I've never taken regular ALA, but since I started RLA a year ago, I've never experienced anything like that. I have gotten a little heartburn on occasion, but mild and temporary.

Keep in mind that you'll only be taking approx. 1/6 the amount. It's not so much that it's "stronger"; it just doesn't have the part you can't use. If you're getting the stabilized form, I would think it would be even less of a problem; perhaps the reason you had the problem was that yours went bad or partially decomposed(?) (That's just a WAG).

Doc