Prevacid and/or Pepcid?

[MomWithOCDSon]

We use Pepcid by mouth and IV as a normal part of the "cocktail" for allergic reactions in the ER for the Histmaine blocking effects (H2 blocker). Available OTC. Can take up to 40 mg daily for adult sized dosing. Prevacid is largely Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) as is Protonix and Prilosec. These are NOT beneficial for histamine blocking effects for allergic reactions but are great for reflux/GERD type symptoms. Zantac and Tagamet are H2 receptor antagonists...little different mechanism of action...close but not exactly the same. Tagamet can have some anxiety type side effects in some folks. Climbing the wall, coming out of you skin type feelings- especially longer you take it and in older population. Zantac is better tolerated out of the those two. Again, good meds for heartburn and reflux. Older meds. Available OTC.

 

However, for histamine blocking effects- my money goes for Pepcid. My mother has severe allergies- eyes swell, large skin hives, tearing etc. She takes Benadryl like candy, has allergy eye drops etc. I told her to add Pepcid when she has flares and she could not believe the difference. It is the best H2 blocker, IMO, and supported with how the docs use it for allergic reactions in the ER.

 

Zyrtec is a H1 receptor antagonist as is Claritin and Allegra. Peripherally selective- 2nd generation.

 

Benadryl is 1st generation- nonselective

 

You can block the H1 and H2 with a cocktail of Pecid and one of the allergy meds listed without the more sedating effects of Benadryl. And, without as much of the drying out senstaion (anticholingeric)

 

Course, there are some older antihistamines that are still good also- particularly for itching- Vistaril/Atarax, Tavist, Clor Trimeton etc.

 

Thank you SO much for this feedback and info! DS does well with Zyrtec during the day and Benedryl at night, but his eczema is on the rage at present . . . last night he announced that it is now on his feet! So I am really wanting to help him out here. This info is perfect!

[911RN]

We use Pepcid by mouth and IV as a normal part of the "cocktail" for allergic reactions in the ER for the Histmaine blocking effects (H2 blocker). Available OTC. Can take up to 40 mg daily for adult sized dosing. Prevacid is largely Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) as is Protonix and Prilosec. These are NOT beneficial for histamine blocking effects for allergic reactions but are great for reflux/GERD type symptoms. Zantac and Tagamet are H2 receptor antagonists...little different mechanism of action...close but not exactly the same. Tagamet can have some anxiety type side effects in some folks. Climbing the wall, coming out of you skin type feelings- especially longer you take it and in older population. Zantac is better tolerated out of the those two. Again, good meds for heartburn and reflux. Older meds. Available OTC.

 

However, for histamine blocking effects- my money goes for Pepcid. My mother has severe allergies- eyes swell, large skin hives, tearing etc. She takes Benadryl like candy, has allergy eye drops etc. I told her to add Pepcid when she has flares and she could not believe the difference. It is the best H2 blocker, IMO, and supported with how the docs use it for allergic reactions in the ER.

 

Zyrtec is a H1 receptor antagonist as is Claritin and Allegra. Peripherally selective- 2nd generation.

 

Benadryl is 1st generation- nonselective

 

You can block the H1 and H2 with a cocktail of Pecid and one of the allergy meds listed without the more sedating effects of Benadryl. And, without as much of the drying out senstaion (anticholingeric)

 

Course, there are some older antihistamines that are still good also- particularly for itching- Vistaril/Atarax, Tavist, Clor Trimeton etc.

 

Thank you SO much for this feedback and info! DS does well with Zyrtec during the day and Benedryl at night, but his eczema is on the rage at present . . . last night he announced that it is now on his feet! So I am really wanting to help him out here. This info is perfect!

 

How miserable....hope he feels better, soon!

[MomWithOCDSon]

How miserable....hope he feels better, soon!

 

Thanks!

 

Well, this morning after breakfast he announced that he had heartburn, so while he was at school, DH picked up some Pepcid at the drug store. DS got his first dose this evening, so we'll see what, if anything, it does to help. His attitude is upbeat, but then again tomorrow is Veteran's Day and there's no school, so what's not to like?

[MomWithOCDSon]

A quick update . . . today is Day 5 of Pepcid. He's taking a single dose in the evening. Along with no reports of reflux or heartburn, his eczema has all but disappeared -- just one, most stubborn patch on a wrist. What's more -- coincidence? -- his mood is more upbeat, his anxiety seems to have taken a step down, and last night and tonight homework was accomplished without any avoidance or "fight or flight" behaviors.

 

Okay, there I go jinxing myself again!

 

But thank again, 911RN, for the Pepcid recommendation. I'm sure it has helped with the reflux and eczema, and if the antihistamine properties are also supporting his improved behavior of late, then all the better!

[911RN]

A quick update . . . today is Day 5 of Pepcid. He's taking a single dose in the evening. Along with no reports of reflux or heartburn, his eczema has all but disappeared -- just one, most stubborn patch on a wrist. What's more -- coincidence? -- his mood is more upbeat, his anxiety seems to have taken a step down, and last night and tonight homework was accomplished without any avoidance or "fight or flight" behaviors.

 

Okay, there I go jinxing myself again!

 

But thank again, 911RN, for the Pepcid recommendation. I'm sure it has helped with the reflux and eczema, and if the antihistamine properties are also supporting his improved behavior of late, then all the better!

 

I'm soo glad this has been effective on so many fronts! I have followed your research passion for glutamate and histamine with interest since joining this forum. I will honestly admit- I have not researched it and read to your extent so I don't have the fundamentals down pat. Lack positive understanding on how to manipulate meds as you have done with your son. Dr T has written some comments on this concept- I will have to revisit. My child shares many similarities to yours with similar responses to med profiles- Lamictal, low dose SSRI etc. I'm fairly confident due to strong family history of severe environmental allergies- my kid is a "high histamine" kid. Also have grandfather with Parkinson's and that plays into the whole histmaine/glutamate pathways on some level. I know if I spent more time in understanding all this- I could sleuth out a better "alternative" regime of meds.

 

You have me nearly convinced to add a Pepcid to my son's nightly routine and see if he has the same gains in some in the fight or flight behaviors. Hhhhmmmm. I already have some of that in the cabinet- takes nothing to adding it to the daily pill box He does not have eczema or reflux but may benefit from pure histamine blocking for tics/OCD etc???

 

I am going to PM you- interested in your son's current med regime and older supplement meds you have discarded/abandoned due to adverse effects in your quest for improving glutamate/histamine processes. We have used very little in the way of supplements...although, I have dabbled with a few here and there. Currently, only using Vit D, Vit B6 and CoQ10...no others. Have used Fish oil and Probiotics in the past- have since abandoned. Did not note enough wows to continue. All these get expensive and it has to be worthwhile for me to continue. I'll PM you!

[MichaelTampa]

Those things worked only a little bit for me. What worked much better was treating the fungal infection with antifungals. I think it's much more likely that the millions of people on these things have fungal infections than it is that they have malfunctioning proton pumps.

I don't know if there is a connection between fungal/yeast infections and histamine, but these anti-acid drugs work by blocking histamine receptors (H2, in the digestive tract) that are responsible for triggering acid production. So, not necessarily proton pump malfunction-

 

And wouldn't it tend to follow that fungus does not thrive in an acidic environment? I would think that people with low acid production would be more inclined to fungal infections in the gut than would those with excess acid?

 

 

To say it more bluntly, what I meant was that it is idiotic that millions of people are taking these things to reduce acid production. It is needed for food digestion. Reduction of acid is just going to make a small food digestion issue into a larger one. To prescribe these things, pretending they work by suppressing acid production, is just stupidity, however commonplace it might be. Do millions of people have proton pumps that are just malfunctioning and producing more acid that is necessary, is that what anyone really believes? These drugs happen to be antifungals, albeit weak antifungals, and I am suggesting, not my own idea but passing it on, that the pain relief they provide may relate more to the mild treatment of the real problem, the real problem being one of a fungal infection that has gone undiagnosed, a fungal infection that is feeding and thriving when people eat.