Side effects with omeprazole/Prilosec use

Has anyone weaned off of 80mg ? I take 40mg in the morning and 40mg with dinner. My doctor wants me to stop taking the evening 40mg every other day and use pepcid instead on those days . and then stop evening dose completely after two weeks. I'm concerned that's too fast I stoped cold turkey with only 20mg and had severe acid reflux that's why My gi doctor put me on 80mg.

So on PPI's our body makes more acid to compensate, so when we try to stop we are worse off then when we started.

I did successfully wean off. I would not follow any prescribed regimen but go with how you feel. If you have bad symptoms, backtrack and move more slowly.

I did replace omeprazole with Pepcid, slowly, over time, replacing one dose every other day, as your doc suggested, and sticking with that for a couple of weeks. Once you are on Pepcid only you can gradually taper that as well.

I don't eat after 5pm and am careful about what I eat then. Even water before bed can cause issues. I mostly use Tums at this point but sometimes pop 1/2 Pepcid or even a whole on (20mg). I tend to have periods when it is worse. If I do Pepcid for more than 3 days in a row, I taper again.

It's trite but "listen to your body." It sounds like you have a good doc. I know too many on PPI's long term with no advice on how to get off and your doc sounds like they have the right idea and would no doubt be fine with you customizing the taper.

Echoing the others here...if you feel the pace your doctor is recommending, I would slow it down. It's completely okay for you to disagree with your doctor and/or listen to your body (though I know that sounds cheesy).

I personally haven't weaned off PPIs, but I had to wean my father off it because annoyingly they prescribed it to him in the hospital preventatively at high doses and we weren't aware of it. He's really sensitive to medications (as am I), and we reduced it as slowly as was possible without driving ourselves crazy splitting tablets or capsules.

I'm extremely sensitive to medication (I literally have a health condition and that is one of the symptoms), so even when I have to work up to a dose, I have to go more slowly than the average person. I prefer that to nasty side effects that could last longer though.

You can always reduce the dosage more quickly if you find you're not experiencing side effects, but if you go too fast, you could get really, really uncomfortable. And if you can look into other lifestyle or diet changes that you might be able to amp up to help compensate for any possible increase in acid reflux you experience while you're going off it, that could help?

How high was your dose? Did your rebound acid last long? Thank you so much for reaching out.

Sorry it was some years ago and I don't remember my dose. Tapering helped with the rebound. It probably took me two months or so to transition to Pepcid and then taper that but I don't recall. Hope you can do this!

How high was your dose? Did your rebound acid last long? Thank you so much for reaching out.

It was actually my dad who was/is recovering from a stroke. I believe he was taking 20 mg, twice a day.

I basically did a ton of Googling and used this as a reference from the VA: https://www.va.gov/wholehealthlibrary/tools/coming-off-a-proton-pump-inhibitor.asp.

There are some suggestions for supplements that can help with dyspepsia and acid reduction. Specifically, my dad takes Iberogast, which is an herbal blend that’s been clinically studied for use for dyspepsia and IBS. It’s over the counter but for some reason unknown to me, it isn’t available in the US but is available widely in Canada and Europe. It was recommended by my dietician. We order it online from Northern Vitality.

It was a while ago, but I think it went something like this:

-Alternate taking 40 and 20 mg for two weeks.

-Then take 20 mg every day for 2 weeks.

-Alternate 20 mg every other day.

-Take 20 mg 3x a week, then twice a week, then after that he stopped.

The rebound acid was maybe 2 weeks? But he was also taking the Iberogast.

Hope that helps!

How high was you dose?Did your rebound acid last long? Thank you so much for everyones advice.

Has anyone weaned off of 80mg ? I take 40mg in the morning and 40mg with dinner. My doctor wants me to stop taking the evening 40mg every other day and use pepcid instead on those days . and then stop evening dose completely after two weeks. I'm concerned that's too fast I stoped cold turkey with only 20mg and had severe acid reflux that's why My gi doctor put me on 80mg.

Has anyone weaned off of 80mg ? I take 40mg in the morning and 40mg with dinner. My doctor wants me to stop taking the evening 40mg every other day and use pepcid instead on those days . and then stop evening dose completely after two weeks. I'm concerned that's too fast I stoped cold turkey with only 20mg and had severe acid reflux that's why My gi doctor put me on 80mg.