Heartburn Questions & Answers at Walgreens

I’ve mentioned my issue with esophageal spasms on here before, and although it is sporadic, it is still something I find I have trouble with from time to time, although I’ve developed coping strategies that usually keep it from getting out of control. This happens when acid splashes up the esophagus and causes spasms which, at its worst, causes unbearable pain that has put me in the emergency room. When it first started happening in 2008, my doctor ran tests and eventually told me that he thought stress was the main trigger. I began to realize that when I was upset or worried, my chest would begin to feel terribly tight. Once I realized this, I worked hard to try and take a step back when I felt this coming on and make every reasonable effort to relax and put on a heating pad to avoid it turning into a full-on attack.

For the most part, this coping strategy has worked well and made it a manageable, more occasional problem. But it can still rear its ugly head when I’m under a great deal of pressure – this summer has been so extraordinarily busy that back in June, I had a week where I was getting attacks again and actually had to make an appointment with my doctor to check in. He made some medication suggestions and also mentioned Prilosec for esophageal spasm flare-ups, since acid reducers can help when I have a period where it’s acting up. I’ve been trying to keep an eye on the problem since then, because this summer is so packed for me that it’s overwhelming. I want to do all I can to prevent myself from having another bad period of these horrific spasms!

So when I heard about the new Walgreens 24/7 Pharmacy Chat, I was intrigued. This free service connects you to a pharmacist online who can answer general medication questions, just like a face-to-face meeting with a pharmacist. Not only is this convenient, but because it’s available 24 hours a day, I can see this being a real help for those times when I have a medication question on the weekend or another inconvenient time. I don’t know about you, but it seems like my health emergencies always seem to happen at 2 AM!

I thought I’d pop on the 24/7 chat and see if the Walgreens pharmacist would have any additional input on my esophageal spasm issues. I’ve researched my condition extensively, but I find that it’s always helpful to consult with doctors and pharmacists when I get a chance, in case I can glean some new nugget of information that might help me.

Using the chat is pretty easy – you just register or login to your Walgreens account and fill in some brief information to access the Answers Balance Rewards. This not only gives you access to the pharmacy chat, but gives you a Balance Rewards number that you can use to save money in the store. Score! Once I was signed up, I opened a chat window and asked the pharmacist I was connected to if he had any suggestions of preventative measures I could take other than what I’m already doing. He confirmed that OTC acid reflux treatments are really the extent of what can be done on your own to treat this issue, so between that and seeing my doctor, I’m on top of everything I can do at the moment. Since I had run out of acid reducers, I thought it would be a good idea to pick up a few boxes to keep on hand for any bumpy weeks I might have through the rest of the summer. To see the full transcript from my chat along with what I picked up at Walgreens, click here to view my Google+ album.

I headed to Walgreens last week to pick up some heartburn items, and I picked up these great digestive health pamphlets that included basic information about heartburn and other gastrointestinal issues, along with coupons for the items I was there to buy! Most of the info in the leaflet were things I was already aware of, although they did mention some interesting facts about how common OTC heartburn treatments work which I found insightful.

The pharmacist I chatted with online reiterated the Prilosec recommendation that my doctors have made, so I picked up a box of generic Omeprazole that was on sale. The Walgreens pharmacist also mentioned Prevacid, which is one of the very few acid reducers that I haven’t tried yet, so I picked up two bottles of that as well as I’m interested to see how it will compare to the other OTC heartburn treatments I’ve used. I have a crazy two weeks ahead of me, so I’ve actually started taking the Omeprazole already as a precaution – anything I can do to be aware of and reduce triggers is a good thing!

And it’s not just heartburn – there are Walgreens answers (And coupons!) for a slew of common health ailments. If you’re interested in reading these tips, snagging some money-saving offers or taking advantage of the online pharmacy chat, then check out Walgreens.com, @Walgreens on Twitter and the Walgreens Facebook page for additional details!

Have you ever dealt with severe acid reflux?