How to Quit Pantoprazole?

@jerce I was taking Pantoprazole about a year and weaned myself off it over a few weeks, I found it very effective for my stomach problems however, I learned by incidence that this medication affects your bones by loosing calcium, my doctor didn’t tell me about this and when I asked him about it he said that wasn’t true…research shows that it is detrimental to bone density loss and I was also sent a bone scan because I lost a lot of density in the past year. Once again I have to wonder what happened to the doctor I trusted for 20+ years?

I was recently diagnosed with GERD after an endoscopy and famotidine was added to my meds although I was already on pantoprazole. After a week of no real results another med, sucralfate was added 2-3 times daily. They have finally begun to give some relief, but occasionally I add tums to my routine. I am eating a bland diet and smaller meals.

@frouke Would you share protocol please??

When I decided to discontinue Pantoprazole I started taking my dose every other day for two weeks, I then took one pill every two days for two weeks, now I’m taking basically four pills a week and I felt fine so I stopped completely, I didn’t experience any symptoms when I was reducing my medication, I didn’t want to go to another pill if I did have symptoms because most of these types of medication affect your bones and as a senior I can’t afford this side effect. We know that females are very prone to bone loss especially after menopause so we really need to research the pros and cons of taking them, someone told me that medications are like a trade off, you take them to control negative symptoms but then the meds cause new symptoms, this is what I refer to as the turning point, do I continue taking them because they help or not, the main point is that you’re aware of the facts, I wasn’t given any by my doctor and that’s what we have to be aware of so that we can make our own decisions.

@niifty1 I am pretty sure that protocols are different for each MD and doctors of different specialties. My doctor is an ENT specialist. Also the causes of GERD need to be understood in term of whole medical history.

I would recommend a discussion with a trusted MD.

@jerce ME TOO. On 11/6!

I agree that it’s different for everyone and the doctors they’re going to, a specialist is usually more thorough than a general practitioner who is semi retired, it’s very scary to depend entirely on an older doctor, I’m considered blessed to have a doctor at all where I live.

I think it's an individualized process switching from a PPI to a H2 blocker. I've had 2 fundolication surgeries for severe GERD, but I have not been able to tolerate many PPI's. I tried Pepcid with minimal results, so now I manage with diet & occasional Tums.
I'm a retired RN & I recall when Prilosec came on the market, the PDR showed a 'black box' next to it which signaled severe precautions in taking it. I still think PPI's are NOT meant to be taken long term. I also feel they interfere with complete digestion, plus a whole host of other undesirable side effects. If I need to take them, I do it for a month and stop. I have osteoporosis so I really should avoid them completely. But everyone is different, so it's difficult to make blanket recommendations for everyone to follow. Listen to your body, and your doctor.

@luvnursing52 well, yes. I am indeed taking medication for my medication. Prolia for osteoporosis. Maybe related to old age. Maybe due to medication. The pantoprozole has been such a pain reliever all these years. Hope that Prevacid is as effective.