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Side effects with omeprazole/Prilosec use
i am an 18-year user of daily OTC Prilosec. It does a perfect job of controlling my GERD but I am constantly battling side effects of nutritional deficiencies in iron, B-12, magnesium, etc. For example, my hair is extremely thin and loss of energy is a constant problem. I am looking for specific help in knowing which supplements to take for this and in what doses and formats and on what schedule. All the nutritionists I've found locally are not well-versed in Prilosec use. Is there a medical provider out there who specializes in this? And would they be willing to work with me long distance?
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This sounds hopeful
I've been taking Omeprazol daily since 2017 and I believe it is not helpful for my sclerosis of the GI tract
Thank you
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1 ReactionI have been slowing weening off. I started with one day a week, taking vitamin E instead of omeprazole. My doctor recommended this and said you can’t take them together on same day, and just to alternate between the two of them.it was rough at first and I took it slow, doing this one day a week for months. Those days would be tough, but pushed though. Then I increased it two days a day (taking vitamin E instead of it). It took me over a year to wean off. If I have a really bad day, then the next day I might take it, but that was it. Unfortunately this past month, I have gone backwards and now taking omeprazole 3-4 days week. I need to take weaning off again. I have good things about Silver Fern to heal/fix Gerd but it is expensive. You just have to find what works for you and just start. You can do it!
How much Vit E do you take a day when you don't take the PPI?
Has anyone weaned off of 80mg ? I take 40mg in the morning and 40mg with dinner. My doctor wants me to stop taking the evening 40mg every other day and use pepcid instead on those days . and then stop evening dose completely after two weeks. I'm concerned that's too fast I stoped cold turkey with only 20mg and had severe acid reflux that's why My gi doctor put me on 80mg.
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5 ReactionsDoes anyone have a name of a doctor that could weaned me off slower ?
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1 ReactionYou always have the freedom to ignore advice and wean down as slowly as you like. It’s not like you need a prescription. But I will tell You I weaned off all Proton pump inhibitors after 16 years because they have long term side effects like dementia/ cognitive decline that H2 agonists like Pepcid don’t have. So I took 2 Pepcid in morning and 1 before dinner to begin and supplemented with less food in single sittings, more tums and more water with my meals. Now I take 1 in the morning and rarely need a late day Pepcid or any Tums.
You should figure it out and get off PPIs in my opinion - while you can still remember why you wanted to.
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7 ReactionsSo on PPI's our body makes more acid to compensate, so when we try to stop we are worse off then when we started.
I did successfully wean off. I would not follow any prescribed regimen but go with how you feel. If you have bad symptoms, backtrack and move more slowly.
I did replace omeprazole with Pepcid, slowly, over time, replacing one dose every other day, as your doc suggested, and sticking with that for a couple of weeks. Once you are on Pepcid only you can gradually taper that as well.
I don't eat after 5pm and am careful about what I eat then. Even water before bed can cause issues. I mostly use Tums at this point but sometimes pop 1/2 Pepcid or even a whole on (20mg). I tend to have periods when it is worse. If I do Pepcid for more than 3 days in a row, I taper again.
It's trite but "listen to your body." It sounds like you have a good doc. I know too many on PPI's long term with no advice on how to get off and your doc sounds like they have the right idea and would no doubt be fine with you customizing the taper.
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6 ReactionsEchoing the others here...if you feel the pace your doctor is recommending, I would slow it down. It's completely okay for you to disagree with your doctor and/or listen to your body (though I know that sounds cheesy).
I personally haven't weaned off PPIs, but I had to wean my father off it because annoyingly they prescribed it to him in the hospital preventatively at high doses and we weren't aware of it. He's really sensitive to medications (as am I), and we reduced it as slowly as was possible without driving ourselves crazy splitting tablets or capsules.
I'm extremely sensitive to medication (I literally have a health condition and that is one of the symptoms), so even when I have to work up to a dose, I have to go more slowly than the average person. I prefer that to nasty side effects that could last longer though.
You can always reduce the dosage more quickly if you find you're not experiencing side effects, but if you go too fast, you could get really, really uncomfortable. And if you can look into other lifestyle or diet changes that you might be able to amp up to help compensate for any possible increase in acid reflux you experience while you're going off it, that could help?
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5 ReactionsHow high was you dose?Did your rebound acid last long? Thank you so much for everyones advice.
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1 ReactionHow high was your dose? Did your rebound acid last long? Thank you so much for reaching out.