alternative to Omeprazole?

@murphy2370, I completely understand your concern about the long-term effects of Omeprazole, and it's frustrating when you feel caught between difficult choices. Did your doctor say anything to you that there's a rebound effect when stopping PPIs like Omeprazole, especially after 20 years of use?

Or did the doctor simply asked you to stop and start taking famotidine? If so, switching directly from Omeprazole to famotidine after two decades is essentially going cold turkey, which almost guarantees severe rebound hypersecretion. Your stomach had been suppressing acid production for 20 years, and suddenly removing that suppression causes it to overproduce acid temporarily—it can last 2-4 weeks (or even a few months) and can be intense.

Would your GI doctor be willing to work with you on a structured tapering plan? If not, seeking a second opinion might be worthwhile. Your concerns about long-term PPI effects are valid and deserve a more nuanced approach than "take it or risk cancer."

If you do a web search for "how to wean off ppi medication" you'll find some helpful articles on the above.

Best of luck!

Interesting comments from everyone! I had read about the dangers of PPI's, but my doc who did my endoscopy insisted I take omeprazole for eight weeks after seeing my inflamed esophagus. I did the eight weeks, and have now weaned off with an Acid Relief tab from Terra Health. I only take it once or twice a day. Interestingly enough, my first endoscopy did not show any polyps in my stomach. After the eight weeks on omeprazole, the second endoscopy showed several polyps. I will raise the head of my bed, eat a lot earlier, etc., and hopefully never have to take omeprazole again. BTW, the second endoscopy showed a perfectly normal esophagus, so the PPI DID work for that.

@jlmp
i have microscopic colitis and PPIs (Nexium, Prilosec) are known triggers. Thus my switch to Famitodine/Pepcid on advice from my Gastrologist. Does not trigger relapse of my colitis. But check with your gastro doc…

@pb50 I switched to Famitodine. No issues.

@riflemanz64
I have taken omeprazole for 45 years at my last colonoscopy I was diagnosed with serrated polyposis it turns out that omeprazole and any other acid blocker weaken the absorption of nutrients so you are always malnourished it also promotes the cancer in advanced polyps and has weakened my heart. It also causes dementia. Surgery is not really an option. Too many cons. I start the day with tea made of fresh turmeric ginger black pepper lemon juice and raw honey in 180F let it steep for 10 minutes. It sounds horrible but it tastes great ( get the ratio of ingredients right for your taste) and keeps you full for hours so weight management is easier. Acid has made my stomach raw even with omeprazole so even water burns , but the tea just leaves a warm glow. Good luck! I wish you the best

@paultje that is 180F water. We fill a French coffee press with two turmeric roots equal amount of fresh ginger ground black pepper tsp fresh lemon juice and raw honey to taste. Hope this works for you too