Anyone else experience significant difference in (side) effect from different medication brands?

Hi all!

I started taking Pantoprazole about two weeks ago and improved a lot. However, the medication was causing me extreme dry mouth, dry eyes etc. and it was pretty distressing, so I was adviced by a pharmacist to change brands to see if it would help. I did, and the dry mouth disappeared but all my symptoms came back too.

It's the same dose, both pantoprazole, just from different pharmaceutical companies.

Has anyone else experienced this? It was the same for me when I was on omeprazole, most brands were entirely ineffective but I found one that worked okay. I'm going to have to keep trying different kinds to see if one is just right.

On that same note, has anyone else had dry mouth from PPIs? Did it improve the longer you were on the meds? The kind I was on was very effective and it seems silly to not take it because of dry mouth but it was severe enough that I was getting sores in my throat from dryness and couldn't swallow normal solid foods well.

Absolutely yes!

The first PPI I ever tried was Prevacid about 6 years ago and it caused a stomach pain so bad that I had to go to the ER. So I banned that one.

Then my GP put me on Nexium which relieved my symptoms but it made me incredibly dizzy and gave me bad headaches.

Then I went to a gastroenterologist and he put me on Dexilant. The first 2-3 days on Dexilant were not pleasant for me but it was effective in relieving some of my symptoms.

The dry mouth was annoying but it lessened over time. I got these weird sensations in my esophagus and in my head. But they also lessened over time.

My new GI just today put me on 60mg of Dexilant and I took my first pill about 4 and a half hours ago. It's been unpleasant so I'm trying to remind myself that it may take a few days for my body to adjust.

For some reason I also experience very different results from medications which I don't understand. If I'm on Nexium, I feel okay but I cough constantly. If I'm on generic esomeprazole my cough stops immediately but I belch constantly and feel bloated. If I'm on one brand of generic pantoprazole my symtpoms go away but the side effects are too severe. Another brand does nothing at all. It's frustrating and strange.

Diet is incredibly important when it comes to GERD or LPR. I just finished reading the book called DROPPING ACID which reminded me why I got sick again.

Though I was eating extremely healthy, I was still drinking the occasional beer (bad idea), and acidic food such as sauerkraut, mustard, certain apple types, store bought applesauce, store bought baby food, cranberry juice, etc. I had enough acidity in my diet that I wasn't allowing my lining to heal.

By continuing to eat acidic foods, sauces, and condiments that I thought were "safe", I was continuing to activate the enzyme Pepsin in my throat, esophagus, and stomach! This is what causes the actual damage.

Over a couple of years of thinking I was doing all the right things I finally realized I was causing more damage. So on June 2nd, I was rushed to the ER because of horrific abdominal pain. A week later I went and got my 2nd endoscopy in 5 years.

Because I was diagnosed with 4 different things, including a very painful grade 3 esophagitis, I am following Dr. Koufman's Induction Diet for at least a month or two. I now know that I have to stay away from acidic foods and am keeping my current diet very simple.

I have sworn off all alcoholic beverages and once I am healed I plan on sticking with her maintenance diet for as long as it takes, maybe even the rest of my days.

I would not wish this level of pain and discomfort on anyone. This can be such a frustrating, insidious condition and it saddens me that the majority of today's medical professionals don't have a full understanding on how to heal us more effectively.

Paul

Post Edited (Peabs) : 6/12/2016 7:25:04 PM (GMT-6)

I wouldn't call them nasty, Jagged, since I can't function at all without them But I have a large hiatus hernia and I agree that they should probably be avoided if the problem can be fixed with diet or lifestyle changes alone. I tried H2 blockers before PPIs and they did nothing for me.

I'm hoping that surgery will be an option at some point down the line, but right now it isn't, so I have to get by with them. Which is scary, because the long term side effects don't seem all that fun. Don't really see an option at this time, though.

I feel like I'm doing everything - avoiding all acidic foods, anything processed, alcohol/caffeine etc., sleeping on a raised bed, small portions - all of it. Still, I'm not feeling very good and a new symptom has popped up, an incessant, annoying cough that really bothers me. I'm bad at routines, and I still have a few lbs I could lose to be at the lower end of normal weight, but I've lost 15 or so lbs since this all started and it hasn't made a difference so far.

I experience a huge difference in effect from different brands of the same medication. I've tried three kinds of pantoprazole. One gave me TERRIBLE dry mouth and eyes, the other didn't work at all, the third works okay but not great and no dry mouth so far.