PPI's for acid reflux- anyone here take them?

[Peregrine Took]

Lots of scary things online about them - bad side effects and long term damage - even dementia.
What's your opinion on them - some love them others say they wish they never started on them. My GI doc says I should take them for 3 months.

Thanks.

[captain queeg]

1. Ive been taking them for years. I've read some scary stuff but they haven't done me any harm I know of.

When I started Prilosec in the 90s it wasn’t approved for long time use but that has changed nowadays. It has sure been a godsend for me and my sensitive stomach.

[surfered]

2. I've been taking them for 20 years with no problems.

My gastroenterologist explained GERD can cause esophageal cancer. PPIs protect you from that. I had an endoscopy of my esophagus every 5 years to check for that.

I recently had my hiatal hernia, the cause of my GERD, repaired and am now off PPIs.

[TBF]

3. I have been taking omeprozole for years at my internist's

direction. He instructed that I take them 1/2 an hour earlier than any food/meds in the morning. Something to do with the acid production of the stomach. At any rate, I only take the amount he prescribed and according to his directions. I am on some fairly strong meds for auto-immune issues so the omeprozole is probably the least of my problems. If you have a limit of 3 months, that is even safer.

[slightlv]

18. Sounds like you and I are on the same type of schedule

with similar drugs. I've taken omeprozole for years, too. I've not seen any bad side effects. The only thing I've noticed is that lately it doesn't seem to help quite as much. But then, it's about time to have my esophagus stretched again so I figure that's part of the problem.

[TBF]

19. Oh interesting - I had to look it up!

I did do the colonoscopy & endoscopy. No stretching though. They did remove benign polyps. The only time I have any issues is spicy food sometimes. Otherwise, the med has worked pretty well so far.

[slightlv]

20. I have no problem with spices

thank goodness! I LOVE spicy food! I don't think I could cook without hot chili powder, cumin, Louisiana Hot Sauce, and red pepper flakes! (LOL) I've always loved spicy food, and lived 20 years in South Texas. Brought the cooking I learned back to the Midwest with me. Really started to get into it because of the Curcumen, to try to help keep inflammation levels down. I've got Fibro and Lupus, and inflammation is always off the scale.

I was lucky... no polyps. I just have a very narrow esophagus, and will choke on just about anything, including medicine pills. I can do capsules okay, but tablets just aren't going to go down my gullet. I've made it a note on my med list so that's all I'm prescribed now... that, and no child-proof lids on bottles!

[Wicked Blue]

4. I do, and they help

One surprising medication that also quells the reflux is a daily asthma inhaler.
My doctor told me the fluticasone oral inhaler helps some people with GERD. In my case it does.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

16. I take fluticasone

Nasal spray. Didn’t know fluticcasone helped reflux. I take ppi’s for years and I have no bad effects. I however take choline to offset the antichologernic stuff.

[multigraincracker]

5. 30 years. If I forget to take it in morning

I have heartburn by noon.

[k55f5r]

6. I started taking Pantapropolzol(sp)

20 years ago after my gall bladder was removed. 20mg once a day.
About 10 years ago my Dr. switched me to 40mg once a day. If I miss a couple of days, i'm chain-chewing tums until my prescription is refilled.

[skylucy]

7. I've been taking 20 mg Omeprazole every day for the past 5 years.

So far so good. I know many other people who take one every day as directed by their doctors. If you decide to stop after 3 months, be sure to taper off of them or you could get rebound acid reflux.

[bullimiami]

8. Pantoprazole but insurance only wanted to cover a few months per year.

No side effects. Worked well.

I switched to taking otc omeorazole or similar which is half the strength and I take it every other day or so.

Works well enough.

[Midnight Writer]

9. I take them when needed (if I have GERD a few nights in a row) but never for more than three months.

They work well for me, but I am wary of taking them long-term. I have read that some people are more sensitive to the side-effects than others.

The best solution I have found for GERD is to elevate the head of my bed a bit. Gravity helps keep the acid from flowing up your esophagus. My gastroenterologist laughs at this, but it really works for me.

[biophile]

12. I do t know why he would laugh at that - it makes sense

Sometimes doctors are weird. Patients know their bodies and doctors are usually overconfident in their beliefs. (And I say beliefs because medicine is not always science based; or at least not always based on good science)

[rso]

10. RSO

On Omeprazole 20mg. daily for 15 years and no problems.

[BoomaofBandM]

11. My doctor suggested pepcid complete, it helps me.

[biophile]

13. 3 months is probably ok

But as noted above, taper off or you get rebound reflux - osteoporosis is one of the silent serious side effects of long term use.

[Thedemby]

14. Not for me.

My kidneys function very low. I read literature saying there was some connection between ppi and reduced kidney function. I changed to pepcid generic. Only applies to long term use.

[Fiendish Thingy]

15. I've been taking aciphex/rabeprazole for over 20 years

No problems, no side effects.

I’m 67, and I can prove it:

MAN, PERSON, CAMERA, TV

My docs said the low risk of side effects is worth preventing ulcers and stomach/esophageal cancer.

Note: IIRC, the “studies” of links between PPI’s and dementia are inconclusive, mostly “correlative” meta analyses that noted that people who took PPI’s for extended periods also had high rates of dementia - that is not a causal link.

[Elessar Zappa]

17. Been on Prilosec 20 years.

I can’t go off it, nothing else treats my reflux. I haven’t had any negative effects that I know of.

[NJCher]

21. if you try to quit a PPI

You will get a rebound effect and the GERD is even worse than ever. However, if you are careful how you do it, you can hold the discomfort down until you get used to the new medication.

I quit them after taking them for years. They were great; really did the job. Unfortunately I didn't want to risk the dementia thing, so I moved to Famotidine, 20 mg 3 x a day. I also drink water with calcium carbonate in it if I need to.

If you take them for 3 months, you'll probably have to wean yourself off of them by taking fewer and fewer of the little beads inside the capsule each day. I think it took me about a month or so to get off them.

I have one of the top gastroenterologists in the state as my doctor. He explained the studies, but it's so long ago that I can't recall it. A lot of it has to do with the complexity in constructing studies that would draw that line from PPI to dementia. He actually thinks I should take the PPI. The way he says it is "there's something there but what it is, we don't know." He humors me, however, and goes along with the Famotidine.