A group of digestive disease drugs that relieve acid reflux and pain by suppressing the production of stomach acid.

These drugs are often called on to relieve gastrointestinal symptoms of scleroderma, if lifestyle and dietary changes aren't enough. You and your healthcare professional(s) may want to consider such H2 blockers as Tagamet, Zantac or Pepcid AC, which reduce stomach acidity. Prevacid or Prilosec (omeprazole), stronger acid reducers, are often needed in some cases.

These medications block the production of acid from the stomach. Examples are Tagamet(cimetidine), Pepcid (famotidine),Axid(nizatidine), and Zantac (ranitidine) etc.. These originally were developed and made available for use in the late 1970s. This group of medications is commonly used for treating ulcers and GERD. It is less effective in some patients for treating GERD. The dose of medication which is available in pharmacies without a prescription is approximately 1/2 of those used by physicians.