I am weaning off Prilosec

I keep having trouble with my Potassium blood levels dropping so my PCP wants me to switch from Omeprazole ( Prilosec) to Zantac. I am to alternate Prilosec one day and Zantac the next for one week and then stop the Prilosec.  I started on Monday and so far no rebound acid effect so I am beginning to believe that I will tolerate the switch completely.

My Dr. pointed out the fact that patients who are prone to hypokalemia ( low potassium level) may find Prilosec further decreases potassium levels.  She felt we needed to identify what is causing my body to waste potassium so Prilosec and one of my BP medications are being stopped.

I will let you know how I tolerate being off Prilosec completely.

Gentle Hugs,

Kitt

That sounds like a great plan of action.  I'm not sure that I've heard of picking up the Zantac in place of the PPI to counteract the rebound effect, but it sounds like a great idea.

What dosage of Zantac are you using?  FYI, my doc had me on 300mg Zantac at bedtime before my surgery.  It's a pretty high dose but works well at that level.  If whatever dosage your doc has prescribed doesn't keep the acid at bay, consider asking for a higher dose.  Just a thought.

Good luck!  I'll be interested in hearing how it goes.

Take good care of yourself, my friend!

((((HUGS))))

Denise

I am doing ok on the Zantac but did have a bit of heartburn last night.  I was laying on the couch reading when I noticed the heartburn and I had just finished dinner  which included spaghetti with marinara sauce.  On a good day this sauce may give me symptoms and with a couple of soda crackers the burning went away.

Denise,  my Dr. ordered Zantac 75 mg in AM and PM and today is the first day I am going to go to only ZANTAC.  I will admit I only take the one dose of Zantac in the AM before breakfast.

Since my surgery I have had very few times when I experienced any symptoms and the reflux has not returned so far.

For anyone noting I had surgery - it was not a Nissen but Colon surgery.