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Long term PPI usage?

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Posted 12/8/2008 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
I was just wondering how long many of you have been on a PPI?  Is this a medication that you will have to take forever?  I have been on Prilosec for over a year now and early this year I forgot to take it for a week and I thought I was dying!  My stomach hurt so bad and I was super nauseas.  But before I was put on Prilosec, I would have sporadic nausea and that horrible lump like feeling in your throat/chest area and difficulty swallowing - it was bad but not THAT bad.  Since the episode early in the year, I now know that I may never get off it.  I can't help but wonder now if I am going to be dependant on this med for the rest of my life.  Do you feel that by starting a PPI for mild symptoms now left you dependant on it?  Has anyone successfully weaned off one? 
Posted 12/8/2008 10:59 PM (GMT 0)

That is exactly how I got hooked! It started with mild symptons, and I was prescribed Prilosec and Nexium even though tests were inconclusive. Have you had a test for reflux? That should be where you begin. PPI drugs can be very beneficial to someone who has gerd and is at risk of future complications, but unless that is you, you will be better served searching for a permanent solution instead of a quick fix.

PPI drugs have a way of covering things up and making you feel invinceable. But, they can lose their effectiveness down the road and leave you much worse off than you were before you started them.

Make sure that you have had a reflux test and endoscopy BEFORE you take matters into your own hands.

Cheers!

Posted 12/8/2008 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
No, I've never had an endoscopy but I have my 2 year colonoscopy coming up in a few months so I might ask my GI if he can do the endo too while I'm under. When I first started having symptoms of reflux I told my GI and he put me on Prilosec because I was eating alot of antacids with very little relief. So since then, I've been sort of "stuck" on a PPI and you're right, it does make things much better. What is a reflux test?
Posted 12/10/2008 4:34 AM (GMT 0)

hi im dependent on PPIs for my LPR and it still dosnt fix it completely, im on other stuff to.........anyway i know three people who have been on PPI from 7-10years (all on losec)  and they are fine no issues no long term effects nothing........and they all have a long life ahead of them yet. im however 37 so im not sure about being on these for another 40 years or so............im hoping that in five years or so that there will be a cure for LPR thats more effective and not so much drug related!!!!!!!

ness

Posted 12/10/2008 5:22 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Sherry,

You may want to check out this thread too  :)

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=1301653

Take care and nice to see you.

Kitt

Posted 12/11/2008 6:00 AM (GMT 0)
hey. i've been on prevacid 30mg 2x a day for 5 years now. I do get the side effects of polyps from it, and when I have my endoscopy every 2 years, my doctor just removes them. I tried going down on the dosage, but the reflux was too bad. Now, I think that i've gotten used to it, since it doesn't really work as much anymore, and i'll probably have to up the dosage. My doctor said that i'll be on it for life, not just for the reflux, but to help heal and prevent more eroding of my esophagus. I guess I'll be taking them for a while, since i'm 18 now, and i've been on it since I was 13.
Posted 12/11/2008 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on Nexium going on 6 years now and so far I haven't had many side affects...At least that I am aware of? When I first went to the doctor, he just put me on Nexium, without the EGD...about 2 months ago I had a piece of food get stuck in my esophagus and I had to have a EGD to get it out, while in there he did a biopsy and confirmed I had Esophagitis...and also something called Schlotzsky's ring, which is supposedly caused by scare tissue build-up from Acid Reflux...My doc tells me I will be on this for the rest of my life.

I would definitely go to your doc and get his opinion and even a scope...Good luck.
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