H2 Blockers (Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac, Axid) (Page 34 of 52)

Thanks for the support Steph.
I probably won't even tell her. I don't know. I'll see how things go.

I'm writing a paper for school tonight and had a rough week so I decided to have some drinks and just do this stuff... 3 pepcids before.

I'm drinking captain and coke. I'm not measuring shots or anything so I couldn't specify how much I've had. I'm ok though. Not red at all, thank goodness, but my feet and hands feel like they're pumping. Blah.

any u can get... and generic is aok!

I’m 46, 100% Chinese, and have dealt with Asian flush for 30 years.     I use the same methods as described in previous posts to control the redness.    Basically:

- Eat light ~ 2 –3 hours prior to drinking
- Drink slowly for the first 30 to 60 minutes until the initial reaction goes away
- I’m good to go after the first initial reaction
- Avoid all foods until the alcohol is gone from your system (this can be a long time)
- If I must eat (ie. Business dinners), I eat an Allegra prior to eating.
- I usually drink Bud Light, Mich Ultra, and Irish Whisky

I just purchased Pepcid AC and will try this week and see how it works.

This is a great website!   By far the most informative I’ve seen on this subject!

Hi Everyone,

                         Thanks to echeng and steph for starting and contributing to this forum, I have found it really useful.I had stumbled across this site maybe 1.5 years ago and tried initially tried Zantac and now also a generic brand of Famotidine. I have had some success with both but it doesnt stop the redness completely. For some reason I seem to remember having more success with Zantac, however will need to try it again to be sure. You need a prescription in Australia to get famo, and it only comes in 40mg per tablet, so its either 40mg or 80mg, most people seem to have had success with just 40 so I think I will cut down to 40 and see how it goes. I only drink every now and then, however after taking 80mg and after 3-4 beers I seemed to have been feeling nauseous but not drunk, however I seem to recall taking Zantac and being able to consume more and still feel ok. Also I seem to have occasional pain in my side recently for some reason, not sure if this is from too much famo or probably just a coincidence, thats why i am reluctant about taking more than 40mg.

Does anyone find taking more mg makes you less able to tolerate the alcohol?
Has anyone had any noticeable side effects?
Has anyone found Zantac work better than Pepcid?
Has anyone used the generic famotidine and found it to be effective? 

Thanks Guys, together we can beat this thing haha.

Hello all,

I've gotten used to the fact i get the asian flush. My friends don't ask or say anything about it so thats good.. My only worry is, the nausea feeling. I tend to get it even half way through my first drink. Is there any way i can prevent getting the feeling like i'm going to throw up or to stop me from thorwing up when i drink altogether..??
I read in a previous post that Gaviscon helps with this situation.. Does it..??
Has anyone tryed it and was it successful?? And if so, how should i take it..??

Please help.

Thank you!!

I've actually been around the forums for almost a year now, but have always been a little busy with school, so a lot less time for drinking. But here's my experiences with Pepcid AC Max.

I'm 5'6, Vietnamese male, 130 lbs., super intolerant and having 1/2 a shot of anything turns me into a tomato, from my waist up. Thank god I found pepcid... I started with 2 * 20 mg pills (50% less red), but 3 * 20 mg does the trick for me (like 80% less red), and I usually take them 30 minutes prior to drinking on a full stomache...just 'cuz I like to eat. I have yet to try 80 mg, that might be overkill, and hasten my intolerance. Of course the other conditions that comes with drinking includes higher pulses, slight headaches, etc, but the more pills I take, the less the aforementioned problems affect me.

At parties I like to start off with a beer, maybe some girly drinks like strawberry daiquiries (lol they're good!), and let the pink settle in, talk to some people, keep an eye on the time--it's important to have drinks in between long periods of time--then go straight for the heavy stuff. The difference between taking 2 shots at once and waiting 15 mins to take the 2nd shot is that I'll become redder for a good 10-15 mins, but if I wait those 15 minutes to take the 2nd shot, my redness is consistent. On a good night, I can have 4-6 drinks in a 1-2 hour time period and still appear pink. I still don't know what it feels like to have a hang over...one time I had about 8 shots of hard liquor, vodka, rum, hypnotiq, stuff for new year's in about 3-4 hours, and only got as far as throwing up half way lol.. you know, some of the pasta from last night shoots up your throat with that rum you just swallowed lol disgusting.

Last night, my apt mates and I were playing some Wii sports, lose a game, take a shot. I didn't know we were drinking until one of my buddies got home, so I only swallowed 60 mg 5 mins before I took my first shot of Skyy. I was hoping a game of wii tennis would last longer than 20 minutes...but we were usually done in 5 minutes. I lost 3 times... took 3 shots + the one in the beginning... that's 4 shots in less than 20 minutes. I felt terrible, blood rushing to my head, uncontrollable sweating...and for the first time, I saw red spots on my chest since I began taking pepcid ac, but what's amazing is that my face was still that usual 80% less red than normal, okay maybe like 75% but not red at all.

That's to say that waiting 30+ minutes before drinking and having a + 1 drink in between 15-20 minutes will keep your flush consistent.

Hello my red friends.

I am a 19-year-old (legal in my country) halfie (French/Korean) who is 6'1", 180lbs and about 8% body fat.  I started drinking early last year and suffered from the extreme redness and accelerated heart-rate that most people on here have mentioned.  I did not, however, ever feel nauseated or experience headaches (unless I drank way too much).  Needless to say, drinking wasn't a very fun activity for me.

Then, last summer I went to Germany with some friends from college, and since it was Germany and there was basically nothing else to do but drink A LOT, we got plastered about 4 times a week (I spent the other 3 days burning off the calories consumed the night before).  I probably averaged about 12 beers each night for a month.  I noticed that by the third week, the redness had reduced dramatically (about 50%) and my heart-rate was only slightly higher than normal.  I still felt like I was wearing a wool sweater in the middle of the Sahara, though.  I could take 4 beers in an hour before any symptoms were noticeable, for the next 2 beers I would be a bit pink, and then for the last 6 beers I looked rather normal.

I continued to drink moderately after I returned from Germany (about twice a week, same dosage), and my Asian flush symptoms stayed at pretty much the same level as that of the last two weeks of hard drinking in Germany.  Then, along came track and field season, during which time I really couldn't afford to undermine my training regime with alcohol.  I was basically sober for 5 months, and when I started drinking again after the season was over, my Asian flush was as bad as it was when I first started.  Now I'm looking into the Pepcid solution because I don't really feel like undergoing another month of heavy drinking to get my tolerance up.

This post is probably going to lead some people to intense alcoholism, because it is proof that sustained heavy drinking can improve symptoms, but I don't care because it probably also means that the same alcoholic will feel more comfortable during parties and have a higher chance of getting laid.  So, my alcoholic Asian friends, go forth and multiply using this drug-free solution to your scarlet problems.

Hi purple dragon fruit...

on this forum so far, i would say its about 10 people have said Pepecid doesnt work for them while everyone else (including me) has said its aok to use. But alot of people on this site have expressed that you do everything in moderation. I stress moderation. All i can say to you is that you try it out at home with a few beers (any drink really) and see how you go.

I myself havent had any stomach problems taking the pepcid and alcohol, if anything i noticed i could drink  alot more and didnt suffer any hangovers next day! but then again.. i really only take pepcid if im going to have a big one.. if its just dinner... i'll just have some soft drink.

There have been paper written about asians who go red are more prone to getting stomach/oesophagus cancers because we cant break down alocohol as fast the acetadalyhyde ( i think its that checmial) builds up in in. So really people like us, even if we do drink without pepcid, we have higher risks of getting cancer. Please read a few other of the forums to verify this, and read other peoples past experience with pepcid in this forum.

Of course i think if u abuse alcohol AND suffer our symptoms, your chances of getting cancer increase. BUt in moderation... im sure u will be ok. well thats what i think. MODERATION. in the end its your choice!

There are other ways to reduce red.... please read other posts..... Loratadine/ranitidine/claryntine combo. Or the no eating 5 hours before the combo. but u got to try what is best for u.

Hope that helps....

what's that?

Clarantyne.. u know its the stuff to help with allergies... (typo on my behalf before). See some previous threads in this discussionregarding clarintine/zantac...cant remeber which page.... in the 20's somewhere.

Does anybody know if Reactine would work just the same as Peptic AC? Someone mentioned the anti-histamine effects to help reduce the redness so maybe? I always thought that Reactine+Alcohol meant bad news. Thanks.

That Pepsid AC stuff really works.  I recommend going for at least two pills of the MAX instead of the standard, although it probably depends on how bad your flush is.

Plus, I have the same question as some other people.  Since Pepcid AC seems to get rid of a lot of the flush, does that mean it is actually breaking down alcohol normally so that the increased risks of cancer for Asian flushies wouldn't apply?  Or do the higher rates of cancer still apply regardless of Pepcid AC or not, in people who normally have Asian flush?

Thanks.