Taking Prevacid Longterm

Ok, so with the advice of the pharmacist, I decided to take a 14 day dose of 24 hr Prevacid 20mg because she said she felt the Famotidine (generic of pepcid) I was prescribed was a very low dosage. OMG, it felt sooo good not to have heartburn for those 2 weeks. Sadly, it seems my heartburn has returned. I've had it for the past 3 days now. It does come and go and doesn't stay terribly long each time. According to the Prevacid bottle, it says not to take a 14 day dose more than every 4 months, yet I've seen people on here post being on it for a long time. So how come the box says not to take it nonstop, yet many seem to do so?

Prevacid®24HR is indicated for the treatment of frequent heartburn, which occurs 2 or more days a week. Use as directed for 14 days. You may repeat one 14-day course every 4 months or as directed by your doctor.

Is it safe to take longterm or not? What's the point of only taking it for 14 days only to have your heartburn return for the 4 months before your next treatment? I'm so confused! Any recommendations?

Well, I will simply post something I had wrote up at the beginning of February.

I took Doxycycline Hyclate for 10 days after being prescribed it at the ER for what the doctor said he thought was a "Flu-like virus". I started taking this medicine on January 7th and ended it on the night of January 16th. Took twice a day. 100mg tablets. On the 3rd day, I was taking one of the pills and it felt like it got stuck in my throat. Took a few hours, but the feeling finally went away. On January 18th (2 days after completing the round of antibiotics), I started having chest pains after bending down and was having horrible body chills that kept me from going to sleep, so I went to the ER. The ER doc said it sounded like Acid Reflux and gave me a prescription for Famotidine which I never did start taking because the pain went away as soon as I got to the ER, as always. Fast forward to Tuesday, the 29th. At around 1pm my chest started hurting really badly. Straight down the middle of my breasts. It was so bad, I almost pulled over. Instead, i went to the ER, yet again. They did X-Rays and an ultrasound on my stomach to rule out gallstones and said it could possibly be my gall bladder not working, would have to do more tests to rule that out. it's been 3 days now that I've been taking the Famotidine, and while I'm not having as bad of pains, my chest still hurts, my throat feels like something is stuck in it, and my chest hurts worse right after I eat something (literally 5 seconds after I eat). While I was chalking it up to acid reflux, that medicine doesn't appear to be fixing the issue and now that I've read some of the posts on another forum about doxycyclate, I'm seriously thinking it's a side effect of the doxycyclate. Can a side effect take this long to get serious and do you all think it could actually be from this medicine? It didn't start until shortly after taking it, as you can see. Any suggestions?


Update: I called a pharmacist at Wal-Mart last night to get her opinion on it...she said even if the pill had gotten stuck in my throat, it would've desolved by now and she said she also believes it's acid reflux and recommended taking Prevacid because what the doctor prescribed me
(Famotidine) was a very mild symptom reliever. Andddd...after going online and finding a support
forum, I asked all this information and even they said they thought it was GERD as well. Heartburn/
chest pain/lump in throat are all symptoms of GERD. Soooo...I went out last night...bought some
dang Prevacid...$18 for 14 pills (1 a day). Gonna start them this morning...however, as usual...I wake
up THIS morning and the lump is gone and there is no chest pain. After 3 frickin days of it!!!! Bleh.
Still gonna take it though just to make sure it doesn't come back.

So now, while taking the Prevacid, the symptoms were completely gone and I felt great! I've been off the meds now for about 3 days and I'm having heartburn...not chest pain, just heartburn. I have no medical insurance (can't afford it), so I have no choice but to take advice from people who have had the same issues I have. While I know this forum is not a place for medical advice, I do know that the issues were gone while taking that Prevacid.

Please see my previous posts on this forum as well...

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2633407

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2634855

I understand that completely and I did have a nurse ask me if they had ever done one of those, which they have not. But my issue isn't having the things done, it's having the insurance/money to have those things done. Sadly, we live in a country where insurance isn't cheap and the only jobs out there are part time. Who can afford insurance on 20 hours a week at minimum wage? I just don't know what to do. :(

No, I can't get assistance. They say I make too much. Not sure how that's possible, but whatever. Most doctors want a certain amount of money up front, usually around 100-200 dollars depending on what you're there for. I just don't ever have that much money at one time. I have bills to pay. And yea, I know it'd be cheaper now than later, but I have no choice.

I don't understand why you can not take prevacid for longer that two weeks if it helped. You can do that with not problem even if it says that you can only use it for 14 days. All doctors do is prescribe you higher doses for longer time. You shouldn't be afraid to take it until the irritation heals. I took ppis three years ago for a few months until the irritation healed and the I was able to stop them and not take anything for two years. Until I started taking ibuprofin again and I was stupid and not careful and it gave me reflux again that this time is very hard to stop.

If the prevacid helped, just go with it. I learned that doctors with all their expensive tests (that I did) all they will do is prescribe you ppis, either otc or prescription strength.

Hi CarolinaAngel,
Sorry to hear you don't have insurance...that's rough, I know I'm sure even OTC Prevacid is very expensive for you. This is the thing, though. Ideally you'd be seen by a GI doctor, but at this point you don't have insurance, so you can't. The PPI helps you. If you can afford to continue taking it, I would suggest you do that until you have an opportunity to see a GI doc.

Of course, you can take it for the two weeks recommended and see if things get back to normal for you, but if you truly have GERD, chances are you will need to continue. If you can go off and on, you could avoid the rebound issue (when you take it nonstop for quite a while, when you go off you get more acid.), but if you can't, you can't.

Until you get under the care of a GI doc, you'll have to do what works, and if it makes you feel better, then it's protecting your esophagus, which is important.

Google "GERD triggers", and stay away from foods that cause you reflux. Elevate the head of your bed by putting blocks or books under the legs. This will help keep acid in your stomach at night (using gravity), when it's likely to travel up your esophagus.

Read this document that provides information about the best way to take PPIs and get the most out of them:
www.practicalgastro.com/pdf/January07/Jan07FrankArticle.pdf

If you need to take PPIs to protect your esophagus and feel comfortable, in my opinion, that's what you should do. I started taking them probably 17 years ago, am 60, and my bones have hung in there just fine. And I have double whammy...I have to take steroids for asthma.

Increase your calcium and vitamin D intake...eat foods high in calcium. Generally eat a healthy diet. You could also take a general vitamin supplement...it couldn't hurt, as long as it doesn't bother your stomach.

It's important that you find a way to heal your esophagus and stomach, so you can get comfortable. If you need Prevacid or Protonix long-term so be it. Many do. I hope that one day soon you'll be able to see a GI doc and get the kind of care you deserve.

Good luck!
Denise