Omeprazole for life, sliding hiatal hernia

[Thislife55555]

Not sure if there is anyone out there with a similar issue, I experienced horrendous heart burn age 37, 3 yrs on from having our daughter, not sure if it's linked but I went through a lot of stress with her and was eventually sent for an endoscopy which they said I had a sliding hernia and that I'd need to be on omeprazole for life! I've been taking 20mg for the last 4 months so far presicebed by my Gp upon the letter from the consultant I saw for the camera but I've never had a discussion with the Gp about this medication. Due to how busy we've been I've only recently had time to sit down and read a lot this medication and I'm a bit worried. It is saying there is a long term side effects. I also don't think they're really working as I'm stil having issues. Does anyone know much about these drugs and what even may have caused me to get a hiatal sliding hernia? I feel so young to have this issue and I know it's serious it's so irritating, prior to this I was such a fit healthy woman who liked to eat a lot and now I'm swallowing constantly as can feel the valve is slack and I can't eat nowhere near as much as I used to. Also worried about my long term health having a 3.5 yo.

I have a hiatus hernia from birth and also no proper sphincter at the top of my stomach and have acid reflux. I have been on omeprazole/lansoprazole for about 15 years now, 20mg once a day. This year I read about the potential side effects and had blood tests to check for signs of osteoporosis and stomach cancer,all was normal. I did go down to 10mg as well which has been fine. I take a vit D supplement every day now too. I need to take something for life to combat my reflux but I was a bit alarmed that I'd been given a repeat prescription with no mention or discussion of any negative side effects whatsoever and no review. One thing to bear in mind if you come off omeprazole is that if you do it suddenly you can get a 'bounce back ' effect which makes your reflux much worse temporarily. I tried to come off my meds many times but always only lasted a few days because the symptoms were so severe but now I'm on a lower dose I see that my reflux isn't actually that bad.

@Titsywoo I'll def have to try and track that down on FB I think that's prob the best thing to do to start with intro a lot of lifestyle habits and changes, I def need to start that seriously from now on. My worry is pregnancy if I did again, I couldn't stop eating with the first it was horrendous! I don't think that helped matters but the hormones may have been the culprit app. Just strange as it took a few years post preg to come out as an issue x

Sorry, eds is elher danlos syndrome, it’s something which makes all her connective tissue in her body looser.

@CoffeeBoy oh I see I hadn't heard of this before.

@greenhousegal thanks for posting, it's a lot to deal with that I'm sure for you! My dad actually just got admitted 2 days ago with a peptic ulcer he's ok but again sounds like a gastro issue but It's good to hear from people who've had this issue kore longer term and older to know how they'd found things too. Hopefully I'll make it to a good age as i have a 3.5 yo and I'm 38 now so it is a bit worrying. 🥹

@Flowerfairy101 thanks for posting! I think it must be a commonly prescribed medication and they perhaps forget to go through these side effects and jjsy get the tablets prescribed but I didn't realise until just recently that no one had actually mentioned that part to me before they gave me boxes of tablets! 🤦‍♀️

I've been on meds since pregnancy 20 years ago. My mother also had the same complication and she had the op eventually, I've asked for surgery and I'm not considered bad enough - thinking of paying

I've got the same, very similar story. I've managed to come off it as I really didn't want to take it forever. I know so many people on it - given like smarties it seems. All it does is mask the symptoms - makes no difference at all to the cause etc.

I could talk about this all day so happy if you want to pm me. Funnily enough I've not had any pain for months and months and because of a few days of doing the wrong things I've had a little bit of an attack today.

I manage now mostly by (minor really) lifestyle changes, a swig of peptac (like gaviscon advance which forms a barrier) at night before bed only if I need it (rarely, if I've eaten too late), I've strengthened my core, but what was miraculous was a chiropractor. I mean totally miraculous.

I had such bad pain during both pregnancies (suspect it was caused in the first), that I was on omaprazole when pregnant for the second and still in agony all day for months. Before I got the HH diagnosis I was misdiagnosed with asthma as it affected my breathing, a suspected heart attack one night as I had unbearable chest pain, etc. I really really suffered. Now... hardly anything. And definitely no daily omeprazole! All that really does is reduce the acid to stop the burn (and granted, potential damage from the acid)... but there's loads you can do to help get off it.

My take on it is Omeprazole reduces stomach acid which is one of the first lines of defence for swallowed viruses/bacteria, one also needs an acid stomach to trigger the valve to close so the chances of full recovery reduce. Then there's the issue of malabsorption of nutrients.
That said uncontrolled acid is very uncomfortable and has oesophageal cancer risks.

I had terrible reflux post Covid, acid burning my nose and making my eyes water for months.

I can recommend the Iqoro muscular training device now available on prescription.

Was a leap of faith at over £100 in 2020 but after a year of training it completely resolved

I was told not to take omeprazole constantly so I'm off it now

I actually can't remember why now - I'm 49 and going through menopause and I have a feeling it was something to do with osteoporosis risk but I genuinely can't remember

Dd has a hiatus hernia and they looked at surgery but she opted not to go for it and did lifestyle changes instead which made a huge difference (plus the mouth breathing device thing that also helped)

The surgeon told us those devices work incredibly well if you do the exercises regularly

Interesting having had a read about the iqoro device I'm def going to try and get one on prescription, it sounds like a great tool albeit may take 6 months to take any effect but def worth it as i read yoy can end up coming off meds! That with lifestyle chnages too I think is def worth the hard work in the long term to avoid surgery too and keep that as the fall back if this doesn't work. Also int to hear about the chiropractor too, I have heard some very good reviews about using a chiropractor and something else worth considering too. Thanks a lot all feeling a lot more positive about this esp with this device as it does sound very effective albeit exp!

After my fist session with the chiropractor I misunderstood and thought he had somehow pushed my stomach back "down". He says not. Apparently with HH the ribs, muscles etc got into a spasm as everything is inflamed (imagine how sore the tissue must be as it's squeezing through something it shouldn't be!). The manipulation opens up the ribs etc, and it affects the perception of the pain and relaxes everything. Honestly, try it, if I have an attack now (usually after eating, drinking and bad choices, occasionally after carrying something the wrong way) it solves it immediately.

I agree with the PP about acid. I have read that thinking may come around to disagree with omaprazole a mode of action- and... that with HH etc you may want more not less acid. Makes sense if you think about it. You need acid to break down stomach contents, not inhibit that action and slow it down. And also yes, that omaprazole can work against the value operating properly.

I’m also on omeprazole- again! I haven’t got an HH, so I can’t help on that front but it’s not good to be on it long term, although benefits prob outweigh risks in some cases.
id look into lifestyle changes along w the taking it and if you feel better, you can wean off the ppi very slowly - don’t do it cold Turkey.
in my experience Drs/gastros hand out ppis like sweets without giving any warnings, lifestyle advice, etc. I wish I hadn’t started on them now tbh.

@nevermindtherind

That sounds amazing! Def worth a try then with that also! Thanks for the tip, I would never have even considered that tbh!!

Yes this tablet seems to have a reverse effect in some ways, it just seems to prevent the cancer risk but I do need to try that device and have a oook on the FB group for any other hints and tips for LStyle changes too and then try the chiropractor as well, thanks again

@JustDanceAddict yes def need to find an alternative to being on these tablets as def not the best long term!

I wss diagnosed last year with hiatal hernia abd Barretts oesophagus. Barretts is where the stomach acid erodes cells in the oesophagus making it prone to cancerous cells forming.

im on 30mg a day lanzoprazole but dont find it that effective. I have to be very careful with what i eat and drink. Ive virtually cut out alcohol now as i cant tolerate it.

I sleep propped up in bed as acid comes up into my mouth. I have a constant nauseous feeling.

Apparently my hernia is not big enough to operate on so i have to have yearly endoscopies

IQoro have their own Facebook page which is worth following to get the technique right.

Any questions about using it I'm happy to explain.

Also forgot to say I had low stomach acid which was triggering reflux and this is not uncommon. I have to take slow release vitamin c at night for life.
Low acidity in the stomach won't trigger the vale to close resulting in the acid breaching the valve.

There's a bicarb of soda home test you could try to rule that out.

@stayathomegardener that's interesting re the low stomach acid, no one has actually tested me to find out if that's the reason my valve may be faulty, if Ive understood what you said is that low acidity won't trigger the valve to close resulting in worse acid reflux. Interesting I've upped my omeprazole dose the last wk and felt worse, lump in my throat feeling last few days, interestingly until today where I've downed (really shouldn't have but it is Xmas!!) 2 glasses of chianti red wine which is supposedly highly acidic and felt the best I have in days starting the last few hours! Did you say there is some form of test to check the acidity level?? They did tell me my valve was loose and I also have a sliding hiatal hernia but to me the issue feels like I have no valve closing at all!

@stayathomegardener I've just been having a read in to the causes of low acid and the symptoms! I'm abs convinced this is my issue!!! This started when I was in the peak of the worst stress of my life due to my daughter, she's intense and has caused us both to trigger illness, my husband triggered colitis and has been very very unwell 🥹 this coupled with her horrendous behavoir and my dad also being unwell it put an immense stress on me, it has drained us both so much but when it started I was abs drained, exhaustion on top of exhaustion and trying to pack for a holiday in the uk and this horrendous chest pain and acid kicked in, but prior to that I felt like I was never full, like I always felt hungry, I thought it was odd as I get ravenous! I can have my dinner at 7.30pm and be ready for a full meal again at 10.30 so I'm having to get to sleep by 10pm to prevent me having to eat! I put it down to hormones but it could be this, bloating is horrendous too, I do get some stomach pain which I've put down to stress! I need to discuss this with the dr but if you have anymore info on this I'd appreciate it as I'm wondering if I could take a slow release vit c nightly to help the valve to work better for me esp at nihht when my acid is at its worse! 🙏

@stayathomegardener it said online that stress can cause the body to reduce stomach acid output, I also had horrendous hives at the same time as this horrendous acid reflux! Never had hives in my life, I need to go back to the doctor to discuss as I don't want to be taking omeprazole if it's going to make the issue worse as they never tested my stomach acid levels, also could do with some help with my stress, thank you so much for posting this because this sounds so plausible and had you not noted this I could have potentially been on these for a very long time without needing to be if that is the issue! 🙏🙏😄

Sounds like you've got a lot going on gut wise, you probably need to look at gluten, lactose and poor beneficial bacteria/fermenting gut.

You could consider paying for a private stool test which would provide you with a wealth of information to work with (I can dig out the details if you like)

I see no reason why you wouldn't start taking the slow release vitamin C throughout the day. 1g tablets 5 times a day.
Working along the same lines some take Cider Apple Vinegar (the mother) for similar results.

This is a great explanation.

https://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Heartburn--atlasttIhaveesussedouttwhythississuchhacommonnproblem?fbclid=IwAR3ZSVhWZCgYAVuMrlGx8yACGyTVLXdIweGYUPehH3xJYXsLfflwEgZED4

The paragraph at the end re allergy may actually be more pertinent to you.

Don't stop eating gluten before you have any celiac testing carried out.