PPI’s

[Musicrockdog]

I’ve been on 40mg daly of protium for the past 25 years prescribed by my GP for GORD , I’m now feeling like my body is beginning to suffer the consequences of the long term use , (IE) chest pain , shoulder blade pain ,IBS symptoms, burning in the back of my throat, nausea, anxiety, digestive problems. Can anyone help me please I’m so desperate for help 😢

[wedgewood]

It sounds to me as though you are suffering from Vitamin B12 deficiency . Taking a PPI ( Proton Pump Inhibitor) for 25 years is a terrible assault on your body . PPIs shouldn’t be taken for more than a few months . Your stomach acid has possibly been totally annihilated after such a long time .

You need a good quantity and strength of stomach acid in order to break down your food and absorb vitamins , minerals and other elements . B12 is especially difficult to absorb. If you cannot give up the PPI, then Vitamin B12 injections would be the way to get B12 into your system .

B12 deficiency can cause grave health problems , and unfortunately the medical profession is extremely ignorant about it .

In any case , I would advise a probiotic ( I found Symprove to be excellent ) to help establish good bacteria . The lack of stomach acid upsets the flora ( good bacteria) in your stomach .Bad bacteria take over and cause poor digestion and many “gut” problems , like bloating , stomach ache , and reflux ( I had this — nauseous reflux when the stomach has no acid ).

Other symptoms you describe can come from B12 deficiency

Stomach acid is so very important to our health . Low or no stomach acid ( Hypochlorhydria/ Achlorhydria. leads to health problems .

GORD can be caused by having low stomach acid , when the oesophageal sphincter does not close sufficiently, and lets a little stomach acid through , which causes burning . Strong stomach acid , which we need to help to digest and break down our food , is so strong that it can burn a hole in wood . Strong stomach acid keeps the sphincter tightly closed . .

So GORD can be caused by weak stomach acid ,. Some people take Betaine Hydrochloric acid with pepsin capsules to counter this ( best advised by a nutritionist . ) Taking an acidic drink with meals can also help ( e.g. diluted organic apple cider vinegar.

I don’t know if I’ve helped you at all with this message . I just know that 25 years of taking PPIs causes damage to health . It is the biggest money-spinner for the Pharmaceutical Industry, and they are heavily “pushed “ .

Best wishes .

[Musicrockdog in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you so much for your reply, I’m scared to come off them and scared to keep taking them too , my GP increased my dose to 80mg daly about 18 months ago due to my symptoms getting worse but I never took the extra 40mg , I’m going to try to cut back a little more I’m not expecting miracles and I know it’s going to take a long time but I think if I don’t I’ll be in big trouble , thanks again for taking the time to reply to me I really appreciate it.

[Rexz]

I agree wholeheartedly with Wedgewood's discussion. The first thing I was erroneously prescribed after my diagnosis of Pernicious Anemia was PPI!? get that?

The thing I find curious regarding your diagnosis and treatment is this.

1. The medical community all agree that GORD, GERD are caused by gastric acid reflux or acid splashing up through the open or partially open Lower Esophageal Sphincter.

2. But then they automatically prescribe a PPI to reduce the stomach acid without knowing or ever testing for stomach acid levels? Is it high? Is it low? Is it normal? Is there some other reason that the Esophageal Sphincter is not closing properly? None of these questions does the clinician ask of himself.

3. Clinicians assume that gastric acid reflux is caused by acid levels being too high in the stomach, but they do not consider that it can and most likely, especially in the elderly population, be caused by too little or low stomach acid in the stomach.

4. Why then do they treat with PPIs without ever testing for stomach PH? Would this not be a determinant in finding true root cause?

This is from your own National Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR

“When taken for a long time, side effects from PPIs can be serious, including an increased risk of bone fractures.”

evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/t...

One thing I highly suggest suggest is that you not stop your PPIs on your own. But to talk to your doctor about all of your concerns and then if you decide to come off of PPI then to be weaned off them slowly. Here is an excerpt from a 2017 published report by U.S. Pharmacists “Proton Pump Inhibitors: Considerations with Long-Term Use”.

Hypergastrinemia

“Gastric acid suppression leads to hypergastrinemia. This condition causes rebound hyperacidity; after discontinuing PPI therapy, patients may experience worsening GERD symptoms. This course of therapy can be as short as 8 weeks.2,3 To avoid this, PPIs should be slowly tapered. In addition, hypergastrinemia can cause parietal cells to hypertrophy and enterochromaffin-like cells (ECL) to undergo hyperplasia.3,6 These effects may increase the risk for gastric cancer, but this relationship has mostly been observed in vitro; however, a case study has recently been published describing the first case of ECL cell–derived neuroendocrine carcinoma as a result of hypergastrinemia secondary to more than 15 years of PPI usage.2,7 Despite this, evidence does not support an increased risk of cancer in patients using PPIs.2,6,8”

It’s a good idea to read the whole report as there is discussion on other issues with long term use.

uspharmacist.com/article/pr...

An excerpt from Gastroenterology “Evidence That Proton-Pump Inhibitor Therapy Induces the Symptoms it Is Used to Treat”

gastrojournal.org/article/S...

The “liberal employment of proton-pump inhibitor therapy has been recommended recently by many national and international guidelines based on “number needed to treat” and health economic analyses.12, 13 As a consequence, a substantial proportion, if not majority, of patients now prescribed proton-pump inhibitor therapy do not have acid-related symptoms and therefore have no true indication for such therapy. The current finding that these drugs induce symptoms means that such liberal prescribing is likely to be creating the disease the drugs are designed to treat and causing patients with no previous need for such therapy to require intermittent or long-term treatment. It is likely also that treatment of mild reflux symptoms with such therapy may aggravate the underlying disease and lead to an increased requirement for long-term therapy. Studies are required to investigate whether early treatment of mild reflux disease with proton-pump inhibitor therapy results in aggravation of the natural history of the condition.”

Hope this is of some help, Rex

[Cherylclaire Forum Support in reply to Rexz]

Agree with all of the above ( except assumption that a clinician is male :pt 2 ).

[Musicrockdog in reply to Rexz]

Thank you so much for your reply, I’m scared to come off them and scared to keep taking them too , my GP increased my dose to 80mg daly about 18 months ago due to my symptoms getting worse but I never took the extra 40mg , I’m going to try to cut back a little more I’m not expecting miracles and I know it’s going to take a long time but I think if I don’t I’ll be in big trouble , thanks again for taking the time to reply to me I really appreciate it.

[wedgewood in reply to Rexz]

Brilliant ! BRAVO !