turn my health care completely over to the PR community! If we could find away to prescribe and get insurance coverage then we could put a team together of PR peeps who have there "specialty" to consult..... It would be grand!!!!!! so many smart caring humans here.....ones who consider important things "our doctors" often don't bother concerning them selves with. so many things to wish and dream about

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Honestly, there are times I feel it would be more advantageous to turn my health care completely over to the PR community! If we could find away to prescribe and get insurance coverage then we could put a team together of PR peeps who have there "specialty" to consult..... It would be grand!!!!!

In a way, that's what we have now .... just without the bells and whistles .....

And I absolutely agree with you, by-the-bye .....

Glad that you're aware of, and use DGL .... totally saved my @ss ....

 

[PisForPerseverance]

You can try betaine hcl with meals so you have acid to digest if you still want to try this. I had stomach discomfort when I tried an h2 but I don't remember if I was taking betaine hcl at the time and I might give it another try. It's true we need our acid. I don't know if we need our acid for meal digestion and pathogen killing only during the actual meal or whether we might need some of that acid production available all the time, so I'm not sure betaine hcl would totally take care of what an acid blocker might do long term. I'm not too concerned about non meal times so I'm going to give it a try and if it works then I'll do some research to make sure it's a good idea for a long period. My doctor said if the h2 is not helpful after... a couple weeks he may have said? Then to abandon it. I believe that was Dr afrins advice. Good luck if you decide to give it a try

hi my new doc thinks that i have mast cell and wants me to start taking Allegra and Pepcid . I was not "all there" at my appointment.

when I got home and realized that Pepcid is a "acid blocker" I would rather not take if I can avoid it since I don't have stomach issues and I don't want to create them by blocking my digestive acid.

wondering if anyone has an alternative H2 blocker that is not an acid blocker?
hoping for something else like Quercetin ( not sure if it works as H2 or only H1 haven't researched that yet.
Thanks so much!! appreciate your help!