Hi everyone
I have recently gone cold turkey on omeprazole
I am experiencing terrible stomach ache and acid reflux worse than what I had prior to commencing the medication.
Has anyone else experienced this.
Thank you in advance for your comments.
Jax x
My Dr told me you must not stop taking the medication suddenly ,you need to reduce it gradually ,perhaps discuss with your Dr best way to stop taking Omeprazole
What does your doctor say on longterm use of this medicine?
I have yet to find a way to be without something. I still take rantinidine twice a day, and the other day I had to take a 20 mg dose of omeprazole because I occasionally get this feeling like burning in my gullet, and feeling like food is just sticking. I am trying to cut back on sugar, carbs as best I can, hoping this might help, but I am really not sure I will ever be able to be free from this.
Yes and it's to be expected. The drug has been suppressing the amount of acid your stomach has been producing and now acid production is reverting to normal. If the problem for which you were taking the drug has not or cannot be resolved then the symptoms will return and may feel worse because your body has become used to the short term beneficial effects the drugs had. It's a difficult situation if, say, you are taking the drug for something that cannot (short of surgery) be resolved - a hiatus hernia, for example. What I would say is that it is possible to find dietary solutions to reduce acid reflux. It helps to lose weight so that excess weight around the middle isn't putting pressure on the stomach forcing acid back up into the gullet. Everyone will be different so far as food triggers but I found that chocolate and sugary foods (incuding alcohol) were the absolute worst and once I cut those out the acid reflux stopped and I could stop taking the drug.
I have read lots of negative reports about long term use of PPI drugs but I have tried to wean myself of them but was in such discomfort decided the amount of acid that was eating away at my stomach and gullet was probably doing me more harm than the medication . As for Dr,s advice the one Dr at The practice said I had been taking it for too long and wanted me to come off it and another Dr at the same practise increased my dose because of the damage the acid wad doing ,I think both have a point , I do think avoiding certain foods help and alcohol is a definite no
I was diagnosed by the gastro consultant that I had acid reflux. I have lost weight recently so thought it would be an ideal time to come off. Oh how wrong was I. Will have to step down to another med then come off that slowly.
Thank you for your help x
Yes, hopefully a slow reduction will work for you. Have you managed to find out which foods and drink trigger your reflux?
Thank you for your reply. Chocolate and spicy food cause my reflux. I am keeping well away from those food groups.
My stomach is feeling slightly better today and not had to take pain relief meds and I have also been out for a walk to help.
Thank you
Jackie x
I did this and it took about 10 days for my stomach to settle down. Have not taken omeprazole for nearly 3 months. Only minor acid reflux now. Ne blood in stool either.
I was on 30mg lanzoprezole for 12 weeks after having heartburn for 2 days , was constantly sick dizzy lethargic, jelly legs and extreme anxiety which I never had before, any way I quit them and it's been 7 weeks since I stopped, I'm still having awful withdrawal my stomach feels off every day like I have to feed it been on bland diet for 4 months and lost 3 stone, now I have developed reflux which I never had before , anyone else having these problems I'm beginning to thing I'll be like this permanently, plus my stools are yellow and loose!!
hi gilly, how are you feeling now? im having the same symptoms xx
I'm having the exact same issues, having to take time off work. I stopped taking 40mg 6 days ago. How long did it take you to feel better? Doctors seem to dismiss the idea of the symptoms i had when in the drugs and now what seems to be the withdrawal...
its now February 2021 and I'm still crap, still have yellow loose stools and cramping under breast bone, bad hunger pains 3 hrs after eating , had endoscopies and blood tests all come back normal , im at the end of my tether with all this now , probably have something called functional dyspepsia because I also developed viceral hypersensitivity, I can literally feel everything going on inside my guts including my stomach emptying!!, in other words im miserable, ppis are poison they have ruined my life ,I cannot work I have to eat every few hours , lost 4 1/2 stone , I also get lpr symptoms and feeling something stuck in my throat occasionally ,sorry for the rant but im so fed up of it all, my advice is not to go cold turkey off the pills like I did, but I was so ill on them I was eager to get off them, you must wean off them or you could end up like me, I have a friend who quit them cold turkey and she is still having a lot of issues nearly a year later like me , its hard to get the medical treatment at the moment because of Covid which makes it harder
Hi Gilly,
I was in somewhat of a similar situation almost 4 years ago. Had severe reflux, difficulty eating and even keeping food down. i didnt respond well to the PPI my GI doc it wasnt helping so he wanted to try doubljng the dose of prilosec. unfortunately it seemed to make my stomach pains worse, it iust felt like my food wasnt even being digested, so i had to stop it.. i was still desperate for relief so my PCP then put me on Zantac twice daily, and the H2 blocker really really helped. since the recall, i have switched to Pepcid and have been doing ok on it.. even though i did have a recent flare up and set back (due to my Dermatologist prescribing me Doxycycline for my acne, messed me up big time) and had to go on Panteprozole for 4 weeks. I am on my first day back on Pepcid, but since i dont want to rebound i am doubling my dose of Pepcid to 40 mg teice daily, then after a week im going to taper back to just 20 mg once daily and see how that goes now that my ulcer seems to have healed. it just takes time... and its really hard to be patient when youre in agony. it really does affect your quality of life when not under control, and i feel for you.
As for the LPR/coughing flare ups,I have that too. the acid starts to seep up into your sinuses. Since its cold and dry i sleep with a humidifier on a reg basis. i use warm wet rags to open up my pores, and do sinus irrigation on occasion. i am also a huge fan of nasal sprays. olive leaf nasal spray js my favorite and i swear by it. keep ur nasal passages clean and moist. Try sleeping elevated at an angle. Sometimes at night when im feeling rough and my stomach is cramping, ill take a really warm rag or hot water bottle and put it on my belly. calms things down. sometimes ill have herbal tea with manuka honey. manuka honey is good for healing ulcers. just gotta figure out ways to help you self sooth till you find out a way to get the symptoms under control. whatever works. see if H2 blocker helps you mean time, its over the counter and safer than PPI for long term use.
hope you feel better soon -jenn
hello, has anyone had breathing problems or backaches from omeprozole withdrawls? i stopped my meds (without researching if it was dangerous or not) about 3 weeks ago, at my doctors request, and my whole body has felt horrible ever since. i have since started back on it and am starting to feel better, but im still scared about my labored breathing ( i do feel better when lying down or drinking water) and back aches. Any input would help so much, thank you.
hi, how are you feeling now? i'm six days off lansoprazole and its bloody awful! i started on it about 4 months ago because i felt sick for a while and they said gastritis, then my asthma flaired up like never before and dr said due to the gastritis too! ive had to come off cold turkey to have some tests - felt so sick for several days but also massive reflux which i never had before! now i have the same as you in terms of sporadic back aches and also discomfort under my ribs, which I didnt have before either. Bl00dy pills!! hope you are doing much much better!
I stopped omeprazole,nexium cold turkey after 3 months in january 2021. I exoprienced huge flares of gastrin/lpr and hcl at the same time wich destroyed my sinuses. Inbetween the flares when sinuses heal they used to drain a salty discharge wich I had to swallow thus making my condition worse,the reflux sustaining the sinuses and vicecersa. I suffered tremeandously and still tried to go to work meanwhile. I learned that the best thing was to have only boiled veg,cabbage,brussel sprouts,carrot,broccoli and leafy greens. you have to start in low quantity and train your stomach with food as you would be a newborn.Unfortunately the fake hunger got to me around the end of march and gave up and had a lot of food in one go and took a few tabs of omeprazole. It was a big mistake. since then I've been on and off every couple of weeks :( Last week I stopped after 1 week intake of omeprazole and I pray to God now a few days later that it won't kill me as the side effects seemed to get worse with each intake of med and diet cheat. so I am forced to go back in withrawal,wich is very very hard,especially the lpr and the fact that I can't even smell a flower a candle or go into a shop where cleaning products are sold,you instantly go insane because of the sensitivity the acid gives you. I am afraid of cancer but I really don't want to take omeprazole again. It took me a few months to train my stomach to get like one flare day until I collapsed because of the fake hunger. I don't know what to do anymore,at some point the fake fatigue destroys me and my mind. this med really messes with your hormone levels. my doc thinks I'm crazy and just the other day prescribed 4 times a day 20 mg omeprazole. I prefer to die instead,I mean it. I think I'm ready to die than take it. I know in a few days the acids will destroy me again,I don't want to lose my job...I lost around 17 kilograms there is no more weight to lose I'm skin and bones. The only thing that works is severe diet,I'm afraid of the lpr,it is such a dramatic change in my life. I took this med for 12 weeks,is there anybody who managed to let it go cold turkey?
Hi, I've just started to wean myself off of Omeprazole 20mg, after being on it every day for approximately 22 years. For now, I'm taking it every other day with a Pepcid AC in between. I have been experiencing stomach pain once the Omeprazole wears off. (about 36-38 hrs after a dose). I really haven't had that heartburn feeling or rebound acid reflux yet & praying i don't. I will also share for whomever is interested, that Omeprazole has made me extremely anemic through the years. (shortness of breath, chest pains, extreme fatigue). I had to have a blood transfusion in the past due to the prolonged use. Since then, I've had to take iron supplements. Also, with being on Omeprazole for so long, I've gained a significant amount of weight. I feel its due to being able to overeat & feeling safe from acid reflux/heartburn because of the Omeprazole. I'm looking forward to a life of being off of it permanently. Good luck to all who are doing the same