H2 Blockers (Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac, Axid) (Page 27 of 52)

I gave the Zantac+Claritine combo a decent test this weekend. Went clubbing last night and I did about 6 shots in about 2hrs (2 Jagerbombs in quick succession among those), which normally would've given me a beetdown, put I was fine throughout the night, the flushing never hit me at all. Not even a pink glow. Best of all was that I didn't feel my head throbbing which normally comes along with the flushing, and no hangover today either (other than from lack of sleep).

Thanks to KMan for pointing me in the right direction with the Zantac+Claritine combo. Zantac on its own has a minimal effect, but Zantac+Claritine works 100%. In fact I don't really feel the need to get hold of Pepcid anymore as I don't see how it could work any better than the Zantac+Claritine, but I think I'll try getting hold of some anyway just so I can alternate between the two and hopefully make it less likely to build up a tolerance to either the Z+C or the Pepcid.

I'd also like to add to what has been said about the dangers of using these drugs to stop the flush; people still need to drink in moderation and try not to overdo it because it's quite easy to get carried away with your new drinking abilities. Be responsible people.

What is Claritine? Do yall mean Claritin? As in Claritin-D?

The one I use is called Clarityne D, and it might be sold under different names, depending on who the manufacturer is. I've also seen it sold as Claritinese.

The 'ingredient' to look for in the meds is Loratadine, so it doesn't really matter which one you get as long as it contains that. Just ask for an antihistamine that contains Loratadine. Clarityne D contains 5mg of Loratadine per tablet, so you'll need to take two of those to get the recommended 10mg dosage. Claritinese on the other hand contains 10mg of Loratadine per tablet, so you'd only need one of those. Be sure to check  how much each tablet contains before you take it.

Crimson - No, no drowsiness, or rather, no additional drowsiness that could not be attributed to alcohol. I am also alternating between the zantac/claritine combo and pepcid. I hope that will avert any resistance to either, and it just feels safer not overloading your body with too much of one drug.

Bchin - you sound like a homozygote. (no I am not calling names). Basically, you have a double defective allele in your genes. Some of the flushers here have one good and one bad allele. I am like you. Typically, studies show that we experience 18x the level of acetaldehyde as "normal" people. Heterozygotes (1 good, 1 bad allele), only experience 5 x the acetaldehyde. I find the Zantac Claritine combo works for me very well. So there is hope, even for homozygotes. But pls remember, that the bad stuff acetaldehyde could still be coursing through your veins doing all sorts of damage even though you don't turn red. We need more research in that area.

Crimson is correct about Claritin/Clarintine/Clarityne etc... its sold under diff names in diff countries as well. The ingredient you would look for is Loratadine.

As for the dosage, please look at the pending patent that I posted about on 10 Oct 06. The researchers used and suggested 150mg of Ranitidine (zantac) and 10mg of Loratidine (Clarityne) I think. However, they did suggest a possibility of higher dosages, but THEY HAVE NOT TESTED THAT. So I would not encourage it.

Timing -  the researchers in the said pending patent suggests 30 mins before drinking. apparently the effects last 3 hours. To be safe, I take it about 40 mins before drinking and it works fine. I haven't really taken the time to notice if it works better on an empty or fulll stomach... may look into this.

B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Cysteine (slow release) - Ok, here's something else I would like to bring up. I know there is another thread on this, but I just thought I'd share with you that these are other supplements that I take in conjunction with the H1/H2 inhibitors. These supplements have negligible effect on the flush. However, I take these to somewhat protect against the effects of acetaldehyde. Now, the studies are vague and not conclusive. Cysteine for example can "clear out" acetaldehyde in a test tube, but we don't know how well it works in the blood system. Anyway, it is certainly speculative, but I am hoping that these supplements help protect at least to some degree, my body against acetaldehyde. Experiments on rats have shown some protective effect. Please note that many supplements have shown to help lower blood acetaldehyde levels (like Taurine), but often, they only work on people who are not carrying the defective gene. Again, (nag nag nag), please be very aware of the danger of the highly toxic carcinogen, acetaldehyde, that we expose our bodies too each time we drink.

im meaning for zantac+ the other stuff

Hey Dougfunny,

I'm gonna give the Caritin/Zantac combo a go but I know that the Pepcid lasts the whole nite. Unfortunately I still suffer from a first drink flush if I drink it fast but after  a very slow start,  I can drink heavily(for me) - prob an average of around 4 drinks/hr. And I don't go red. This lasts at least 6-8 hrs. I haven't had a time where I've seen the effects of the Pepcid wear off.

I was wondering too about the 3-4 hr effectiveness of Claritin/Zantac. Can you just pop another couple of pills a few hours into the night to keep the flush away??

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Angel, if you're still around - this new combo that we've been discussing will be good for you. No prescription required! In NZ Claritin is called Claratyne. Both this and Zantac are available OTC at the chemist :)

I used Zantac 150mg rand first got, 1 tablet... it didnt do much at all, but when i tried it on an empty stomach and waiting 1.5 hours, the difference is huge, hardly no redness.. ohh yeh n  try not to consume any dairy on the day u drink.. apprently it makes it worst.. i  have never tried 2 at once, but many people say they have done so... but its really up 2 u.. in the mean time order pepcid in, it works much better!

hey everybody
(this is refering to zantac + claratyne) so if your at a 6 hr or longer party n you just drink in between the 1st 3-4 hour mark.. and stop drinking after that.. in anytime after that mark will you still be clear of da flush but drunk.. or will you have the flush coming back?? should i take more pills just to stop the flush to come back or will i be fine??? sorry for asking so much. i cant get any pepcid where im from so im trying to use what ever is most easily accessable

Sweetpea- personally, I've never tried getting totally drunk while on the combo. But just a wee bit high. Generally, from my experience, the flush did not come back after the 3-4 hour mark, even though I was still a bit "high" from the alcohol.  I think it would be best to experiment yourself as I am not yet that "experienced" in the h1/h2 combo.  I believe Pepcid is easily available over the net. But be cautious about your country's laws as importing controlled substances could well be illegal. Where are you from?

Has anybody tried Cheerz?

http://www.cheerzhangover.com/index.htm

Claims to safely prevent the Asian Flush.

Could we prehaps have this as a new topic?  I'd much rather take this than Pepcid, if it works!

Getting rid of the carcinogens is probably more important, if not in stopping the asian flush, but from a health point of view.  I live in the UK, so would end up paying a fair bit for Cheerz.  I will if its worth it!

Hi Steph,

Sorry to hear that it didn't go well for you. I think you correctly noted that the speed at which you finished yoru first drink could have made a difference. For me, I find that I have to go easy on the first drink still.  There were times that I did notice a slight pinkishness when I drink faster. However, I find that if I drink slowly, it gradually disappears and subsequent drinks are better. I also suspect that there is a psychological aspect to all this. I noticed this when I was first trying these pills (pepcid at first). I was in a public setting and constantly worried about going red. Then, when I felt the frist sensation of warmth on my cheeks, I thought "oh damn here we go again...." and I got somewhat redder. Subsequently, in a less "pressurising" setting, I did feel the warmth again. However, this time, I was with an old friend who also suffers from the flush and we were both testing out the pills. I asked him "am i turning red"? And he replied "No, hardly." That bouyed me and I felt, "hey this is working". The redness then gradually subsided. I suspect (just a hunch) that stress and/or embarrassment would actually contribute to the flush. I mean, pepople do flush when angry or embarrassed.

Now, I still do feel the initial warmth on my cheeks, but remain cool about it cos' I know it is at most just a sligth pinkishness. I find that this helps, and I don't go beyond this slight pink shade. Good luck!