In response to an FDA statement made public over the weekend, Capital Digestive Care is advising its patients to switch from Zantac and other over-the-counter heartburn medications containing ranitidine. “The FDA is still investigating but out of an abundance of caution, we are advising our patients to switch to an alternative medication, such as famotidine, which does not contain the agents in question,” says Dr. Michael Weinstein, Capital Digestive Care President and CEO. Famotidine, sold under the brand name Pepcid, is comparable in its effectiveness and Dr. Weinstein notes “20mg of Pepcid is the approximate equivalent to 150mg of Zantac.” Patients on prescription medications containing ranitidine should contact their doctor’s office using the patient portal. If you do not have a portal account, please contact your doctor’s office by phone.
The FDA is still investigating its findings. Read the FDA statement.