Acid reflux what you need to know

[1960finas]

PPI'S are the second most prescribed medication in history behind the statin although that's another story. Wether it's your diet or your drinking habits the acid in your stomach has went from acidic pH of 1to2 and is now alkaline pH of 4/5/or 6 so that means the food is not getting digested properly which means the undigested food starts to give off gas that is when acid reflux start's.The lower eosophigus sphinker has to relax so as to protect the stomach it is doing it's job.If the pH in your stomach was right and the sphinker relaxed it would be game over. PPI'S do in most cases help with the symptoms but don't fix the problem you will always have the problem. I have no problems with acid reflux my daughter was going through hell and was on list to have op which is very invasive and life changing she has know need for op and is off all medications, all's good And also my friend suffers from acid reflux been off ppi's for 3 weeks takes the odd tums but it's going well.Come on do all yourselves a favour follow me and help yourself cheers fina's

[Mary-intussuception]

Not everyone is the same. Some people have Barrett's Oesophagus and take PPI to protect from cancer. Some have other conditions and need to protect throat and top of oesophagus from damage caused by rising acid. Gaviscon Advance can help, but not everyone can cope with using that frequently enough.

[phil in reply to Mary-intussuception]

I agree entirely with Mary A lot of people on this site have had an Oesophagectomy and the majority of us have to take PPIs daily to protect us from acid. We don,t want to take them we have to. It gives us a quality of life to our condition. I have tried to come off them and managed 6 months once but I can tell you it was not worth it and caused me more health problems so I personally will stay on them.

Phil

[haward]

I have seen many surgeons asked about PPIs. The advice is always the same. Don't come off them without taking medical advice. And those of us with no oesophagus are likely to be on them for the rest of our lives.

[Karjade]

I have Barrett's Oesophagus and I would not risk coming off them. My consultant has told me I will be on them for life and I will do just that.

[1960finas in reply to Karjade]

Hi I apologize for being so flipent about acid reflux eosophagitis when I say stop ppi's you have to replace them with something else that does the job without keeping the problems going, you didn't say how long you have been on ppi's you wouldn't have woke up one day with Barrett's so if you have been on ppi's that shows they are not sorting the problem.im telling you this because I want to help.good luck

[Hidden in reply to 1960finas]

Thanks. You are right about PPIs being very widely prescribed. But for the people on this site who do not have the lower oesophageal sphincter because their oesophagus and/or stomach has been remove surgically, there has to be some means of controlling the effects of acid reflux. The long term effects of reflux on the lining of the oesophagus are a health risk, Barrett's Oesophagus leading to dysplasia and adenocarcinoma being a very significant issue.

It is always a sensible thing to review medication when you have been on it for a long time, but that does not mean that you can necessarily give it up without side effects or consequences.

[DaveChuter]

Hi 1960finas,

I agree with Alan, the people on this take PPIs for a different reason than the general public, surgery has changed the way our system works and we need the PPIs to control reflux as we have no physical means internally to do so.

The side effects for me to stop PPI even for a few days means I cannot function normally, for me and many others it is quality of life living with the affects of my cancer treatment, and there is no known alternative for us.

I have been on PPIs since surgery for cancer 11 years ago, not before but if I had been prescribed PPIs for reflux a few years before, maybe just maybe I would not have developed barretts and cancer.

Have you checked out our website? opa.org.uk plenty of info about our condition.

I will always advise that any OG patient must get medical advice from their hospital team before considering stopping prescription PPIs as the consequences can be life changing.

[1960finas in reply to DaveChuter]

Hi Dave I agree with you and Alan, my posts were never ment for the people who have suffered with cancer or who've had operations on there eosophigus I really do apologize for upsetting people.If you look at my posts I thought I was just replying to people who had similar to my daughter and myself.Again please except my apologies. Fina's

[DaveChuter in reply to 1960finas]

Hi 1960finas, apologies accepted.

I do understand what and why but we have to ensure we give out the best information for people of this group, people who are living with cancer and cancer treatment long time effects and stopping PPIs can cause serious health and quality of life consequences to many. We all know the risks of these drugs but for us they are very important part of our survivorship, for me the risk is small compared to life without them.

[focused1]

They may be the most prescribed but that doesn't mean they don't do harm . How many people take NSAIDS but used frequently they too do harm .

[Mary-intussuception in reply to focused1]

Hi focused

I understand that anyone who uses NSAIDS regularly, long term, should have blood tests to monitor kidney and liver.(Topical drops or gels could be used instead but care and monitoring still needed. ) They should only be taken with or after food so the stomach is protected. Could be taken when pain is most severe rather than everday. They are good for short term pain relief when combined with paracetamol or over the counter 8/500 cocodamol (however best to also take Lactulose medicine when taking codeine to counteract the side effect of constipation ).

[Juliojr13]

It all started with acid reflux for about a year and a half, taking Tums and thinking everything is alright. Until I started noticing my acid syotoms getting worse. After all that time, I finally went to see a gastroenterologist and performed an upper endoscopy. He found my esophagus swollen from the acid creeping up past my sphincter. He also saw small erosions in my stomach. He perscribed Omeprazole 20 mg. They worked for about 3 weeks, then all of a sudden, the symptoms got worse, I went back to him 2 days ago and he doubled the dose and tolde to take 40 mg. I feel as if they are too strong and my stomach acts funny. I also get occasionally chest muscle spasms, esophagus swollen, trouble swallowing, and think I'm having a heart attack. I've been to the emergency room twice, and they do all types of test and everything comes up normal. I don't know what else to do an d think it's the Omeprazole m a king it worse. I changed my diet completely and stopped drinking caffeine all together. Anyone have any related issues that can help a young guy out? I would greatly appreciate it.