my omeprazole experience

Fair enough........but people should be given the knowledge and the    choice..........also,perhaps use it in critical situations,not prescribe it willy/nilly to evryone with recurring digestion and acidic probs........it can even be bought over the counter,it really is ridiculous.

 

I totally agree. Omeprazole is great for reducing reflux but not as a long term solution (in my opinion and experience). Some people are reasonably happy on it but for those who experience bad side effects, it's definitely a concern. There are no doubt side-effets for other meds, so it's just a matter of finding one that's good for you and to be aware of the potential harm they may do to your body, so you can make an informed choice.

How old are you? What other meds have you been on? Did you experience/develop depression/mood change because you were concerned being too long on the drug, because you've read numerous horror stories online, ask yourself that question first.

I'm alson on PPI's daily, have anxiety because of the media posting horror stories. It's like someone is holding a gun onto your head and telling you that he may pull the trigger but he doesn't know when. If I kept taking the meds and haven't read any post or story online I wouldn' have developed anxiety. The meds are fine for me altough I don't want to be on them but they are saving my life.

Well put cjb106, i think many things can be helped or even cured by changing diet, remember that programme called you are what you eat and that one called the food hospital, was amazing the amount of ailments that people got cured with just by changing their diets. Wish i could find out  what  if anything is causing the severe itching im getting  after having a shower every morning, driving me to dispair.

Sue

Yes, I watched The Food Hospital. So many long term ailments that responded to simple diet changes. I remember the singer who was losing the upper register in her voice due to acid reflux burning her vocal chords. If I recall correctly, she cut out wine and tomatoes and her voice went back to normal.

As for the itching after your shower, I'm sure you have considered all the usual things like soap, shower cream, irritation from towels and the products they've been laundered in. I did read on the net that hot water can irritate the skin. The site I found said: A shower may leave your skin clean, but if your skin itches after you shower, you probably find them more enervating than refreshing. How you ease this irritating itch depends on what causes it. If you're prone to allergies, your itchy skin might result from your soap, your perspiration or even the water itself. An overly hot shower that dries your skin could also leave you scratching.It may seem paradoxical to develop dry skin from standing under a blast of water, but a hot shower parches your skin as the water evaporates. Your skin naturally produces oil that acts as a barrier between skin and the harsh environment of the outside world. Hot water sluices this oil from your skin, stripping it of its protection and leaving it feeling dry, tight and itchy. If you take long, hot showers and your itching is most severe on your lower legs and forearms, dry skin is the likely culprit for your discomfort. Scale back the heat, take a shorter shower and try a moisturizer on affected skin to ease the itch. Hope that helps.

Thank you for the knowledge regarding diet etc for the reflux problem.....Im mostly able to keep it under control with a bit of care.My main reasons for entering this debate was for input from others regarding the omeprazole effects and how things progressed afterwards regarding getting back to normal...........Ive been taking supplements such as B12.B6.magnesium and potassium for a few weeks,but I stopped them because I had too many irregular heartbeats.........unfortunately the symptoms though now seem to be more prevalent again........most noticeably the numbness Ive experienced mornings around the skull!.....(yes,numbskull!!).

​Moving on to a different subject,I read on a different site/forum that omeprazol can cause inaccurate blood test results...........if that is indeed the case,what hope is there?!!

George, It's going back a few years now when I had my own problems with PPIs but I know it took several weeks for the side effects to subside and then trial and error over several more weeks to figure out which were the trigger foods. I am a vegetarian so also take supplements including a B Complex and magnesium with no ill effects, in fact I'm very fit. I'm wondering if irregular heartbeats and numbness in certain parts of your body could be caused by stress. It's as well to get these things checked by a doctor. Often numbess can be skeletal, a problem with the neck perhaps.

I don't know too much about the effect of PPIs on the blood only that the change in gastric PH levels have an effect on gastrin in blood plasma. Take a look at drugs.com for more on this.