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Sunday, May 23, 2010

why would someone be changed from ranitidine to lansoprazole?


Answer:
Ranitidine is a Histamine receptor blocker, similar to Benadryl or Claritine but with greater specificity to the H2 receptors in the stomach. It works by helping your stomach maintain its protective mucosal lining through secretion of bicarbonate and turning off inflammatory signals. It is a good first line drug, but in totality is not as effective as are the proton pump inhibitors such as lansoprazole. Proton pump inhibitors specifically block the hydrogen pump in your stomach responsible for the secretion of acid. This usually leads to better control of symptoms and allows for natural repair of the stomach wall by your own body. These drugs also normally have longer half-lives and so require less frequent daily dosages, and most patients do much better on them. It is standard medical protocol to switch patients from a H2 blocker to a proton pump inhibitor if they do not experience significant improvement or if symptoms are worsening.
Well, I was on ranitidine for many years, but since I have changed to lansoprazole, my life has changed so much, no more pain from acid reflux, I can't tell you how much better life is now! Quite simply it's a better product!
I absolutely agree with Greybear. my experience is exactly the same - lansoprazole is a far superior product compared to ranitidine.
Ranitidine is one of the earlier proton pump inhibitors (ppis) but the "prazole" drugs are more recent. They tend to be water sensitive but are still effective. Recent therapies for ulcers combine ppis with antibiotics to kill off helicobacter pylori which causes or exacerbates ulcers. Bismuth is also poisonous to h. pylori.
Rav hit the nail on the head. I am a pharmacist with 2 doctorates in pharmacy and 31 years of experience. Ranitidine is a H-2 blocker that is great for mild problems.
The proton pump inhibitor is far more effective in the long run.
They may take a little longer to bring relief but they are able to bring a greater degree of healing than any h-2 blockers.
(H-2 blockers include Tagamet (cimetidine) Zantac (ranitidine)
Axid, (nizanitine) Pepcid (famotidine).
PPI= Prilosec, Prevacid, Aciphex, etc.
H2 antihistamines like ranitidine are much less expensive but proton pump inhibitors like lansoprazole are a bit more effective, so if the former isn't working well enough it's a good idea to change. Though the percentage of people in whom they're effective isn't that great, if you're one of those people it can make a world of difference. And even though the percentages are small, the numbers are large.
The "ranitidine class" of drugs act to block the histamine-2 receptors. The "lansoprozole class" block the receptors of the cells responsible for stomach acid production. The latter are much more effective and will shut off acid production completely in the right dose to allow healing of ulcers, GERD, or any lesions that would not heal if stomach acid were present. Both classes of drugs arrive at the same result, but the latter are clearly superior.

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