Over acid production

[AMerchant]

Hi All.

I have been suffering from over acid production for just over 3 weeks. Not sure what started it but it could be something I ate which may have cause the initial indigestion. My symptoms were tightness in the upper abdominal, constant rumblings in the stomach and feeling full after eating a little and feeling to burp. No pain just very uncomfortable feeling in the stomach.

Initially I tried to manage it with antacids Rennie for a week. Then I spoke with the doctor who said it's due to overproduction of acid in the guts and prescribed Omeprazole 20mg daily.

I have taken this medicine for 2 weeks now together with very mild food. As my symptoms had got better I decided to stop it on Friday last week. But over the weekend the symptoms came back and I felt like I was back to where I started. Now my doctor says that i need to continue with omeprazole for another 6 weeks to complete the 8 weeks course. He thinks it could be IBS or Non-ulcer Dyspepsia. I am not sure about either because I have never had such episodes before.

Has anyone suffered from similar symptoms for this long ?

The problem with omeprazole is that its causes constipation for me.

[Summersun1]

Yes me!! I’ve had the same I think it was stress related as started a few weeks Into lockdown, tight, full stomach, really uncomfy, nausea as well, never get this issue! I took Nexium for a bit thought it was gone then it came back. I tried Nexium again but didn’t work so well. My gastro has put me on omeprazole 20mg daily for 6-8 weeks then said to stop, if it comes back to test for H Pylori and if that’s negative and I still have an issue he’ll do an endoscopy. I have ibs and had H Pylori tested and an endoscopy last year both were all clear. It’s a total pain as I’m not tolerating the omeprazole well at all given me bad nausea, cramps and going to the loo a lot hoping it settles it has settled the tight full uncomfy stomach though but still no real appetite. I hope side effects settle for you I’m going back to gastro in a few days if mine don’t

[Josepht110 in reply to Summersun1]

I started similar to you , I have been sick daily for 12 weeks , if I were you I would take your tablet twice a day and try and get rid of it otherwise it will cause terrible symptoms , if it does not go within 21 days you may need an oncoscopy

[Baenav in reply to Summersun1]

Summersun1 you might like to try Cimetidine (or similar) if the Omeprazole is giving you a hard time - speak to your doc and tell him/her about the side effects, particularly the nausea.

[Summersun1 in reply to Baenav]

Thank you I spoke to gastro this morning who has said to stop the omeprazole as it’s making me feel so ill I’m going to see how symptoms are and he’s suggested a few things so I’ll talk to GP. He didn’t mention Cimetidine but I’m guessing they are the same family nizatidine or famotidine he said. I really can’t tolerate ppis im hoping it might just settle!

[Baenav in reply to Summersun1]

Hiya, no probs, just a suggestion. Yes, same family, Famotidine, is an H2-receptor antagonist and is approximately 20 times more potent than cimetidine. I guess there are side effects but the blurb says they are usually mild and do not last long. The most common ones to 10% of users are diarrhoea, headache, dizziness and tiredness. No nausea or vomiting......

[AMerchant in reply to Summersun1]

Hi summersun. Did you take omeprazole 20mg daily for 8 weeks ? If so did you have wean off?

I am into my 3rd week and whilst its clearly controlling acid production most of the time. It does causes constipation

Also not sure if I have IBS because without omeprazole I only have very unconfirmed tightness and bloated feeling in the upper abdominal. No pain or nausea or acid reflux

[Summersun1 in reply to AMerchant]

No I took Nexium to start for around 4 weeks then omeprazole only for 3 days as it made me feel so ill I couldn’t take it. I stopped 2 days ago and so far feel better than when I was on either PPI! I had the same symptoms as you but some nausea too and v occasional reflux. I have ibs and upper GI issues alone are not ibs. You would have lower GI issues like diarrhoea or constipation, bloating, gas but all lower gut. I really can’t tolerate PPIs so if this does come back I’ll be looking at other ways to manage it!

[AMerchant in reply to Summersun1]

Hi Summersun. How has it been being of PPI now for more than a week.

After nearly 3.5 weeks on omeprazole I decided stop 2 days ago. Yesterday was fine today the stomach feels a bit tender anther meals with some acidity

[Summersun1 in reply to AMerchant]

Hi there so yes off ppis for nearly 2 weeks no return of the same symptoms only thing I’ve had is nausea but spoke to my GP who thinks it’s a settling down thing after all the side effects and my body readjusting after a month or so on ppis. She agreed she wouldn’t ever put me on them again as I’m just too sensitive to anything with my gut. We’re just seeing if the nausea settles and if not she’ll run some tests but I have no other symptoms so whilst it’s a pain I’m not worried and it was better today. I think it takes 3/5 days for the ppi to leave your system and if you’re going to get a rebound reaction tends to be in week 2 after you stop. I think my nausea might be acid rebound related so I’m hoping it goes fully in the next couple of weeks. Let me know how you get on!

[AMerchant in reply to Summersun1]

Thats good to know. Hope it all goes well for you (and me 😟)

[Summersun1 in reply to AMerchant]

mentalhealthdaily.com/2018/...

I found this article really helpful I’m definitely experiencing some of the withdrawal symptoms good luck!

[Maureen1958]

Were the rennies not working? Have you tried gaviscon!

[AMerchant in reply to Maureen1958]

Rennie provided very temporary relief where as omeprazole controls the acid production so relief is long lasting

[Maureen1958 in reply to AMerchant]

It's just that I have read a lot on this site about people who have the opposite, ie low acid production and are given these drugs and feel dreadful. Apparently the symptoms of low acid and high acid are the same. There is a test you can try with bicarbonate of soda. It gives you an indication of whether you have too much acid or not enough.

[AMerchant in reply to Maureen1958]

I think mine is definitely over production of acid because omeprazole reduces acid production and this provides relief

[Maureen1958 in reply to AMerchant]

Oh good, that sounds okay then.

[Maureen1958 in reply to AMerchant]

This is the test I spoke of:

loveleafco.com/baking-soda-...

[Catsandcrochet]

Many doctors think your symptoms come from over production of acid but a vast majority of the time it’s actually from low acid production. The symptoms are very similar. Antacids will make the situation worse in the case of low acid. An easy way is to try the home bicarbonate of soda test - you can look it up on google and is very simple and safe. If you do have low acid there’s lots of things you can do to help bump up your gastric acid production and enzyme secretions - such as changes to diet, eating more bitter and fermented foods, drinking diluted apple cider vinegar before meals, drinking warm lemon juice first thing in the morning, cutting out wheat&gluten and refined/processed carbs, limiting sugar/processed foods, limiting alcohol- there’s lots of info online. Feeling full very soon after eating is usually a sign of low acid production, as is burping after eating. Another idea, it could be related to having an over-population of Helicobacter Pylori which lives in the bottom of stomachs and causes similar symptoms but this is less likely unless you are much older? Almost 50% of the population have this bacteria and 85% of the time it causes no symptoms but occasionally a bout of illness or antibiotics can allow them to get out of hand. Good luck!! Antacids in the long term are not great for health so best to work through it with diet.

[Calliope62]

Hi,

Good advice from above - especially the high/low acid issue. If you don't mind going down the alternative route you could also try a bitters called Yarrow. It comes in liquid form from a company called Vogel. You take a few drops in a glass of water. I was prescribed this by a homeopath and it really sorted it out.

Good luck!

[Harley1020]

Hello, if its over production of acid, then Cimeditine, twice a day, really helps. If its bile, then colesevelam is a good medication to take. I, personally, have not experienced any problems with either of these two drugs but have found they have resolved my difficulties with IBS C.

My consultant prescribed these medications for me, not the doctor as they would only prescribe Omeprazole, which does not agree with me.

Good luck, fingers crossed you get it resolved soon.

[dogzrule]

Iwas prescribed the same meds & didnt like how it made me feel so i bought a jar of kombuchi & have a half a teacup when im eating a me meal & it seems to help that bloated feeling.

I wanted to ask you if you have been under a lot of stress lately? Our brain has a direct link to our gut & it can come on at any time. With me it started when i started to get a bit older, like from peri-menapause onwards & continued to get worse. Plus i have gallstones & that means i cant digest fat very well. Combine that with stress & its a timebomb. I try to ear apple cider vinegar in a salad with my meals or any type of pickle can help with digestion. Also there is a soybean amino acid from the Bragg company called All Purpose Seasoning from the Braggs USA People who make apple cider vinegar which seems to give my body much needed amino acids so my body can digest food easier. It is much like Tamari & I bought a 946ml (32 fluid oz) from a health food shop plus good chemists sell it if they sell alternaritive vitamins & chia powders/apple cider vinegar etc.

I take a quarter teaspoon mushroom powder for gut health in my morning coffee ( I only have 2 small cups each morning then I drink dandelion coffee if I need a drink or decaf tea. I use light milk, or rice or oat milk & i also find reduced fat feta cheese is much easier to digest than fatty yellow cheese. I cant eat a large amount of chocolate but dark choccy is good to have a couple pieces now & then. Plus ive found activated grain bread seems to be more digestible.

I wish you the best on your healing journey. Let me know what works for you as im interested in knowing how it goes. My Dr would give me drugs to coat the stomach but i am not sure if its safe taking some of the meds doctors prescribe. Have you heard anything about if the meds are bad for us or not? I just dont like being constipated.

If you eat meat & fish, your body would probably be able to get a lot of nourishment from meat & food like bone broth soup. I dont like the suffering animals go through at the abbatoir & if i knew a place where animals were sedated & died with no fear & pain whatsoever, perhaps i would eat flesh. I just dont think i can condone the cruelty that happens in those places but its up to you. If you were a young Mother it might be a necessary evil so you can be a good healthy Mother to your children. I was always low in iron & folic acid & protein all my adult life but its not so bad now though I am still tired a lot. Hard to change the habits of a lifetime for me.

Kind Regards from Australia oxo