Long term use of Omeprazole

I do not wish to scare you but if you are not responding to 40 mg of Omeprazole there may be a more serious problem.  My mother was given various antacids including Omeprazole but still had pain.  After years of failure to cure the problem they finally checked her pancreas and found cancer.  This is a very difficult cancer to detect because it is so often misdiagnosed as digestion problems.  By this time she was 85, The cancer was very advanced and the surgery recommended was very radical, she declined.  Again I do not want to scare you but it might be worth asking your Dr about.

Linda 04376

I failed to mention in my first reply that my mother was also diagnosed with GERD, hiatal hernia and IBS, and had her gallbladder removed.  But they never detected the cancer until it was too late.  Please take this serious and if your Dr does not I would find one who does.

Linda 04376

Hi

I'm 52, and morbidly obese.I have been on Omeprazole (Losec) for 22 years.  

Prior to being prescribed Losec, I had a large gastric ulcer (which had just finished being treated), IBS and GORD. Before going on Losec, I took Tagamet to relieve some of the symptoms. I believe that Losec, at that stage (at the beginning of the 1990's) was a relatively new drug.  

Because of the accumulation of scar tissue in my stomach, due to my lower oesophical sphincter no longer working, I had extreme difficulty with eating anything acidic, or with high levels of sugar, without experiencing heaps of pain, and vomiting.

When I started taking Losec my life improved dramatically - I could eat normal for once, without pain, or nausea - I thought I was in heaven.  Having had no major problems along the way, I just got on with my life.  My Dr. had told me when she first prescribed it, that I would be on it for life. I accepted this, because at that stage there were no real side-effects.  

My entire life, I have drunk milk or flavoured milk (strictly in moderation) without any problems, however, over the past 2 years, I have been experiencing extreme and explosive diahorrea. I wasn't sure what was causing it till I recently (using food elimination tests) realised I got it worst when I drank milk-based drinks. I wondered if I might have developed lactose-intolerance, so I researched it on the net. I am absolutely certain that this is the case, and upon further research on the net, I found out that this could be a direct side-effect of Losec. A test earlier tonight confirmed my beliefs.  

I am devastated, because I have tried to include dairy products in my diet to try to stave off Osteoporosis, as I am aging, and also for bone health related to arthritis, which I have to take Celebrex for  (also for the rest of my life).

I'm at the point now, whereby I would rather not eat anything at all, so I can stop taking the Losec, and I'll just have to put up with the acid reflux.  The lactose intolerance symptoms are so embarrassing, and particularly inconvenient - you have to plan to be not too far from a toilet at all times.  

I guess the point of my story is which of the two alternatives is better. Stay on Losec and go without dairy-producing calcium - therefore seriously risking my future bone health as I age, or going off Losec and hope the lactose intolerance has a chance to heal enough for me to retain some quality of life (my bone health), while suffering with the full effects of GERD. Either alternative comes with consequences.  I cannot cope with soy products, so that's not an option either.

If you take Losec for many years (as I have), it is likely that eventually, you may end up with this less than favourable side-effect, so be prepared just in case. For me, I'm going to start weaning myself off Losec. It was good in the start, but is not so good in the later years.

If you can do anything to avoid having to take Losec in the first place, please do it. Unfortunately, I didn't have those options available to me.

Thanks for this thread loveprague. If I'd read this post 5 or 10 years ago, I too would be championing this drug as a miracle medication, but now I find that personally, I can't do that.

Good luck to all who are taking it, and those who it's working for.

My doctor has put me on 2 x20mg twice a day, 80mg in total because of acid reflux I now suffer after the removal of my gall bladder. I have been on this dose for 6 months now and have started suffering with severe pains in my stomach. G.P. Sent me for gastroscope and ultra sound but nothing showed up. Now waiting for results from blood tests.

Anyway, could the stomach pains/cramps be caused by the Omeprazole ? I have read many of the posts on this site and haven't noticed anyone being prescribed as much as 80mg per day, is this excessive?

i would love to hear your thoughts as I am getting really fed up with the pain.

HI.  I am new to this site.  I was searching to see if muscle cramps are a side effect of Prilosec.  I got an earful on this website.  I thank all of you for telling your stories, as I have learned a lot from them.  I am a 73 year old woman, who has been fighting GERD for years now, naturally.  It hasn't worked and now my longs are damaged.  The doc says I NEED to control the GERD to protect my lungs (shortness of breath) and scar tissue on lungs.  He was very persuasive about the Prilosec and even used scare tactics.  I gave in.  That was about two weeks ago.   The dosage is 2 a day for 30 days.  Many more than is recommended on the package.  Now I am really afraid to continue it, and also to stop it.  So I will gradually cut down, by 1/2 a day, and go back to HCL.  I am wondering if using Gavison (sp?) will help me wean off it.  I realize I have to cut out many of my favorite foods and red wine (boo hoo).  Many of you have mentioned hiatal hernia.  That does indeed cause GERD.  You don't have to live with this.  A Kinesiologist can get rid of it.  It is a simple non painful adjustment.  It doesn't stay away, however.  And he tells me something I am eating is causing it.  He is constantly telling me to bring in foods for him to test on me to see what I am allergic to.  How effective is raising the bed and how much please?  We have natural latex mattress and I am not sure how we would do that.  I am so mad at the medical community.  They don't listen, don't use common sense, and their use of scare tactics is terrible.  But then again, I don't have a really good answer to cure this.  I will also do the lemon juice thing.  I have been unwilling to do so because it makes me feel crummy. 

These posts are allover 11 months old so I wonder if anyone is still following them?

I want to know if anyone has info that could help me. I've been on Statins for many years (15) following a heart attack and 6 years ago I started taking an anti-depressant Seroxat, which has been brilliant. Problem is that statins and seroxat dont like each other so I was simply told to take Omeprazole. Now 6 years after and I have side effects likie post nasal drip/congestion that also caused sore throats for a while. Nasal  pharyngitis can be a side effect of the statin. Tender nipples which coudl be a side effec.  I decided to stop the Omep which also meant stopping the Statin. I asked the Gps to review all the medications I was on, but they simply came back saying.. the nasal problem. was unlikely to be the Statin etc.   With their agreement, (but wihtout being told to taper off) I stopped both medications (planned 5 months break).  It was pretty nasty, took 4.5 months for all the acid probems to finally go away (only in the last week!) First it was really very bad constant.. and in last month it was only acid in my throat. and not a complete rush all the way up my body!   However, now my cholesterol has been tested again, and has gone up hugely from 4.9 to 8.7.  which is pretty worrying.  i am very reluctant to go back to Omep, reading all this makes me even less keen.  Any advice anyone?

Somewhat worrying thread.  I started taking Omeprazole around 2 years ago, after a severe stomach bleed caused by Naproxen/Naprosyn.  I'm now off all NSAIDs, and can only take dihydrocodeine, slow release and instant, and paracetamol for osteo-arthritis.  Over the last year, the arthritis in my back,neck and hip has got worse, and I've recently had ... well, wind,basically: very little reflux, but an empty feeling in my stomach.  No pain to speak of, but it's an uncomfortable feeling, the more so as I'm worrying about it.

Having read the replies below, I shall go back to the GP ... the worry there is always that he's the one who prescribed the Naproxen that started the trouble off in the first place.   Still - what can you do.... it's one thing "informing" yourself, but I'm not really in a position to evaluate what I read.  

Last week, in preparation for my visit to Gp to talk about my medications and their effects on each other and on me.. (eg some meds leach calcium from yr diet.. increased risk of Osteoporosis (which I have, mildly))  I made a summary/table of my conditions and put what I take or dont take alongside them, with my thoughts..

On the reverse side I put some info from the internet about Omeprazole, Statins etc.. and took it into the surgery the day before my appointment.

So when I saw her, she had read it beforehand, said it was very useful, and we were able to discuss the ways some meds interact with others etc. It was all very amicable, and helpful to me, and for the first time a GP agreed with one side effect I seem to have from statins.  

The whole discussion was reassuring for me, and I felt 'heard' and that she responded to me sensibly. 

I recommend this because we have to recognise that GP's are pressurised and often deal with one symptom at a time. This undemines the 'whole person' appraoch which we need as patients. 

Also recommend making the list only one side of A4, because anything more looks like you are becoming obsessive! And typed if possible!

I want to note that I was wrong about the contra indication between Statins and Omeprazole. The problem is between Seroxat for depression and aspirin for heart.

I am planning to go back on the statin and see what happens.

Also someone has suggested to me, that trying a suppository of aspirin (if there is asuch a thing) could bypass the fact that aspirin can cause stomach irritation.. we are not prescribed Suppositories in this country much, but in France they use they more. Good absorption and no stomach irritation.. The British are obviously more finicky about dealing with our down there's..

I have had suppositories in the past, but they were agonizing and I soon stopped them: any pressure in the back passage causes me intolerable pain, whatever substances may incidentally be released because I have extensive damage to the lower back.  So no help there, then...

I have now gone two days free of Omeprazole, at my own decision not the doctor's.  So I have absolutely no clinical expertise and cannot recommend this to others: I can only report what I feel.

The empty, gnawing feeling in my stomach has gone; there was an initial release of acidic reflus, but after two days this has gone; there's still a certain internal rumbling, but I feel a great deal better than I did.   I shall see the GP to discuss this.  My opinion so far is that we need to monitor our own drug intake - the GP can't be expected to know how we feel and how we react.  At the same time, I feel they should monitor it more effectively (or at all - generally, they prescribe drugs and leave it to us to come back to them if things start turning nasty: I don't feel this is effective doctoring, frankly).   

While on Omeprazole - and I don't know at all if this is cause and effect - I've put on weight, and every morning had a gnawing, sub-painful feeling in the pit of my stomach: this is not how I want to feel, and it just doesn't feel normal or even tolerable.  I have no expertise in any of this, and would emphasize that: I can only suggest to others that they see their GP and question him or her about the way they're feeling - because they can't know if you don't do that, and may continue to prescribe drugs for years under the impression that you're tolerating them well.  If you're not - tell them.