76 year old taking omeprozol, has con... - Pernicious Anaemi...

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76 year old taking omeprozol, has constant hand tremors, appears very nervous, suffers anxiety & stress.

Ebonner profile image
9 Replies

Looking for your thoughts on this!!!

My mother is 76 year old lady who takes prescribed Omeprozole daily. She suffers terrible hand tremors & complains of foot cramps. Appears very nervous & comes out with some ridiculous things (I put a lot of that down to her hearing). She has osteoporosis & broke a vertebrae in spine however doesn’t know how this happened ( adamant it was due to pressing down on lid of bleach bottle to open it (prescribed & takes calcium daily). In the past experienced extremely sore tongue which I now know is sign she is low on Folate & requires prescription for folic acid to clear. My mum is prescribed diazepam regularly due to her stress & anxiety levels however after ready lots of posts on here I can’t help but think she must need b12 but GP has never mentioned it to her. Any advice would be appreciated!!!

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Ebonner
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9 Replies
Nackapan profile image
Nackapan

I would just persuade her to go to the doctors. You go with her and get some bloods done . Then act on those results

B12

Folate

Full works.

My mum is 90 and I got her to have a 'mot' last year . She benefits from b12 injections 3 monthly and certain vits.

I also got a blister pack organised so she took all her medication properly as she was getting forgetful.

She is si much better and s very clear head!! I thought she was getting g dementia

humanbean profile image
humanbean

Omeprazole lowers stomach acid. Getting older also lowers stomach acid because the gut is less able to produce stomach acid as we age. Someone of 76 on omeprazole probably has no stomach acid at all.

As a result food is digested poorly. Protein digestion in particular needs good levels of stomach acid to be digested efficiently, and people need more protein to stay well as they age.

The other problem of having no stomach acid is that extracting minerals and vitamins from food becomes very difficult and the sufferer ends up very deficient.

Ask your mother's doctor to test vitamin B12, folate, ferritin and iron, and vitamin D. If they are feeling generous (does that ever happen?) ask the GP to test zinc, copper and selenium as well. How many the doctor will actually test is in the lap of the gods.

Make sure your mother gets a copy of all the blood test results including the reference ranges. The word "normal" isn't acceptable, you need numbers and ranges.

Sleepybunny profile image
Sleepybunny

Hi,

Sorry to hear what your mum is going through.

Omeprazole is a PPI drug and long term use of these has been associated with b12 deficiency in some studies.

pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/c...

Was she originally put on PPI drugs because doctors diagnosed high levels of stomach acid?

The symptoms of low stomach acid (hypochlorydia) are very similar to the symptoms of high stomach acid.

Link about low levels stomach acid

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/hypochl...

Has GP considered whether her original symptoms might have been due to low levels of stomach acid?

Some on this forum were diagnosed with high levels and put on PPIs, only to find out later that their symptoms were due to low levels.

Link about "What to do next" if B12 deficiency suspected

b12deficiency.info/what-to-...

Risk Factors for PA and B12 Deficiency

pernicious-anaemia-society....

b12deficiency.info/what-are...

b12deficiency.info/who-is-a...

"In the past experienced extremely sore tongue"

One of the causes of a sore, inflamed tongue is B12 deficiency.

Doctor's term for sore, inflamed tongue is "glossitis".

Symptoms of B12 Deficiency

pernicious-anaemia-society....

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

b12d.org/admin/healthcheck/...

It's possible to have more than one cause of B12 deficiency at the same time.

Has she ever been tested for PA (Pernicious Anaemia) and Coeliac disease and other causes of b12 deficiency?

If you think there's any possibility of PA, I recommend joining and talking to PAS .

Is there a family history of auto immune conditions? PA is an auto immune condition.

PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society)

Based in Wales, UK.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

PAS tel no 01656 769717 answerphone

PAS support groups in UK

pernicious-anaemia-society....

Blog post about how PAS can support PAS members seeking PA diagnosis

martynhooper.com/2017/06/24...

Coeliac Blood Tests

coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-dise...

BSH Cobalamin and Folate Guidelines (UK document on treatment/diagnosis of B12 deficiency

b-s-h.org.uk/guidelines/gui...

BNF (British National Formulary)

bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/hydrox...

BNF guidance on treating b12 deficiency changed recently.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

B12 books I found useful

"What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia and B12 Deficiency" by Martyn Hooper. Book does not show updated BNF info.

"Could it Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses" by Sally Pacholok and JJ. Stuart (USA authors)

Very comprehensive with lots of case studies.

Letters to GPs about B12 deficiency

b12deficiency.info/b12-writ...

"& requires prescription for folic acid to clear."

It's vital that any co-existing B12 deficiency is treated if person is receiving treatment for folate deficiency.

See management section in next link.

Folate Deficiency

patient.info/doctor/folate-...

I wrote a very detailed reply on another forum thread with links to other B12 books, other b12 websites, more UK B12 documents/articles and other B12 info.

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po...

I'm sure there'll be some useful info in it for you.

I am not medically trained.

Ebonner profile image
Ebonner in reply toSleepybunny

Thanks for your reply & the above links. My mum suffered from a Peptic ulcer for years but had treatment for this around 30 years ago which worked for her. I’m sure she was put on Opemprozole after she had her gall bladder removed & that was at least 10 years ago. When she broke her back she couldn’t move due to excruciating pain consultant tried everything advised nothing else they could do but then tried one last drug Gabapentin. My mum calls this her wonder drug within an of taking it was up on her feet again. She has been taking this since.

Sleepybunny profile image
Sleepybunny in reply toEbonner

Hi,

Gabapentin is an anti- epileptic drug, also used for pain relief.

There has been some research that suggested a possible association between use of anti-epileptic drugs and both folate deficiency and B12 deficiency.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/212...

Any concern about drugs should be discussed with GP.

Boo222 profile image
Boo222

My mum was diagnosed with PA back in 2008 (too late to prevent nerve damage) but mentally alert. She was recently prescribed Lansoprazole, a known drug that over time depletes B12. While taking it, over a few weeks, she's been given Doxycyclin, Amoxicillin and macroBID. Now her memory is dipping in and out (mostly out). I fear the combinations have done their worst. Now looking into care homes. Get your mum sorted with B12 ASAP and never let up. GP's are unbelievably ignorant on the subject. Do your research. Print off as much info as you can and sock it to them. I wish you and your mum well in the future.

B12injections profile image
B12injections

Just wanted to say I was on Ameprozole for acid stomach, read online Ameprozole is linked to having low B12 also maximum time to use this is 7weeks i've been on it 7years !!! Told my Dr he was unaware of this . I stopped taking it and replaced with Gaviscon took 2weeks and stomach was good.

A

Marz profile image
Marz

Low stomach acid and high levels have similar symptoms - beware of drugs being irresponsibly prescribed ..

Mozza127 profile image
Mozza127

It's woth getting blood tested thier is links with indigestion and low b12

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