Hi everyone.
Am I at risk of stomach damage as soon as I start taking Pred?
Ive been on it for 4 months with no stomach problems yet my doctor and now pharmacist keep pushing for to start taking Omeprazole
Was wondering whether Im storing up trouble and in the future suddenly get an ulcer or something?
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Some people are affected more than others, but if you take yogurt before the Pred it helps line the stomach, and food with the medication you may be perfectly okay.....we are all different. You’ll have to wait and see.
you didnt actually answer my question. i wanted to know if i was going to get stomach problems would they have started straight away or would it be a gradual thing? thanks
Surely saying everyone is different answers the question?
rude!!!!
Perhaps you should be addressing your question to your medics. No one on here makes out they are medically qualified, but freely give their time to offer advice based on experience, which most of us find very helpful. You have expressed dissatisfaction in some of your previous responses. Maybe this is not the right forum for you.
I’m afraid I can’t answer that, as I said some people are affected, others not! And whether that starts straightaway or builds up over time, may well depend on the individual’s digestive tract.
A PPI is normally prescribed at outset along with Pred, why yours wasn’t I don’t know...
I think you need to be asking your GP....as you know we are not medically trained, he is.
if yr not medically trained then dont make out like you are
I don’t.......you asked a question, and gave you my opinion as a patient, and I said I couldn’t answer it medically.
I'm intrigued as to why an avatar is "hidden"....I should know I suppose..but don't...😏
It means the person has left the forum.....Usually means they don’t like the answer to the question they posed.
Obviously in this case - mine😳!
But one wonders why they ask a question in the first place - waste everyone’s time, and then go off in a strop.
Thank you....and you did answer my question....too bad if they don't like the answer!........
😊
I distinctly remember an incident long long ago, on the Patient Forum, when two or three of the people whom I later came to know were long-time members, were having a bit of a chuckle and I misinterpreted and thought they were laughing at me. I found it quite hurtful at the time and nearly "went off in a strop" but expressing my feelings and having explanations and my ruffled feathers smoothed sorted it. I try to remember that new people may be extra sensitive, maybe mainly because pred is making them so, because I do remember that moment in my own journey.
Yes I agree about new members, we’ve all been there, but in this case (in my view) I gave the only answer I could. I didn’t know the poster’s personal circumstances (no information on post or profile) so it was a generic answer. And I thought the response to my first reply was bordering on rude - but I tried again to answer.
I consider in this case I am the innocent party, not as you seem to imply - the guilty one.
I thought about what I was writing and I certainly didn't mean to make it sound like that, only to possibly explain the person's reaction, which demonstrated hypersensitivity. I apologise. I do tend in real life to be a bit of a mollifier. I don't like conflict.
I don’t like conflict either, and was trying to help, otherwise I may have reacted differently to the first response.....
Apology accepted.
I was diagnosed last October, and I remember being extremely sensitive at times. This disease changes us. It really isn't nice at all. Fortunately, I now seem to have settled down to being almost the same person I was before last October.
Also - people don’t realize we ourselves are ill, and volunteering our time to be administrators, moderators, etc. It means we are “expert patients”, and passionate and charity and positive patient outcomes. This usually means better awareness, and better communication between patients and physicians, and physicians and communities.
I've been on pred for two years and refused omeprazole until such a time as I experienced symptoms to suggest I needed it. I personally don't believe in taking yet more medication.....which also has unpleasant contraindications.....if there's no evidence to suggest I require it. I take gastro-resistant pred, always take it on a full stomach after a good breakfast (with lots of water) and I don't eat really fatty or spicy food.
So far I've not required omeprazole but if I'd listened to my GP, I'd now have been taking it for 2yrs unnecessarily!
As DorsetLady says....we're all different so wait and see.
this is what i dont understand. why do i have to wait? would the reaction not be instant as soon as I started pred 4 months ago or is there a gradual build up of stomach problems after being on it a long time?
It depends on different things. Eg.-what other meds you might be on. Different combinations can be more irritant to the gut than others.
-how sensitive your own gut is. Everyone's gut will be different and irritation caused by anything (from meds to spicy foods) will vary from person to person.
-duration of the gut being subjected to irritants. Some people's gut may be able to cope initially but over a period of time damage builds up....a bit like repeatedly scratching a sore till it bleeds.
-how healthy your gut biome is. Healthy gut bacteria helps protect it from damage but a constant daily attack on it may be too much to sustain.
After 2yrs on pred, I'm currently managing perfectly well without the need for omeprazole. For me, the strategies I'm using to help protect my gut are working, but I'm fully aware that there may come a time when they stop being effective and I'll then have to reconsider taking omeprazole.....but at least I'll know I'm taking it only because I actually need it.
great reply. thanks very much
I've been on pred for nearly 12 years, I have never taken a PPI and have no problems that I know of. Everyone is different.
If you get the enteric coated pred tablets you will not have to worry about stomach problems at all.
I answer a lot of questions on a couple of bones forums. Sometimes people ask questions way beyond my ken and I always tell them I have no medical training, all I know is from what I've read and my personal experience. On the other hand there are a lot of questions one can answer without such a disclaimer simply because of that personal experience. Also, on this very page is a global disclaimer from HU. To really follow what you're suggesting it's like every answer should include a disclaimer! It's interesting, though, how often we have to remind newbies that we are patients just like them. This is more true on PMR forums than on bone or osteoarthritis forums. Pred has a lot to answer for!
I am not medically trained so will not give you any advice or opinion.
Maybe the OP now known as hidden was as has been suggested suffering a lot of stress and uncertainty following diagnosis as someone suggested. Perhaps they have rejoined and are still here under a new name so can read all this. I hope so. They will then then get a better feel for how supportive this forum is.
I don’t think anyone needs to state they don’t have medical training. It’s not that sort of forum. It’s also very different to the Facebook PMR group which I try to avoid but that’s not necessarily immediately obvious to newbies.
I've been on Omeprazole for many many years with no ill/side effects
Haha - I’m medically qualified, and obviously as a surgeon believe I know everything. You probably wouldn’t want my advice on pharmacological issues though!FWIW I’ve been taking my Pred at 2am with a few swigs of water and don’t take any gastro-protection (though it’s prescribed if I need it). Feel fine so far - my own fault if I end up in trouble.
I have to ask: you said you are an orthopd I think - what sort of surgery do you specialise in? I just can't imagine anyone with PMR managing hip replacements - even on pred 
I can’t say whether you will or will not develop an ulcer if you don’t take omeprazole as each person is different and some people experience side affects and others done. If however you really don’t want to take it then as suggested my others you might consider taking your Pred with some really yoghurt to protect the lining of your stomach just in case. The link below is also quite useful.
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