PPI Medication making symptoms worse???

Hey There,

First of all hang in there. As Winston Churchill once said, "If you're going through hell, keep going!!!".

I've been dealing with GERD/gastritis since March of 2014. I'm no doctor, so please check with your doctor on what's best for you. That said, in my experience. I took Nexium (40mg) successfully for about 6 months. I stopped taking it as it seemed like it dropped the amount of acid in my stomach too much causing VERY similar symptoms as you. I was able to wean myself off of it by switching to Zantac and also taking a very strong probiotic (VSL #3), the one that's refrigerated. Between the Zantac (2 x 150mg/per day) and the VSL#3 (1 sachet/per day) it got me back in shape in about 3-4 weeks. I eventually weaned myself off of Zantac, switching to (2 x 75mg/per day) and sticking to a bland diet!

Unfortunately, I relapsed recently due to some bad sushi. I tried Nexium for about 2 weeks, along with some Amoxicilin as prescribed by my doctor. Things went from bad to worse while on the PPI and antibiotic. For me it seems that PPIs are too strong for me, no matter the dose. They worked early on, but, now if I take them I suffer greatly as it seems that they lower my stomach acid too much and causes similar symptoms as you and then some!!! (I was down to eating baby food! and lost around 10-11 pounds in the process!)

I'm finally clawing back to a stable/healthy state with the help of VSL #3 (2 sachets per day) and a VERY bland diet. The VSL #3 is restoring the gut flora that the amoxicillin decimated and is also probably keeping at bay any and all bacteria which trigger too much stomach acid. I still get a burning stomach and nausea if I eat a trigger food or drink too much water. But, it's no where near as bad as when I was taking Nexium. My goals now are to get to a steady state and regain my lost weight.

In summary:

*PPIs can lower your stomach acid too much! If Zantac works for you, switch to that instead.
*A good/strong probiotic does WONDERS for restoring your gut flora and keeping the bad bugs under control as you recover.
*Stick to a bland, as acid-free as possible, diet for as long as you feel symptoms and then slowly start introducing foods, avoiding the usual (tomatoes, garlic, chocolate, caffeine, etc.)


Good luck!

Daniel

Sorry to hear you are going through this Spirit. I'm with Daniel regarding probiotics. Unfortunately, while on PPIs you are producing less acid and that can cause problems because some foods cannot be broken down without the aid of stomach acid.

Are you taking any probiotics naturally or taking a supplement?

I have found probiotics to be an invaluable tool in my arsenal for helping me digest my food. It's important to note that they should be introduced slowly.   I also used Papaya Enzyme pills for a couple of weeks and found them invaluable.

 

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and invaluable information with me.

I do take a probiotic. If interested, you can read about it here: https://www.biokplus.com/en_ca/products/organic-rice.

Each bottle contains 50 billion bacteria and I currently take half a bottle a day....although at irregular times...so this may be something I need to work on.

My diet is quite decent....although my challenge has been gluten and I am about 90% there to being fully gluten free. When I started this GERD process back in January, I was heavy on the fruit as that was easier for me to swallow, and I just needed to get something in me. But with each day I am adding more raw veggies. I also eat vegetable soups; almond yogurt and hemp protein.

When I was on Zantac, adding a bit of apple cider vinegar in my morning did wonders for me - but on the PPI - causes pain.

I'm about two weeks in and the last 2 nights I did sleep better, but a lot of foods seem to cause this burning feeling which is probably the food sitting in there too long. And I currently do have to take a bit of Gaviscon to get relief from that. It's a vicious cycle!

I do wonder if this medication is a little too strong and depleting more acid than what it's suppose to.

The ER doctor did tell me that it would take about 4 weeks to feel relief...so to know that's what it took you Peabs on yours is both comforting and concerning because that seems so far away! lol.

One week until I see my doctor. And I do plan on looking up this papaya enzyme.

Thank you everyone!

Hi Peabs,

I am not sure why the apple cider vinegar was bugging me on on the Pantaloc. In fact most foods on this PPI have bugged me and caused this burning pain. I do take the ACV with water and seriously only put a little bit in.

My last snack of the day is always between 7:30pm and 8pm. I go to bed around 11pm.

Supper is always light - sometimes vegetable soup (like butternut squash soup), sometimes I may even just have an apple and a little bit of peanut butter; the heaviest I have eaten at supper time is half an avocado, 1 egg, some sauerkraut, some cucumber, 1/4 red bell paper and a light dip.

As as snack before bed, I may just have a little bit of almond yogurt or chia pudding. I have tried a bit of toast but I am weaning off the gluten or I may have a bit of a smoothie; which is usually like spinach, kale, banana and some hemp milk.

I don't know what else I can do really. This PPI has caused burning pain, diarrhea, weight loss, lack of sleep and just an overall miserable feeling.

Over the last week, my appetite has grown a bit but the symptoms are still a little much.

I saw my dr today and she is going to have me try Prevacid at a smaller dose. I really hope it helps. There's not much I can keep improving on.

But I have just started to try the papaya enzyme. 2 days in and it stopped my frequent trips to the bathroom -- so that is a bonus.

Anyway - that's my update. Wish me luck!

Dianetr, I took a PPI for a month, and experienced delayed gastric emptying one week in. I stayed on the PPI at my Dr's request, but after dropping 20 pounds in a month, I stopped as I was dying on those things. Not only couldn't I eat (always felt full, had no sense of hunger, bloating, extreme burping, etc) I wasn't absorbing what little food I was getting in. Like you I was worried it would be permanent when I went off, but after two weeks I showed 10% improvement in over all symptoms. After 6 weeks off I feel 40% better. For me it's unfortunately 'baby steps' in improving as my stomach re-adjusts.

Hi Dianetr,

Wow, I just read your other post, and it's exactly what was happening to me.

I still do struggle, but I have improved greatly. When I was on the PPI I struggled to get in 800 calories, as like you, I felt like whatever I ate the night before was still in my stomach. Weeks 2 and 3 I got in 1,100 calories, and since week 4 I could get in 2,000 calories. I no longer get the early fullness or bloating, but I get bad reflux symptoms like burping or a burning throat after if I attempt to eat too much in one sitting.

I put myself on a low fat diet, so I'm actually eating lots, but it's just not calorie dense. I'm also eating a lot of 'pre-digested' foods, so purred homemade vegetable soups (with a side of poached chicken) and protein shakes to speed up the stomach transit time. No raw vegetables (hard to digest), and I chew every bit of food 30-50 times to speed up digesting. I find too not drinking water 30 minutes before a meal, or 2 hours after helps as water seems to dilute the stomach acid. I use a digestive bitters as well, that seems to help as well as a probiotic.

I know you will improve. I was in your exact same spot six weeks ago, and it's very unsettling. You may experience the runs, or constipation as well as your stomach adjusts, but that is temporary too. I'd suggest writing down your symptoms and calorie intake as it helps with anxiety to see that you are progressing. As it's been six weeks for me and I'm on such a plain food diet and getting bouts of reflux, I still feel hopeless, but when I look at my journal I see how far I've come along.

Hi Dianetr,

I'm glad you are getting in 1800 calories, that's really good. I understand you wanting to get in 2400, but listen to your body and be sure to take it slow. Maybe aim for 2000 calories next week, and 2200 the following.

I think you can get acid rebound after 2 weeks of PPIs. Your stomach is still trying to figure out the proper amount of acid for one thing. Plus you may be still experiencing delayed gastric emptying and as you add more food in, that is going to reflux back into your throat as it has nowhere to go. (wet burps seem to be a sign of that).

Gaviscon, you have to remember, neutralizes stomach acid (depending on what version you are taking -the American, Canadian or UK version...) so I would avoid taking one right after eating as well to give your stomach a chance to work. I take the Gaviscon Advanced from the UK, it has less bicarbonate, and more of this algae that floats on top of your stomach to stop acid from rising up. I found the other versions to cause a rebound effect as it would neutralize stomach acid.

There are days where you are going to feel better and days where you are going to feel worse for sure. I found on those days I felt better, I'd push my luck and try a new food or add in an extra snack... and then I'd feel horrible the next day. It's a long process, that you just can't rush. But week by week you're going to have more good days over bad days. As I was on them for a month, for my first month of recovery I was counting good hours and bad hours... it wasn't really until this week that I started having good days.

Weight lifting isn't ideal for reflux either as it puts pressure on your abdomen/chest. So you have to be careful of when you eat and when you work out. You might want to search bodybuilding forums for advice.

I would say your wet burp was caused by your heavy breakfast. I get those occasionally too, and they are scary, but it's usually just from too much food at once in my stomach. Or it's coincidental in that I was just burping as I swallowed, so part of it came up mid swallow.

Reflux and stress kind of spur each other on. It's quite evil, as the second you get a reflux symptom, you stress, making it even worse. I've been drinking chamomile tea to help control my stress, and I take a b12 pill (sublingual - so you put it under your tongue) that seems to help.

When I went back to my GP he demanded I doubled up on the PPI, and I refused. I don't blame him, as that's what they are taught to do. Every time I would explain to him how I got worse on the PPI, I felt like I broke him. His face would go blank and he just would not compute what I was saying to him. It was quite comical, but at the same time I was very upset as I knew it was these pills that were causing the problem for me.

By all means, get the endoscopy done if it will put your mind at ease. Did you do the Barium Swallow test? That one is a little less invasive and it will show a lot as well. Oh and feel free to update me later.

There's lots of great youtube resources, like Dr. Axe, Dr. John Bergman, there's also a book out there called the Fast Tract Diet, and another book called Dropping Acid that may help you out.

I'm positive you're going to get better, you can always try a different PPI and re-evaluate. I was on on Razapabole 20mg (or something like that) and was willing to try another PPI by my Dr. insisted on me staying on that one (despite losing 20 pounds in one month after being on it). I know some people have better success with certain PPIs over other ones. I mention this as I don't want to steer you down the wrong path. Ultimately, you're in charge of your own health.