Lansoprazole experiences

[maeve84]

Hello! I’m just wondering how good people have found lansoprazole for acid reflux? My GP recently switched me from omeprazole after I saw her about a persistent tickly throat. The throat symptoms have not improved after 2 weeks of lansoprazole and additionally I’ve had 3 attacks of heartburn which I have very rarely suffered with before. I’ve also been having back and chest discomfort which comes and goes, this could be anxiety because I’ve got myself utterly convinced that I have cancer of the esophagus.

I’ll try and remember to mention that as well, see what she thinks.

oh no, that’s annoying. It’s probably still fine if it’s only just out of date. It is so frustrating having to get these things sorted, does your surgery have Econsult? That might be an easy way to do it?

I also tried a half dose but symptoms returned so back on 30 Lanzoprazole.

The ENT consultant wasn't Really interested in talking about my other symptoms regarding the reflux. Said it didn’t sound connected.

yeah it does but it’s such a palaver filling out the form & you barely get to see a GP face to face!
I hope you are ok after your appt re thyroid, a lot of things are connected to reflux - making it worse/better, even if Drs think different.

Thanks, I’m ok. A bit shell shocked. I have been so worried about potential digestive issues and this sudden actual diagnosed problem has knocked me sideways. Surgery is fairly urgent too, will be within the next 6 weeks, probably in the next 4.

Dorry your GP sounds such hard work, I hope you manage to get hold of a prescription. Are you in England? I believe you can get repeats directly from the pharmacy sometimes, might be worth a try

Good luck with it all @maeve84.

Just caught up with this thread.. good luck @maeve84hope all goes well

@maeve84 good luck.
Update from me, I had endsopscopy yesterday, called last week to go to a private hospital who were doing them this day only. I had it done just with throat spray, the lady who booked me in said that’s all that’s being offered, no sedation. Person after me comes in saying she’s having sedation. Consultant chats saying do you want sedation. I said I would try just the throat spray, and it was all over less than 5 minutes and I was fine. Consultant says what meds am I taking for my hiatus hernia, I said I’ve never been told I have one, this is why I am having procedure. They’ve given me 6 weeks of lansoprazole, 30mg twice a day which I believe is a high dose and I have to have another endoscopy in 8 weeks to see if the inflammation is better.

That seems positive @Lennonjingles- why only 6 weeks of lansoprazole? It won’t heal the hernia will it?

No, but it should hopefully help take away the inflammation and reflux symptoms, I will have another endoscopy to see. They’ve put me on 30mg twice a day, which is high, so maybe I will get lower dose to keep it at bay.

Oh I see, that makes sense.

I'm back on my 30 Lanzoprazole a day and all is good again.

So after starting meds and feeling the best I have in months, I have had chronic diarrhoea all weekend, so don’t think lanzoprazole is going to suit me.

Oh gosh @Lennonjingles- is that a listed side effect?
@sequinpantiesim glad you’re feeling better :)

@maeve84 yes, it’s listed as a side effect,, could cope with small amount, but it’s been constant all weekend, had to cancel DS taking me out for Mothers Day. Will now have to contact GP to see what they say.

There are lots of other options to try. Hopefully
another one will suit you better. Assume you’re pretty confident you can’t have picked up a bug or anything?

I had this when I restarted omeprazole. Felt amazing for two days then the diarrhoea and pain started up. Went back off and took me a week to get back to ‘normal’. I restarted PPI again and it made no difference to my reflux. The whole thing is a mystery to me.

I don't know of anyone else has mentioned this so sorry if it's a repeat.

I was taking huge doses of PPIs for acid reflux and still getting acid reflux, though less badly.

For another reason altogether I started taking liquorice root extract and the acid reflux turned off like a tap. I haven't taken one since.

You cannot take full liquorice root if you have heart problems, and it can cause both blood pressure and palpitations. It raised my blood pressure, so I take a version with the glycyrrhizin removed from it.

I also got a diagnosis of osteoporosis and that meant that I had to stop the PPI anyway, so it's good that liquorice works. It's very well documented as a replacement if you don't want to/ can't take a PPI.

@Imdunfercan you share the version you take? I’ve read about this and interested but don’t want to risk raising my BP.

No real update here, still waiting on an appointment date for gastro. The omeprazole is largely keeping symptoms at bay, although a new weird one as of last night… I was eating a packet of salt and vinegar crisps while watching my daughters class (6.30pm - I know, I know!) and developed an ache in the centre of my chest behind my breastbone. It feels muscular, but I’m sure it’s reflux related as started when I was eating. It is aggravated by moving though, has anyone experienced this?

I haven’t been thinking too much about all this as I have a scary urgent op coming up at the beginning of April which has stolen focus.

That’s where my pain is and I believe where my hiatus hernia is located right in the middle of my breasts. I don’t have crisps very often and there’s probably more acid in salt and vinegar ones.

My update, GP told me to try omeprazole 40mg per day, after diarrhoea stopped, well after 7 continuous days I was given antibiotics, so I am now wondering if I picked up a bug in hospital, as that’s the only place I had been beforehand and I’m not sure which one to try. GP said the lansoprazole dose of 2 x 30mg may be too much at first, so I may try one a day to start.

Yes I get that pain behind the breast bone too.

My deglychrrhizinated liquorice is from ECO-VITS, I buy them from eBay. I buy other stuff of theirs too, it's a good supplier.

It says one a day but I currently take two because I was taking two of equal size of a version with glycyrrhizin in from another supplier who had a recommended dose rate even higher.

If I get a touch of acid reflux I swallow a glug of Tescos copy of Gaviscon, which is absolutely identical and well under half the price.

If I'm going to have a wild time with food, on holiday for example, then I will very occasionally take famotidine, which is short acting and doesn't have the bad effects on bone that the PPIs do. I've gone from 40mg omeprazole a day to 3 single tablets of famotidine in the last 6 months.

If anyone else wants to try liquorice please don't take a whole root version unless you have access to very regular blood pressure monitoring.

Good luck with your op.

I’m in omeprazole 40. 20 am and 20 pm. The lansoprazole just didn’t seem to work for me. I’m wondering if I have a hernia. My dad has one and I expect these things can be genetic.

@Imdunferi really want to get off the omeprazole but my GP has said i should take it until i see gastro

Hiatus hernias are different to stomach hernias, my Dad and my DB both had one in lower intestines, you could see the hernia bulging, they both had the operation to put hernia back with mesh over. It’s not the same with hiatus hernias, it was explained to me that it’s like a bin lid lifting up after food and acid comes back up, instead of digesting back down and the PPI helps to keep the lid on.

Well it's a neat explanation and explains how it feels, but it's not correct, is it? The PPI doesn't do anything to stop the physical action of acid reflux, it just removes the acid. If your stomach is full and the valve is weak it will still reflux but it won't burn. (I can still feel it sometimes.)

My GP was unconcerned about a known risk of interaction between PPIs and methotrexate that I was scheduled to go on, but I took myself off it when I found out that famotidine is OK. As it happens I didn't take methotrexate in the end but I did get an osteoporosis diagnosis and there's no way I'll take a PPI know I know that.

Sorry, my dad has a hiatus hernia. So entirely possible I have one too I’m sure.