You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Got prescribed some Omeprazole last year to combat acid reflux in connection with another medication I take, didn't like the dry hard to swallow capsules they prescribed so started buying the smooth coated pills freely available off the shelf, so never got the prescription repeated. Been taking 20mg daily for over six months now.
Have had a bout of terrible bloating, reflux and indigestion this weekend which got me googling and apparently these PPIs cause long term issues and are really hard to get off?
How screwed am I, and how should I broach this with my GP given they don't know I've been taking this so long without their say?
Seperate to that has anyone had any long term success managing reflux and other intestinal issues as GPs seem to be a bit clueless about the root causes and just want to mask the symptoms I find.
Er it's a health thing.
You tell them honestly what you've done. Even if this was a class A drug you still need an honest medical opinion. It's an over the counter med right so there's not an illegality issue and worst case they'll think you're a bit of a twit and then give you best advice?
I am not a medic but do work in a profession where only getting half the truth means it's hard to give the best advice.
Ah, I don't mean how screwed am I as if I'll be getting a telling off, just how much might I have messed up my guts long term. Google is full of scare stories.
I was on ibuprofen for 2 1/2 years so took omeprazole for the same length of time and no side effects I can think of and never any indigestion but now I have a bottle of gaviscon handy for a swig occasionally
ive been on omeprazole for 10+ years. If I stop, the reflux will come back. Its never been a problem
So I dont think they cause long term issues. I'll go mad if they ban them. They just banned ranitidine last year.
Did you have a lot to drink over the weekend? I can still get some heartburn if i drink or eat too much, or exercise too hard on a full stomach
I’ve been on it for about 8 years, currently on half the dose I was and still adjusting. Your GP will contact you for a review when needed, at months you’re no where near that. I was sent for tests for the cause, GP was reluctant to start me until I had the results.
Ah, I don’t mean how screwed am I as if I’ll be getting a telling off, just how much might I have messed up my guts long term. Google is full of scare stories.
Ah sorry misinterpreted the middle bit of your post a bit. Hope you get some reassurance.
Oh wait!
Yeah over the counter, you need to speak to your GP you won’t be the first. Hopefully they get you set up with tests for the cause.
airvent
Free Member
Ah, I don’t mean how screwed am I as if I’ll be getting a telling off, just how much might I have messed up my guts long term. Google is full of scare stories.
I've been on it for over a year, like you its to do with other meds I'm on. No side effects for me.
I'm more concerned about the long term effects of my other meds to be honest! 😁
I've been on PPI meds for 4 years.
Omeprazole caused all sorts of digestive issues leading to mad levels of constipation or.sometimes the opposite. I switched to Esomeprazole and that all stopped thankfully
Doubt they'll care if you're still taking the other prescription that requires omeprazole, i was switched over from omeprazole to lansoprazole as i had another medication added a while back, just got omeprazole again after my hip replacement op due to the amount of aspirin/ibuprofen i'm taking.
Just speak to the doc about it, should be cheaper via prescription, these do tend to be long term prescriptions though, so should be ok, maybe chat to a pharmacist if you want reassurance.
I think the only real issue is the likelihood of acid rebound when you suddenly stop taking omeprazole, but that should be just a temporary issue
I took it daily for 1 or 2 years as I was on naproxen, when I got off the naproxen I did struggle to get off the omeprazole as my stomach really didn't agree with me not taking it.
Dr kept the omeprazole on repeat for me and for maybe 5 or 6 months I've been weaning myself off it slowly. Most days are fine, but if I have a big dinner too late in the day, or a big session on the beers then I do need to take it
How screwed am I, and how should I broach this with my GP given they don’t know I’ve been taking this so long without their say?
(s)he is likely to tell you to come to them or your pharmacist for medical advice not the internet - omeprazole is regularly prescribed for years without causing too much stress. When you say “over the counter stuff” do you mean esomeprazole (nexium?)* - they are not chemically identical (the eso version is a single isomer (mirror form) of the molecule, the omeprazole usually prescribed by GPs is a mixture of both isomers. Personally I don’t think they should have been granted product licenses for the such similar names on a product used widely by the public and available to pick off the shelf without even speaking to a pharmacist. As a consumer at it might not really matter but medicine shouldn’t be about might nots, and you should be able to compare doses and know what the implications might be.
* I’ve never seen omeprazole itself available to pick off the shelf yourself.
but when you do tell them, you should explain WHY you did it too as omeprazole is available in various tablet, capsule and even liquid formats so they can prescribe one you will actually take! Remember if you want advice on drugs you are often better going to the pharmacist as that is their specialism - the doctor has spent the same length of time studying diagnostics, treatments, surgical techniques, flirting with nurses as the pharmacist spent learning just the drugs.
@poly it's definitely Omeprazole, branded as Pyrocalm by Dexcel Pharma. I will see if the gp can change the prescription to one I can tolerate, the ones they prescribed were capsules and to be frank they tasted strongly of wet dog for some reason... Was too lazy to go back and ask for them to change it...
Omeprazole is generally ok but like most drugs it's the weaning off that is the issue. After 4 years of taking it I took a further 19 months to come off it fully but then I was on a pretty high dose. I was pretty lucky in that it was stress and dietary issues that caused my bad acid reflux so getting those altered allowed me to come off the tablets, eventually. Had two false finishes where things got particularly nasty but got there in the end. Still get the odd flare up when stress rears it's head again (had a bout a few nights ago for example) but I can get it back under control by just eating carefully for a day or two.
I'd just go to the docs, tell them exactly what you have taken and for how long and see what they say. Being fully honest is the key.
A couple of 'natural' alternatives:
- a generous squeeze of lemon juice into hot water
- Aspall's raw organic apple cyder vinegar (containing 'the mother'); 15ml in 300ml of water
I've found both to be very effective - cyder vinegar better than lemon juice - and faster acting than Omeprazole which I have on prescription but only take if/when required.
I carry Omeprazole when going out, just in case.
Like others have mentioned, I'm on it too. Taking every day (prescribed by the consultant). Although, mine too is Esomeprazole. Did discuss with the consultant about long term effects (had read about the potential to bring on osteoporosis, for example). He had no concerns and was happy that in his experience in the field there are no serious long term effects. A small number of cases - mostly women, with particular circumstances may have a small increase in risk but for the majority, not an issue. And in my case, it's the better option to the potential risk of increased acid levels in my lower esophagus leading to more critical issues. Not the perfect situation but in the grand scheme of things, I could be a whole lot worse off.
Google is full of scare stories.
About all sorts of things 99% of which are bunkum
esomepazole is the harbinger of the zombie apocolypse. Flesh eating maggots are in your brain right now
Pharmacologically one of the most amazing class of drugs ever invented. Omeprazole binds to the proton pump in the acidified region of the canniculus of cells that secrete the H+ ions into the stomach to lower the pH. It only binds to activated pumps. You activate them by thinking about food. And it doesn’t come off. So even low doses will eventually accumulate effect on repeat dosing. How AZ got nexium (half the dose of Omeprazole) approved is a miracle of product and price gouging when the original patent expired, as the newer version is just one half of a racemic mixture. Only one of the two handed molecules does anything pharmacologically
Other PPIs are available and another may be more suitable based on tolerability, but they really all work in the same irreversible way. They take a few days to wear off as your body replaces the proton pumps on a daily basis. Years ago I worked on a potential faster reversible proton pump inhibitor and spent many months reviewing all the PPIs. Ranitidine works by a different mechanism and comes off much faster.
These were the world’s best selling medicines at the time. and it was a time before H Pylori was found to be the protagonist of stomach ulcers. That they are now available over the counter is a good thing for access, but you should of course tell your doctor why you have taken it. Also whether it provided any benefit, how long it took for effect to work and wear off and any side effects. Reduced calcium absorption is a reported side effect I believe but that might be down to reduced acidification of the gut in general.
Sales wise 5HT antagonists and PPIs were replaced by statins for cardiovascular disease, and then antibodies for immune diseases and now cancer.
I have been prescribed Omeprazole for around 6 years as a result of an endoscopy which showed I had something called Barrett's Oesophagus which is a change in cells brought about by acid, and can lead to oesophagal cancer. I can't remember having acid reflux apart from a short period when I was a teenager, but obviously something affected my oesophagus. I've not had any noticeable side effects from taking it.
I take them because I’m prescribed Naproxen, and also Zapain, although I try not to take those too often. Not that I appear to have any problems with dependency, though. I’m not sure if Omeprazole actually does anything useful anyway; there are occasions when I’ve run out but was unable to put in a request for a week or so, and I can’t say I had any issues with not taking them. Maybe their intended effect lasts long enough to not matter.
Omeprazole due to hiatus hernia here. Terrible ingestion without it. I don’t think I experience any side effects.
@TiRed - thanks for posting that, really appreciate it when people take the time to explain something so thoroughly and clearly.
Omeprazole due to hiatus hernia
can you explain the link between hiatus hernia and getting indigestion?
can you explain the link between hiatus hernia and getting indigestion?
Not personally, no, but that was the diagnosis of the consultant. Are you suggesting otherwise. (Serious question).
Edit: Kuco has it, cheers.
Not personally, no, but that was the diagnosis of the consultant. Are you suggesting otherwise
Im not suggesting otherwise, id really like to know, I havent heard this before, despite various scans etc.
I'm not sure what a hiatus hernia is, but have had some hernia-type of concerns in the past.
Okey doke. I found out by accident. I’d been troubled by indigestion for a few years and just took Gaviscon when I needed it. I was sent for a CT scan for something unrelated and when looking through the various ‘rings’ of the scan the doc said ‘ooh, you’ve got a hiatus hernia, how long have you had that?’. (Along with ‘I see you’ve broken a couple of ribs recently’.) I had no idea. If I miss a day of the Omeprazole I know all about it.
Kuco’s link above is really helpful.
There's a Swedish device called IQoro which is designed to counteract hiatus hernia-based reflux by strengthening neuro-muscular pathways processes etc. It's expensive if you buy it yourself, but available on prescription from the NHS apparently:
https://www.iqoro.com/product/iqoro/
I'm sure PPIs are relatively innocuous compared to a lot of prescription drugs, but if I can avoid using them with a quick and simple exercise programme, which seems to be the case, then it's a win in my book. I was on lansoprazole for a couple of months, but it felt like it was messing with my digestion and the rebound when I stopped taking it was unpleasant.
Obviously Big Pharma don't want you to stop taking PPIs, because... sorry, just joking. But it's an interesting alternative option that seems to be effective enough in studies to be a prescription option.
See also:
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/acid-reflux-2/page/2/
Maybe I'm lucky because my diet is far from ideal, but on the odd occasion I get Acid reflux/heart burn whatever it's called , I find chugging half a pint of milk fixes it pretty much instantly.
I'm not a fan of pill popping unless I'm going to a rave, (and I've not been to one of those for a long while!) but a friend of mine seems to have developed an Omeprazole dependency of sorts, where he'll get bad acid if he stops taking it... so I guess as above, you have to wean yourself off it to allow your body to adjust.
Milk is very slightly acidic in terms of PH, but nothing on the scale of stomach acid, so it will essentially neutralise it.
I am not a doctor!
Just go see your GP. <br />explain your symptoms and other information. They’ll help. <br />Did you read the label/patient information leaflet to get an understanding of what the product does and what the common adverse events are? This might reassure you as you book an appointment with your GP. <br /> https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=77ed80a2-a482-4838-ac55-4865b5c31d9f#drug-information<br /><br />
@poly has it. IIRC Omeprazole (branded as LOSEC® & PRILOSEC®) was a recemic mixture of S-omeprazole and R-omeprazole. Weirdly, both molecules end up being metabolized into the active product but a proportion of people cannot metabolize the R-molecule. Eso-omeprazole was the result of genius medicinal chemistry to produce only S-omeprazole. Result? NEXIUM®! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12018920/<br /><br /> https://www.reddit.com/r/sciencememes/s/5F9GOukinD