Hi all,
I ams o confused with all the things I am reading about Omeprazole. I have never suffered from any problems with acid/reflux untill 3 months ago. I started out with bloating and feeling sick, then awful reflux. Then It whent to awful pain in my upper adomen and feeling sick after eating. I started on 20mg of omeprazole and after 2 weeks after still struggling my doctor upped it to 40MG. After a few more weeks I started to feel some relief and I felt confident things were improving. I then whent down to 20mg again as i was feeling that 40mg was making me feel what I can only discribe as dried out. I was going okay then went 3 steps back with having reflux again. I started 40mg again a few days ago and i have noticed some foods are making me worse. I tested negative for celiac disease but i am testing removing gluten. I am finding after keeping a food journal that dairy products are making me feel worse.
I have been questioning if omeprazole are now casuing me additional problems. My doctor wouldnt have it..he said if i tried a lower dose he beleives I will get worse. He may well be right, but i cant help feeling that i am expereincing other things than when I started with it. The doctor thinks I have a duodenal ulcer. I have an endoscopy on sept! It seems ages away when trying to get hrough each day battling with these symtoms.
What other things can you try with it, can you try ranitidine? Or gaviscon? It says on the pack nothing. Its hard I dont want to expereince this build up of acid everyone is talking about.
Any ideas would be fantastic,thank you
sarah
Hi Sarah. Most people get some sort of side effect - the majority get headaches or cramps in the stomach but there are other things too. If you try to suddenly stop taking them you can get side effects because of coming off too quicky. They are a proton pump inhibitor 1 and there are other ones you can take in the same family of drugs which would maybe be better . Sometimes they give you proton pump inhibitors 2 instead, they sort of work in a simlar way. It is never wise to take them for years and it is always best to take minerals and vitamins because they deplete the vitamin b 12 and minerals etc in your system.
Hi thank you for your comment, I would never take them for years, I am three months in so by the time i go to the hosital it will be five. It's hard to know what to do with out a proper diagnosis. I do know for a few weeks I was feeling better and now I feel more restricted.
Hi there Sarah
Firstly, really sorry to hear of your problems. Reflux is horrible!
Some people hate ppis and some swear by them. I'm taking mine because I have a damaged oesophagus. They seemed to help at first but arent completely sorting the problem for me. Doctors seem to think that they are the answer to everything! What you might have experienced when cutting down was acid rebound. It's temporary - your body just over compensating for a while, so it may be worth persevering if you want to cut down and make lifestyle changes.
Have you tried raising the head of your bed on bricks or books? That helped me before I started the tablets, as did a spoon of Gaviscon Advance after meals and at beftime. I also cut right down on caffeine and upped the water I was drinking. Oh and not eating at least two hours before bed. Try a few of these things to see if they help. All free and relatively easy to do.
Ppis have their place, but to be honest, I kind of wish I'd never started mine. I had started to feel better by the time I had my endoscopy.
Sure there will be people along later who will hand out sound advice. Choose what's best for you. Reflux is quite a personal thing. Good luck x
Yes you do need a proper diagnosis otherwise you are whistling in the wind. But the medication is much the same for many of those illnesses anyway.
Stella is right, when you stop taking ppis your stomach becomes flooded with acid again for the first time and has to get over the shock and adjust to it. Unfortunately doctors usually do not understand this and a lot of patients take this to mean that they still need the ppis. Cutting down on caffeine is a good thing. Reflux is different for everyone so when people bang on about don't eat this and that they are telling you how it is for them and assuming you are the same.
Hi thank you for your response. I have not tried raising my head i will try that. I love the mornings as when i first wake up i feel great, its after the first bit of food that the symtoms show, which i supose in a strange way makes me feel better that if i woke up feeling this bad i would be more worried. I will persist witht he one and see how I go. I would like to take gaviscon but will check with the gp if this is okay. I am not drinking caffine, or having any thing spicy. My diet is extremely bland! I agree doctors do think they are the answer to everything, but my doctor doesnt entertain the idea of these side effects. That's why i am cautious about continuing on 40 mg a day. I dont have the problems that I started with so wondered if the higher dose has caused more harm than good. I am sure I will get there, thanks again x
If you take a good multi vitamin and mineral which includes calcium and a good amount of magnesium then you wont get mostor all of the side effects that can buld up with ppis.
About two years ago I started having bad heartburn and was prescribed Omeprazole. I took it for a few months and it did work to begin with but it got that I would take the capsule first thing in the morning and by mid-morning I had heartburn again. I read somewhere that to relieve it you should drink a tablespoon of VINEGAR! That was far too much for me so I started with a teaspoonful and it was miraculous - it went within seconds. I know that acid is supposed to cause the heartburn but if the muscle that closes off your stomach doesn't close properly the shock of the vinegar does it. An endoscopy showed that mine doesn't close as it should. I couldn't believe how quickly and effectively ivinegar worked (although my doctor's eyebrows shot up when I told her!). I also found that chewing gum makes you produce more saliva which worked while I was chewing it but I stopped that after deciding to try giving up milk. I used to have it on my cerials and now only have it in tea and coffee. I use soya or almond milk and the heartburn has gone, except when I use milk on my cerials when I get it back but just in a mild way. It might be worth you trying these "remedies".
Hi, I have heard this before, is it just standard vinegar, glas it worked for you 
Do you actually mean Vinegar or Cider Vinegar?
Did you take Malt or distilled vinegar?
Cider vinegar is often put forward as a remedy.
Mastic Gum is supposed to help
Bicarbonate soda is another remedy.
Hi Sarah, deffo ask about the Gavisvon Advance. It's not got any medicines in it - it's made from seaweed and forms a layer on top of your stomach contents so in theory the only thing that refluxes is the Gaviscon Advance. Mine was prescribed by my GP and my consultant. It even says on the bottle that it helps with acid rebound. At the moment it's the only thing keeping me sane as I'm having a terrible flare up. Much cheaper on prescription than buying it over the counter. Forgot to add to my list of stuff to do - try sitting up straight for half an hour after meals. That helps too x
Hi there...i suffered with a perforated duedenol ulcer in february of this year...i now have to take lazaprazole every day for a long time. I just wanted to say that if the doctors do suggest that you could possibly have one please do not take any aspirin or ibuprofen....you may have already been advised of this but i just wanted to let you know as these are bad to take if you an ulcer. I didn't even know i had an ulcer until it perforated and had to have emergency surgery...the only thing i had symptons wise was stomach bloating which was uncomfortable and i felt pretty run down and lethargic...two days before it perforated i experienced heart burn but not too severe and nausia. I hope your problem gets sorted soon.
A doctor said to me for chest pain if you are not sure if it is indigestion or a heart attack. Try a glass of bicarb. If you dont bring up a massive ammount of wind and feel better dial 999.
It's quite OK to take Gaviscon. Just avoid taking it two hours either side of your PPI.
I think that's just the gaviscon with antacids. This is fine whenever as it doesn't interact with anything
From the Gaviscon web site:
Yes, you can take Gaviscon® with other medications. Similar to antacids, however, Gaviscon® should not be taken within 2 hours of other medications"
Also:
if you have taken Gaviscon® for more than two weeks, or if your symptoms return. If you require additional information, please call us at 1-888-366-7475.... US number"
" However, do not take Gaviscon® if you suffer from kidney disease, except under your doctor’s advice"