Lansoprazole question.

[Moggiedee]

Last year after an operation for a hernia & a twisted bowel I was prescribed lansoprazole twice a day which I have carried on taking although just recently cut it down to 1 a day. Doctor keeps giving me a repeat prescription for this but I was reading online it should only be taken for a couple of weeks. I'm wondering if it may be causing more problems than it's curing.

[annee67]

My Doctor kept giving me a repeat prescription for Lanzoprazole don’t know if I even had acid reflux, 2weeks ago I had an Endoscopy which showed oesophageal thrush I have been feeling very unwell.I have read that if you take PPIs for a long time they can reduce the acid too much and consequently cause an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut, I also wonder if this is the reason for my overgrowth of thrush in my oesophagus.

I know some people take PPIs long term with no problems but it isn’t the same for everyone!

I agree with you the instruction leaflet clearly states take them for the shortest time possible!

[Moggiedee in reply to annee67]

I am guilty of not always reading instructions. I must be more careful in the future.

[LoinerGuy]

I've taken it for over 30 years for acid reflux, no problems

[Andann]

I took other PPIs for more than 10 years, supposedly for acid reflux. Once the updates went round about long term damage my GP warned me and said cut it down , first to every 2nd day, then every 3rd day. After another few weeks I gave it up entirely and with dietary adjustments I have coped. Lately they told me it is Ok to take a PPI on the odd occasion you might have a flareup or bad night. A gastroscopy showed I had a stomach full of fundic polyps, which luckily were not pre cancerous. These were caused by PPI use. I asked if they could be preventing my stomach from doing its work and was told the stomach is flexible. I'm not totally convinced.

[Smeese]

I took it for acid reflux - only managed three days before I felt very unwell and was so tired I was going back to bed about an hour after breakfast. It made my husband very tired when he took it and we found out it is a well known side effect. I did a lot better on other more natural remedies like deglycerized liquorice but overall it was addressing the cause instead of treating the symptoms which helped the most. Diet, prebiotics and then probiotics manage my acid reflux, ulcer and IBS more consistently. If you have digestive problems then reducing your stomach acid seems like an odd thing to do - but maybe that's just me. PPi's sure don't help thrush or SIBO if you are prone to either.

[witchydawn in reply to Smeese]

Hi, I have been taking lansoprazole for many years now, I have to take it to protect my stomach from the cocktail of other medicines that I am on. I have found that if I miss even one day I suffer from really bad heartburn and acid reflux. I dont and never have had any issues due to taking it but as you say everyone is different.

[Smeese in reply to witchydawn]

Respectfully your case is very different to the original poster or to that of my husband and myself. I have obviously not made my point clearly and I apologise. Only my opinion but these drugs are made for cases like yours and shouldn't be handed out willy nilly before the cause has been discovered. Suppressing stomach acid unnecessarily will lead to even more problems.

[Andann]

There are lots of reputable websites where you can check info and side effects of PPIs. Headaches seems to be the number one side effect. I have just found out in some cases they prevent absorption of vitamin B12. My husband has just had a B12 injection due to low haemoglobin count so I have told him to stop taking a PPI (which was prescribed to counteract voltaren.) We have to be our own pharmacists. !!I was recently prescribed a pre colonoscopy laxative that had a sulfate in it. I am allergic to sulfates and got an alternative sent by the clinic doing the colonoscopy. Lack of sharing of medical notes between public and private systems is a pain.

[Tess359]

Doctors always assume that you have too much stomach acid, but many people have too little and Proton Pump inhibitors will reduce it further. If you have low stomach acid, some food, especially protein, will remain undigested and will ferment in the intestines, you will also be prone to infections like H. Pylori.

[FerdyOne]

I was on it for a number of years, until a pharmacist took me to one side and suggested I try and come off it as research had shown it could be carcinogenic if taken for some time. Came off it with no problems.