Protonix-pantoprazole specifically .. please help

hi kate, when you say to wean slowly.. shall I do it in 20mg increments? have you had any experience with weaning off this medication?

I reduced it by 20mg at a time. So I took 60mg for a week or 2, then 40mg ,even got down to 20mg at one point! I find Gaviscon Advance very good for reflux, especially at night, as it forms a raft over the stomach contents, although it doesn't last for 8 hours! So you'd need to take it when you go to bed, then again 4 hours later. It does cause dryness of the mouth and nasal passages though, well it did for me! Good luck.

yes Kristine, reduce by 20mg at a time, if your on 80mg per day go down to 60 for a couple weeks and 40 and so on. I've had rebound reflux its unbearable. feel well soon

were you on pantoprazole when you were tapering down this way ??

I was, yes. I still take about 20 mg a day, sometimes 40 ,depends how bad it is. Gaviscon advance helps me as most of my reflux happens at night, as I have a hiatal hernia and an esophageal motility problem (I don't swallow properly).

May I ask how long you stayed on the 80 mg of pantoprazole ? do you feel better nowadays ??

I wasn't on 80mg for long & it didn't really help me anyway as my problem is a hiatus hernia & I have a problem with swallowing, so it's a functional thing with me, rather than too much acid, or what I eat /drink. There's nothing can be done about it so I just take as little pantoprazole as possible to reduce the amount of acid in the reflux. As I said, Gaviscon advance helps me as does sleeping with the head of my bed raised about 6/8 inches, and not eating for about 4 hours before bed. There are so many different reasons that someone can have reflux, you need to find out what is causing yours. For E.G a friend was cured after she stopped drinking caffeinated & fizzy drinks, and stopped smoking (smoking can relax the LES (muscle at the top of your stomach which only opens when you swallow, and is supposed to remain tightly shut the rest of the time) Some foods/medications/ and drinks can cause reflux, as can overeating, especially before lying down. Sometimes tight clothing, around your waist, stomach doesn't help either! You need to find out the cause then your doctor can help you tailor a plan to help you. Good luck!

when you were tapering down.. what was your experience? how did you do it ?? my primary gave me a tapering down schedule of going up and down through 6months for instance the first week is doing 80mg all week but doing 60mg (wednesday) one day, second week is 80mg 5 days and doing 60mg (tuesday-friday) 2 days out of the week so on till my body is used to the 60mg. slowly tapering down that way.. so not sure if ill be experiencing rebound that way!

I am back on 60mg a day because I did it too fast, I I shud have gone down from 80 to 60 for a couple of weeks a nd them 60 t0 40 fir next two and then 40 to 20 but I did more harm by doing it too fast

how fast.. did you jump down to 40mg from 80mg?

my GI doc seems to think i should do that, but i missed a dose on accident and it hurt for 3 days.

im going to see a new gastro doc . I'm really unhappy with my current doc because he didnt make it clear on why im on it. i do have a pathology report, but my current gi doc is wishy washy in appointments when it comes to trying to figure my problem. it doesnt make sense.

Are you going to try to titrate 40mg soon ?

I got gastritis from the burning so dont do it too fast, I went down to 40 in a week

has your gastritis healed? how long were you on the 80mg of pantoprazole ? how are you feeling now as you're tapering down ?

hey, i cant find gaviscon advance. Do you have any suggestions

no I still suffer every day with symptoms of gastritis, a lot of nausea and pain I'm trying to survive on 40mg a day as I fear being on 80mg will have bad long term side effects

there is now a renee liquid available

what is renee liquid?

how long were you on the 80mg? and how long have you been tapering down? im sorry to hear that your in pain, has your doctor advised you to go down?..

i know you have to down slowly. i hope you can get down to a safer dosage and your symptoms will subside.

you mentioned renee liquid .. what is that ?

its liquid form of renee indigestion tablets which are similar to gaviscon

is bed time the only time to take gaviscon? or do you take it if there is a

flare up?