It is a fact that taking Ptoton pump inhibitors can prevent the absorption of Magnesium ,an essential element for Cardiac conductivity and can influence AF in susceptible patients,so really should be used with caution if you have AF.
Also recent research has also shown that Proton pump inhibitors has been associated with Alzheimer's disease. .Apparently it can interfere with the gut flora and Biomes ! gut Biomes are associated with Cerbral function and Health,so again PPIs should be taken with caicaution.
All this information can be found on sscitech along with the associated research.
Ray Park
Written by
Popey1248
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
To me thay should be avoided at all costs other than very short term since they seem to be a group of drugs that self perpetuate the very thing they are supposed to help. Just my experience from many years ago and how difficult it was to wean off them.
I agree Bob. They set off my IBS big time,and then I read an article on the side effects they can cause. Stopped taking them and problems subsided. If I need anything I take Gaviscon. I know they suit many but I am one of the others!
It all depends on the reason for taking them. If someone has Barrett’s oesophagus it may help prevent it progressing to oesophageal cancer. So not very wise to advise people to “avoid at all costs” if they are already at an increased risk.
I have also read that some years ago, & yet I continue to take them, why? Because of the fear the doctors have generated regarding the potential consequences of not taking them.
I discussed this at length with a professor from our nearby teaching hospital having had some GI symptoms and taking PPI drugs (esomeprazole).
You will find that the research you have read is now considered unreliable and out of date. The link to Alzheimer's is far from proven and considered most doubtful and it is known that magnesium levels are affected but only in very few people. Once they are, the only way to resume Mg absorption is to remove the PPI, which happens as soon as the PPI is removed.
Stopping PPI drugs can cause severe rebound reflux of acid so needs time, tapering and some other antacid in the mean time.
The professor, well respected nationally I gather, told me that these drugs have prevented a great deal of serious ill health related to reflux acid especially of oesophageal erosion and worse, as well as making many GI operations a thing of the past.
MY husband was prescribed a PPI when his voice started to go croaky. Reflux was starting to damage his voice box. Because he's deaf and wouldn't wear hearing aids he refused to take them saying he has no stomach problems.. He didn't hear what the consultant said so now he's almost impossible to understand and won 't go back to the doctor. I dread to think what damage has been done. A case where PPIs were essential.
It could be. My brother in law is the same and says he gets no acidity either. He’s 75 now and never took his omeprazole tablets after the first two made him feel sick. I told him to press on as the nausea would likely go away but he wouldn’t. Feeling sick is an awful thing though. His croaky voice seems to have improved though, thankfully - or at least comes and goes. Our neighbour is much younger, in his early 60s and his croaky voice turned out to be harmless polyps.
Sometimes the irritation can be from digestive stomach enzymes like pepsin, rather than acid, I’ve read. Your husband might have this but you’d still expect some burning sensation? I’d say that he should ask his doctor though as the food pipe is very easily made sore and can suffer what’s called “erosion” leading to worse issues.
After reading your comments I have literally just made him sit down and listen and he's promised to get it investigated again. He did see ENT about 3 years ago who diagnosed reflux damage but it's SO much worse now. He has no obvious gastro symptoms at all. I'm really struggling now to tell what he says. It seems to be quite common but his sister in law's partner died of oesophageal cancer so I think I've scared my husband into getting treatment. Thank you.
I’m sure he’ll be fine but yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not given a PPI tablet. It’s odd that he can’t feel the acid. I can feel it often enough even with the tablets.
I have a very dodgy stomach; have had a couple of peptic ulcers but rarely reflux. Aspirin crucifies me; I use the coated type but I can't take PPIs so I have famotidine. Perhaps that works in a similar way although I think not but it does have no nasty side effects. Now to see whether he can actually get a GP appointment. NO he has absolutely no stomach pain or burning. All he heard the consultant say was take this for your stomach so he came home and refused because he has no apparent stomach problems.
Odd, isn't it - no symptoms yet acid reflux? I think I'd have gone with what the specialist told me, myself. Did the ENT have a look with a gastroscope?
It's hard to know - he doesn't explain well but I think he had a camera down his nose and throat. He didn't have to swallow one. It was months before I actually found out what the consultant had said or that he'd refused to get more tablets after the first prescription or even why and what he'd been told in the first place because he simply didn't know.
But his doctor told him to take antacids? It's far from cut and dry, though as the PPI drugs are going through some kind of re-evaluation. There's no real option as I see it for those of us with bad acid problems. As so often, drugs can sometimes have a downside.
Yes but he only gave him one prescription and he didn't hear why he had to take them so he didn't ask; took the first lot then stopped. Even when I found out why they were prescribed he couldn't see a reason because as he said, he had no stomach problems and he certainly wouldn't go back and ask,
So, it sounds like there's definitely another person in the world similar to my brother-in-law and for many years my wife and I have said they must have thrown the mould away after they made him!
I have low magnesium and potassium counts. The first thing my consultant did was to stop Lansoprazole which I had been on long term due to other medications (not Afib related). I do have PAF especially when M and P counts are low and unfortunately blood tests are the only thing that shows M & P counts.
I use Peptac which was prescribed if I have antacid issues.
It sounds as if you never needed PPIs in the first place if you were able to stop them so easily. I envy you as I tried and failed miserably and it took many months for the problems caused by reflux acid that occurred on stopping them to resolve even after restarting. Also, none of the health issues I thought they might have been causing altered in any way. Blood tests showed normal calcium, magnesium and B12 levels - all to my surprise (but relief).
I've been on PPI (pantoprazole twice a day, Barrett's Esophagus) for many years and take b12 and magnesium malate supplements. I haven't noticed and side effects.
I have done a lot of PPI research and decided it was better than the reflux symptoms.
My suggestion is always refer to your GP, before changing any medication.
^ @DiyChas, I've also been on a PPI (40mg pantoprazole once a day) for many years and take High Potency B Complex and magnesium supplements. I also haven't noticed any side effects.
I've done a lot of PPI research as well and decided it was better than reflux symptoms as well as my predisposition to developing gastritis after having suffered from a severe H. pylori infection many years ago.
It’s also very important to manage Barrett’s oesophagus because of the risks that it could become malignant. PPIs can play a role in preventing that progression. Your experience demonstrates how important it is to take the right approach to using PPIs. Any deficiencies will show up on a blood test and supplements are cheap and effective.
I discovered the Barrett's during a gastroscopy where a biopsy was taken (not malignant).Then told by the gastroenterologist to double the pantoprozole to twice a day as half life is only 15 hours.
Agreed. After being treated with pantoprazole for 7 months for moderate gastritis, I had my first AF episode. It took me almost a year to wean off of PPIs without experiencing terrible acid reflux flash back. The doctors never told me that this medication would deplete the magnesium, calcium and vitamin B which I believe caused the AF.
I am guessing from your explanation that you only took them as short term prophylaxis after your ablation, to control any possible oesophageal irritation caused by the heated catheter? They are said to be very good for that and have, I gather, helped overcome this unusual but otherwise extremely difficult to deal with side effect of the procedure.
I am surprised that they reduced your vitamin levels in such a short time of treatment so guess that you must be unusually sensitive to them or, perhaps, your levels were already borderline. That's bad luck.
The side effects that you mention of PPIs are, in truth, extremely unusual, even when the drugs are taken in the long term. Also, for many people who take them, sadly, there is no alternative except risky and not always successful surgery. Other drugs, such as cimetidine, famotidine and similar (i.e. the older H2 inhibitors) cannot sufficiently control acid reflux.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
PPI’s and atrial fibrillation 
Cyclist and Runner Exercising with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation - also considering an ablation
DC Cardioversion
New research into AF
Ablation or not for Persistent AF?
