I’m new here and have a question about Omeprazole. Does it contain wheat?

[MomR109]

I have tried several times to contact the manufactuer “Mylan” and have had no success in actually speaking to a human being. I have emailed the company and the response is “they may get back with me”.

Thank you for any help for my son who is allergic to wheat and daughter who is Celiac.

MomR10.9

[Penel]

Hi Mom

This website has a list of ingredients which might help.

uniprix.com/en/drug-lexicon...

[Mathri]

To the best of my knowledge, Omeprazole capsules do not contain wheat but there are other serious side effects that you should consider if you have been prescribed them for long term use for gastro oesophageal reflux.

At first sight, they seem to be like a miracle cure and doctors may prescribe them simply to get you off their back. But the proton pumps, which they inhibit, do not just occur in the stomach, but they are present in every cell in your body, where they create a proton gradient across the cell membrane. The energy stored in this gradient is then used to power the active uptake of nutrients and the release of waste products from the cells, without which your rate of metabolism will decline and you will feel perpetually out of sorts.

This is made worse by the fact that stomach acid is needed for the absorption of Vitamin B12, without which you will become anaemic since B12 is needed for the active absorption of iron. You may then find that you will need B12 regular injections for the rest of your life.

Last, but not least, Omeprazole, like all other proton pump inhibitors, is addictive in that the rebound effect if you suddenly stop taking them is horrendous with pain far worse than that from the original acid reflux. I know because I tried it after taking Omeprazole for ten years.

A quick way to break the addiction is to swallow a couple a table spoons full of apple cider vinegar in water twice a day for about three days before stopping the Omaprazole.

This works because the production of stomach acid is controlled by a hormone (gastrin) which is produced in the intestine and. if it sees no acid, because you are taking Omeprazole, it makes massive amounts of gastrin, which builds up to super-high levels so if you stop the Omeprazole suddenly, you get a massive amount of stomach acid released and boy you will know it!

However, taking the apple cider vinegar (a weak acid) before stopping the Omeprazole reduces the amount of gastrin so that after a few days it will have returned to normal, normal acid production will be resumed, and you will have lost your addiction.

[Galixie in reply to Mathri]

"This is made worse by the fact that stomach acid is needed for the absorption of Vitamin B12, without which you will become anaemic since B12 is needed for the active absorption of iron. You may then find that you will need B12 regular injections for the rest of your life."

While I agree that PPIs are not ideal, I did want to point out some errors in the quote above. Yes, you do need stomach acid in order to digest foods containing B12 (and all other foods). A deficiency in B12 or folic acid can result in macrocytic anemia. This is a different form of anemia than the microcytic anemia caused by iron deficiency. You do not need B12 in order to absorb iron, but you do need adequate amounts of B12, folic acid, and iron to keep from becoming anemic. If use of PPIs reduces the stomach acid to the extent that nutrients are not being absorbed, deficiencies, and therefore anemia, can develop.

B12 injections may be necessary if malabsorption of nutrients occurs due to PPI use. Stopping use of PPIs should also stop malabsorption, so injections would not necessarily need to be for life, unless the person never stops taking PPIs, or has another underlying cause for their B12 deficiency.

[Mathri in reply to Galixie]

Yes, you are right, life-long B12 injections may not be necessary if you give up PPIs but some form of B12 supplementation may be helpful if you have been on PPIs for a long time since your body's stores of B12 may have been badly depleted. It certainly helped me when I came off PPIs after ten years.

If you live in the UK, the NHS allows you to have a 1mg injection of B12 every three months but I found that such a high dose given in one go made me feel sick and I had to lie down for an hour before I felt any better. If you were a dog, you would fare much better since vets give B12 injections every month. For my money, you are better off using B12 patches, which give you a steady trickle of B12 by transdermal absorption.

You are also quite right about the need for folic acid to prevent some forms of anaemia. But it is best taken in the form of methyl tetra hydro folate, which is more easily absorbed than folic acid, crosses the blood brain barrier and takes part in many other important biochemical pathways, not just those preventing anaemia. See amazon.co.uk/6S-5-Methyltet...

Good luck

Mathri

[Hidden]

Found this, but there's no reference as to where they got the list- health.answers.com/Q/What_a...

[Hidden]

I got to wondering about your question, if drug companies are required to list ALL ingredients, not just the active ones. Yes, they are, but I guess you have to read the fine print in drug insert leaflets. I found this- consumerreports.org/cro/new... Betting a pharmacist (chemist) would be a lot of help on that front.

[MomR109 in reply to Hidden]

The pharmacist directed me to call manufacturer because of "possible change in formula" that they are unaware of and may not have printed on insert.

Best to do the leg work yourself these days.

[MomR109]

Thank you all for your helpful answers. I did receive an answer from the corporation on Omeprazole;

"There are no wheat-derived ingredients in this product.

Jabaar B

Medical Information Specialist"

I never gave my son the Omeprazole, nor do I intend to do so. He is 95% better now that he has consistently steered clear of any wheat products and other food allergens since my initial post! Teenagers! He will continue to use the Enzymedica-Digest Gold+Probiotics that have made a huge difference since he began taking them when needed.

I'm putting the Omerprazole on the shelf with the other medications prescribed in the past and collecting dust.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks again for all your help.

MomR10.9