Weaning off PPIs (article)

[Settledownnow]

I am trying to wean myself of PPIs. I thought I was doing okay. Today is day 4 without PPI and boy, it was a rough day of rebound acid reflux.

Sharing this article for anyone who might be trying to see if they can get by with PPIs.

Weaning Gerd Patients off PPIs

 

[Munchkin]

I have never taken them. I probably take 10 tums a year and that's it. Good luck!

 

[Settledownnow]

I have never taken them. I probably take 10 tums a year and that's it. Good luck!

Thanks. For me, coffee is my trigger. I have to bite the bullet and give it up.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I have been on 2 a day forever, now, and I still have heartburn if I have more than 2 cups of coffee. so I don't even try to give them up.

but good luck, I hope it is working for you.

 

[southernlady]

I tried weaning off but couldn't take how bad it felt and made sleep impossible.

 

[Clematis]

Good luck!!!

I tried to get off b/c of kidney stones. Last fall I went from 20mg Nexium to 75mg Rantidine twice a day. That wasn't working so I went to 150 Rantidine in the morning and 75 in the evening. When THAT didn't work, I went back to 20mg Nexium... but not that wasn't enough and I had to add a 75mg Rantidine to the Nexium. So months passed, kidney stones kept happening and I decided to try quitting again in May. I got down to 75mg Rantidine twice a day but only if I also gobbled fistfuls of Tums... and in two months developed a kidney stone twice as large as any other from the calcium in the Tums. So I went back to the Nexium, then Nexium and Rantidine... and today threw in the towel and took 40mg of omeprazole. I have a gastro appt at the end of September and hopefully there is SOMETHING I can do to get off them.

PPIs should NEVER have been made as over the counter. People start taking them without realizing how impossible it is to get off them.

 

[Settledownnow]

Good luck!!!

I tried to get off b/c of kidney stones. Last fall I went from 20mg Nexium to 75mg Rantidine twice a day. That wasn't working so I went to 150 Rantidine in the morning and 75 in the evening. When THAT didn't work, I went back to 20mg Nexium... but not that wasn't enough and I had to add a 75mg Rantidine to the Nexium. So months passed, kidney stones kept happening and I decided to try quitting again in May. I got down to 75mg Rantidine twice a day but only if I also gobbled fistfuls of Tums... and in two months developed a kidney stone twice as large as any other from the calcium in the Tums. So I went back to the Nexium, then Nexium and Rantidine... and today threw in the towel and took 40mg of omeprazole. I have a gastro appt at the end of September and hopefully there is SOMETHING I can do to get off them.

PPIs should NEVER have been made as over the counter. People start taking them without realizing how impossible it is to get off them.

Oh, man.. this is awful. I hope you get some answers and can off them. PPIs are presented as fairly harmless until you begin to read and learn more about them. I did not add an HR2 blocker after I stopped taking omeprazole and that may have been my mistake in addition to too much coffee today.

 

[Clematis]

BTW when I was DXed "silent" GERD two months before DS I was rabidly compliant: I bought a bed wedge, stopped eating after 8pm, gave up coffee, tea, all caffeine, carbonated beverages, highly acidic foods -- uh, was a little less compliant regarding chocolate (an esophageal sphincter dilator) at the time but don't eat it now. And of course I lost about 110# after the DS. In short I did EVERYTHING they recommended for "lifestyle changes" and went from no discomfort from my "silent" variety of GERD to ruin-my-day heartburn just from trying to QUIT the PPIs!!

There are articles, scientific data, news reports galore on dangers of PPIs and the impossibility for many to get off them because of the well-documented rebound effect.

Oh and my atty husband has said the lawsuits against the PPI manufacturers are in full swing, for the serious health side effects, the dependence and even the kidney stones.

It is supposedly easier to get off H2s. The trouble for me was the H2s weren't resolving the problem -- the problem that I wasn't even aware I had until I tried to get off PPIs. My PCP prescribed Sucralfate (which supposedly coats the esophagus and stomach) to take while trying to get off the PPIs. So I was taking the 2 H2s, the Sucralfate and like 10 Tums and was still miserable. (And ended up in surgery from the Tums induced kidney stone.) I mention all this as maybe the Sucralfate (prescription) will help you?

 

[JackieOnLine]

PPIs should NEVER have been made as over the counter. People start taking them without realizing how impossible it is to get off them.

Oh and my atty husband has said the lawsuits against the PPI manufacturers are in full swing, for the serious health side effects, the dependence and even the kidney stones.

I've heard kidney stones are really, really painful.

and, what else do I need to worry about? I thought it was just bone loss.

 

[Clematis]

Kidney failure (this is a BIG one), dementia, C-dif and other infections (acid kills the pathogens: no acid, no protection). That's just off the top of my head. There are more.

 

[JackieOnLine]

 

[JackieOnLine]

I am, once again, going to try to at least wean down my PPI. have taken TWO 20 mg omeprazole (AM/PM) for a long time. my doctor was kind of clueless about how hard this is going to be - "take tums" - so I turned to dr. google. I've decided on a very slow taper just to get down to one a day will take a few months.

for now? I continue with the PM pill and the AM one I take two out of three days. this is for one month, hope that is slow enough.wish me luck! but I got off lexipro, I think I can do this.

re-read the article Settledownnow originally posted and going to get some of the herbs suggested. I should stop drinking even decaf, too, I suspect.

 

[hilary1617]

I've heard kidney stones are really, really painful.

and, what else do I need to worry about? I thought it was just bone loss.

Long term, quite possibly cancer / neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Per my oncologist/endocrinoligst, who strongly discourages the use of PPI's and has a few pubmed studies involving them:

1) when you try to get off of PPI---- the gastrin stimulates acid production and stays elevated for several months (depending on how long you were on the PPIs). This makes your reflux worse than before and almost makes getting off of these suckers impossible

2) the gastrin also acts like a growth factor and stimulates the growth of ECL cells (enterochromaffin like cells) which are the carcinoid precusor cells and at least theoretically stimulate the growth of carcinoid cells​

Also the current gold standard diagnostic manual "Neuroendocrine Tumors A Comprehensive Guide to Diagnosis and Management" states:

• Chronic PPI therapy increases plasma Chromogranin A and Gastrin levels.
• Chronic PPI therapy induces hypochlorhydria or achlorhydria which increases gastrin secretion.

Here's an interesting study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4527266/​

 

[JackieOnLine]

when you try to get off of PPI---- the gastrin stimulates acid production and stays elevated for several months (depending on how long you were on the PPIs). This makes your reflux worse than before and almost makes getting off of these suckers impossible

I've been on them for 10 years now.

but I'm still going to try. I have tums and I bought some of the tea recommended in the OP's link. apparently herbs that coat your throat help with further down, too.

 

[Settledownnow]

Good luck! You can do it!

I was able to get off PPIs but it took time and it was rough from time to time. I think I went from Omeprazole then to a low dose of Pepcid (not a PPI) then Pepcid on occasion then finally off. There are certain foods and behaviors that trigger acid reflux in me (overeating, eating too late at night, too much coffee, or eating too much of any tomato-based product). Now that I am off I am better able to recognize those triggers.