Side effects with omeprazole/Prilosec use

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

10 years ago or so, I had severe symptoms of having food stuck in my esophagus and not being able to swallow or bring food back up. This put me in the hospital a few times until an endoscopy diagnosed me with a schatzki ring. My gastroenterologist nipped it in one or two places and prescribed omeprazole 20 mg once per day. This worked fine for years. My current primary care physician wants me to come off of this proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and use an H2 blocker instead. I agree. I tried about a 10-day transition alternating between the two medications and then went to the H2 blocker (Famotidine) for 3 months with no omeprazole. I had swallowing difficulty symptoms almost every meal. They were mild to severe ( inability to swallow or bring food back up for 20 minutes with a production of fluid [saliva?] which required spitting and some small amounts of food coming up). So, I went back on Omeprazole about a month ago. Now I have obtained a prescription both. I would like to try to wean myself off of the PPI and onto an H2 blocker again. Here is my plan:● Alternate omeprazole 20 mg /day early am with famotidine 20 mg before breakfast and dinner for 14 days. Then alternate with PPI every 3rd day for 14 days. Then alternate with PPI every 4th day for 14 days.Does anyone have any experience with this transition? Any suggestions.

I have been reading the here about the long term side effects of omeprozole and am going to try to wean off. Suggestions? Thanks!

Hi there- My dad was put on omeprozole in the hospital and had a long stay at both the acute care hospital, then a rehab facility. I was dismayed to find he was on it long term too after reading about the side effects.

(Disclaimer: If you went on it after talking to your doctor, of course, might make sense to talk with them about it.)

I used this as a guide to come up with a plan; it’s from the VA:
https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/coming-off-a-proton-pump-inhibitor.asp
I’m not sure how long you’ve been taking the PPI, and that may affect how difficult it could be to get off it. My dad was on it a moderate amount of time, and he didn’t have trouble, thankfully.

He also took/takes a magnesium supplement, which you may want to consider, especially if you have symptoms related to magnesium deficiency (fatigue, leg cramps, nausea). PPIs have been found to inhibit absorption of magnesium and deficiency is more prevalent in older people. You can also be tested.

Basically we reduced the dose as slowly as we could reasonably cut the tablets down with a pill cutter. My dad is very sensitive to medications, so we’re used to having to taper and titrate slowly. I can’t remember the denominations we used, but most sources say it should take longer than two weeks to get off it.

I think it took us at least a month. He’d take a dose for a week, then lower again, and so on. Getting down to the end, we alternated every other day, then every three days until he was off it.

I believe it also helps to address lifestyle changes, like reducing or avoiding foods that tend to cause more acid while you’re getting used to being off the PPI, in my dad’s case it’s important for him to eat while being as upright as possible (he is recovering from a stroke), and doing breathing exercises.

Good luck. I agree and I feel it’s worth it to try to get off it. I feel like the consequences should be more well-known. The hospital that prescribed it didn’t even discuss it with us.

I have been reading the here about the long term side effects of omeprozole and am going to try to wean off. Suggestions? Thanks!

Hi there- My dad was put on omeprozole in the hospital and had a long stay at both the acute care hospital, then a rehab facility. I was dismayed to find he was on it long term too after reading about the side effects.

(Disclaimer: If you went on it after talking to your doctor, of course, might make sense to talk with them about it.)

I used this as a guide to come up with a plan; it’s from the VA:
https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/coming-off-a-proton-pump-inhibitor.asp
I’m not sure how long you’ve been taking the PPI, and that may affect how difficult it could be to get off it. My dad was on it a moderate amount of time, and he didn’t have trouble, thankfully.

He also took/takes a magnesium supplement, which you may want to consider, especially if you have symptoms related to magnesium deficiency (fatigue, leg cramps, nausea). PPIs have been found to inhibit absorption of magnesium and deficiency is more prevalent in older people. You can also be tested.

Basically we reduced the dose as slowly as we could reasonably cut the tablets down with a pill cutter. My dad is very sensitive to medications, so we’re used to having to taper and titrate slowly. I can’t remember the denominations we used, but most sources say it should take longer than two weeks to get off it.

I think it took us at least a month. He’d take a dose for a week, then lower again, and so on. Getting down to the end, we alternated every other day, then every three days until he was off it.

I believe it also helps to address lifestyle changes, like reducing or avoiding foods that tend to cause more acid while you’re getting used to being off the PPI, in my dad’s case it’s important for him to eat while being as upright as possible (he is recovering from a stroke), and doing breathing exercises.

Good luck. I agree and I feel it’s worth it to try to get off it. I feel like the consequences should be more well-known. The hospital that prescribed it didn’t even discuss it with us.

I have been reading the here about the long term side effects of omeprozole and am going to try to wean off. Suggestions? Thanks!

I went off omeprozole and started taking NEXIUM when it became available OTC in 2014. I had no problem.

What really helped me in the end was having a LINX Augmentation device placed in 2018. I was having acid reflux 84 times a day and nothing was helping. Since the procedure and a hernia repair I have not had any problems. Please research this solution. Best to you.

I weaned off of Pantaprazole by taking it every other day for 2 weeks and then stopped it. I was getting severe leg cramps from it feeling like I was tearing my calf muscle. I would wake up screaming from the pain. I get my EGD and Colonoscopy in October. Hopefully I can stay off of it.

I had no clue that Pantaprazole had the horrible leg pain side effects. I too wake up in such excruciating pain that it takes my breath away. My dr only told me to take Magnesium but nothing about WHY I was going through Hell every night, I just thought it was horrible neuropathy! Thanks for sharing