HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Alternatives to PPI's

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic locked
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 11 12
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 4/24/2014 8:40 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't have a hiatal Hernia last time I was checked years ago. Who knows what is going on now but I guess I will find out. thanks for the info regarding the nexium coupon I will check it out. I use Publix Pharmacy so maybe they will take it along with my insurance. Yes, we do have Walgreens also here. I am in South Florida. Where are you? I wish I had mentioned to the doctor about using the nexium the last time I saw him but I wanted off it so badly so maybe he thought I just wanted to change PPI's go figure!!!
Posted 4/24/2014 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
I'm in North Carolina!!!
Posted 4/25/2014 1:45 PM (GMT 0)

imlily said...
Has anyone on this group tried to get off a PPI' after long term use? I understand it cannot be done cold turkey. I have been surfing the Internet for information on how to get off. I have been taking one for over 10years now and I am feeling the same symptoms now taking Nexium as I did when it all began. Today I am really sick with nausea, dizzy and off balance and don't want food. I wish I had been more proactive into looking at this years ago but I felt 'Safe'. Has anyone tried digestive enzymes, raw apple cider vinegar, dgl licorice or betaine hci. I would be interested in hearing if any of it worked for anyone. Thanks lily

I wanted to chime in after noticing this thread has become lengthy.

Long story short, I've been on PPIs for 15 years and scheduled surgery on January 7th of this year. I canceled a week out because I thought I would give it a go to reduce or eliminate my PPI dependancy.

There have been ups and downs. I was on Dexilant eventually and then weaned down to 2 Zantac 150mg a day. I dealt with bouts of nausea that I had never experienced. I tried very hard to understand if a food or drink was a primary cause. I also tried Betaine HCI and digestive enzymes (and ACV (gross), and many other supplements) and feel like neither did much good. Not drinking coffee seemed to help a bit, & eliminating gluten and dairy seemed to help. Beer will give me a headache, even just 1. Wine and Vodka is slightly tolerable as long as it's just 1 drink. Mutiple drinks causes extreme nausea the day after. I never did a full elimination diet.

I've been back on PPIs for the last 2 months taking 2 Prilosec a day and currently dealing with extreme nausea so going back on Dexilant to hopefully curb that.

I plan on doing an elimination diet of gluten, dairy, corn, coffee to see if 1 specifically makes it worse. If I can't come to a conclusion on what's specifically causing this, I am probably going to reschedule my surgery. (just hope I don't have to have the manometry again (that was brutal).

Just wanted to chime in.
Posted 4/25/2014 2:20 PM (GMT 0)
Didn't take anything last night before bed and had only slight amount of acid in the throat when I woke up this morning. Didn't feel anything through the night so that is a good sign. Once I got up and started moving around the slight acid feeling went away. Made my morning juice and came to work and haven't had any heartburn yet. Going to see how things are after I eat lunch, but so far so good. If things continue down this path for the next few days to a week then I will officially be medication free for GERD, but I won't consider that until it's been at least a week without any heartburn. I'm off to a good start though. I'll post how I feel about an hour or so after lunch as that will tell me if this may work or not today. I'll be gone for the weekend again so hopefully I'll post on monday that I'm still medication free. We'll see.
Posted 4/25/2014 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Paleoman welcome to the group. yes, it is a very difficult job getting of a PPI especially after long term use. If you have read more of the messages on here you can see most everyone is struggling and it really takes a while. I switched from 40mgs of Nexium to 20mgs Prilosec in one jump and that was six weeks ago and I am still having some very bad days but I also have some good ones as well. Today is a good one. I want to get off the PPI's eventually but I am going very slowly. Yes, you have to watch your food and certainly alcohol of any sort would not do you any good at all. I also suffer badly with nausea some days although I have changed my diet drastically.

Javery, I am so happy for you and hope that you can move on forward so that you no longer having to take any meds at all. Keep on posting and let us know how you are doing. I need you for my encouragement as well.
Posted 4/25/2014 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
I am happy to say that I do not have any heartburn after an hour of eating lunch so that is good news. I'm hoping for good results throughout the weekend and will post an update on monday when I can as to how my weekend went. If it's anything like today has been so far, then I'm thinking it'll be a good weekend. Hope you all have a good weekend and continue to improve and have progress with your transition.
Posted 4/25/2014 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
That's great news javery!!! Have a good weekend!!!
Posted 4/27/2014 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Paleoman, what kind of surgery are you considering?

I have been on PPI’s for close to 2 years and believe PPI’s cause many of the problems they are supposed to cure. I’m in day 11 of a drastic limited organic ‘detox/cleanse’ with a holistic doctor, as I no longer trust mainstream medicine.

Even on this restricted diet where I can eat only organic vegetables, free-range beef and chicken and must drink 1 gallon of water (spring or distilled) daily (almost impossible), I still have nausea and it was especially bad when I tried to stop using acid controllers. I was ready to shoot myself! So, I started on Zantac yesterday … I took one 75mg and within a couple of hours, it took the edge off. I bought some Zantac 150mg and took one last night at bedtime.

This morning, the nausea wasn’t as bad as it has been. I was told by this doctor that my ileocecal valve was open and was allowing toxic material from my large intestine to back up into the small intestine and that is why I’ve been so sick. He manually ‘closed’ the valve and it’s been staying closed. (He’s also a chiropractor and can locate this valve on the body; press on it to close it). I don’t know yet whether to believe him or not as I don’t feel any better but he says it will take time to clean out all the toxins from all the crap I’ve been taking to relieve the acid reflux.

Paleoman, I hope you can avoid any surgery as I researched surgery for myself and ruled it out because it has a low success rate, can leave you worse off and is a LAST RESORT. Try to be sure what the source of acid reflux is before having ANY surgery.

I regret having my gall bladder out in Dec. 2009. Doctors said this was causing my acid reflux. They were WRONG. I’ve been worse off without a gall bladder. When the hida scan test reveals a gall bladder is not functioning well, there are ‘cleanses’ that can be used to remedy the situation. Wish I had known THEN what I know NOW.

I have another 9 days to go on this ‘detox’ and I will report back at that time. Best to you all!
Posted 4/27/2014 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Good morning Forum . Hello Lilly I am back from the short visit to Melbourne , we really needed more time , a couple of weeks is not enough. while we were there I took somac every day because I didn't want any attacks but due to too much alcohol one night and an onset of glutony I hooked into a couple of Hamburgers , I am still not quite used to my new false teeth so they were no where near chewed up properly , just virtually shoved down my throat causing great pain and distress at about 0200 after I woke up from my drunken pass out ( I reckon it was those soft bread buns that caused the problem rather than the meat ) so I had another somac and sat upright in a chair in the bloody dark quietly groaning and waiting for the pain to go away , it took about two or three hours and I got back to sleep around 0530 only to be woken again at 0730 so that I would be ready to go to visit the relations and look at babies and cousins ....and dogs etc. etc. then lunch and wine ....oh boy big day but no more attacks I was very careful for the rest of the holiday. There was a short period of stress as well , a Cyclone was being watched up near our home in the north , we new before we left that it was coming but the tracking reports had it moving across the top of Cape York and nearer to Thursday Island but it slipped down and came out at the back of our area as a category 1 storm instead of the Cat. 5 they thought it was going to be ...big sighs of relief all round . Since we have come I haven't had any somac , I don't want to take anymore if I can manage without it but tonight I had a bit of pain and discomfort ,luckily the blended up apple I had in the fridge has chased it away......touch wood. Any way I think I have taken up enough of this Forums time and space so anon for now and thanks for reading the ....ummm ..diatribe ???? blush
Posted 4/27/2014 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Linda Sue. Does this mean you are completely off the Nexium? Are you feeling any better other than the nausea. That is the one thing I find so hard to cope with. I still get it on and off. I see that Nexium is coming out with an OTC sometime this week. Yeah more and more people can now have a PPI without a prescription. One in three people take PPI's or some sort of acid suppressant. It goes to show what a bad diet we have. Keep on posting on your journey so we will know how you are doing.

Phineas welcome back. Sound like you had a good trip although the hamburgers and alcohol are not really going to help your situation. Is it worth it then to feel terrible afterwards.
Posted 4/27/2014 7:37 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, lily, I am off the PPI's. I stopped Nexium about 2 weeks ago and replaced it with Prevacid. Not much difference but without SOMETHING, I was miserable. I refuse to take any more PPI's. I'll use the Zantac 150mg while on this 'detox'. I'm hoping the nausea might lessen with an H2 blocker versus PPI.

Does anyone have shortness of breath or weakness of the vocal cords? I'm finding this to be a scary issue and wonder if acid has destroyed my lungs and vocal cords ...

I find that if I have a conversation at a normal voice volume, within a few minutes, I get breathless and have to lower my voice and take more breaths between words. Then my throat is sore for a day or so. This makes me wonder if something else is going on.

I also notice that after I ingest ANYTHING, my whole chest hurts!

Anyone else have these afflictions?
Posted 4/27/2014 7:59 PM (GMT 0)

Linda Sue said...
Paleoman, what kind of surgery are you considering?

Even on this restricted diet where I can eat only organic vegetables, free-range beef and chicken and must drink 1 gallon of water (spring or distilled) daily (almost impossible), I still have nausea and it was especially bad when I tried to stop using acid controllers. I was ready to shoot myself! So, I started on Zantac yesterday … I took one 75mg and within a couple of hours, it took the edge off. I bought some Zantac 150mg and took one last night at bedtime.

Paleoman, I hope you can avoid any surgery as I researched surgery for myself and ruled it out because it has a low success rate, can leave you worse off and is a LAST RESORT. Try to be sure what the source of acid reflux is before having ANY surgery.

Nissen Fundoplication was what I had scheduled. It's the gold standard and it actually has a very high success rate. I believe 80%.

Good luck with your restricted diet. I honestly think that anyone who has been on PPIs longer than 10 years will never be able to go completely off PPIs or H2 (unless you possibly have the discipline of a buddhist monk).

Re: Zantac - As I weaned off PPIs I eventually landed on 2, 150mg zantac a day. While this did help for awhile, Zantac will eventually fail as the body gets used to it. If you research this, you'll find it's true. They say 2 weeks but Zantac lasted a couple months for me but after that it stopped working and I had to resort to Prilosec 2x a day. If I could get away with taking Prilosec 1x a day I would not have surgery. The last couple days I got back on Dexilant because the nausea was so bad but I'm already feeling the muscle aches that Dexilant or high doses of PPIs cause me.

Anyways, I'm going to give an elimination diet 1 more shot and then possibly have the surgery.
Posted 4/28/2014 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
paleoman, How long had you been trying to wean off the dexilant? It is not an easy process. Were you diagnosed with Gerd 15 years ago? I sympathize with you regarding the nausea. I suffer from it and I know it is absolutely miserable. What have you tried when you feel like that. ginger tea is good, chewing gum after meals helps and I have used Pepto bismal as well but I try to use the more natural things if I can. I don't know where you are but in the store here there is a tea called 'stomach ease' and it really helps me.
Posted 4/28/2014 3:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hello lilly . Yes I know the burgers are not the right tucker for me but sense goes out the window when I am on the outside of a couple of bottles of wine and no it is not worth the pain , I am chainging my dietry habits and so far so good . My problems lie with my taste in for rich foods such as good pate , all the cheeses , offal ,slow cooked casseroles, curries, chillie , Asian spices.....virtually anything that is good to eat , as long I keep the carbs away from the protein I usually don't have a problem but as I am getting older I do see how the digestion is becoming sluggish . Anon.
Posted 4/28/2014 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
The weekend went somewhat ok for me but I don't think I ate enough vegetables as by Sunday night I had to take a pepcid to settle things down. I took about 5 tums all weekend and I usually don't need to take any. I think I may take the pepcid every other night then and see how that goes for awhile. I know I can't do it every night or I start to get stomach cramps. I'm staying home next weekend so that'll help with eating right. Ended up going out to eat on Saturday night and it's so hard to find anything that's not going to give me problems at pizza places. I ended up having a sandwich and soup. The soup wasn't so bad but I think the bread with the sandwich was too much.
Posted 4/28/2014 12:58 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck to you all, I have to say I admire all your bravery! Sounds to me a bit like voluntary torture!

I can't even think about coming off PPI's with my stomach problems, last time I came off them I was doubled over on my bed for a week in agony until the dr was kind enough to tell me to stop being silly and start taking them again!
Posted 4/28/2014 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Javery, I think you did very well this week-end. Week-ends are not easy anyway. at least tums are not as bad as a PPI so now you are off them completely - well done! it is very hard to eat out and find something suitable but that might improve for you in time. Keep on posting as you go along.

Andy1986 - that is the 'trap'. We think we cannot go on without a PPI so go back to them. that is why 'slow and steady wins the race'.
Posted 4/28/2014 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
Good morning everyone, had a good weekend, today is the two week mark where I have been on half the dosage of Nexium. I'm doing okay with a slight burning in my throat that goes and comes, also I've had a slight headache since Friday and it's a little worse today but still manageable. Not sure if the headache is from rebound or because I need to up my calorie intake. One day at a time... It's all we can do:)


@Andy, did you stop all at once? If so, that may be why you were so sick, the same happen to me when I just stopped or should I say switched to a different med. I just keep telling myself, these ppi's can only treat the symptoms and if I can do that without the the ppi then it's worth a try. So far no torture :) but I will say that is was big time TORTURE when I just stopped them ( wont make that mistake again).

Post Edited (Mouche) : 4/28/2014 10:22:59 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/28/2014 5:24 PM (GMT 0)

Mouche said...
Good morning everyone, had a good weekend, today is the two week mark where I have been on half the dosage of Nexium. I'm doing okay with a slight burning in my throat that goes and comes, also I've had a slight headache since Friday and it's a little worse today but still manageable. Not sure if the headache is from rebound or because I need to up my calorie intake. One day at a time... It's all we can do:)


@Andy, did you stop all at once? If so, that may be why you were so sick, the same happen to me when I just stopped or should I say switched to a different med. I just keep telling myself, these ppi's can only treat the symptoms and if I can do that without the the ppi then it's worth a try. So far no torture :) but I will say that is was big time TORTURE when I just stopped them ( wont make that mistake again).

Yep I just went cold turkey because I was told to come off them for the endoscopy. At that time my drs had convinced me everything was in my mind so I didn't think twice about it. After a week in agonising pain in my stomach I finally thought - wait a sec, this all started when I came off that medicine.

I still get stomach pains from eating meals that are too fatty so Im confident in my body's ability to make acid even on the strongest meds! Sometimes I consider weening off them but my stomach gets inflamed again and I just think 'nothing is worth this - stay on the meds forever'
Posted 4/28/2014 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
Andy,

Have you ever tried to find out what the underlying problems are to your symptoms? You may be able to come off the meds much easier if you were to pinpoint the underlying problem and fix that. Since I have changed my eating habits I have been able to come off the PPI's and now I've dropped down to 1 H2-blocker (pepcid) every other day. I was recently on it once a day with no heartburn or other side effects until it started giving me stomach cramps but once I lower the amount I take in, the stomach cramps go away and the heartburn comes back a little but then goes away within a day or two. I'm going to continue this process until I'm no longer relying on the medication to prevent heartburn. Because I have made it this far and continue to progress, I think that I'll eventually make it. I'm not sure on the underlying problem though since I refused to go in for a lot of tests because I don't want to pay for them. I figured if my way doesn't work, then I'll let them do their tests, but so far it's working out for me.
Posted 4/28/2014 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mouche. So glad your week-end was good and you had no rebound. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones. I had bad headaches when I switched to the 20mgs Prilosec but they are not nearly as bad now. Do you think the PH drops help.
I am happy to say (dare I)? I have had 4 decent days which is a big improvement for me
I don't understand Andy why you had to come off the PPi to have the endo. I have heard other people say that too. However, I was taking aciphex when I had an endo years ago. I am going in to see the GI doctor this week and if that is the case I won't be going in for the endo. the whole point of weaning myself off is so that the acid rebound is not horrendous. It has been bad enough for me going from 40mgs to 20mgs.
Anyone like to give an opinion on that? Did you have to go off the PPI to have the endoscopy?
Posted 4/28/2014 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
I had an endoscopy scheduled and they did not give any instruction on stopping the PPI. I ended up canceling though because I didn't see the point in paying them to do a scope when I was already set on going the route I did regardless of what they said. Other tests may be affected while on PPI's but I don't see why they need you off them for an endoscopy to check how things are looking. I wish you luck and hope they don't find anything bad.
Posted 4/28/2014 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
@Andy, how long have you been taking ppi's? Also have you ever tried to wean slowly?

I also wonder if it's harder for people who have other issues along with Gerd such as, gastrics, hernia, inflammation, ulcers etc etc.
Posted 4/28/2014 6:05 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Javery, I have tried to avoid this test again but I should also have a colonoscopy. First I have to make sure I am going to be totally 'lights out'. Secondly with a very sensitive stomach at the moment I am nervous about the prep for the colonoscopy. I truly think these tests are barbaric and very invasive although I know they save lives. I get very stressed at the thought of it all but when I push back the doctors just roll their eyes.
Thanks I hope they don't find anything bad either and that scares me too.
Posted 4/28/2014 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Lily, glad you are feeling better, I did not have to stop my ppi when I had my dual procedure, endoscopy/colonoscopy on 4/2/2014, not sure why one would need to for an endoscopy.

My doctor told me today that he will prescribe my next step down in the granulated form of Nexium, as they only come in 20mg and 40mg pill form. I think I will get the next script fill for the 20mg and then start the granulated packets, at least with those I can control the reduction even more taking even smaller steps down if I have to.
✚ New Topic locked
123456789101112