Weird side effect - should I worry about it?

[Luciana]

I've been taking Zantac, on and off, for more than ten years. A doctor prescribed it and it was always ok. Hadn't felt the need for it for almost one year until, last week, I had a bad heartburn.

I went to the drugstore and remembered I could buy a generic. The pharmacist handed me "ranitidine hydrochloride ". I started taking it, one each day (only when I needed, but that was the frequency) and it seems to have worked. At some point I recommended the generic to mymother, who bought a box from the same laboratory as I did.

Then, at some point, I felt this chemical taste on my mouth. It lasted until the next day, but I forgot all about it. On the next day, it was much worse. I felt as if I had licked inseticide! I wondered a bit and washed carefully all my cups and glasses, looked around for anything poisonous, but didn't find anything. By then I was a bit worried becasue I could hardly sleep with that awful smell on my mouth.

I decided to be extra-careful with what I was ingesting. Then, later in the day, heartburn. Took one pill of ranitidine. And almost immediately the bad taste was there, now worse than ever!

I called my mother, and as I started to speak about the bad taste on my mouth, she interrupted me "me too! what's up? Almost didn't sleep last night!".

Of course, we stopped taking that medicine. I bought Zantac and I'm happy now.

I've looked at the box and it's well within the validity date. It looks genuine, and I bought it in a reputed establishment. There's nothing weird in the pills as I look at it, and aside from the bad taste on my mouth (it lasted two entire days with this last pill). I read the product description carefully and didn't find anything regarding this supposed side-effect.

So... what's that bad taste supposed to be? Maybe the pill is just lacking some sort of protective coating? Or there might be something more sinister to that?


edited for grammar

[UnrepentantSinner]

Was it a sour or acidic taste? It might just have not been working for you and you were having some reflux.

[EdipisReks]

i would suggest talking to a pharmicist or giving the drug company a call.

[Luciana]

I've had reflux for many years of my life, US, and it wasn't that. Really different. Sour, acidic? I don't know, I can't think in these terms... more like nail polish remover, or one of those things dentists put on your teeth to avoid a root canal, which tastes bad for a day and then it's gone...

i would suggest talking to a pharmicist or giving the drug company a call.

I intend to, but I'd rather have a firm ground, because of course they will deny everything, and I'm hoping it's just not a big deal.

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
I've had reflux for many years of my life, US, and it wasn't that. Really different. Sour, acidic? I don't know, I can't think in these terms... more like nail polish remover, or one of those things dentists put on your teeth to avoid a root canal, which tastes bad for a day and then it's gone...


I did a brief Google using the proper name and side effects and almost every page that came up was a commercial page and none that listed side effects listed a weird taste, just various gastronomic distresses. Did you check the website of the manufacurer?

[EvilYeti]

It could be just shoddy packaging on the drug. Most drugs taste pretty awful if you actually get them on your tounge. I once bit open an ibuprofen gelcap to see what it tasted like. It was god-awful, like battery acid.

If I were you, I would crush up a Zanatac and taste it. See if it tastes similar.

If not, take the generic version (I hope you have some left) to a lab and have them tested. It could be contaminated.

[a_unique_person]

The generic one may just be missing the sugar coating. Then again, if the place that makes it is anything like Pan Pharmaceuticals in Australia, they could have anything in their. Fortunately, Pan has gone broke now, but they caused a lot of pain to people who had an overdose of some travel pills that had way too much of the active ingredient.

[wayrad]

Originally posted by EdipisReks

i would suggest talking to a pharmicist or giving the drug company a call.

I agree on the first part. Pharmacists are a great source of information on medication interactions and side effects, and no good one will want to continue carrying a dubious preparation.

Some wild guesses: Was the drug within its expiration date? Of course, there's no way of knowing how long it sat around at the manufacturing plant. Another possibility might be that something was wrong with the binder.

Luciana, you mentioned a nail polish remover smell...could anybody else smell it on your breath? Acetone breath is a symptom of some interesting metabolic conditions, but unless you and your mother are both on a starvation diet, that probably isn't the answer (especially since most nail polish remover no longer contains acetone)!

[Dancing David]

Luciana i wouldn't freak too much, but I would avoid that generic in the future.

The testing for side effects is only done on the original medicine, not on the generics.

When they make pills they use all sorts of things as fillers and binding agents, I would assume that it was one of those, or the material that coats the tablet. In the US there are sunstances that are not to be used in manufacturing of products for human consumption. But they show up anyway, and given the rules about manufacturing , almost anything could happen.

I don't know what product rules they have in Brazil.

[BPSCG]

I've been taking prescription generic Zantac (rantidine hydrochloride) for acid reflux for about a year now, 150 mg 2x/day. It doesn't totally control the heartburn, but I've been able to cut back my Tums dosage dramatically.

I haven't had any noticeable side effects, but I went to my HMO's website and looked it up. Your chemical taste side effect doesn't show up among the MANY possible side effects, even among the ones that are described as rare; the closest thing they list is dryness of the mouth.

One thing they DO say, though, is to contact your doctor if you notice any other unusual side effects, and I'd say this certainly qualifies as "unusual". I'd also stop taking, but don't discard, the generic pills, and go back to your regular prescription. Keep the generics for testing. Not trying to scare you unnecessarily, but possible product tampering?

[Dr. Imago]

Someone already said it, but the taste in the back of the throat is one of the symptoms of gastric reflux. It's often described (as was pointed out) as a "sour" taste.

It may be time for some follow-up on your problem. If you have had, for example, a long-standing, chronic H. pylori infection that is becoming worse, Zantac alone won't get rid of it. You may need some additional therapy. And, if this problem has been going on for ten years... definitely talk to your doctor again. There are newer drugs (called "proton pump inhibitors") that may work better for you. (Ranitidine is an "H2 blocker" that works by a different mechanism.)

I doubt it's a problem with the drug. If it were, then other people would be having the same complaints from the same batch, quality control would eventually catch it, there would be a recall, and the pharmacy would have pulled it. But, it wouldn't hurt to talk to the pharmacist. You never know. Stranger things have happened.

Good luck and let us know what you discover.

-TT

[Luciana]

Originally posted by UnrepentantSinner
I did a brief Google using the proper name and side effects and almost every page that came up was a commercial page and none that listed side effects listed a weird taste, just various gastronomic distresses. Did you check the website of the manufacurer?


I've just called their call center. I talked to a pharmacist, and she said that this is an expected side effect. That this medicine could interfere with taste, and each person would experience a different discomfort.

I told her that I had never experienced that with Zantac or any other antacid, and that ranitidine hydrochloride is my best friend for years. She said that ranitidine was the active substance, but that the complementary ones might cause this. I argued saying that Ididn't see any reference to this side effect in the product description, but here she was evasive, saying that all antacids might produce that one time or the other.

I'll remember the name of this laboratory to never buy from it anymore.

I'm looking at the box now, and it says "contains 20 coated pills". So probably, the coating is not the issue. I'm not taking another to see how it tastes like in the tongue, although I might take Zantac and bite it a little bit to see if the taste is in any way similar. Now that I think about it, I remember that that chemical taste completely altered the taste of the sweet things I had later on. That taste of Coke was just like water with bubbles.

All I have to say - very bad form to provoke such a side-effect if similar products do not. :rolleyes:

Thanks for everybody's suggestions. I normally don't give second thoughts to medicines, but this time I had my doubts.

[Luciana]

Originally posted by ThirdTwin
Someone already said it, but the taste in the back of the throat is one of the symptoms of gastric reflux. It's often described (as was pointed out) as a "sour" taste.

No, it's more like *vomit* taste, at least in my case. But I haven't had it in years. And this time it really tasted like... inseticide. And it wouldn't go away.

It may be time for some follow-up on your problem. If you have had, for example, a long-standing, chronic H. pylori infection that is becoming worse, Zantac alone won't get rid of it. You may need some additional therapy. And, if this problem has been going on for ten years... definitely talk to your doctor again. There are newer drugs (called "proton pump inhibitors") that may work better for you. (Ranitidine is an "H2 blocker" that works by a different mechanism.)

Actually, ThirdTwin, at some point ten years ago, I had two ulcers. At that time, that bacteria wasn't known. When I visited one specialist, he said I was an only child who was trying to grab attention and by the time I had the exams, I had fully-developed ulcers and my whole treatment consisted of diet and Zantac.

From then on, it's always been Zantac, although I go months without taking one.


Edited to add: but you're right, it's high time I looked for another alternative treatment, considering how much medicine has improved in this regard. It's just that there are always so many things going on... and it has always been manageable. There's nothing like an ulcer to set you straight regarding diet and lifestyle.

[Dr. Imago]

There's a simple breath test (http://www.medicinenet.com/Urea_Breath_Test/article.htm) that can be ordered. It's relatively inexpensive (if insurance doesn't cover), and I'm sure it's available in Brazil. Your primary doctor should be able to handle it. And, improperly treated, this can cause other potentially serious complications down the road.

-TT

[Julia]

Luciana,
Since this problem has been going on for such a long time, I am just wondering if anyone has ever diagnosed the exact cause of the heartburn and the ulcers?

Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-pharmacuticals. I have a couple that I will most likely be on for the rest of my life. But it seems that you may benifit from a good diagnostician who may be able to alter things in such a way that you could be free from antiacids.

You may have already pursued this and I missed it somewhere along the way. If so I apologize.

[Luciana]

Thank your for the suggestion, ThirdTwin. I'll keep that in mind. I realize that a further investigation of what is going on is long due.

Since this problem has been going on for such a long time, I am just wondering if anyone has ever diagnosed the exact cause of the heartburn and the ulcers?

I don't think so, Julia. When I had my ulcers, I was also very depressed and lacked the energy to pursue the matter. I can hardly remember that period. Then when I read about the discoveris about H. pilory, I thought there might be something to it, but then I always postpone...

[Dragonrock]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
Thank your for the suggestion, ThirdTwin. I'll keep that in mind. I realize that a further investigation of what is going on is long due.



I don't think so, Julia. When I had my ulcers, I was also very depressed and lacked the energy to pursue the matter. I can hardly remember that period. Then when I read about the discoveris about H. pilory, I thought there might be something to it, but then I always postpone...

They discovered something about pillory?

[wayrad]

Originally posted by Dragonrock


They discovered something about pillory?

Yup. Causes ulcers. :D

[Dr. Imago]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
Then when I read about the discoveris about H. pilory, I thought there might be something to it, but then I always postpone...

It may not be H. pylori, but that should be ruled out. I'm not getting an exact gauge of your symptoms, and obviously can't over the Internet without examining you... want to come to the U.S. so I can examine you? ;) Err... okay! AHEM! Professional relationship and all that.

Not to sound like a Prilosec commercial, but if you have chronic Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) you're at the risk of developing metaplasia of the lower esophagus. This is called Barett's esophagus and can put you at an increased risk for malignant transformation and esophageal cancer.

Not trying to invoke the scare tactics too much, but those little warning labels that say "persistent heartburn should be evaluated by a certified physician" and whatnot are there for a reason.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

-TT