Quiting Nexium cold turkey!!!!

Oh, and one more quick thing. I always eat lots of coconut oil in my diet because it's incredibly healthy for you. But one of the things it does is speed up gastric emptying. I am trying to eat a tablespoon with each meal to speed up the digestive process and I KNOW this is helping. It's good for you, and it helps get that food outta that stomach. I recommend the Nutiva brand. I have read that delayed gastric emptying is one of the culprits of reflux disease. Makes sense to me....

Here is a yummy concoction. Heat up some milk (whole is preferable)....put in a tablespoon of raw honey, and one tablespoon of the coconut oil. Mix well. It is DELICIOUS. I've replaced having that for coffee in the morning. But you can have that with every meal.....it works!

Do the research on Coconut Oil yourself. I think you'll feel quite comfortable with that statement -)

Have a "happy" day.

So HAPPY for you Joy! Congrats. You must be hugely relieved. Since my system is still uber-sensitive, I am going to work on the Nexium weaning first, and then start supplementing. I am so sensitive to everything I put in, I am trying to be cautious. I had a very bad experience day one with too many supplements. It was like WWIII! I won't make that mistake again.

Wow, 9 years...you too?! Well, there is hope for me. I will have a workup with my GI doc soon to determine what the long-term damage has been (if any)...hopefully I can avoid the surgery. I am on "Day 3" and doing amazingly well. I got through last night really well, and today, so far so good. The cider is working really well for me when things get bad (i.e. super acidic stomach, I get immediate relief)....but the whole regimen is working....cider, apples, coconut oil, low carbs, and raw honey. Wish I had figured this out long ago!

I have to say, I am pretty embarrassed. I am a Nurse, and I have a pretty extensive background/education in nutrition, and a reasonable base in alternative/homeopathic medicine. Duh.....just don't know how I could have let this go on for so long. I trusted my docs when I should have been paying closer attention. That won't happen again. Lesson definitely learned

Wendy

Kimber, try using Coconut oil in your diet for the delayed emptying. I would imagine you might experience some rather immediate relief. I did. Coconut oil has MCTs (medium chain tryglycerides). You can do a search to see why these are highly beneficial to your body (many, many studies out there to support this). Great for your skin and hair as well

I cook all meats, and eggs in the oil (it is a soft solid at room temp and melts very quickly when heated). It is the ONLY oil I now use in my diet. It's great in warm milk (with honey), you can put it in yoghurt, pudding, smoothies, and there are many recipe books out there....I try to take a TBS with each meal. Something for you to try anyway. It's all trial and error for each of us.....definitely a process.

Good luck!

Yikes! Thanks for the warning Joy... I appreciate the heads up. I will keep you posted!

I am just wondering if any of you have ever suffered migraines? I started getting migraines, literally out of the blue, just after I started the Nexium. My docs have NEVER been able to figure out what the cause has been. The migraines do seem to be weather-related (for instance, it snowed this weekend in Boise, and I was miserable!)....But I just think it's seems too much of a coincidence that I was migraine-free prior to the Nexium.

Just wondering if anyone else has had headaches? I have to take Immitrex when they're really bad....and Topamax daily to stave them off (this reduced them from about 20 times a month to 5). But Topamax kills my short term memory....just devastates it. I want to get off these drugs next.

Good luck Rafael and keep us posted. It must be frustrating to be post-surgery and have your stomach gnawing at you again. I too, find that when I am hungry, is when things get the worst. I am on "Day Four" now...and Joy was right....late last night...things started to get really bad like she predicted. How weird. This morning is better. I am hoping for a better day, but counting on nothing. What a horrible battle this is....

I wanted to make a comment Raphael, on your Mom, who you say has been on PPIs for 20 years. Does she have regular blood work done? I am just curious. It is highly likely that she is deficient in some vitamins and minerals (and even possibly anemic) after using PPIs for so many years. Without stomach acid, the body simply cannot extract vitamins from food (this is well documented). Also, there are many studies suggesting there is a direct link between a lack of stomach acid (i.e. long term use of PPIs) and arthritis. My own Mother had a vagotomy (where they cut the vaga nerve directly which secretes stomach acid).....and she has had little to no stomach acid for over 50 years! She is hugely osteoarthritic now, and has had two hip and two knee replacements. This is just something to watch out for. B-12 however is the vitamin that my research has shown can become depleted over many years of low to no stomach acid, and this can become very dangerous to one's health (a lack of B-12 can also cause anemia, which is what I found out I had in my last physical, and has led me to this whole desire to get off the PPIs for good). They can do blood tests (outside the normal chem 7) that can determine B-12 stores. It might be a good idea for your Mom to have that done. A potential therapy for her also to consider might be injectable vitamins. Not sure where she lives, but many Osteopaths do these treatments. A weekly or bi-monthly B-12 or multi-vitamin shot might be highly beneficial for her. It would be IM (intramuscular)....completely bi-passes the GI track and goes straight into the muscle....completely and immediately available for use by the body. Just something to think about, or at the very least, for ANY long-term PPI user to keep an eye on. Personally, I just found a very good source in Switzerland for injectable vitamins and have ordered Vit C and B-12 (I am a Nurse so will self-inject). I know I am particularly deficient in these two areas after long-term PPI use. I cannot wait for them to get here. I have a lot of building up to do.

Hi all,

I wanted to tell you about my experience getting off Nexium after taking it for 10 years.  I quit cold turkey.  The first couple of weeks were hard, but never impossible.  I could tell that my body was adjusting.  I started taking a tbsp of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water 3 times a day.  I eat a very healthy diet -- lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, no red meat, greek yogurt etc.  I stay away from chocolate and tomatoes at night.  I try not to eat a big meal at the end of the day.  And I sleep on my left side only.  The way your stomach is situated, if you sleep on your back or right side, it will dump acid.

After feeling sub par for a week or so, I was able to drink 2 cups of coffee in the am with no ill effects.  The vinegar helps relieve the gas -- which you will burp up -- but you feel so much better.

I consulted my internist after I had been doing this for 2 weeks.  I told him that doctors put you on these drugs, but don't tell you how to get off.  He said that it is because they dont know how.  He said I was doing fine, and to do what I could tolerate.  I know what that burning sensation feels like, and I have not had it.

By the way, my doctor did a ton of blood tests on me and said my blood values were great. 

So, I feel I am well on my  way (a month) to never taking these drugs again.  I would prefer to sleep on my right side, and I awaken after each sleep cycle (1 hour 45 minutes) but that is a small sacrifice to not taking these drugs.

I would love to hear any other tips people may have, and their success with staying off Nexium. 

 

I have been on Nexium for over 2 years and I am trying to come off now. I had been taking 40mg pills, which is the norm, but asked my doctor to prescribe 20mg pills for me to reduce the amount before I just quit taking them. It has worked just fine for me. My pharmacist cautioned against it and said that almost nobody takes the 20 mg pills. On the few occasions when I have tried to just stop the 40mg cold turkey, I would have excrutiating pain and burning and each time it took me a few days in bed (or in the bathroom with diahrea) to get regulated on the Nexium again. So now that I've been on the 20mg for a few months I am about to start skipping a day between pills. I am hoping this will work!

Hello all,

After 20 years of taking Prilosec/Nexium I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I was told not to stop Nexuim and that the Nexium had nothing to do with loosing bone density. I went home from the doctor's office just livid and stop taking the meds. It's only been a week and yes I feel sick to my stomach all the time but my bones feel stronger, they don't ach and I'm not as tired as I had been in the past.

I'm going to try Marieke's approach and maybe I'll get some relief too!

 

Marieke it has been a few years now, I would like to know how you're getting along without Nexium.

 

Thanks!

 

You need to take a calcium supplement for your bones.

Thanks to Boisegal for the recipe of milk, honey, and coconut oil- I also am cooking with coconut oil and using it instead of butter. It has helped a lot with my digestion.
April

APRILPARIS

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  I am sorry to read of your dx but it does concern me that you went off your meds "cold turkey".  You did not say whether you made this decision under the guidance of your physician.  If you are doing much better and your Dr. agrees it is safe for you to stop the PPIs then work with him on a weaning process when discontiuing a medications.

Choose a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Not eating vitamin-rich foods may make it difficult for your body to heal your ulcer. Always be alert to symptoms that may indicate you are having a recurrence of your problem.

Keep us updated as to your progress if you like......post anytime with questions or just sharing...our members are all dealing with similar issues, and like to hear about individual experiences from everyone.

 

Kindly,

Kitt