Side effects with omeprazole/Prilosec use

I don't even know where to begin.

I had a baby in May 2020. Had a lot of reflux while pregnant but I figured hey, that's what happens. And it seemed to go away after the baby came. Fast-forward to Feb 2021, I had been slowly getting back into jogging and experimenting with intermittent fasting to lose the baby weight. Suddenly started to not be able to tolerate exercise - was feeling short of breath as soon as I started moving. That was weird, I thought, and then came the lightheadedness...waking up every morning feeling slightly hungover despite not having any alcohol. And it stuck around most of the day. Also found myself extremely tired most of the time. So ok, I head to the doc. First thing they did was check for anemia and electrolyte imbalance...nope fine. Well then it must be your intermittent fasting (at that point was only trying 16hrs...come on). I stopped that, no change. Well you must not be drinking enough water. Starting sloshing down a gallon a day. No improvement. Well it's probably just acid reflux. Started taking pepcid. Symptoms stuck around stubbornly. Finally had some referrals and testing--was really put through the ringer...no inner ear issues according to the vestibular physical therapist, no cardiac issues (believe me, I had the full rundown), no neurological issues (had brain MRI, EMG), even saw the pulmonologist. Everything unremarkable. I thought, maybe it's in my head...started therapy. I've been on wellbutrin for over 10 years and feel my emotional well being has been mostly in control (besides, ya know, becoming a new parent)...psychiatrist suggested adding prozac anyway. I said, I don't think I need it but if you think it will rule out anxiety as a cause of my issues then sure, we'll do it. (spoiler alert: it didn't help) Meanwhile I stopped exercising or really paying much attention to what I was eating. At some point I stopped the pepcid because it didn't seem to be doing anything for me.

Fast forward again to several months later...many of the original issues seemed to have resolved themselves, and I learned to live with the lightheadedness. It sometimes is better, sometimes worse, but sure ok, I guess I can deal with it and feel better knowing that nothing dire was going on. In October 2021 I decided to try working out again with the goal of completing a sprint triathlon this June. Additionally, I was going to PT for an SI joint issue that I was told had a lot to do with having been pregnant/having a c-section/not having strong core muscles. I started with swimming and worked my way up to a half mile in the pool. I added jogging on the treadmill in January and toward the end of the month completed my PT stint--I was feeling great. I was still getting dizzy but trudging through it, and at least the other stuff I had experienced wasn't an issue anymore. But I started having more digestive issues in January...constant bloating the worst by far. I saw someone from integrative medicine and she suggested an elimination diet (and of course a ton of supplements). Did that for 2 weeks--very strict, very miserable existence because I very much enjoy food. It didn't help. I tried a longer fast--made it 4 days before quitting...despite taking adequate amounts of electrolytes (I research everything before I do it), I felt worse than ever. I had my first appt with GI. She suggested trying low-FODMAP diet, testing for SIBO, and an xray to make sure I wasn't just constipated. The xray was neg for excessive stool and SIBO test was negative (though I've heard it can be unreliable). Didn't get a chance to really try the diet because within a week after seeing the doc, for some reason I started getting nauseated...like all day, unrelenting nausea. No vomiting, no terrible abdominal pain...just kind of the same old intermittent diarrhea and gas pains I've had my whole life. And the day after this started I woke up with excruciating lower back pain. The pain made it impossible to do much of anything...but it did ease somewhat after a few days so I thought maybe I just pulled a muscle or something. The pain didn't let up after 2 weeks so I dragged myself back to the orthopedic folks. She said my SI joints were flaring up and prescribed a short course of steroids. Meanwhile, still super nauseated and bloated. Back started to get a little better but unfortunately that improvement didn't last. Started wondering if the back pain and digestive issues are related--have been making sure to take only tylenol since Feb. I haven't worked out in like 6 weeks so I feel like a super slug. Saw the GI again last week, she recommended an ultrasound to check for gallstones and starting omeprazole. No stones on US so she recommended abdominal/pelvic CT, which I had this week and already came back normal. Have been taking omeprazole for a full week now. Nausea is maybe a little better but still bloated AND now I have more overt symptoms of reflux--always feeling like something's in my throat...woke up with a sore throat today that has not gone away, shortness of breath, regurgitation, chest pangs occasionally...eating a lot of tums. The GI's comment on my CT results were that she wanted me to message her in 1-2 weeks if symptoms have not improved and we'll discuss doing endoscopy.

So...I guess I really have two questions...1) can taking drugs like omeprazole actually make your reflux worse (NOT as rebound reflux--I'm still taking it daily) and if it does eventually help, how long should it take? I mean...do I really need to give it 1-2 MORE weeks to do its thing? And 2) how the hell do I figure out what to eat? I know certain things I absolutely have to avoid because they make me super sick (coffee and chocolate so far)...but looking at low FODMAP foods that are also good for GERD and that will help me lose a little weight (I am still overweight by about 30 lbs--thanks, grad school)...just doesn't seem to be a lot of options. Salad and oatmeal every day, apparently? Have considered just fasting but then...that didn't work before either.

It's really weird to think of all of my issues (besides maybe the back pain) could be due to acid reflux..particularly because I basically only have heartburn when I'm taking the GD pills to prevent it. But...bodies are wacky.

Eliminate Italian food, Mexican food, booze, soda, all vinegar based products, no orange juice, lemon, limes, grapes. No fast foods, fried greasy foods. Lose the extra pounds if you can. Drink unsweetened almond milk, it’s alkaline. Green tea is good and water. Eat baked chicken breasts , steamed broccoli, turkey. Avoid all spices or hot sauces. No onions or peppers. Ripe bananas are good. Breakfast for me is a bowl of cheerios and almond milk. Lunch is a chicken breast with mild cheddar cheese slices on brownberry wheat pan bread. I’ll have a smoothie made with almond milk to neutralize the acid in the blueberries. Supper is chicken breast, baked or mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. I take pantaprazole ppi 1/2 hr before supper. I stop eating 3-4 hrs before bedtime. I raised my headboard on my bed 6”. So far this works for me. I do a fast 2 mile walk every day. I’m used to my bland diet so it doesn’t faze me the way I used to eat. Good luck figuring out what gives you relief.

I don't even know where to begin.

I had a baby in May 2020. Had a lot of reflux while pregnant but I figured hey, that's what happens. And it seemed to go away after the baby came. Fast-forward to Feb 2021, I had been slowly getting back into jogging and experimenting with intermittent fasting to lose the baby weight. Suddenly started to not be able to tolerate exercise - was feeling short of breath as soon as I started moving. That was weird, I thought, and then came the lightheadedness...waking up every morning feeling slightly hungover despite not having any alcohol. And it stuck around most of the day. Also found myself extremely tired most of the time. So ok, I head to the doc. First thing they did was check for anemia and electrolyte imbalance...nope fine. Well then it must be your intermittent fasting (at that point was only trying 16hrs...come on). I stopped that, no change. Well you must not be drinking enough water. Starting sloshing down a gallon a day. No improvement. Well it's probably just acid reflux. Started taking pepcid. Symptoms stuck around stubbornly. Finally had some referrals and testing--was really put through the ringer...no inner ear issues according to the vestibular physical therapist, no cardiac issues (believe me, I had the full rundown), no neurological issues (had brain MRI, EMG), even saw the pulmonologist. Everything unremarkable. I thought, maybe it's in my head...started therapy. I've been on wellbutrin for over 10 years and feel my emotional well being has been mostly in control (besides, ya know, becoming a new parent)...psychiatrist suggested adding prozac anyway. I said, I don't think I need it but if you think it will rule out anxiety as a cause of my issues then sure, we'll do it. (spoiler alert: it didn't help) Meanwhile I stopped exercising or really paying much attention to what I was eating. At some point I stopped the pepcid because it didn't seem to be doing anything for me.

Fast forward again to several months later...many of the original issues seemed to have resolved themselves, and I learned to live with the lightheadedness. It sometimes is better, sometimes worse, but sure ok, I guess I can deal with it and feel better knowing that nothing dire was going on. In October 2021 I decided to try working out again with the goal of completing a sprint triathlon this June. Additionally, I was going to PT for an SI joint issue that I was told had a lot to do with having been pregnant/having a c-section/not having strong core muscles. I started with swimming and worked my way up to a half mile in the pool. I added jogging on the treadmill in January and toward the end of the month completed my PT stint--I was feeling great. I was still getting dizzy but trudging through it, and at least the other stuff I had experienced wasn't an issue anymore. But I started having more digestive issues in January...constant bloating the worst by far. I saw someone from integrative medicine and she suggested an elimination diet (and of course a ton of supplements). Did that for 2 weeks--very strict, very miserable existence because I very much enjoy food. It didn't help. I tried a longer fast--made it 4 days before quitting...despite taking adequate amounts of electrolytes (I research everything before I do it), I felt worse than ever. I had my first appt with GI. She suggested trying low-FODMAP diet, testing for SIBO, and an xray to make sure I wasn't just constipated. The xray was neg for excessive stool and SIBO test was negative (though I've heard it can be unreliable). Didn't get a chance to really try the diet because within a week after seeing the doc, for some reason I started getting nauseated...like all day, unrelenting nausea. No vomiting, no terrible abdominal pain...just kind of the same old intermittent diarrhea and gas pains I've had my whole life. And the day after this started I woke up with excruciating lower back pain. The pain made it impossible to do much of anything...but it did ease somewhat after a few days so I thought maybe I just pulled a muscle or something. The pain didn't let up after 2 weeks so I dragged myself back to the orthopedic folks. She said my SI joints were flaring up and prescribed a short course of steroids. Meanwhile, still super nauseated and bloated. Back started to get a little better but unfortunately that improvement didn't last. Started wondering if the back pain and digestive issues are related--have been making sure to take only tylenol since Feb. I haven't worked out in like 6 weeks so I feel like a super slug. Saw the GI again last week, she recommended an ultrasound to check for gallstones and starting omeprazole. No stones on US so she recommended abdominal/pelvic CT, which I had this week and already came back normal. Have been taking omeprazole for a full week now. Nausea is maybe a little better but still bloated AND now I have more overt symptoms of reflux--always feeling like something's in my throat...woke up with a sore throat today that has not gone away, shortness of breath, regurgitation, chest pangs occasionally...eating a lot of tums. The GI's comment on my CT results were that she wanted me to message her in 1-2 weeks if symptoms have not improved and we'll discuss doing endoscopy.

So...I guess I really have two questions...1) can taking drugs like omeprazole actually make your reflux worse (NOT as rebound reflux--I'm still taking it daily) and if it does eventually help, how long should it take? I mean...do I really need to give it 1-2 MORE weeks to do its thing? And 2) how the hell do I figure out what to eat? I know certain things I absolutely have to avoid because they make me super sick (coffee and chocolate so far)...but looking at low FODMAP foods that are also good for GERD and that will help me lose a little weight (I am still overweight by about 30 lbs--thanks, grad school)...just doesn't seem to be a lot of options. Salad and oatmeal every day, apparently? Have considered just fasting but then...that didn't work before either.

It's really weird to think of all of my issues (besides maybe the back pain) could be due to acid reflux..particularly because I basically only have heartburn when I'm taking the GD pills to prevent it. But...bodies are wacky.

I don't even know where to begin.

I had a baby in May 2020. Had a lot of reflux while pregnant but I figured hey, that's what happens. And it seemed to go away after the baby came. Fast-forward to Feb 2021, I had been slowly getting back into jogging and experimenting with intermittent fasting to lose the baby weight. Suddenly started to not be able to tolerate exercise - was feeling short of breath as soon as I started moving. That was weird, I thought, and then came the lightheadedness...waking up every morning feeling slightly hungover despite not having any alcohol. And it stuck around most of the day. Also found myself extremely tired most of the time. So ok, I head to the doc. First thing they did was check for anemia and electrolyte imbalance...nope fine. Well then it must be your intermittent fasting (at that point was only trying 16hrs...come on). I stopped that, no change. Well you must not be drinking enough water. Starting sloshing down a gallon a day. No improvement. Well it's probably just acid reflux. Started taking pepcid. Symptoms stuck around stubbornly. Finally had some referrals and testing--was really put through the ringer...no inner ear issues according to the vestibular physical therapist, no cardiac issues (believe me, I had the full rundown), no neurological issues (had brain MRI, EMG), even saw the pulmonologist. Everything unremarkable. I thought, maybe it's in my head...started therapy. I've been on wellbutrin for over 10 years and feel my emotional well being has been mostly in control (besides, ya know, becoming a new parent)...psychiatrist suggested adding prozac anyway. I said, I don't think I need it but if you think it will rule out anxiety as a cause of my issues then sure, we'll do it. (spoiler alert: it didn't help) Meanwhile I stopped exercising or really paying much attention to what I was eating. At some point I stopped the pepcid because it didn't seem to be doing anything for me.

Fast forward again to several months later...many of the original issues seemed to have resolved themselves, and I learned to live with the lightheadedness. It sometimes is better, sometimes worse, but sure ok, I guess I can deal with it and feel better knowing that nothing dire was going on. In October 2021 I decided to try working out again with the goal of completing a sprint triathlon this June. Additionally, I was going to PT for an SI joint issue that I was told had a lot to do with having been pregnant/having a c-section/not having strong core muscles. I started with swimming and worked my way up to a half mile in the pool. I added jogging on the treadmill in January and toward the end of the month completed my PT stint--I was feeling great. I was still getting dizzy but trudging through it, and at least the other stuff I had experienced wasn't an issue anymore. But I started having more digestive issues in January...constant bloating the worst by far. I saw someone from integrative medicine and she suggested an elimination diet (and of course a ton of supplements). Did that for 2 weeks--very strict, very miserable existence because I very much enjoy food. It didn't help. I tried a longer fast--made it 4 days before quitting...despite taking adequate amounts of electrolytes (I research everything before I do it), I felt worse than ever. I had my first appt with GI. She suggested trying low-FODMAP diet, testing for SIBO, and an xray to make sure I wasn't just constipated. The xray was neg for excessive stool and SIBO test was negative (though I've heard it can be unreliable). Didn't get a chance to really try the diet because within a week after seeing the doc, for some reason I started getting nauseated...like all day, unrelenting nausea. No vomiting, no terrible abdominal pain...just kind of the same old intermittent diarrhea and gas pains I've had my whole life. And the day after this started I woke up with excruciating lower back pain. The pain made it impossible to do much of anything...but it did ease somewhat after a few days so I thought maybe I just pulled a muscle or something. The pain didn't let up after 2 weeks so I dragged myself back to the orthopedic folks. She said my SI joints were flaring up and prescribed a short course of steroids. Meanwhile, still super nauseated and bloated. Back started to get a little better but unfortunately that improvement didn't last. Started wondering if the back pain and digestive issues are related--have been making sure to take only tylenol since Feb. I haven't worked out in like 6 weeks so I feel like a super slug. Saw the GI again last week, she recommended an ultrasound to check for gallstones and starting omeprazole. No stones on US so she recommended abdominal/pelvic CT, which I had this week and already came back normal. Have been taking omeprazole for a full week now. Nausea is maybe a little better but still bloated AND now I have more overt symptoms of reflux--always feeling like something's in my throat...woke up with a sore throat today that has not gone away, shortness of breath, regurgitation, chest pangs occasionally...eating a lot of tums. The GI's comment on my CT results were that she wanted me to message her in 1-2 weeks if symptoms have not improved and we'll discuss doing endoscopy.

So...I guess I really have two questions...1) can taking drugs like omeprazole actually make your reflux worse (NOT as rebound reflux--I'm still taking it daily) and if it does eventually help, how long should it take? I mean...do I really need to give it 1-2 MORE weeks to do its thing? And 2) how the hell do I figure out what to eat? I know certain things I absolutely have to avoid because they make me super sick (coffee and chocolate so far)...but looking at low FODMAP foods that are also good for GERD and that will help me lose a little weight (I am still overweight by about 30 lbs--thanks, grad school)...just doesn't seem to be a lot of options. Salad and oatmeal every day, apparently? Have considered just fasting but then...that didn't work before either.

It's really weird to think of all of my issues (besides maybe the back pain) could be due to acid reflux..particularly because I basically only have heartburn when I'm taking the GD pills to prevent it. But...bodies are wacky.

I hesitate to write this because i am absolutely not an expert and am an experiment of one. With that said I will tell you my experience.

i was on Prilosec (prescription) for years and then there were a series of events and I stopped taking it. Surprise. NO problem. Then I had an endoscopy (for other reasons) and asked the doctor if he thought I should be taking Prilosec and he said he saw no reason. So I have not gone back to it.

What I did do was adjust my diet and stop eating citrus, tomatoes, and other items - i actually forget now because it is all in the past. I DO eat yogurt, cottage cheese, other cheese (not cheddar) peanut butter, meat, cooked (and non cruciferous) vegetables, yams, berries, bananas, other stuff. . I have a whole list somewhere if you want it, just PM me. I created the list by trial and error - if something gave me GERD, out it went.

One take away I came to was the gastroenterologists do like to prescribe Prilosec. If you have something it will probably fix it. I have other problems but Prilosec is not fixing them, still the GI doctor wanted me to take the Prilosec. . All medicines have an affect on our kidneys and livers. I have a sense Prilosec is not a bad medicine any more than any other (I went back to the original research and found it not compelling) ..it is just that all medicines have problems.

BTW - that vinegar. Yikes. NEVER or as Jackie above called it - "acid"

Best to you and good luck-

Val

Were you taking omeprazol for GERD?
You substituted the IBS clear for omeprazol for GERD medication?

Thanks! I am seeing an osteopathic doctor now and goi g to stop taking Omeprazole and see what happens. She is ok with me trying this. I found out almost 3 years ago I have a sliding hiatal hernia and the GE started me on the oneprazole just a 40 mg in the morning. Wish me luck because like most folks, every food on the “bad” list is what I like to eat.

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

If you've been taking the PPI for 3 years, then you have to wean yourself off slowly, otherwise you'll have rebound acid. So I suggest getting a 20 mg dose and reducing to that for a number of days (look on the internet - some say 10 days), and then if you feel ok you can stop the 20 mg one day but take it the next day and taper off slowly. Let us know how it goes.

Ok thanks for the suggestion. I’ve been taking Omeprazole just about : years. I only had one “attack” of intense bloating and gas before getting that upper GI that showed a sliding hiatal hernia. I’ll take it every other day then and see how that goes for a week or so. Then try every 3 days. It’s a capsule form. The doctor said just quit and manage it over the counter until the symptoms fade or I could go back to taking it. It’s an experiment I guess ..with me as the guinea pig.