tagamet/cimetidine?

[sweetangel2080]

anyone tried this? has it helped?

is it similar to an antihistamine?

on antibiotics and this since yesterday and my flare is through the roof - can't say I've experienced a flare this bad in years and my IC is so bad that I'm off work and housebound. no pain relief is cutting it

wanted some positive posts to see if maybe it's worth seeing it through somehow?

[CarolinTexas]

Zantac helps me. I take 300mg 3x a day and it usually cuts down on the early morning flares.

Didn't help the one I had this morning!

[miz_sunshine87]

I heard that climetidine was used for IC in England from a girl living over there. I'd never heard of it until she mentioned it. Are you in England too? It didn't work for her unfortunately, but she is getting some relief with steroids (another very unconventional treatment).

It is usually used to treat stomach ulcers, but I'm uncertain on ezactly how it works. I don't think it works like a regular antihistamine though, because it mentions "H2 histamine blockers". This apparently reduces the production of stomach acid.

Cimetidine is used to reduce the pain of ulcer and heartburn or to assist in the healing of ulcers and damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Cimetidine is also used to prevent ulcers in certain circumstances and to treat certain conditions that are associated with oversecretion of acid by the stomach (i.e., Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome, systemic mastocytosis, and multiple endocrine adenomas). The medication works by reducing the amount of acid secreted by the stomach----http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info_details.asp?brand_name_id=19&dowhat=accept_disclaimer

Maybe it helps people by reducing the acid in the urine? (if it does so for the stomach?) Or maybe it works like cytotek and produces a coating (although it doesn't sound like it from the description).

Sounds interesting anyways. Let us know if you end up trying it!

[sweetangel2080]

hi, yes am also in the UK.
Think will try it once I can work out what is causing this flareup and guess it shows to not start multiple meds in one day!

I think different medications are used here in the US and we don't have as much available here.

[ICNDonna]

Cimetidine is used by many with IC. It's an effective antacid that was used very commonly for stomach ulcers before Prilosec and Nexium. Lots of people feel it helps. There are some interactions with other medications so you will want to check with your doctor or pharmacist before adding it to your regime.

Donna

[Shiloh Nouvel]

sorry for taking this thread back, but I am now on Cimetidine and I am making a few researches:

1) --------------------------

Department of Urology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVES. To assess the effect of the H2-antagonist cimetidine in the treatment of patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) refractory to other conservative therapies. METHODS. A group of 9 patients previously treated conservatively for IC without success were entered in the study. They were thoroughly investigated and treated with cimetidine at the dose of 300 mg orally twice a day for 1 month. RESULTS. Six of the 9 patients (66%) experienced various degrees of symptomatic relief while on the drug. Of these, 4 (44%) have noted a complete and sustained response to the medication. CONCLUSIONS. The encouraging results observed in this pilot study together with the simplicity and tolerance of the treatment makes it an alternative when other options have been exhausted. Its use as a first-line monotherapy remains speculative.

2) -------------------------

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether oral cimetidine, which reportedly improves symptoms in 60-70% of patients with painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis has a similar mechanism of action on the human bladder and involving a similar peptidergic pathway as it has in human stomach, where it alters histamine-gastrin reactions mediated via H2 receptors and a proton pump. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients (13 women and one man, mean age 51 years) with refractory bladder pain and irritative urinary symptoms were treated with cimetidine. The response to cimetidine was assessed by outpatient follow-up and an analogue pain score. Bladder biopsies from eight patients were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, and a polyclonal antibody to gastrin, with counterstaining using toluidine blue, to detect mast cell granules containing histamine. Biopsies from normal areas of the bladder from an age-matched control group of patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were stained similarly. Human stomach and colon were used as positive controls for gastrin and toluidine blue, respectively. The clinical response to cimetidine was compared with the histology in a blinded fashion. RESULTS: Eight of the patients responded well to cimetidine; none of the biopsies showed evidence of carcinoma in situ. Although G cells in the stomach stained well for gastrin none of the bladder biopsies showed gastrin-like immunoreactivity, apart from some nonspecific urothelial staining. Numerous mast cells with crimson granules and pale nuclei were visible in three patients and fewer in three others; their presence or absence did not correlate with the symptomatic response. CONCLUSIONS: Cimetidine is a useful medical treatment for bladder pain but the presence or absence of gastrin or histamine-like immunoreactivity does not explain its therapeutic benefit.

3)------------------------------------------------

H2 Blockers
Histamine 2 blockers (H2 Blockers) are used primarily to treat heartburn, ulcers and acid indigestion. They work by blocking the production of a type of histamine in the stomach known as histamine-2. Tagamet® (cimetidine) and similar H2 blockers such as Zantac® (ranitidine) are being used by some IC patients to help to reduce their IC symptoms. Small studies have been conducted using Tagamet to successfully treat IC. However, the exact mechanism by which this class of medication works to relieve IC is uncertain.

[Mothergoose]

I have been on 150mg 2x a day of Zantac for ever, I take it for GERD, the newer meds for this condition I can not take due to side effects, I don't know if it helps with IC I have symptoms most of the time. It works reasonably well for my GERD. Maybe IC would be worse if I didn't take it.

Mothergoose

[DonnaBee]

my first visit to my uro he put me on Elmiron, hydroxyzine, cimetidine, and hyomax. He told me the cimitidine is an acid blocker. So I'm assuming that it blocks acid to the bladder too. I have had relief from symptoms with this combination of meds. My rheumatologist put me on Lyrica about 10 days ago, for my fibromyalgia. I did flare slightly at first but chose to stick it out, and my bladder has calmed down again.

[dyno]

I had a flare about a week ago and tried some of it and it did help with my symptoms. Be sure to talk to your Dr. about it though if you decide to try it.

[cmclien]

I took it for quite a few months and it didn't do anything for me. Maybe it works better for people with allergies.

donnabeeIt is an acid blocker but it is used because it is a certain kind of histamine blocker (H2). Many IC patients show signs of mast cells on cysto hydro and this is another method of possibly blocking the reaction to those cells.

[cmclien]

I think perhaps I wasn't taking enough as the studies were done with 200mg! Has anyones doctor recommended a certain dose a day? I am trying 40mg but guidelines would help. I will ask my dr next Monday when I see him but am curious what any of you were recommended.

[555ron]

I have been taking cimetidine for about a month
And I think it may be helping a little,
Especialy in the night.:pray:
I am taking 400 3 times a day, no side effects
So I am thinking of asking the doctor if I
Could try an increas in the dosage.
On the leaflet with them it says the maximum dose
Is twice the amount I am tacking.