Goodbye heartburn (Gaviscon Advance)

Member Name: Fiver29

Product:	Gaviscon Advance
Date:	18/01/09 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works a treat, calms heartburn almost immediately

Disadvantages: Expensive

Gaviscon became a life saver for me when I was pregnant, and its still regularly used now.

Now I don't really want to bore you with the history of my digestive tract, but when I became pregnant with my first child I began to suffer from heartburn. Of course being pregnant you cannot take ordinary antacids such as Rennie, so my doctor prescribed Gaviscon. Which I ended up drinking by the bottle and forgetting about spooning it out.

Gaviscon is a thick liquid which seemed to calm my heartburn almost immediately. The original comes in aniseed flavour, which the first time I tried it, I thought, 'ewww'. After the second or third time it doesn't taste so bad, by now I actually like the taste. However, if I remember I try to ask the pharmacist for the mint flavoured version, which is much nicer.

The advert for Gaviscon shows firefighters spraying Gaviscon down a persons throat and coating the lining of the throat and stomach. And quite honestly, that's exactly how it feels, just like a fire is being put out, its such a lovely feeling, especially when heartburn has woken you up in the middle of the night.

Gaviscon is also available in capsule form now, which are handy for carrying around in your bag, at the moment I have a 500ml bottle at home, and the capsules to take out with me.

Compared to other heartburn relievers, Gaviscon can seem quite expensive. But as my heartburn problems have continued after both pregnancies ended I have tried other remedies. None of which have been a patch on Gaviscon, and all of which have left that chalky feeling in my mouth, and I feel like I might as well just buy a packet of chalk from the newsagents.

Luckily I get the Gaviscon on prescription from the GPs because a 250ml bottle costs £5.83 from Chemistdirect.co.uk, so the 500ml bottle I get would be around £10.

The tablets cost £3.71 for 32 tablets

Gaviscon is meant for adults or children aged over 12 years old. The bottle states that medical advice should be sought before giving it to children under 12.

You should also check with your doctor if you are taking any other medication for gastric problems. I was taking Omeprazole which has to be taken alone and even Gaviscon is not allowed. However, now I take Lansoprazole, so Gaviscon can be used but there must be a minimum of 30 minutes between taking the tablet and using the Gaviscon.

Summary: Well recommended.