Hi. I was diagnosed with H pylori in October and so far have gone through 2 antibiotics treatment. I am still on Omeprazole daily to manage acidity symptoms which haven't subsided.
My GP now wants me to stop omeprazole for 2 weeks and then do a stool test for h pylori. The problem is I can get off omeprazole because of acid rebound effects are too painful.
I understand that I can take Famotidine instead of omeprazole up to 24hours before taking the stool test.
Has anyone experience of this medication. Is it as effective as Omeprazole or any other ppi?
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AMerchant
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Oh yes, my mom. She was started on it for acid reflux. We didn't know better at the time, but we should have sought to understand the cause of the reflux before taking the omeprezole long term.
Before we knew it, more than a year had passed and it was impossible to come off it.
We tried a few times, over the course of the last few years, to stop it but the rebound acid was just terrible.
We tried various methods of coming off it. The first was to just stop it. Of course, that didn't work. We tried taking it alternate days, five out of seven days, six out of 7 days. But there was always rebound effects.
We thought if we took just one tablet less a week, (my mom's on 20mg once a day), it would work. The first week was ok. Half way into the second week, the rebound effect started, and it was no small matter. The rebound seemed to be coming from much deeper, and the effect was worse?!
My mom is in her 80s, so we make these titrations carefully. We do not push through once there's rebound.
Omeprezole has its uses without doubt. But there's the other side of it that doctors never tell u about. And it's really worrying, that this is one of the medicines that docs are throwing at patients like its free candy.
Its sounds very much like my story. I called the GP in June last year with some Indigestion symptoms and I was asked to take omeprazole 20mg daily for 2 weeks. No one told about the rebound effect or weaning off gradually. Here I am 8 months later still trying to get off omeprazole. In between I have been diagnosed with h pylori bacteria and twice put on antibiotics and double omeprazole dosage.
I am hoping famotidine works to control my symptoms for at least 2 weeks so I can get the stool test done .
Is famotidine at least better/ longer lasting than Gaviscon Advance or Rennie which for me only helps for an hour or so.
Yes. I tried to stop it but got acid rebound so went back on it. My doctor suggested that I should continue with it for 8 weeks which I naively did. By October I managed to gradually wean off to do my endoscopy. But after the endoscopy they found the bacteria and made me go back on double dose of omeprazole plus antibiotic. Since then its been an uphill task getting off omeprazole
Perhaps with the h pylori, u don't have much of a choice in taking the PPI. As u know, getting rid of the h pylori is very important.
If impossible to wean off omeprezole, suggest take lowest dose possible. Also, read up on what to monitor for in long term use of PPI. Sorry I am not able to share the info with you as I can't really remember the details.
For my mom, we keep to the lowest dose, use gaviscon as necessary, and most importantly, manage lifestyle factors ie not overeating, sleeping with head/upper body propped up, restrict caffeine intake, acidic, oily, spicy foods, minimise stress, exercise, keep a healthy weight, stay hydrated. Keeping the body healthy helps with reflux management.
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