1. Heartburn: Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow Pictures
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the GERD Quiz

Medical Author:

P John Simic, MD

Coauthor:

Vincent W Yang, MD, PhD

Medical Editor:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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These drugs use different mechanisms to reduce reflux.

• PPIs include omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (Aciphex), and pantoprazole (Protonix).
• They block the production of an enzyme needed to produce stomach acid.
• PPIs stop acid production more completely than H2-blockers.

Sucralfate (Carafate) coats mucous membranes and sores to provide an additional protective barrier against stomach acid.

• Promotility agents include metoclopramide (Reglan, Clopra, Maxolon) and bethanechol (Duvoid, Urabeth, Urecholine).
• They help tighten the lower esophageal sphincter and promote faster emptying of the stomach.
• Health care professionals often are reluctant to prescribe these medications because they have fairly significant side effects.
• Promotility agents also do not work as well as PPIs for most people.
• One of these agents, cisapride (Propulsid), has been removed from the US market because of safety concerns related to lethal drug interactions.

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