Getting Off of Omeprazole: Share your success stories please.

Posted by Bonnie @nightngale1998, Jun 26, 2018

Hi there: Has anyone had success in weaning off of Omeprazole? I take it for GERD. Thank you in advance!

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@rse

Interesting! Thank you for posting. I am concerned about connection between PPI's (proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole) and mental decline/ dementia.

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I have the same concerns and am interested in more thoughts from others about this.

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Do not take lemon water or cider vinegar for acid reflux. It’s acidic and will inflame the throat tissue and esophagus lining on the way down. I take a PPI for my reflux and Barrett’s esophagus which they didn’t see on my last scope so it must work along with diet. I guess I’ll take dementia over esophageal cancer.

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@fourof5zs

@rashida If you prefer an instant coffee Kava has been around for many years.. early 1960s I think. I cannot remember is has a good taste or not.. been a long time since I have had any.

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@rashida .. I did a quick look and Canada banned the sale of it back in 2002. Small amount of people using it developed liver damage... not sure how it would cause such. Do a search of “low-acid instant coffee sold in Canada” and you will probably find something. Usually a dark roast has less acid.

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@riflemanz64

I was getting acid reflux at night from eating whatever i wanted to. I was drinking 5-7 cups of coffee a day, 5 sodas and eating a high fat spicy diet.
I thought I was having a heart attack one day and ended up in the emergency room with a hemaglobin of 7. I had burned a hole in my small intestine and had internal bleeding from Motrin. They did and upper endoscopy (EGD) and cauterized it closed. They then told me I had Barretts esophagus from the acid reflux. They told me low acid diet from now on. So I cut out out all Soda, I switched to 2 cups of low acid coffee only in the morning. No booze,no smoking, no vinegar based products, no citrus, No OJ, No fried foods,No spicy foods, No more fast food. No more processed meats or foods. I bought the book the Acid watcher diet which told me a lot about reflux. No eating 3-4 hrs before bed. No spices on your food. No pepper ever. Chicken breast is good to eat. Cut your red meat intake. Baked fish too. Steamed green vegetables are good.I cut out almost all salt and sugar. I drink unsweetened almond milk with my cheerios in the morning. I drink lots of bottled water during the day. Stay away from mint and chocolate. I walk 5-7 miles a day. My last EGD there was no sign of Barretts esophagus. So the diet does work. I lost 25# and no longer have reflux. I might be overboard and strict but this works for me. Good luck and buy that book I told you about.

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Thank you for that informative post. I have read some books, but perhaps not that one so I will check it out. I have made most of the diet changes (I forgot about pepper and have been using it!) . It is impressive how much change you made to your habits and your health. Kudos to you! Inspiring.

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@fde11

Hello Bonnie, I was on omeprazole, I have the same problem as you, I was taking 2- 20mg a day. for six months, the gastro give me another prescription Famotidine 40 mg twice a day, I was ok for a while, I still have them, now I am back on Omeprazole 1 a day 20mg. sometimes a take two and I really watch what I eat, I am back taking probiotic, I feel a little better, but I also have IBS, I really don't know what to do anymore, all the best to you.

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Thank you. I didn't know there was a prescription 40 mg famotidine. Interesting.

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@riflemanz64

Do not take lemon water or cider vinegar for acid reflux. It’s acidic and will inflame the throat tissue and esophagus lining on the way down. I take a PPI for my reflux and Barrett’s esophagus which they didn’t see on my last scope so it must work along with diet. I guess I’ll take dementia over esophageal cancer.

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riflemanz64 @riflemanz64 Thanks for this post, it's amazing the # of people who try the lemon water or cider vinegar for Barretts without checking with their gastroenterologist

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@riflemanz64

Did they do a upper endoscopy? (EGD)

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The ENT looked down my throat (through my nose) and it was all irritated secondary to post nasal drip. Then I started omeprazole which worked but after approx a year causes the microscopic colitis.

I am now reintroducing foods into my diet, so far so good. I’ve discovered that small amounts of dairy are ok. I will try uncooked greens soon!

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@rse

Thank you. I didn't know there was a prescription 40 mg famotidine. Interesting.

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Yes, I’m taking am and pm with good effect.

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@rse

Interesting! Thank you for posting. I am concerned about connection between PPI's (proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole) and mental decline/ dementia.

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@rse I agree, dementia is a huge worry for me. Unlike @riflemanz64 I think I would prefer esophageal cancer! None of these drugs have zero side-effects but the dementia connection had me sufficiently worried that I was able to switch to famotidine. It has side-effects of course but I have not seen dementia mentioned.
JK

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The question is how likely are you to develop dementia? What can you do to prevent it?

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