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2nd Trimester
MKDee
member
Need objective opinions- severe heartburn (LONG)
MKDee
member
Hello all- long time lurker, first time poster here, and I am in need of some objective opinions. I am currently 15 weeks pregnant. For several years pre-pregnancy, I took Protonix, a category B drug, for severe acid reflux disease. My primary care physician prescribed this for me, and I do not currently have a GI doctor. When I became pregnant and told my OB about the Protonix, he said he wasn't comfortable with me staying on it, and asked that I switch to Zantac or Pepcid (also cat 
.
After three months, it is just not working. I have heartburn every single day, even with the maximum dose of Pepcid and more Tums than I care to admit. I wake up every night in awful pain, and I can pretty much only eat bread and low-fat dairy. Everything else causes horrendous pain. I've even vomited a small amount of blood a few times.
So, at my last OB appointment on Wednesday, I bring this up to my doctor, and he didn't even let me explain how bad my symptoms were before telling me I should stick to Tums, Zantac, Pepcid. When I pushed the issue, he told me that if I can get him a recommendation from a GI doctor AND a written letter about the medication from our hospital's genetics and medication center, he will consider it, but since he has never had a patient on it before, he's really uncomfortable with it.
I am starting down the path he recommended (already called a GI), but here are my questions for the group
a) I have some Protonix left from before my pregnancy. Would you take them for a few days to get some relief, knowing that it is a cat B drug AND knowing that the doc's aversion to it is only because he has never prescribed it?
b) Would you consider switching doctors? I feel like this OB (one of seven in the practice) doesn't listen very well and is not willing to take any extra steps (i.e. doing a bit of his OWN research, consulting with another doctor) to help a patient. Am I overreacting?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Need objective opinions- severe heartburn (LONG)
It's not just Protonix- my OB is not comfortable with anything stronger than Pepcid/Zantac. And, Nexium and Prilosec are both Category C, so Protonix really is the safest of the bunch.
My PCP is no help- I called at the beginning of my pregnancy with a question about a different medication (I also have high blood pressure pre-pregnancy), and he refused to help because I was pregnant- said I needed to defer to my OB. I have a call into a GI doc. I just feel very stuck. Thanks for your help!
My DH suffers from really bad heartburn too and all I can say is that I would seriously consider seeing a GI dr. I wouldn't take anything wtihout talking to someone with experience in the drug that you want to take. That said, it does seem like your dr hasn't given your issue 100% attention - I might consider keep talking to him about it until he actually listens to you. Almost badgering, until he understands teh severity. Is it possible that you just didn't present your symptoms strongly enough? (just asking)