PPI's

lilydonoghue

I was put on Omeprazole 4 years ago for heartburn. However I was never tested for any problems with my gut. Lately I read that these medications (PPI's) can affect your absorption of B vitamins and can also affect your cognitive ability. Also a very small clinical study showed that these tablets stop your stomach producing acid and even when you stop taking them that is irreversible.
I have tried to come off these and even after 12 months the discomfort and pain were unbearable and I had to go back on them.
Has anybody successfully stopped taking these.

Arbie

We can't give you medical advice but I can give you some background information and my experience with them. The best person to discuss this all with is your GP.

lilydonoghue wrote: »

...I was never tested for any problems with my gut. Lately I read that these medications (PPI's) can affect your absorption of B vitamins and can also affect your cognitive ability. Also a very small clinical study showed that these tablets stop your stomach producing acid and even when you stop taking them that is irreversible.

It is not normal practice to perform stomach tests before prescribing PPIs except in some specific cases or with a particular history.

Every drug has side effects, even common medications like Calpol and Nurofen. PPIs have relatively few side effects and even then they tend to be minor. They are considered safe enough that they are sold over the counter without prescription.

lilydonoghue wrote: »

I was put on Omeprazole 4 years ago for heartburn... I have tried to come off these and even after 12 months the discomfort and pain were unbearable and I had to go back on them.

If a doctor has prescribed a PPI for you then you should discuss with them before you decide to stop it. You are on it for a reason and should only stop under medical supervision.

lilydonoghue wrote: »

Has anybody successfully stopped taking these.

People come off PPIs all the time without any problems, but the longer you are on it the greater the likelihood of rebound gastritis and other complications. I was on a PPI for a long period of time and successfully stopped it, but no 2 patients are alike and you may have specific needs, so it is important to speak to your GP or consultant before stopping any medication.

lilydonoghue

I was not looking for medical advice but for personal experiences. However thank you for taking the time to reply and i have taken what you said on board

echo beach

Arbie wrote: »

People come off PPIs all the time without any problems, but the longer you are on it the greater the likelihood of rebound gastritis and other complications. I was on a PPI for a long period of time and successfully stopped it, but no 2 patients are alike and you may have specific needs, so it is important to speak to your GP or consultant before stopping any medication.

For any medical condition you have to look at factors other than medication but they can be missed in a rushed consultation. Lifestyle, in this particular case diet, smoking and alcohol consumption, are also important and you should talk about these as well to your doctor.

lilydonoghue

I am about 2 stone overweight and I do not smoke or take alcohol. I am very greedy with food though. I just worry about long term use of PPI's and if they cause dementia and interfere with absorption of certain nutrients. They do interfere with absorption of Eltroxin so I have been medically advised not to take them at the same time.

farmerwifelet

Talk to your GP. I asked him about apple cider vinegar. He said i could give it a go but wasn't overly enthusiastic. I couldn't stomach it at all. I changed to the apple cider vinegar tablets at breakfast and haven't looked back. I have also changed my diet, I am eating healthier and not snacking late at night to give my stomach a chance to digest without it causing reflux when i am sleeping. I have made a real effort to change what i am eating and it has made a huge difference. I am 2 and a half stone down now. YAY! Also I drink peppermint tea and manuka honey. It gives me a little sweetness and also helps with digestion.

lilydonoghue

farmerwifelet wrote: »

Talk to your GP. I asked him about apple cider vinegar. He said i could give it a go but wasn't overly enthusiastic. I couldn't stomach it at all. I changed to the apple cider vinegar tablets at breakfast and haven't looked back. I have also changed my diet, I am eating healthier and not snacking late at night to give my stomach a chance to digest without it causing reflux when i am sleeping. I have made a real effort to change what i am eating and it has made a huge difference. I am 2 and a half stone down now. YAY! Also I drink peppermint tea and manuka honey. It gives me a little sweetness and also helps with digestion.

Thanks - this is what I was looking for, some personal experience. How long were you taking these tablets for?

farmerwifelet

lilydonoghue wrote: »

Thanks - this is what I was looking for, some personal experience. How long were you taking these tablets for?

I was on them for over 3 years probably nearer 5 before switching over. I also kept a food diary and found out yoghurt and onions really upset my tummy. Can eat small amount of onion now but still cant touch yoghurt.

lilydonoghue

farmerwifelet wrote: »

I was on them for over 3 years probably nearer 5 before switching over. I also kept a food diary and found out yoghurt and onions really upset my tummy. Can eat small amount of onion now but still cant touch yoghurt.

And did you just stop taking them or did you have to wean off them. Unfortunately chocolate seems to aggravate me and of course I bloody love it

farmerwifelet

It has been a while now but i think i did then the apple cider vinegar tablets and just stopped taking the ppi. Now i do remember a few days of bad heartburn about a week in and i went back on the ppi until it calmed down then back on the apple cider tablets. Keeping an eye on the food i was eating was a massive help turns out raw tomatoes are a big no no for me. Re-introduced them but can only manage them cooked. It was kind of trial and error until i figured out what foods would set me off. Its funny you say chocolate i adore it but it brings me out in mouth ulcers. Have a massive one now after eating an easter egg. :rolleyes:

echo beach

The limited evidence there is for stopping or reducing versus continuing long-term proton pump inhibitor use in adults is discussed in this article. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011969.pub2/full
You can just read the 'plain language summary' if you aren't familiar with reading this sort of paper.

Key results

We found that deprescribing methods led to worse symptoms control while considerably reducing pill use. Deprescribing PPIs may lead to side effects such as inflammation of the esophagus. Very few data were available to make a conclusion regarding long-term benefits and harms of PPI reduction or discontinuation.

Quality of the evidence

Overall, the quality of evidence for this review ranged from very low to moderate. Trials were inconsistent with how they reported symptom control. There were also limitations in how the studies were conducted (e.g. participants and investigators may have known which medicine they received), which lowered the quality of evidence. Other contributing factors included small sample sizes for most trials and inconsistent results between studies.

Kurtosis

Some of the same people who carried out the review linked by echo beach have developed guidelines for stopping medications, including PPIs. They have some good resources available on their website to help doctors, nurses and pharmacists, as well as information for people taking these medications. The pamphlet on PPIs is available here.