Omeprazole has ruined my life

Hi i am new to this forum and I'm hoping someone on here can help me and provide some answers. It's comforting yet awful knowing that people on here are going through the same thing as I am. I was taking Gabapentin for about a week for nerve pain and felt horrible. I went to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack. Everything came back normal and I later found out I have severe acid reflux. I was put on omeprazole which I took sparingly, then I was given pantoprazole and now I am on omeprazole 40mg taking it every day. I am just 20 years old and these past 6 months have been the worst of my life. I have severe anxiety every day which reading these posts I believe is from the PPI drugs. I just do not react well to any drugs I take. I also have brain fog and feel like I'm dreaming or like I am drunk or high most of the time. I do not smoke or drink I try to be healthy all the time. I avoid foods that are known to trigger GERD. Nothing seems to be helping I am just as miserable as I was at the start of all this. I have also had heart palpitations, muscle spasms, chest pain, bubbling in my chest, ringing in my ears, sore throat, headache all the time, jaw pain, back and neck pain, dizzy spells where a wave goes over my head, excessive burping and more. I have never suffered from heart palpitations, jaw pain, chest pain or muscle spasms before. I just want to live my life again like I should at 20 years old. If anyone can help ease my mind in any way or has gone through something similar please reply. I am so sick of this and doctors don't seem to help me.

holy moly this sounds eerily familiar. I have been taking PPIs for the last four years. I am 68 now I have had severe Gerd for this period of time and now I am on dexlansoprazole. I think of this drug is poison as well I have been getting symptoms including numbness which is known as peripheral neuropathy all over my body and I get really bad attacks. I also have pretty bad memory loss and brain fog and nausea and I don’t feel well. It is not helping me at all. I have decided to get off the drug and I did not try to wean off but slowly because of the severe numbness throughout my body. It has created a really bad acid bounce and it’s very difficult to eat and not lose weight. I also lost about 10 pounds two weeks ago when I tried to get off the drug but now I am studying out on my weight… What I mean to say is my weight has evened out. I think my memory is improving but the peripheral neuropathy comes and goes in big waves. I am also getting less heart arrhythmias and palpitations which is a good thing seeing as I had open heart surgery six months ago. Let’s stay in touch and keep chatting and see if we can help each other through this. Regards Rob Wyers

I have read your information with great interest. I have been on some serious PPIs for about four years and now getting peripheral neuropathy memory loss and some kidney trouble as well as heart arrhythmias. I am pretty much convinced this is the source of all my trouble so I pretty much had to get off really quickly and did not wean myself off slowly cut the peripheral neuropathy every time I took it was really quite awful. So now of course I’m getting acid rebound I’m about a week and a half in and I could really use some extra advice. I am of course taking a fairly careful diet and not taking any pPIs are H2 receptors. Any information you can supply me with would be most appreciated thank you in advance Rob

Hi guys, i thought id give you a brief overview of my situation and hopefully deter as many people as possible from using Omeprazole as I can safely say it's ruined 4 months of my life. FYI I am a fit and healthy 28 yr old M with no past depression history.

It all started early last year when I started getting heartburn. After trying Gaviscon and Nexium, I decided to go to the doctors where I was prescribed Omeprazole and silly me I assumed it was safe and did no background research. If I had there would be no way I would have tried it!!

In September I took my first dose, initially 1 every AM. Despite working on the heartburn I became incredibly anxious around the same time. I have suffered with mild anxiety throughout my life but this was a whole new level.

I experienced my first anxiety attack in a work meeting, god I'll never forget it - it was HORRIBLE! Immediately this triggered a bad response in me and I became worried about further meetings etc.

Symptoms continued until November, when I revisited the GP, this time I was still experiencing mild heartburn issues but also incredible anxiety. Sadly for me, the GP prescribed me Beta Blockers for the anxiety to cope in meetings and advised I doubled my Omeprazole dose to 40mg from 20... OUCH!

From November to date, never putting 2 and 2 together and trying everything under the sun, my symptoms have included shortness of breath, dizziness, depressed days where I felt emotionally numb even though my life and work is great, incredible brain fog & confusion (feel like life wasnt real and I was walking round in a dream), fear of impending doom, blacking out and panic attacks. It's been awful to say the least.

After praying to god and trying to piece together why I felt this way the Omeprazole sprung to mind & after Googling wow!!! I feel immense sadness that I have been taking such a harmful drug that has caused so many bad side effects daily, but also HUGE relief that I believe I have gotten to the bottom of the problem.

Has anyone else suffered similar side effects? I have binned every packet - I would rather have the crippling heart burn any day of the week!!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Do you know if the side affects are reversible after stopping this poison? I have been on it for about 4 years. I didnt know it was causing my extreme issues! I had dinner last night with my exhusband who happens to be a doctor and he told me it's the omeprazole that is causing my memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, etc.Does anyone know if the brain fog, etc goes away after detoxing from this poison???

Hi, I'm not sure how long ago you posted but if others pick up on this thread they might like to know my experiences on Omeprazole generic (not branded).

I started on a 4 week course following acid (water) brash after a meal. I regret not reading up more about the drug first before ploughing in but I had used a branded version eight years ago (2013) without problems to clear up mild gastritis and I tapered off them successfully with the help of Apple Cider Vinegar, DGL Liquorice etc. I admit to having an anxious personality, usually kept in check. However I began to notice an increase in my anxiety after 3 days of taking the Omeprazole & a mild headache & brief dizziness that passed. Then a few days later I began to have some strange night-time symptoms. I would always waken during a dream with a strange surge of pins & needles / burning across my back & down my arms and I would feel a pressure in my throat. I would sit up, sip some water then go back to sleep only for repeated occurrences. I was and still am waking 5 - 6 times a night. Suspecting acid reflux I raised the head of my bed & bought a wedge pillow but still it continues, always it seems during dream sleep which is picked up on my FitBit tracker and I always remember the dream immediately on waking. Since then my anxiety has spiralled massively out of control and I'm desperately trying to figure out how to come off this stuff safely as I'm certain there is a link here. I have become very fearful, agitated, depressed and unable to cope with life's simplest stresses and my heart & blood pressure are up. I had been losing weight slowly over the last year but put it down to Covid-19 & other stresses and this is under investigation which is also causing me great worry. However I have started having panic attacks, random shaking of limbs / tremors , and behaviour one might expect from a child - needy & in need of comfort & reassurance. My weight loss has accelerated since taking the Omeprazole and I'm completely mentally messed up and feel my life has been ruined. I've had numerous blood tests which come back ok & am due to have a CT scan as I may have something more sinister going on which I don't want to mention here. I accept this could be considered anecdotal but the timing of the increased anxiety symptoms is uncanny. I am going to try tapering a little by removing granules from the capsules over a period of weeks but if I need another acid suppressor I will have to consider H2 blockers. However these also cause a problem as I'm male (60) & have BPH. I feel I'm really trapped at the moment but also that the Omeprazole is fuelling my anxiety and my GP (Doctor) says she prescribes this stuff to many, many patients without problems but I feel it is causing a problem with me. It seems all the PPIs have similar effects after reading other peoples posts. It's odd because I know three people who take Omeprazole without any problems but they are generally not predisposed to anxiety. I hate this medication and am fearful for my long term mental & physical health.

After doing a bunch of research and reading all the replies here, I have a theory.

NOTE: I am not a doctor and this is just a guess based on independent research I've done.

Background: I'm suffering from the side effects of omeprazole just like the rest of you; I was perfectly healthy before (an athlete) and now I am homeridden and sick all the time. I was put on omeprazole by my doctor because she wanted to see if it would improve some odd, dull abdominal pains I was having (they weren't that bad, just annoying). After my fight with omeprazole, I would've rather had the dull annoying pains. Just like everyone here, I suffered from the following:

• nausea
• loss of appetite
• muscle twitching
• jerking awake when trying to sleep
• waking up every 1-2 hours
• depression
• anxiety/panic attacks
• fatigue
• feeling of illness/unwellness

The list goes on. While I had one of my episodes/attacks, I went to urgent care and got some tests done, including an H Pylori test. The test came back positive (being on PPIs can cause false negatives, so I guess I was "lucky"). I then did some more research into H Pylori and found out that it's estimated more than half the population has this, and is mostly asymptomatic. H Pylori loves to live in your stomach and modify your stomach by making your acid more basic so it can live there. When we're all on omeprazole and reducing our stomach acid, that gives H Pylori a chance to come out of hiding and start growing. The reason none of these are side effects of omeprazole is because that's true; omeprazole by itself doesn't cause these, but it creates an environment for H Pylori to cause these symptoms in us. Look up the symptoms of H Pylori that people have reported, and I think you'll find they are basically the same stuff we've all been talking about here.

H Pylori is known for causing ulcers and stomach cancer, but a majority if people don't get those symptoms. For me, I'm wondering if treating my omeprazole side effects as an H Pylori infection will have any benefits. I'm 6 days off omeprazole and definitely doing better than when I was on it, but still not cured. I've ordered a bunch of natural remedies for H Pylori and will see how taking them goes.

Hello Olivia,

My doctor prescribed me pantoprazole 40 mg tablets. For some reason my doctor thought it was crucial to prescribe it for just an occasional heartburn. I took it for a little over two weeks. During that short time I felt aches and pains, nausea and other side effects. So I stopped taking it. Whatever my doctor was trying to prove wasn't worth it. I thought stopping it would end my troubles. So on May 16, 2021 I stopped taking it. But my nightmare had only just begun. The very next day I began to vomit, and when I would eat food it would either get stuck in my throat on the way down, or I would vomit and it would get stuck. In the beginning I thought nothing of it. As I went into my second week off of it I realized. It had to be connected to the pantoprazole. Now after two weeks of what I found out to be Acid Reflux. I was diagnosed with GERD, and I have been told suddenly I have a mass on my esophagus. They ran a full body CT Scan, and found nothing. But an ENT recently looked in my throat with a camera and found a mass. I am a nervous wreck, because I am scheduled for Endoscopy Monday. Depending on what they find an MRI as well. All of this just for using it for two weeks. PPI's are poison. My life has been changed forever and for the worst. I have always been a healthy individual. Now all that has gone down the hill in two weeks. I called FDA and they said it causes rebound regurgitation once you stop. I'm angry because I only had heartburn every now and then when eating something spicy, and I never had Acid Reflux when it happened. I only ate spicy every two or three months. But my doctor felt I needed this medicine. As I said before its poison. If I can reach one individual to warn them before they make the mistake I made. Then hopefully I have done my job. Olivia, I have noticed just recently that the ongoing Acid Reflux has subsided a little more, but it appears the damage is already done. Hopefully yours will subside soon and you will be okay. Many blessings.

I meant April 16, 2021 I stopped it.