Medicine treats the acid, not the reflux
Every acid reflux medicine works on the same principle: make the stomach contents less acidic, so they hurt less when they come up. That is genuinely useful - an inflamed esophagus can only heal when it stops being burned. But no medicine closes the valve between the esophagus and the stomach, and that valve failing is what acid reflux actually is. Which medicine, how much and for how long is a decision for your doctor or pharmacist, based on your symptoms and history.
What medicine can and can't do
Reduce the burning. Give an irritated or damaged esophagus a window to heal. Make the difference between a miserable night and a normal one while you fix the cause.
Tighten the valve. Shrink a stomach stretched by large, fast meals. Undo late-night eating, trigger foods or extra weight pressing on the stomach. Remove the reason reflux happens.
Your doctor or pharmacist. They know your history, other medicines and warning signs. Self-medicating for weeks hides symptoms that may need a proper look. When reflux is GERD →
My experience: for four years I treated the burn and ignored the cause. Every relief was temporary because I kept eating the same way - five-minute meals, every day. By the time I had an endoscopy there was a severe mucosal break where the esophagus meets the stomach. The treatment my doctor gave me let it heal; slowing down my eating is what kept it healed. Read the full story →
Why reflux comes back when you stop
Medicine changes the acid. It does not change a stomach stretched by fast, large, late meals, or a valve relaxed by coffee, alcohol and fat. Stop the medicine without changing those and the reflux returns - because the cause was never touched. What actually causes acid reflux →
Signs the question is bigger than "which medicine"
- You need something for the burn more than twice a week.
- Symptoms have lasted more than two weeks.
- Trouble or pain when swallowing, food getting stuck.
- Unexplained weight loss, vomiting, or black or bloody stools.
- Chest pain you can't clearly tell from heart pain. Telling them apart →
Any of the above means see a doctor, not the pharmacy shelf. Frequent symptoms usually mean GERD, and GERD deserves an actual diagnosis - it may need an endoscopy, not guesswork.
What to do next
Let your doctor handle the medicine. Your job is the part medicine can't do: remove the pressure that causes reflux - here's the step-by-step plan. If eating slowly is the step you can't make stick, that's what the FixMyStomach app was built to train.
This page shares personal experience and general information. It is not medical advice and does not recommend any medicine - please consult your doctor or pharmacist.