Omprazole is it friend or foe ?

[Bagama]

Omprazole 20mg. do many members take this, to help protect the stomach against prednisolone?

[Jampad]

I was given Omprazole at the same time I was given steroids. I was told to take it first thing in the morning, then wait half an hour to an hour then have breakfast. Immediately after breakfast I had to take the steroids. I haven`t had any problems with it so far.

[Bagama in reply to Jampad]

No neither have I, My only worry being that on three occasions in the five years of use ,I have run out of them , I have literally been bent over in pain and acid reflux. I just wondered if any other member has experienced the same reaction.

[Hidden in reply to Bagama]

It's a drug you have to taper otherwise you can get severe rebound reflux. I was on lanzaprosol for 17yrs and tapered off over a week or more after trying the full stop and experiencing similar to you.

I started tapering supplementing it with zantac. 3days ppi, 1 day zantac, 3days, 1 day, 2ppi,1 day zantac and so on. Occasionally I have to take zantac but thankfully not taking ppi everyday!!

[SheffieldJane]

I did initially but for most of my almost 4 years with PMR, I have found yoghurt just as good, with no side effects.

[Bagama in reply to SheffieldJane]

That sounds really interesting ,and a great find. Unfortunately yoghurt triggers acid reflux for me, so sadly I wont be able to try that, but what a great find for yourself and others to try. Thank you.

[SheffieldJane in reply to Bagama]

I imagine that any bland food would give your digestive system protection. There seems to be a number of downsides to Omeprazole. On the other hand people on here have reported success with it.

[SnazzyD]

I think it depends on the person as with most meds. Personally I don’t get on with it in that it makes me feel weird and and eventually makes the acid problem worse. I ended up on enteric coated Pred plus Gaviscon at night. As you found you certainly can’t stop it abruptly because of rebound acidity.

[Jampad]

Oh, I had no idea there were side effects to Omeprazole. The more I read about the medications I have been given, the less I like the idea of taking them. I loved the steroids when I was taking 60 mg because they stopped all the symptoms of GCA in 24 hours. Now I have tapered down to 30 mg I`m getting all the side effects and not liking any of them.

[fmkkm]

Hi,

I have not needed a PPI while on prednisone. It may be because I eat a pretty big breakfast before I take them? I was curious so I looked around on the internet and I found this article helpful.

health.harvard.edu/staying-...

fm

[Dewdrop456 in reply to fmkkm]

Thank you for the article.

[Mikeysaab]

My experience of Omoprazole ha been very positive. Before PMR I suffered with high acidity, indigestion , reflux for many many years and could go nowhere without a supply of rennie and gaviscon! I was diagnosed with PMR a year ago and prescribed omiprazole with the pred. On the reflux front- bliss - not once that horrendous reflux just as your going to sleep thing acid on the chest and in the throat and then several hours of pain . I ❤️ Omiprazole - although this forum has raised concerns for me about side effects although I’m not aware of any so far after a year on it.

[Bagama in reply to Mikeysaab]

yes I know only to well the benefits of Rennie and Gaviscon! they being one of my best friends through out previous years . I too find taking Omprazole a blessing never have I had to resort back to Gav and Rennie , but I have on three occasions out of my control I might add , run out of Omprazole. at first I had no side affects then about 10hrs later they kicked in, and kick being the operative word.I felt t hat I had been kicked in the stomach the pain was so bad . then the acid . even my trusted friends Rennie and Gav couldn't help but just took the edge off it for me to get to the drs for a further supply and believe me I was on his doorstep at 8 am opening time . Within an hour of taking the tablet the side affect were settling . three times I have had the same reaction . It could just be my reaction to them , I hope it is . but my advise is to always have extra with you as a get out of jail free card .

[Koalajane]

I was not prescribed them and have no problem. I take my steroids with my breakfast

[Orpheus82]

I took omeprazole for three years but since I’ve been below 4mg I haven’t needed it - I also eat a large breakfast. When I recently saw my GP and mentioned that I didn’t need it he was pleased as he said there is some evidence of problems with absorption of magnesium which can cause arrhythmias. Oh the joys of medications?!

[Galloping]

I was already on Omeprazole for reflux brought on by taking Akendronic Acid for osteoporosis. I now have Prolia injections for my bones but still take Omeprazole now that I'm on steroids. Vicious circle, but better than getting reflux again.

[Fifelassieo]

I have been on Omeprazole for 30 years, l have a hiatus Bernie, l haven’t have any problems with it

[sennetta]

Foe - definitely - wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I have taken a PPI for one week - while receiving high dose i.v. NSAIDs at the same time as being on pred. Otherwise I have never needed it, even on not gastro-resistant pred, but wouldn't take a PPI if you paid me to!

They do have some unpleasant side effects for about a third of people but the worst risk (IMHO) is unseen: doctors panic about pred leading to loss of bone density and potentially osteoporosis but never mention the fact that long term use of PPIs is an even greater risk for osteoporosis as they reduce the absorption of calcium because of the lack of gastric acid.

Once you start on a PPI you must taper off very slowly - like with pred, as stopping it suddenly, even just because you run out, will usually result in rebound excessive production of acid and worse symptoms than you had originally, as you have found.

It doesn't have to be yoghurt - although plain unsweetened Greek yoghurt may be better if ordinary yogs cause you reflux - pharmacists recommend a glass of milk.

[anutycrixp in reply to PMRpro]

I was taking omeprazole for gastric reflux etc before becoming ill with P.MR 18 months ago.Continued with them and prednisalone .no problems whatsoever.I don't worry about side effects anymore [unless they are obvious and troublesome ] I just can't stress about what might happen in future , living now is my concern and the drugs are working well.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

It is your choice and you are lucky - more than a third of patients suffer intolerable adverse effects. I merely present the facts.

[anutycrixp in reply to PMRpro]

as do I present my experience.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

Which more people would see if you replied to the post and not to me personally ...

[anutycrixp in reply to PMRpro]

thought I had done?its on the post ?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

If you look at your reply to me it says "in reply to PMRpro" - you clicked on the reply button on my comment and not the one at the top or bottom of the thread that says Reply to Bagama

[anutycrixp in reply to PMRpro]

oh,ok.

[Gosingen]

For me it became a foe. I've been on steroids (PMR/GCA) for ten years now and was initially using Omeprazole. Over the years when I was using it I had problems with stomach pain, severe bloating etc... I've not used this drug for three or four years now. If I have reflux I use Gaviscon, and occasionally I take 300mg of Ranatadine at night, which I find gives me no side effects. But we all respond differently to medication. Good luck with yours.

[S4ndy]

I was a long term user of ppi's due to being on nsaids for many years before changing to steroids for PMR. I also have a weak stomach valve which causes GERD.

I came off the ppi September 2018 as something was causing me to have constant digestive problems. I have IBS-D but it was getting worse. So with my GP and GI consultants approval I came off of the ppi and onto ranitidine and peptac (like gaviscon) as an endoscopy found gastritis and MRI and colonoscopy didn't find anything indicative of anything sinister.

That's now cleared up and the tum has settled down. I am on 4mg of Prednisolone at the moment.

So I think everyone is different and you need to weigh up your risks. For me ranitidine works well so I would rather risk them than take a ppi and be stuck on the loo all day. I also take yoghurt with my Pred.

You choose your own poison but always with the assistance of your medical team.

[HeronNS]

At a certain point I looked up the recommendations for use of omeprazole and, contrary to the experience of many people who are prescribed it, it was not intended for longterm use, perhaps at least in part because of the bad effect it has on bone density.

[Bagama in reply to HeronNS]

Yes I do know that now! , but who actually tells you face to face , surely it should be our first point of contact , our GPS, Medical teams, who ever it is who prescribes for us. Why do they not make us their patients aware of these facts and more to the point why do they continue . I am very new to this site , but I have had hand on heart learnt more and have had more information and support in the past week from the members posting on this site than I have ever had in the five years of being diagnosed . thank you HerronNS for caring enough to research and post . I will be asking my DR on my next visit .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bagama]

He is probably blissfully unaware! And will tell you all his other patients are fine ...

[Bagama in reply to PMRpro]

Too true ! same as he told me at the time of diagnosis that" Oh there is no cure for it and it hurts like hell" and proceeded to hand me out an application form for a Gym. bearing in mind, my stiffness and pain had rendered me unable to walk .let alone go to the gym . luckily he has since retired . I laugh about it now but at the time I literally couldn't place one foot infront of the other.

[HeronNS in reply to Bagama]

I noted here:

drugs.com/dosage/omeprazole...

that there are specific conditions for which, presumably, the benefits of longterm use outweight the detriments. Erosive esophagitis, which I think is the potential from some meds like pred, is not one of them.

[navejasjoe]

My wife has been on Prednisone for three and one half years, and she has never been prescribed Omeprazole. On the other hand, my doctor prescribed Omeprazole for me (I don't take steroids) many years ago when I was diagnosed with silent acid reflux, and I was also told to take it on an empty stomach with a full glass of water and to wait an hour to have breakfast.

Joe

[Tonch]

Started taking it after prescribed, nothing happened, Stopped taking it after a few weeks - again nothing happened and I’ve not missed it after 4 months. 15mg down to 4-4.5mg. Know it can increase pH hence reducing Calcium uptake.

[dillydally1]

hi, I take omeprazole 20mg daily, have done for many years, no problems noticed x

[Bailybiscuit]

I had been on lansoprasol similar thing for 5 years. I had to have a ct scan of my lungs last christmas. My consultant rang me to say my lungs were fine but they had found polys in my stomach caused by being on lansoprasol. I had to have an endoscopy to look at the polyps and they took some biopsies. I was told they were the harmless type. They also found a cyst on my pancreas and I have had two more scans since and the next to be in 2 years time.

[Sailormo]

Hi yes Ive taken it for three years now, I'm ok no side effects.