I took Omeprazole for 2 years for GERD and it seemed to be helping a lot. Then day I woke up and my left leg was swollen. After many doctors and loads of tests, I happened to read in a NIH report that Omeprazole sometimes exacerbated arthritis in your joints. Since I have arthritis in my left hip, I went to my Gastro and asked to get off Om. He said he'd never heard of that reaction and RELUCTANTLY put me on Pepcid. Within 48 hours, my leg was back to normal and the Pepcid is handling the GERD just fine.