http://health.msn.com/healthnews/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100151000>1=8816
Note that even people who are skeptical about the findings of this one study admit that these drugs are over-prescribed and prescribed for too long. A lady I work with told me that they had just put her on Nexium, I think it was, for the fullness and pressure she's having in her stomach, even though her endoscopy didn't show any signs of acid damage. No one thought to tell her to try OTC gas relief pills first!!! I told her to try those and see if they didn't help. She's a bit reluctant to take the acid reducer anyways, since she doesn't have heartburn, and I told her that a previous study found that people on those acid reducers are more likely to develop intestinal problems--like catching c. difficile; they think that stomach acid may be what helps kill bad bacteria and keep you regulated. Seems that stomach acid is good for a number of things.