Omeprazole has ruined my life
Posted , 89 users are following.
I really regret taking prilosec, i fell ill with a virus last december that caused gastroenteritis (severe acid reflux and diarrhea).. i was told to take omeprazole for 14 day treatment.. at the time i did not experience any side effects so after the 14 day treatment was over, about a week later i experienced acid rebound that sent me to the ER. The er dr said i needed to up the dose to 40 mg 2x/day... and this is when i became more ill.. i had severe diarrhea for 9 days, blurry vision, brain fog, muscle twitching, cramping, body jolts before going to sleep, . i couldnt digest my food.. lost 10 lbs.. but i did not know what was happening to me.. i was so sick i had to have a colonoscopy and egd.. i was told i had unspecified colitis.. i stupidly cont this drug bc thats what the drs told me to do.. and as im trying to heal my gut from whatever virus i had i started to develop new symptoms.. extreme brain fog, memory loss, fatigue, anxiety, muscle twitching, buzzing in certain parts of my body.. frequent urination in am. I feel as if i have nerve damage of some kind because of this ppi.. after 4 1/2 months of this posion i have since stopped this med and it has been 11 days but my twitching is still there.. i know this drug caused these other problems bc as i weaned from 40 mg to 20mg to then every other day i began experiencing body jolts and more nerve problems, numbness in certain parts, etc. has this happened to anyone else and did anyone make a full recovery?? I need some help please..Before I took this med I was a healthy 32 year old. Now 33 and still recovering. Does anyone know if this is permanent?
1 like, 376 replies
dot59139 olivia53472
Edited
Stopped.
deb96471 olivia53472
Posted
I drank too much (especially for me since I never drink) one night in Jan. The next day my upper right abdomen hurt horribly. It never went away.
A month later I had a lipase test at 208. Then 3 weeks later it was 78.
The dr thought it was a pancreas attack. The problem is now I have 2 things, the omeprazole withdrawal and this pancreas pain.
I took omeprazole for 2 weeks, a month later for 4 days, then when those withdrawal symptoms got too bad a week later, I took it again for 8 days. I am NEVER taking it again.
I took it because they thought the pain might be an ulcer. Never had an endoscopy though.
The symptoms feel like a war zone in my belly. Heartburn (never had), indigestion with loud gurgles (never had), and bloating. I can't sleep through the night.
Please help me. I didn't take the omeprazole that long. When will the withdrawal stop? I ordered gaviscon from Amazon to get the UK version because it is far superior but it hasn't come yet. Regular tums don't help too much.
k45678 deb96471
Posted
that sounds so hard
have you tried taking mylanta or gaviscon frequent small amounts to neutralise the acid? i had terrible experience witb PPI as well. also try a low acid diet and avoid trigger foods for reflux, hope you feel better
k45678 olivia53472
Edited
Firstly, so sorry to hear of your symptoms, I absolutely hear you and have been through a similar situation with a PPI. There is hope. i had most of the same symptoms of everyone in this thread. I thought it was my antidepressant causing the body shaking, body twisting, twitching/jerking, heart racing palpitations, muscle tension, agitation, reflexes out of control, brain fog, dizzy spells, mood swings, crying... I kept being told it was anxiety (which I know I have but my panic attacks feel different, plus valium didnt help these symptoms but does help if i have a panic attack!) So over months while taking the PPI it got so bad that I went to hospital with severe symptoms and was there several days with the doctors thinking it was either anxiety, MS, or a strange heart condition due to my racing heart and me thinking I was going mad if anxiety can cause these symptoms. Im also a 35yr old mum of 2 -and this was debilitating. Finally a clever doctor diagnosed serotonin syndrome and said it was my antidepressant and possibly the PPI making it worse so he took me off all meds slowly. i went through hell with my anxiety being off meds but the heart racing slowed down and the twitching eased, all my symptoms slowly improved over a 3 month period. after 6 months i had to go back on an antidepressant for ongoing anxiety and depression. I had none of the jittery/ shakey, heart racing symptoms and felt great for a few months. Then my acid reflux came back and my doctor told me to start a PPI again. I still hadnt fully made the connection of my symptoms to the PPI yet so I started taking the PPI again. I reminded my doctor (not the doc from the hospital) about the serotonin syndrome last year but he assured me that the PPI could NOT cause the twitching, jittering, nervous, heart palpitations, and that the serotonin syndrome was the antidepressant, and this time i am fine on the antidepressant with no symptoms....but one week later Boom, the symptoms returned! so i stopped the PPI and a week later i felt fine again. I'm on this forum now and reading all the other stories similar to mine that only few doctors would understand. i told my doctor i stopped the PPI because i got the symptoms again, he really struggles to believe it. He contacted a pharmacist who did a literature review and also couldnt find anything to support my theory. So last night and tonight i tried a different PPi that my doctor recommended called Rabeprazole, to do an experiment!, but the symptoms are starting to come back mildly! So I am convinced now that it was the PPI, especially worse with my antidepressant, and i support every one of you on this forum who are going through this. obviously PPI's can cause these adverse symptoms in some people. My advice: go on a low acid diet and eat smaller meals, see a naturopath, take mylanta or gaviscon in small frequent doses to coat and protect your oesophagus, and give it lots and lots of time for your body and nerves to heal. Its such a slooooowwww process. Trust your gut and see a different doctor, get more opinions. sending hope to everyone
kinzy55091 k45678
Posted
Thank You for posting this!! I am going through all of this as I type. I took omeprazole for 4 days and it completely messed up my life. I had never had any medical issues before. I feel terrible. I am taking magnesium and B12 supplements and they make me feel better but the head is still foggy, vision is still blurry. Idk when I will return to normalcy. No one believed me when I told them omeprazole was doing this to me. I have never been on any medication before. Even doctors dont believe you. My doctor scared me by saying I should get an endoscopy and something else is wrong with me but I know my body. I wonder how long it will take for me to get back to normal.
k45678 kinzy55091
Posted
thank you for your reply, im so sorry you are going through similar symptoms
i am not off PPI's and the symptoms are settled, it takes a few weeks for them to ease off
but i do have bad reflux and heartburn. i am
also seeing a naturopath and taking some magnesium and B12, she also tested my stool and found i have an imbalance in a few types of bacteria so i need some probiotics.
i definitely think there is a link with some adverse symptoms of PPI's that are just not recognised or researched by doctors yet. I hope you are feeling better? Give it a good few weeks to months to heal xx
kinzy55091 k45678
Posted
hey! I have been taking B12 100mcg supplement and vitamin D supplement and also a probiotic supplement after dinner. All symptoms have slowly faded but certain days I still get blurry vision and I feel my nerves in my head tightened. Also, pins and needles in my right arm and foot once in a while. I am thinking of increasing my B12 dose. How much are you taking per day?
kinzy55091 olivia53472
Posted
You are not alone. These are exactly my symptoms from the last 3 weeks. I took omeprazole 40mg for 4 days and I have been horrible ever since. I was so stupid to jump on it instead of taking tums or pepcid for my acid. I have double/ blurry vision, the nerves in my head tingle sometimes, my right eye was twitching for two days and I had palpitations and ear pressure. I still have it and I am recovering real slow. I am taking b12 and magnesium supplements. Made a big mistake taking omeprazole. idk how long this will last. Are you back to normal now?
k45678 olivia53472
Posted
yes i am back to normal now and no PPI
Im still so shocked that PPI's did that to me
i hope you feel better too
kinzy55091 k45678
Posted
I was so stupid to have taken omeprazole when I was having those heartburns. I just googled and researched and found out that a b12 deficiency can give you heartburns and chest pains. I never realized that and now my nerves are all damaged I feel.
jay74096 k45678
Posted
hey! i see this post is about 8 months old but i was wondering how long your symptoms lasted when you stopped omeprazole? and what all symptoms did you have? i stopped about a week ago after taking it for 3 months and i seem to be having all kinds of crazy withdrawal symptoms. tingling/tightening on my head, muscles twitching all over body, numbness in hands and feet.
dave85231 jay74096
Posted
Jay74096, I see you posted this about three months ago and you said your withdrawal symptoms were tingling and numbness of your face and hands when you stopped. I too currently suffer from the same symptoms after quitting. How are doing now that its been three months since you quit?
Marieski olivia53472
Posted
One word. ACUPUNCTURE. Booked an appointment with an acupuncturist after horrendous side effects after just 4 doses of Omeprazole. Ive had 2 sessions with her so far and the horrible panic feelings, anxiety, dizziness, fearful insomnia, random claustrophobia and every other awful side effect of this poison (2 ER visits and countless blood tests and 2 MRIS later), have started to subside almost immediately and I am currently 1 week from my last Omeprazole pill. She gave me a herbal remedy to promote detox and cleansing of the body that has anti-anxiety properties. Still have dizziness and some palpitations but NOTHING like the panic attacks and brain fog, fatigue I experienced for the first time in my life. PLEASE contact an acupuncturist to start detoxing your body of thus gawd awful poison and hopefully take some natural herbs/supplements meant to promote detoxing and healing your body. There are so many other remedies for heartburn and acid issues. I hope to feel back to normal soon as I only took it for a few days but the price tag and emotional and psychological damage is harsh. There is hope!
robeeen olivia53472
Posted
wow... I'm shocked because I had something similar happen. What ended up curing me was iron. The omeprazole caused me to be iron deficient (omeprazole inhibits iron absorption) plus I was vegetarian... I was not anemic. There is a clear difference and most doctors are not familiar with "iron deficiency without anemia". I had terrifying brain zaps just like you. I had blurred vision and many other symptoms you named. What saved me is the medical journal by Esa Soppi: "Iron deficiency without anemia- common, important, neglected". i saw 9 doctors and 3 ER's and none of them could figure it out. Once I started to take iron, (200mg of elemental a day (split into two with vitamin C) I got better in 4 days and much better by two weeks. I tested my ferritin on my own using walkinlab and confirmed that this was correct. This all happened because of omperazole combined wirh other iron deficiency causes. Don't know if this could be you but maybe you can explore the possibility. Good luck! I know its miserable
jonathan28539 olivia53472
Posted
Im glad i found this thread. I have been on the stuff for years only recently i was bumped up to 40mg for postnasal drip from allergies and started to have some problems. body aches and so on. now getting off the stuff all together has been problematic. the rebound reflux is fine and manageable. but the leg pins and needles, cramps, flulike symptoms, etc have been hard. i had them for about a week when i went from the 40 to 20 and now feeling it again about 3 days into the 20 to zero step of it. My doctor isnt convinced this is causing the symptoms, but is very supportive in me getting off of it. I will be so glad to be rid of this stuff.