Omeprazole

Hi Suzeq1972, i took it for a few weeks but it didn't help me at all. That's not to say it wont help you though, everyone is different. I was put onto Lanzoprasole in the end which did help but there are lots of different PPI's out there on the market.

Thanks Tinkerbell32 - always good to know how others got on with it! :-)

I didn't find it any help either. Doctor was surprised and said they are usually deemed the best for this condition. But changed me from PPI's to H2 Blockers, named Ranitidine, they are doing the job just right.

I Have been taking it for about 8 or 9 months now. in the begining I took 1 pill but it was not enough so I took 2 pills and that seemed to help alot for awhile then I started having more symptoms that I didn't have to begin with, so I decided to cut it back to 1 pill and that helped. So that is where I am now. for 1 week I ate a all veggie and fruit diet man did I feel good then I blew it on saturday by having birthday cake it was my sons birthday, now I seem to be having cravings and can't get back on it. but my advice to you is a vegan diet and no pills see if that works if not then take 1 pill and go from there. we are all different so who knows how it will effect you good luck

I have been following multiple forums related to Gerd / LPR /Silent reflux for over 18 months and for what its worth, here are my observations:-

1. it appears to me that PPI's have not provided any long term relief for LPR / Silent reflux sufferers anywhere. GERD sufferers are a bit luckier. What does happen is that the patient finds themselves unable to get off the medication because of the horrendous rebound of more acid when you come off it.

2. Many LPR / silent reflux sufferers end up underweight and struggle to find food that agrees with them and also provides sufficient calories. I used to be a size 12 - 14 and now I have to hunt for size 8 clothes - hard to come by.. On some medical site, I found a statement which claimed that whilst GERD sufferers are often obese, LPR sufferers are often underweight.

3.Some people seem to find relief by following the Kouffman Low Acid Diet, but in the stuff I have found and read, it appears more people get relief following the Fast Tract Diet by Norm Robillard. This diet has you eating certain carbohydrates but not others and is based on the fermentation potential of the particular carb. It appears to go against everything you have been told about healthy "whole food" but it does work for me. For example, you can eat Jasmine rice but not brown rice, you can eat English Muffins but not grain bread etc

I personally have chosen not to touch PPI's. I find chewing gum helps very much with the lump in the throat syndrome but is only a short relief thing, not a cure. I was originally diagnosed with Gastroparesis ( slow emptying of the stomach) 4 years ago. When I saw the ENT this year for my throat, she confirmed it was red and asked if I had digestive problems. As soon as I mentioned the gastroparesis, she decided I had LPR and prescribed Somac (PPI). I did further reseach and found on the American Gastroenterologists assoc site, a statement saying that PPI's must never be prescribed for Gastroparesis sufferers as it will aggravate it. Went back to the Gastroenterologist - his reply was " decide which is the lesser of the 2 evils".

He only showed any concern when I mentioned my weight loss and he immediately decided on a new gastroscopy ( I have had several over the years and never had any negative reactions so far). The result of the process - no longer any signs of gastroparesis, no oesophagitis, healthy looking pyloric sphincter. When I asked what about the symptoms - he simply shrugged his shoulders. Whilst I am very happy to hear that they find nothing serious, it confirms to me that when it comes to LPR, the medical profession have absolutely no idea! All we can do is to keep talking to each other and hope someone will find something which truly fixes the problem. The scary things seems to be that many of us are people who have followed a healthy lifestyle all our lives and we can't work out what we have done to bring this one on.

Hi suzeq1972

I wrote a few paragraphs on omeprazole a few months ago. In a nutshell, it was all over the news about the bad effects of that med. I was on it for about 7 mos. Stopped taking it , after checking with doctor to see if I could just go off it. After stopping I had the worst burning and pain in my chest. I never had any problem before, just burping sometime. It lasted awhile, and eventually went away. I now have a good diet, a healthy one. Sometime medicine causes more trouble. Unless, absolutely necessary I stay away from meds. It did help while I was on it, but it caused soft bowel movements.

Thanks all - this is really interesting stuff!

I'm naturally very cautious about medicine anyway, but I did feel that my doctor was just throwing pills at the problem. I wasn't even examined!

I haven't been following a diet as such for the last couple of weeks, but have cut out fats and caffeine and have smaller, more regular meals. This seems to have helped a lot, so I may continue down that route before popping the pills!

Oh, and it also worried me that she gave me 2 months worth of tablets! For a tablet that does't actually cure anything, just masks the symptons, alarm bells started ringing!

Hi Suzy

I was on omeprazole for a couple of months, didn't relieve any of my symptoms so was switched to nexium which didn't help much either, dr then doubles the dose to 80mg so I stayed on that for a couple of months. Only saw slight improvement. I'm now back to 40mg with intention of coming off them maybe to ranititidine then off altogether. I want to see if my body can heal itself naturally.

suzeq1972

Glad to hear you cut out certain foods and are feeling better. That's what I did, if I get an uncomfortable feeling that I can't stand I take a Zantac.

I think I had this 2 years ago, but doctors didn't know what it was (nor did I!). I remember literally doing what my body was telling me. I ate only when hungry (and small amounts), lying down when I was tired, only eating foods I was craving (for example, I couldn't stand the sight of bread!). I lost a load of weight, which wasn't good as I am thin anyway. But I remember this literally going away overnight. It was as if I had fasted, and my body had realigned itself.

My appetite came back and I started eating 'normally'.

So if this is the same thing again, I would like to see if my body can naturally repair itself again (to get a crossed!) ;-)

That last bracket was meant to say (fingers crossed)!!!!!!

Hi suzeq1972. I came of omeprazole a week ago with no problems so far.  I was suffering from gastric problems which I put down to coming off this medication originally and asked the doctor for a repeat prescription. He obliged but also put me on domperidone which had a profound effect. The omeprazole has now run out and the domperidone will last a couple more weeks. In the meantime an endoscopy has shown me to have Barrett's oesaphagus and duodenitis. Problems have receded but I'll see what happens when the domperidone runs out. Can I say well done to all who contribute their thoughts and experiences. Feeling that you are the only one in trouble makes any condition more worrying.