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StopRanting: wow, thanks so much for your summary! I have been meaning to do this for a long time, but you did a much better job than I ever would've!

For me, wine is only ok later after the first couple of drinks.

I've found that my 'first' drink can be really small, like 1/4 of a drink (after taking famo). Drink slow, let it settle for an hour or so, then pick up the pace. I like to think of this small drink as a wake up for my body to start processing the alcohol.
I personally like shots: max effect with less loo stops!

Good on ya mate.

Hey Phantastic -- just eat lightly and slowly and you should be fine :)
Welcome and I hope that you find this forum helpful!

smithy: I think that your question should be asked to your doc or see what the zantac packet says. Don't go crazy on the pills tho guys, it may not be too good for you!

scooby: Yes, most of us definitely get drunk! Some have said that taking the pills makes them get tipsy quicker.
Does the packet of the ranitidine or gavilast say that it will make you drowsy?? If not, perhaps you should start with something like red bull and vodka?? (just an idea)

I don't know about the effectiveness of the gelcap vs pill. Look at the mg dosage of famotidine. I'm guessing that if it's say 10mg then it should be just as effective as the 10mg pill?
And as with any medicine, take the pills with its packaging when travelling so that the customs people can see that it's legit medicine.

HTH

Jasko, if she's a cool girl and is a good friend, you should be able to tell her and she'd understand. But in saying that, only my closest of buddies know about this 'effect' and I too am wary of who I tell. But at least now I can say that I have this condition but it can be lessened with some medicine.

If this is someone you want to party with, then it may be easier to tell her eventually... it would explain why you don't eat much and drink slowly at the start of the night! :)

8se7en: dinner parties... this becomes more of the case when you get older, not just going out for drinks only! Just eat slowly, eat lightly. Lots of leafy veggies and chicken. Not too much potato/rice/pasta or red meat

The claratyne/zantac combo: I read somewhere here to take 1 pill of each. I've tried it and it's been ok.

Good to see I'm not the only regular still here... it would be great if yaz would give your 2c worth too :D

From what I've seen here and my own experience... no, not really. That really sux I know.
I've increased my 'tolerance' from 1/4 a drink to about 1/2 a drink. Whoopdee-flippin-do
Some people may have better results than me, I think it all depends on how bad your flush is in the first place.

That's not good... drink lots and lots of water. Flush the alcohol out of your system.
I think you drank too much, too quickly
Perhaps have an antihistimine? Ask your local pharmacist.

ok. I wouldn't advise in making a habit of drinking daily.
I have tried 'training' my body  (see answer 1) but it didn't really work so this is something that we have to live with.

As to your hives, drink slower to start off with and try taking a Pepcid.
But please be sensible. Take no more pills than written on the box.

Hi Kev,

Welcome!
Let me ask you this... how many medicines do we take that say that potential side effects are hair-loss, impotence, dizziness, your arm falls off or whatever?? I would say pretty much any medicine apart from cough syrup has some scary sounding, possible side effects.

I think that the thing to do is to exercise some common sense -- take the pills only when you really need them and take the minimum amount that you need to reduce the flush.
For me, this means 3x20mg pills which I take at most, once a week.

The general concensus here has been to:

* Not eat too much the hours leading up to your drinking -- your stomach should be pretty much empty or almost empty
* Take the pills -- I'd take 2x20mg (or 4x10mg) pills for your first time
* Have a big glass of water
* Wait at least an hour before your 1st drink
* Drink your 1st drink slowly
* Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Some people here have said that they take their 1st drink at home, so that if any redness comes up, it happens at home. Then you should be able to go out and drink normally.

For me, I can snack or eat a light meal after taking the pills. The pills still work but I do have to make sure that my first 2 drinks are sllloooowwwww ones. My first 2 drinks a painfully drawn out over at least 2 hrs. After that I am relatively fine, I can drink as much as I feel like.

Some of us have discovered that certain drinks bring on the flush worse than others. For some, it's fruity drinks, for some it's wine. But it seems that most of us are best with spirits like vodka and rum.

I personally like Caparanjas and Tequila shots (I save the shots for late in the evening!)

I think that the pills are effective for around 8hrs. I have topped up with an extra pill if the drinking session is a particulary long one, but I'm not sure if this helped or not?

Let us know how you're getting on!
Good luck :)

Hey guys,

If Snuffy or anyone else with pharmicist friends can ask if it's ok to take pepcid and gaviscon together? Or zantac, claratyne and gaviscon?

I've mentioned a few times that a mate of mine takes Gaviscon to prevent puking when drinking but no one has said whether they've tried it or not... but I would want to make sure that it's ok to take with pepcid first. You guys who suffer from the pukes, like our friend Jasko here, could ask their local pharmacist themselves. I'm lucky that I don't suffer from the pukes so I haven't had the need to find out.

I sympathise greatly with you Jasko... half the fun of going to a wedding is having lots of yummy food!! But do you think part of your puking was cos you drank too quickly? 9 drinks in like 4 hrs would be a lot for me. And my first puke in like over 10 yrs was when I drank too quickly... just a thought?

Great to hear that you have found some new confidence with pepcid. :)
About your health, have you spoken to your doctor about your swollen glands? Have you told them that you've been takig pepcid? Does the doctor think that taking pepcid has contributed to your health problems? Do you have hyper-thyroid? -- ie your thyroid is working overtime hence the swelling and lack of sleep.
Let us know what your doctor says and if they think it's related to your pepcid use.

It would be interesting for us to know how regularly you take the pills and how many mg you take each time.

Hey Sweetpea,

I thought that you'd be able to tell us if Pepcid helps with the tiredness/pukey-ness cos you've been taking the pills??

A friend who doesn't suffer from the Blush but does get the pukey-ness, said that she takes Gaviscon before drinking - anyone else tried this?

Hey Dimps,

Claratine is expensive here in NZ too... about NZ$1-2 per pill! But, like Pepcid, there is a generic version with the same active ingredient. It's called Loratadine. I've got a bottle of 10mg pills which is the same as Claratine.

I do have to admit that I've only tried the clar/zantac combo only 2x and was a bit over enthusiastic and drank my 1st drink too fast so still turned red. So I have yet to experiment with the proper routine to see if it really works!