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Can you get still an ulcer when taking a PPI ?

Posted , 6 users are following.

derek76
derek76

I have a long history of indigestion, two duodenal ulcers, GERD and a hiatal hernia. I have been on various PPI's since 2000. Despite the PPI's my indigestion and stomach problems have been much worse in the past year although in the main the PPP's stop the burning acid feeling.

Being in Atrial Fibrillation since January of last year I resisted the advice to take Warfarin to prevent blood clots in case of it being an ulcer and having a bleed and so I could not have the ablation I need. My stomach seemed a bit better at the start of the year so I started Warfarin in February. The only other medication I take is Losartan for my BP.

In the past two weeks I have felt nauseous with stomach pain that starts on waking and in the early hours. Gaviscon does not help but is mostly relieved after eating. 

So the question is can you get an ulcer when taking a PPI?  

0 likes, 20 replies

20 Replies

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  • Guest
    Guest derek76

    Posted

    Can you get an ulcer when taking a PPI? The simple answer, yes smile
    • derek76
      derek76 Guest

      Posted

      That's what I was afraid of but why? I skipped the warfarin tonight and my glass of wine.
    • Guest
      Guest derek76

      Posted

      Most - but not all - ulcers are caused by bacteria not acid, although the acid does help hurry things along, it only takes a scuff to give them a way in wink
    • derek76
      derek76 Guest

      Posted

      I had a Helicobactor test recently that was negative
    • Guest
      Guest derek76

      Posted

      You probably haven't got a ulcer then, but you could still have a little inflammation, gastritis, just making you feel a bit off, give it a few weeks on the PPI's and see how it goes smile

      I've given up PPI's months ago and my reflux is very much a lot better, just got to watch eating late in the evening cheesygrin 

    • derek76
      derek76 Guest

      Posted

      As I said I have been on various PPI's since 2000 and my stool test for HP did not show it.  I later read that you should not have taken a PPI or H2-receptor antagonist acid-suppressing medicine for at least two weeks so that might have invalidated it.

      My GP says that he now seldom gets positive HP tests nowadays.

        When I first heard of HP in a Panorama programme in 1980 my then doctor had not heard of it.

      I've just had my late night buttered scone, Years ago it would have been sausage rolls and chips:-)

       

    • Guest
      Guest derek76

      Posted

      Maybe you could ask about a urea breath test, but no matter smile A buttered scone would be out of the question for me, I'd just end up choking on reflux at 3 am rolleyes Yep years ago it would have been the special chow mein cheesygrin
    • derek76
      derek76 Guest

      Posted

      Years ago when I had a negative blood test my then GP said that perhaps it had been innacurate and suggested that I still have triple therapy. I agreed and all my symptoms became worse.
  • amanda1827h
    amanda1827h derek76

    Posted

    Hi Derek,I am scared as my husband is suffering from an ulcer duodenum & been on meds for Osteo Arthritis for many years.Now we learn that he can cut out meds if he wants to.Hes on omprazole as well.Hes also got Anemia at the moment.As the ulcer is bleeding! They taken 4 biopsy s! So I pray that the results will be OK!We have got a tens machine! So are doing our own pain management at home.!!I am a nervous wreck with so much at the moment! Hubby does smoke! But really cutting down.Hes also deaf & severely sighted.!He suffers from very loose bowels each day.We are waiting for the results we hope soon! Sorry to moan regards Amanda h
    • derek76
      derek76 amanda1827h

      Posted

      So sorry to hear that. So many drugs cause us problems as well as helping in other ways. Stopping smoking is the best thing that any of us can do for our health, I started when I was 16 in my first job as I worked in the tobacco trade and got a free allowance. I thought that it would not cost me anything but from the start there was a hidden cost and I was 58 before I stopped. Strangely it was not until seven years after stopping that  I developed hypertension and I had been told that in seven years most of my risks would be as f I had never smoked.
    • derek58875
      derek58875 derek76

      Posted

      A bleeding ulcer nearly put me in the mortuary.

      I stopped smoking there and then and have not had a cigarette since (1965).

      He will NOT repeat NOT heal an ulcer whilst he is smoking.

  • derek58875
    derek58875 derek76

    Posted

    Interested to know whether or not you've had DU treatment for h.pylori.

    If not - why not ?

    PPIs for that length of time is far too long.

    They can have very serious side effects if taken over that length of time.

    The American Food and Drugs Administration has passed warnings to all US Medical Practitioners not to give PPIs over any period of time.

    They really ought to be taken in the short term as one of the therapy medications for h.pylori.

    Far better to fall back on H2 Receptor Blockers which preceded PPIs.

    Such as Cimetidine, Ranitidine etc. Not quite as effective as PPIs but far less dangerous in the long time.

    Or even simple antacids such as Calcium Carbonate.

    But none of these are getting at the root of your problem.

    • derek76
      derek76 derek58875

      Posted

      I tested negative yet again recently for Helicobator.

      When I was given Cimetidine my urine output practically stopped and I had pain in the kidney area and ended up having a kidney x-ray and a cystoscopy. By the time they were done I had stopped the Cimetidine and gone back to normal.

      I tried Ranitidine again recently without any benefit.

      The makers of Nexium say for short periods only and a recent report linked PPI's to heart problems. 

  • derek58875
    derek58875 derek76

    Posted

    Agree with Benny Bianco. A cheap and simple breath test conducted by the Surgery nurse would be worthwhile.

    Blood tests are useless. And, incidentally, you will get a false negative if you have reduced the concentration of h.pylori in the Stomach by taking PPIs within some weeks of a test. Even the best tests do not give perfect results.

    So what triple therapy did you have. And in the light of its bad effect on you - did you persist to the end of the treatment, and how long was the treatment. It put me in the back of an ambulance but I kept taking the therapy and it seems to have worked.

    Yes, h.pylori is dying out in the Western world - it is thought because of higher hygiene standards. It is still rampant in Africa and the East.

    Gaviscon and other Calcium Carbonates will not in themselves cure an ulcer - but they are bound to neutralise the acidity levels in the Stomach.

    And, I take it, you had another test after therapy, to make sure that it worked. Doctors don't always remember the need for this. And sometimes one set of therapies doesn't work while a different set will.

    • derek76
      derek76 derek58875

      Posted

      Why should breath test be better than my recent stool test?

      My triple therapy was during another bout of it back in 1999 and I went on to the end of it. As I said it was suggested although the HP test had been negative.

      Actually the only thing that did help long term was homeopathy back in 1984 and I then had seven clear years. Perhaps it was coincidence as next time but with a less good practitioner it did not help.

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