Omeprazole

Hi 

Been to the drs today to ask for a repeat blood test, in June after Endo appt suggested doubling my vit d again.  I think this additional vit D has now kicked in as I`m having some different symptoms.  The additional symptoms are a pounding head ache which is constant and I can feel it in my ears and throat       Heart burn and acid reflux systems, tummy problems but these could be the ulcerative colitis and he has prescribed me Omeprazole.  

Has anyone tried this  

Thanks 

Mel

To the best of my knowledge it's a proton pump inhibitor Mel (PPI). A few people on here have taken or are taking PPIs (Amanda and Audrey I believe....?) but I have been avoiding them like the plague and trying to get by without them as they can be pretty unpleasant I'm led to believe. I don't think they're meant for long term use because of the side effects, am I right peeps? I'll let others pop in here who have more experience than me ....

Jasmine x

It is a PPI I've had this and have now progressed to the stronger version nexium which is not what I'd recommend anyone to do if they can help it.
They aren't meant for long term but unfortunately once you are on them it tends to be long term as stopping them brings back the original symptoms x 10+ 
I have read somewhere that they reduce the levels of calcium in your blood so god knows what mine would be if that was the case. 
If you can take them just for a week or two then stop and it works for you then that's ok but there are many people like me who have to take them all the time and that's not fun, however there are very conflicting reports online as to what side effects they have so I'm not sure what you can believe.
Amanda xxxx

Hi 

Thanks Amanda and Jasmine for you help. 

I`ve still not made up my mind whether to take it or not i`m just trying to put up with the symptoms which I am finding very hard at the moment.  I see a gastro on Thursday so might try to hold out for his suggestions.   The internet is very confusing and I dont know what to think?

Mel 

Yes, you are right, Jasmine!    I have taken both Omeprazole (Prilosec) and Pantoprazole (Protonix).    I was prescribed these when the Nexium, Pepcid, TUMs, etc. would not work for me.    I NEVER had trouble with acid reflux until almost 4 years ago, when all of these other symptoms started.    A couple of years ago, I had a scope done, which revealed a small area of irritation in my stomach.   That was when Prilosec was prescribed.    Now, I HATE taking medication, and I only take it if I absolutely have to.   I have suffered through all of these symptoms over the past 4 years only taking Aleve on REALLY bad days.    I refused to take anything else, and I HATE taking the Aleve too.  So it killed me when my doctors told me I needed to take a PPI.   I too have heard some pretty nasty things about these, so I really tried to talk them out of this.    They told me that since nothing else was working, unless I wanted to end up with esophageal or stomach cancer, I needed to do this.    So I did.   And long-term use is supposed to be a no-no with these things, but if nothing else works, what's a girl to do?    I was hoping I wouldn't need them after parathyroid surgery, but the acid reflux has not resolved.   Again, I tried Pepcid, Tagamet, and TUMS, but none of these worked.   So here I am again taking Protonix and hating it!    I am now taking 1/2 tablet a day instead of a whole tablet.   My PA suggested this because if I take a whole tablet daily, I start getting white sores inside of my lower lip.  This doesn't happen with 1/2 a tablet, but it doesn't work too well either.  I don't want to tell my PA this because I really don't want to have to take a whole tablet again!   I have been taking TUMS also to try to alleviate the symptoms.  I have been researching on the internet recently for natural alternatives, but I doubt if any will work.   I REALLY want to stop taking this stuff!!!  

Sorry I can't be more encouraging, Mel, but it scares me to take stuff too, and PPIs are supposed to be bad when taken long term.    

Audrey

I took the 14 day otc PPI and it did help. My pcp wanted me to take another 14 days worth so I took a few more and stopped. So far I'm better. With your U.C. it is important to take vitamin D. Are you on any meds for U.C. ? Good luck.

Thanks, Yes for the UC I`m taking Prednisolone foam but I see a Gastro on Thursday so this might change. 

I was thinking that instead of Omeprazole I could take some Gaviscon to take the edge of the reflux until Thursday.  I read somewhere that Gaviscon was ok in small doses.

Thanks again.    

I forgot to mention that I also tried Gaviscon, but that didn't work for me either. I hope it works better for you, Mel. I would definitely try that first before turning to a PPI. I think I might try it again myself and just take more of it. I still have quite a bit of it here. I am so afraid to continue taking the PPIs, I stopped taking them yesterday. I'm hoping I can control the acid until I can take care of the thyroid issue. I read that an underactive thyroid can cause acid reflux, because it weakens the muscles, which also causes problems with the esophagus. Since I've had so much trouble with severely weakened muscles all over my body, that would make perfect sense. I do a lot of praying now a days for us all!!

Audrey

Tried Gaviscon yesterday and used it again today, it seems to have helped a little, particularly last night.  I was still in some discomfort with the reflux but I am going to continue to see if I get more relief.  

I hope the Gaviscon works for you Audrey.

Have you got the Advanced Gaviscon Mel ? Original doesn't work as well.

Nelly

Thanks, Mel. Actually, today I don't seem to need anything. Maybe the pain from my ear is just so bad, I am not noticing anything else.   

I'm very glad it is helping you!! It's always so nice to find a solution to a health issue.

Audrey

Hi Audrey I hope your ear pain is getting better? Hows the Gaviscon working for you?

Hi Nelly Ive just got the ordinary one, I think I will try the advanced one this week.  I still feel the acid taste and sensation  in my throat. 

Take care x

Gaviscon Advanced contains more sodium alginate so it forms a stronger raft to prevent reflux.

Do give it a try Mel, it may well do the trick.

Nelly

Thanks, Mel.   Actually the ear pain is a bit better, but I am still needing the Vicodin, so I guess it's still pretty bad, and I still can't hear AT ALL out of that ear.   The wick the ER doctor inserted on Friday fell out yesterday afternoon.  I was hoping I would be able to hear once that was out, but I can't.    And yesterday afternoon the left ear started hurting again!!  I don't know what is going on here!    The left one is not hurting as badly as the right now, and I'm hoping it does not get as bad!    I will be seeing the ENT doc tomorrow, and I can't wait!    I still think I have caused this problem myself from scratching my ear canals practically nonstop for close to 4 years because of the nonstop itching in there.    I think I must have injured the canals from scratching, and that has caused the pain and infections.    I HATE to itch!  Many times I made my canals very sore from scratching.  To me, that felt much better than that intense itching!    Well, it sure as heck does not feel better now!        I have not had any fingers or anything else in my ear canals to scratch since last Thursday, and I will never do that again!    I will use drops to stop the itch now!    I have heard that itchy ear canals could possibly be caused from hypothyroidism.    Since my nephrologist just recently told me I need to increase my thyroid medication, I am praying that is why my canals have been itching so badly for the past 4 years.   Please keep your fingers crossed for me, because I will surely go insane if they continue to itch like this!

Regarding the Gaviscon, something very funny has happened.   I stopped taking the Protonix several days ago, and I haven't seemed to need ANYTHING since that time.    Very strange!    I had heard that hypothyroidism can also cause acid reflux because it weakens the muscles of the body, and goodness knows, I've sure had trouble with extremely weak muscles over the past 5 months, so maybe increasing the thyroid meds is helping.  The extreme muscle weakness that I felt for about 4-1/2 months has greatly resolved over the past couple of weeks.   Most days my muscles feel perfectly normal now.    I increased my Armour from 75 mg to 90 mg about a month ago.   I just increased it to 105 mg a few days ago.   Hopefully, the increase will stop the itching ear canals AND the acid reflux.   I'll keep you posted.     Thanks for asking.

Audrey

Good luck with the ENT tomorrow, glad to hear some bits of you are feeling better, let's hope it will be all of you soon.
Amanda xxxx

Thanks, Amanda. Yes, if I can get rid of this ear pain now and can regain my hearing, I will be better able to enjoy all of the other improvements. I sure wish everybody on here was feeling some improvements! If you're not, your time is coming!!   

Audrey

I'm glad your ear pain is a little better tomorrow Audrey and best of luck with the ENT appointment tomorrow. It sounds as if it was so bad, it will take some time to recover and get back to normal. It will be good to get it all checked out by the experts.

Love and hugs
Brigitte xx

Thanks, Brigitte. Yes, my PA seemed to think it was pretty bad. I guess the ER doctor did too since he prescribed Vicodin. I don't know why I just expected it to feel MUCH better in a couple of days, and I expected to have my hearing back by now too. A little overanxious, I guess.

I really am looking forward to having the ENT look at it. The only thing I'm worried about is, about 30 years ago, my left ear was infected pretty badly. That infection was different though. It was caused from fluid buildup behind the ear drum. The only way the doctor could treat it was to lance my ear drum. That was not too pleasant.    I am praying we don't have to that this time, but I'm pretty sure the infection is in the outer ear and not the inner ear, so I don't think we will. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

Audrey

Audrey, saying a little prayer for you that your ENT appointment goes well and that this whole nasty ear thing is soon resolved. I was SO pleased to read on another post (not sure which one now, lost the thread a bit today ....oh, I just made a joke ...unintentional, but I'll take any credit .....lol) that your muscle pain and weakness has subsided a little - saying a really BIG prayer that you will soon start to feel really well again, you so deserve it after all you've gone through.

Jasmine x

Thanks, Jasmine, but if anybody deserves to feel better, it would be YOU!!! My goodness, you have suffered way more than your share! Hopefully, very soon we will ALL be well and feeling good again!

I was afraid I was going to need to call my PA to ask if she could order more Vicodin for me. I wasn't sure if the ER doctor gave me enough pills to last til this afternoon. He had told me to see my ENT doc on Monday. Since I am going today, on Tuesday, I was afraid I was going to run out. I HATE taking meds for anything, but I have no problem at all taking Vicodin for this ear pain!!! OUCH! But it looks like I am going to be able to wait at least 8 hours to take this last pill!! The longest I've been able to wait since I started taking them on Friday afternoon was 7 hours, and I was only able to do that twice. Normally, I found it very necessary to take another one after waiting 6 hours. Well, the first couple of days, I would have liked to take them every 2 or 3 hours, but, of course, I couldn't. So I know this is improving. Sure can't wait to hear again! I haven't heard anything at all out of this ear since last Thursday.

I will post all about my appointment when I get back.

Audrey

Hi everyone interested in PPI's - I've just posted a new topic on these.

Love from Tigerlily xxxx