Daily severe heartburn despite lansoprazole, should I ask for investigations?

[TheOpalFox]

I have heartburn every single day. I’m 40. I have a prescription for lamprazole every single day. I didn’t take it for a few days and the heart burn is back so bad
Should that be investigating why I get it so bad? Anyone else like this please. ? Thanks

I was like this. It was gallstones but I didn't know that for a good few years. Is that a possibility?

Have you been checked for Helicobacter pylori?

Some people, me included, get awful acid bounce back once they stop taking a PPI. You need to drop down in dose then stop rather than just stopping suddenly. If you can't drop down without bounceback then you should ask for investigations.

How long have you been suffering? It really is horrible I sympathise. I would say that the Lamprazole is only treating the symptom and if it’s been going on for a while and your diet is reasonable then I would be asking for further investigation.
It maybe worthwhile keeping a good diary, making sure you eat little and often ie not going excessively long periods without eating.

I'm on lansoprazole and get bad acid reflux if I go without it for a few days. It's not gallstones as I've had that and had my gallbladder out. It could be hyelobactor (sp) as I do seem prone to that.

Have you had a proper diagnostic test for reflux? I was misdiagnosed and suffered on omeprazol for over a year before I insisted on a proper test. You should have a 24hour oesophageal pH test for firm diagnosis.

If you want to try coming off tablets you need to do it gradually over the course of several weeks. Use Gaviscom to help your symptoms as you do it.
There is a "bounce back" type of reaction when you come off the tablets and it gets worse before it gets better.

Famotidine is the only one that works well for me.

Yes I would say it should be investigated. The medication will just be masking the underlying cause which is why the heartburn comes back if your not taking it.

I think you should get it checked out yes.

I didn't find lansoprazole helped. But I do find Actimel really helps. I have one every morning & one before bed. It makes a huge difference to me.

What investigations, if any, have there been that resulted in being prescribed the lansoprazole?

It's possible to switch to an alternative medication in the same domain, there are others.

These types of medications really only work to their full effect when taken in advance of eating. Ideally you also need to make the relevant dietary adjustments - avoiding trigger foods, eating smaller meals, avoiding eating in advance of bedtime etc etc.

If you've been on them a while it's common to experience a worsening of symptoms if you suddenly stop, there is a rebound effect. If the worsening is only as a result of you not properly taking prescribed medication then no, I wouldn't expect investigations. If you have new symptoms or you are taking the medication properly and feel it isn't controlling the issue then in that case I would speak to my GP about next steps.

Rebound reflux after taking it is unfortunately a thing.

However, if it's all the time they probably should consider some investigations. H pump inhibitors are pretty safe long term medicines but they're not 100% risk free. You definitely need to make sure you keep the reflux under control though because if you let it stay bad it can cause oesophageal erosion.

It's also worth considering dietary causes (milk for example) and ruling those out first, after a few days off to allow any rebound to subside.

Agree about getting dietary causes checked out. Gluten, for example.

besides rebound and gluten do you carry extra weight around your middle?
my weight increased and suddenly every time i bent over to tie up shoes, unload/load the washers and even laying down at night i had dreadful reflux which led to coughing spells.
i tried ppi's and that did work but the reality was my abdominal weight/size.
dealing with the weight has totally helped.