Omeprazole, doing more harm than good??

Ive been taking this for a couple of months now, it really helped at first, i was just glad to be out of the constant pain attacks that would keep me up all night. But ive found that while taking this i cant eat, well i can, but whatever i eat comes straight back up, be it 10 mins after eating, or 6 hours. The food that comes up is undigested, basically the same as it went down, and im left with the feeling of something stuck in my throat. Whatevers down there, i have to bring it up. Its not like im vomiting, just regurgitating it as i just cant keep anything down.

Question is, is it Omeprazole that is causing this or just part of living with gerd, or could i be ok now, whatever my problem was i can stop taking the pills? As part of what omeprazole does is to reduce stomach acid, and im thinking if its doing what its supposed to, maybe its stopping acid production all together or not enough, hence why my food is not getting digested and just sitting at the top of my stomach? I stopped taking them about a month or so ago to see if i was ok, a week later i was back to square one, i dont want to go through that again as it took just over a week for the pills to start working again. But im thinking these pills are whats causing me to keep bringing up what i eat, dont matter what food it is, its everything, from soup to solids, ive lost over a stone in weight this last month, feeling lightheaded and no energy all the time, i guess this is caused by me not been able to eat.

Thanks for the reply.

I was going to have a word with my gp next week at my next appointment and ask what other ppi's i could try as he diagnosed me with acid reflux. Along with the reflux i was also getting a killer pain, centre, just bellow rib cage and all around my back, was up a&e twice with it, i can just about handle the reflux, but the pain is a no no.

Opemprazole has been my first line of treatment and ive not tried a lower dose, but i did also think that, maybe im on to higher of a dose.
And ive not tried any other drugs either.
Did it continue when i stopped taking it? i guess so, just that the pain was back, and with that pain i get the reflux with it anyway.

Im saying that as it was the weekend just gone, i run out of pills on the saturday, since then ive not taken any as ive been able to eat and keep it down for a change. Thats why im thinking the pills are whats causing the reflux. I takes about a week of not taking the pills for the pain to come back so im in 2 minds now. Start taking the pills again and probably go back to not been able to eat, or not take the pills, carry on eating and fingers crossed the pain dont come back.

Ive not been to see a GI about my condition, yet as that is next on my list to try and get to the bottom of it all, instead of the doc just keep giving me pills which to me is just masking my condition, want to get to the root of the problem and a proper diagnosis.

Just wondering, also if you have been tested for Helicobacter? ? Your GP should have tested for that before starting the Omeprazole, as the drug interferes with the results.

You could experiment with a lower dosage of Omeprazole, or taking it alternate days, to see if you find a happy medium where you get enough benefit and minimum side effect. But basically you need to go and get your GP to work through the drug "trials" with you - keep pestering until you make some progress!

Well i went to doctors today, they are usless, i dont fancy at this time trying another form of medication as i really cant be doing with that pain again incase they dont work. So just said that i want referring to a gi specialist and explained all my symptoms, will probably take a month of so to get an appointment. I have not been tested for Helicobacter, maybe thats something i should of said and something to bring up to the gi. I to am on 20mg a day, i dont take any ther drugs at all, have my good and bad days, yesterday i had a couple of sandwiches and even managed a big mac and fries and all was good, today i had some sausage rolls and they ended up down the toilet, which i should no better as they never do stay down. Had a nice chicken and bacon roll for lunch and that was ok. So it really does depend what type of food i eat, and what time of day it seems, anything after say 6pm them im going to suffer, but most stuff throughout the day is ok. I think i should make a list of all the foods that dont agree with me. I will let you know it goes on and see if the gi comes up with answers for me.

I did have a couple of blood tests and urine done. They have all come back clear, wouldnt a blood test detected Helicobacter as i guess they would of looked for that anyway? I had one up the hospital when i first started getting the pain, and another a couple of days later at the doctors before i was prescribed omeprozole. Everything came back ok, dont ask me what they looked for as i dont know, he just said all looks fine.

And it got me thinking with what i said, im ok eating breakfast and lunch normally, dont have any problems. Its just come dinner time and any snacks i have in the late afternoon/evening. So ive been taking omeprozole 200mg, 1 pill per day at around 3-4pm, and its seems that after then the problems start?? So what im going to do is take my dosage just before i go to bed. See if i have a different results.

Im in the UK also. My other doctor was great, i moved house last year to the other side of town and changed gp. im wishing i didnt now as they are useless. Ive just been up my old doctors and got a form to join back up, cant be dealing with this "dont care less" attitude of the doctor ive got at the mo.

Well, past 2 nights, took my pill at like 1am. During the day, no problems, kept all food down and been fine. :D

Ive not yet elevated the bed, but i have read on many occasions that its a good idea to and i might do that over the weekend. Im not vomiting, its just regurgitating, like if i burp then food want to come up. And the problem is more or in the evening or at night. But ive not had that horrible pain in months now, sometimes i do get it buts its nowhere near as intense as what i had before. Just not been able to keep food down is the problem.

I was taking the omeprazole around and hour or 2 before dinner, but now ive moved onto around midnight to see if i have any different results, so far so good tbh, not really brought up any food in great amounts like i used to. I dont really eat big meals, a sandwich is about as big as it gets. If i was to have dinner it would consist of something like a burger and a handfull of chips.


"Edit"

I got letter through today, appointment on the 7th of june, pretty quick if you ask me.

I says ive got to stop taking omeprazole asap, 2 weeks before as they will be giving me a gastoscopy. The thing is, which is a catch 22 situation, i cant stop taking these. If i stop then im going to be in a lot of pain, and its just not worth it. I always thought toothache was the worst pain but this is something different.

Post Edited (Puggy77) : 5/28/2011 3:07:03 AM (GMT-6)

Hi there,

I am 30 years old and normally in really good health. Do lots of exercise, don't smoke, drink only a little bit and studying nutrition. 3 weeks ago I developed gastritis (well that's what the doctors think - it will be confirmed on Weds after my endoscopy booked). I think it was caused from taking neurophen on an empty stomach a few weeks earlier as I had been feeling headachey and run down. Very silly on reflection but I cannot now take it take. I also stress a lot about my study and probably have what everyone keeps telling me a type A personality.

I have have been really unwell for the last 3 weeks and after a trip to the hospital one night I was put on omeprazole. I have been taking it now for 10 days and it makes me feel awful. Still nauseous and weak because I feel the drug has completely taken away my appetite. I am worried about losing weight as am only 49kg at the moment.

From studying nutrition I normally tend to trust in science and doctors decisions but I have done a lot of my own research at the moment that says acid reducing drugs are very bad. I feel like someone is constantly putting their foot on the top of my stomach and is very uncomfortable and nauseating. I have basically had to put my life on hold and can't catch up with friends, my boyfriend and family are unsure what to do.

I would like to know the outcome of other people who have been through this as seriously thinking going off the drug. Like I said I was really healthy before and normally have a stomach of gold. If someone can share some hope or ideas with me I would be so grateful. Can you recover naturally from gastritis if they don't find that helicobactor in my tummy?

Never taking my stomach for granted ever again after this ordeal is over!

Please help

I was on PPIs for almost 8 years before I finally realized the side effects of them. I didn't experience anything bad while on them but would eat until completely stuffed quite often. After learning that the drugs reduce your stomach acid to nothing in some cases, I wanted to stop taking them. Stomach acid is important to your health as it breaks down your food so your body can properly digest and absorb the nutrients. With little to no acid, your body isn't taking it what it needs to.

As research seems to do sometimes, one thing leads to another and you end up finding that something you would never have thought of, could be linked to the cause of the problem. Through hours and hours, across days and weeks, I have researched, and continue to research, the main cause of the problem. When I find something I like to research it to the point that if I find that through personal experiences of others, as well as proof from studies among testimonials from doctors, then I consider it a strong theory to consider.

Through my research, I have found that a lot of health problems may stem from grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. My reasoning in this is due to two little things. Maybe not so little considering the amount of problems they may give us. Those two things are lectins and phytic acid. In a nutshell, lectins are able to make our antibodies attack cells in our bodies which create auto-immune disease among other things. Phytic acid, on the other hand, will prevent the absortion of nutrients. I consider lectins more dangerous as they seem to cause more problems. Phytic acid itself is not a major problem unless taking it in with other foods that you rely on the nutrients from.

I have been following the paleo diet and a lot of my research stems from the beliefs within that diet. To me it makes sense. So far I have been grain free for about 2 weeks and have noticed and improvement in my symptoms. I tend to only get heartburn inbetween meals when my stomach is empty. It seems to be getting better week by week. If you haven't researched the rebound effect of getting off of PPI's, it is something to be aware of.

With being on PPI's, or H2-blockers, your body will increase it's production of gastrin. Gastrin is what tells your body how much acid to produce. When your body senses it is not producing enough acid, such as blocking the acid with drugs, then the gastrin levels increase. When going off the drugs, especially cold turkey, then the heartburn comes back stronger than before. It's not completely known how long it takes for gastrin levels to return to normal but I have read in a study that it can take up to 26 weeks. I have also had my doctor say this is true as well. I am currently almost at the end of week 7 from being off PPIs and think it is working so far. I'm keep track of my progress and am hopeful to be completely symptom free within 6 months.

I know that information can be deciphered different ways by different people based on person experience or beliefs, but through my research, I believe my symptons are caused by my diet. This may or may not be the case, but it is the gamble I'm taking. So far it seems to be working. I'm hoping this information will be able to help some of you with your symptoms. Although drugs seem to mask the symptoms quite quickly, our bodies do take time to heal for the symptoms to go away. I believe if you give your body what it needs to heal, things will get back to normal. To me, giving up a lot of good foods is well worth living a pain free life so I can enjoy my hobbies much more.