Take Heartburn Medicines Before Breakfast for Best Effect
Take Heartburn Medicines Before Breakfast for Best Effect
Too many patients unaware that timing is key to treatment, study finds
Wolfe and his colleagues surveyed 610 patients who used heartburn medicine for their GERD. Of that group, 190 got a prescription heartburn medicine from a gastroenterologist and 223 received a prescription from their primary care doctor. The other 197 bought over-the-counter heartburn medicines.
Those prescribed the medicines by their gastroenterologist did best, Wolfe noted, with 71 percent taking the medicines correctly. Only 47 percent of those who got prescriptions from their primary care doctors took them correctly. And just 39 percent of those who bought them over-the-counter used them right, the investigators found.
In a previous study, only one-third of primary care doctors told patients to take the medicines before meals, but nearly all gastroenterologists did, according to the report.
In his study, Wolfe found, the severity and frequency of symptoms were better in those who were prescribed the drug by a gastroenterologist compared to a primary care doctor.
"If you have frequent heartburn, you have a disease, GERD," Wolfe said. "And you really should see a physician and not treat yourself," he explained.
Dr. John Lipham is director of the Digestive Health Center at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California. Lipham reviewed the findings but was not involved in the study.
"It's something we have known since these medications came out, that they work best if you take them 30 minutes or so before a meal," said Lipham.
However, he pointed out that the new study puts some data behind what experts knew from experience.
Lipham said the new study is the first, to his knowledge, to show a difference in taking the medicine correctly depending on who prescribed it.
Wolfe and Lipham both find that patients often think of the proton pump inhibitors in the same way as antacids, meant to be taken when heartburn strikes.
"But these [proton pump inhibitor] medicines don't work that way," Lipham said. "They need to be stimulated by acid and need to build up in your system. You have to take them at the correct time each day and you also need to take them every day to get the maximum effectiveness of the medications."
Take Heartburn Medicines Before Breakfast
Too many patients unaware that timing is key to treatment, study finds
Wolfe and his colleagues surveyed 610 patients who used heartburn medicine for their GERD. Of that group, 190 got a prescription heartburn medicine from a gastroenterologist and 223 received a prescription from their primary care doctor. The other 197 bought over-the-counter heartburn medicines.
Those prescribed the medicines by their gastroenterologist did best, Wolfe noted, with 71 percent taking the medicines correctly. Only 47 percent of those who got prescriptions from their primary care doctors took them correctly. And just 39 percent of those who bought them over-the-counter used them right, the investigators found.
In a previous study, only one-third of primary care doctors told patients to take the medicines before meals, but nearly all gastroenterologists did, according to the report.
In his study, Wolfe found, the severity and frequency of symptoms were better in those who were prescribed the drug by a gastroenterologist compared to a primary care doctor.
"If you have frequent heartburn, you have a disease, GERD," Wolfe said. "And you really should see a physician and not treat yourself," he explained.
Dr. John Lipham is director of the Digestive Health Center at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California. Lipham reviewed the findings but was not involved in the study.
"It's something we have known since these medications came out, that they work best if you take them 30 minutes or so before a meal," said Lipham.
However, he pointed out that the new study puts some data behind what experts knew from experience.
Lipham said the new study is the first, to his knowledge, to show a difference in taking the medicine correctly depending on who prescribed it.
Wolfe and Lipham both find that patients often think of the proton pump inhibitors in the same way as antacids, meant to be taken when heartburn strikes.
"But these [proton pump inhibitor] medicines don't work that way," Lipham said. "They need to be stimulated by acid and need to build up in your system. You have to take them at the correct time each day and you also need to take them every day to get the maximum effectiveness of the medications."