Proton Pump Inhibitors - what is your experience?

[SummerSummerSummertime]

I’m about to take for a month to try to heal my distressingly inflamed gut / gastritis.

Have you taken them before?
Did you find coming off them difficult?

I’ve tried several different ones and they either give me diarrhoea or painful constipation. Can’t find one that actually helps. I’ve gone low fodmap and that has improved things slightly. DH however swears by omeprazole for his painful reflux, which he takes on and off for a month at a time when he has flare ups - no problems starting and stopping, he just finds the symptoms slowly return when he’s off them. You might have to try a few to find one that works for you.

I’ve been on and off whilst having treatment for a gut infection.

I think coming off them means your gut is flooded with the acid that they have been suppressing so it seems wise to taper off them rather than just go cold turkey.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of doing this successfully- i definitely need them right now have been sick as a dog 😔

Barely able to eat anything at the moment beyond bananas, white rice, cooked veg.

I found gaviscon advance better than lansoprazole actually have you tried that? Also i used to drink 2 bottles of wine per week and once I had flu and didn't drink for 2 weeks and found my symptoms almost went away! I drink half a bottle a week now and don't need anything at all. In case this helps anyone 😊

Sounds grim. I have come off them by tailoring the dose down and can stay off them as long as I avoid triggers.

Omeprazole works a treat for me after my SLT in a college job gave me ulcers!

No problems with it whatsoever.

Sufferer of severe bile reflux here and had many bouts of gastritis as a result that ended up needing surgery similar to a gastric bypass to reroute the bowel to stop the bile entering my stomach. Lansoprazole did nothing for me so I used to take 40mg omeprazole twice a day and still struggled on until a gastro consultant added in a drug called famotidine twice a day and that helped a lot in combination with the omeprazole.

There is a new class of drugs instead of PPIs called potassium-competitive acid blockers (PCABs) but they are not recommended as first line treatment so you may have to push back against being told they’re not suitable, or they’re not available through your ICB.

I was taking omeprazole for seven years not because I ever had reflux type symptoms but because it is prescribed alongside naproxen, which I needed for chronic bone pain, as a stomach protector.

Omeprazole gave me kidney stones and has very likely contributed to my osteoporosis.

I would be cautious about longterm use and personally would not take it again but ultimately if you need it you have to weigh up risk vs benefit.

When I stopped omeprazole I had temporary reflux for the first time in my life which I thought was my stomach getting used to the change.
I then reintroduced and weaned off more gradually over a month or so and am fine stomach wise again now.

I think my doctor was at fault for not discussing common side effects of such continuous longterm use and never reviewing my meds but that’s another story.

I have been given a few different ones of these, and had the full line up of side effects. GP eventually prescribed me the generation of meds which were used before the advent of PPIs, and I have been fine on them. So persevere, you will a drug which both helps you, and doesn’t cause trouble!

I’ve been on it for a long time, first because chemo and then because the drug after chemo. I’ve noticed my dosage is much stronger than my sisters so if it doesn’t work initially worth asking to up the dose.

I haven’t drunk wine for months as have been loosing weight. But just focusing on healing my gut now. I do love wine! Hope to be able to drink it again one day 😔

I have taken them in the past to deal with possible gastritis. They were fine. I stopped when I needed to. This was 6+ years ago. My gut issues were actually pancreas related, so once I treated that, I didn’t have any more problems.

I can’t take them now due to my cancer treatment as they can cause issues with the gut microbiome that affect how my treatment works. They were very effective though when I needed them.

One thing I will say, even though you didn’t ask, that made a huge difference to my gut issues was tackling chronic stress and trauma. My gut issues arose at a time of immense stress when I’d also had some childhood trauma come bubbling back up. I totally didn’t connect the two things at the time. But therapy and lifestyle changes to remove the source of the stress improved things about 90%. I do have a diagnosed condition, but I don’t even really need my meds for that these days. So much trauma resurfaces in our gut. It’s worth pursuing as part of your treatment approach.

i had them for gastritis, they work really well but they can cause rebound symptoms when you come off
I had to taper down really gradually, half a tablet, even quarter of a tablet, then every other day

I've had gastritis since 2023. It came out of nowhere and has been a complete nightmare. The GP put me on omeprazole, then when I told them they were making it worse, upped the dose. That completely messed up my whole digestive system. The food just sat undigested in my stomach and I gather some people can actually have a problem with reflux, because of low stomach acid. Mine was never tested. I weaned off of them after six months.

The things that have worked for me have been to completely cut out dairy. Three small meals, high in protein and vegetables. Having my last meal no later than 7pm (preferably 6pm) and a MSM sulfur supplemement. I have completely weaned off of antacids as even a rennie gives me a rebound effect. If I have a really bad attack I do occasionally use pepto bismol. Green tea is good too and fermented foods. I usually have a forkful of sauerkraut first thing.

Thank you for this. Some traumatic events have occurred lately, but nothing that’s anyone’s fault or that I can change. I do look after myself - but life happens sometimes doesn’t it.

I’m sorry to hear about your cancer. I hope the treatment is working x

Sounds very sensible!
I tend to avoid meds but I’m really needing the PPIs now, I’ve not been able to eat anything.
I’ll try weaning off after a month and see how I go.
I do take probiotics and a digestive enzyme usually.

I need to take aspirin daily for a ticker issue, and I take 40mg esomeprazole (Nexium) daily as a stomach protector. I have already had two gastric bleeds from the aspirin which was not fun. So far I don't notice any side effects. But I didn't have any gut issues before taking it either! I wonder if I would/will if I stopped taking it.

I really was so ill when I first had it, I couldn't eat properly for months and lost two stone in weight. I could barely get out of bed, I don't think I have ever been so ill. I was also on asprin for my heart, but I'm afraid I have taken myself off of it, as I couldn't live like that. I'd given up alcohol, so the GP thought that the asprin was the route cause. I'm trying to do the best I can for my heart by lifestyle adjustments.

I think most people are ok on PPIs my Dad takes it for gastritis, with no problems.

Lansoprazole had terrible effects for me - stripped my gut till it bled and omg the pain. I was only taking it on GP orders to counteract naproxen for an injury, so for no GI reason originally

I believe omeprazole may be a bit more refined in terms of side effects but I’ll never take a ppi again!

A month isn’t long enough for that unfortunately. You will most likely need to be on them for life is my experience. I just taken mine every night before I go to bed and don’t have any problems

That’s not how ppi’s work though. The naproxen will have been the cause probably

Think I’m going to try this!

They work for a few weeks and then stop working, in my experience.

I really don’t want ti take them long term. I’m just having such a hard tike with my sore irritated gut, I know it needs some time to heal.
Addressing this with diet as well and will certainly wean off them slowly.
I wonder if anyone has dine this successfully or found a good source of information on doing so?

If you only want to use them in the short term, I don't think you'll have an issue. When they stopped working for me, I simply stopped taking them - I had no adverse symptoms. Your doctor should be able to advise on the best way to come off them.