Lansoperazole?

[Goldengirl01]

I have been told on here I may have low stomach acid so went to the GP. I have been using omeperazole on and off for years but lately it’s not working and mentioned the low acid so I have now been prescribed lansoperazole. Isn’t that similar to omeperazole and doesn’t it lower the acid that’s already low?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Yes it is

Medics have no pharmaceutical treatment for low stomach acid. Most don't even understand it

Thousands of posts on here about low stomach acid and how to test and treat

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

Links about hypothyroid and low stomach acid

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/s...

scdlifestyle.com/2012/03/3-...

naturalendocrinesolutions.c...

Ppi and low vitamins

pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/m...

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/p...

[Goldengirl01 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks slow dragon.

[Goldengirl01 in reply to SlowDragon]

Your right about not understanding it, Iv just been to see a GP and said I believe I have low stomach acid and was given lansoprazole which will make the acid even lower and he said no in fact he wanted me to double the omeprazole that I had been taking. He then asked that I send of a faecal sample for testing. I think he’s testing for Hypochlorhydria. The good thing is he did give me a private prescription to send off abroad for t3 and said he didn’t know how to prescribe it and asked me.....he also poo pooed the internet and when I mentioned dr Toft etc and books written he said there are a lot of books written .....as eyes rolled...

He also added that there is no proof the adding t3 is helpful.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Goldengirl01]

Post from this morning about low stomach acid and lots of links

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

As to T3.....

Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,

"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.

In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l.

Most patients will feel well in that circumstance. But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.

This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."

You can obtain a copy of the articles from Thyroid UK email print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctort

 please email Dionne at

[e-mail]

Professor Toft recent article saying, T3 may be necessary for many

rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/fi...

British Thyroid Foundation (Top UK endocrinologists) - clear statements that some patients need T3

british-thyroid-association...

[Goldengirl01 in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes Iv seen all that but he is the head of the surgery and he has rolled his eyes regarding internet and Dr Toft’s article. I gave it to another Dr who may have shown him. I don’t think he wants to believe anything other than what he says is right.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Goldengirl01]

That's why so many people forced to either see an endocrinologist privately or self medicate

Hypothyroidism and low stomach acid are linked

On Levothyroxine many, many people remain hypothyroid, either due to being on inadequate dose or are poor converters due to low vitamins, Hashimoto's, low stomach acid and/or gut infections

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Dustpan

Lansoprazole is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) the same as Omeprazole and is used to reduce stomach acid, it is supposed to have a faster effect on the relief of symptoms than Omeprazole.

Your GP has just swapped one acid lowering medication for another.

Doctors tend to not know much about low stomach acid, if anything, but your GP could test for low stomach acid but bear in mind the Omeprazole/Lansoprazole will have lowered your stomach acid anyway.

Check out the HealthyGut website about low stomach acid

healthygut.com/articles/3-t...

[MaisieGray]

Yes, for ease of recognition, the prefix 'prazole' is ascribed to PPIs. Apart from not taking something that might exacerbate rather than benefit one's existing condition, I'd be concerned about the possible association with dementia: psychcentral.com/news/2016/...

[Hidden in reply to MaisieGray]

Interesting! Had a quick look (It's only a short article) and it said:

' “The present study can only provide a statistical association between PPI use and risk of dementia. The possible underlying causal biological mechanism has to be explored in future studies,” noted Haenisch and colleagues.'

Might it be that both reflux and some dementias have a connection with (under or untreated) hypothyroidism?

Just a thought

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

I think it will be low B12 that will be the link between PPI's and dementia... Good acid levels are needed to bind with B12 molecules in the stomach for the onward journey.

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

Hmm. Right, makes sense either way

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

Agree - added the info for others who may not know 🤔

[ling]

Lansoprazole is a stronger PPI than omeprazole.

What are the symptoms you are taking the omeprazole for?

[Goldengirl01 in reply to ling]

Burning just below rib cage (top of stomach) after food, but the symptoms are very similar to both high and low acid plus gas, not much burping

[ling in reply to Goldengirl01]

Low acid is hard to diagnose.

We were told by a GP that there are no tests for it. We doubt that.

So it's just the burning and gas?

Is it daily and throughout the day?

Have you tried adding something like gaviscon when necessary?

[Goldengirl01 in reply to ling]

I have tried the acid test and I believe I am low. Not so much acid reflux because that happens occasionally. The burning is only after eating

[ling in reply to Goldengirl01]

Which test is that?

Burning after every meal?

[Goldengirl01 in reply to ling]

Bicarbonate of soda test

[Catseyes235]

I had various ‘oscopies’ to look at gut after years of worsening acid reflux having had heartburn since childhood. Was on omeprazole and specialist just wanted me to increase dosage but was uninterested/lacked knowledge when I asked about diet. After two bouts of extremely painful kidney stones (and finding so many friends taking PPIs without question) I did a bit of research and found possible links between PPIs and stones.

So long story short I rarely take any antacid at all now ever - maybe one omeprazole if know am eating out. Last one was a couple of months ago.

I have come across so many people who blame the wrong things like tomatoes, oranges, curries etc as they think they are acidic but this is not true. It is the things the stomach has to work hard to produce more acid to digest - processed foods , bread, cakes, pastries, biscuits ,especially with refined flours and sugars ...cream and toast, that are bad.

I do still enjoy the very occasional thing from before but as long as avoid the main culprits especially later in the day, all is well. I seem to have discovered it may be yeast that affects me too as I get on fine with sourdough breads.

Do give it a go ...so much better than swelling the coffers of the drug companies. Looking at the TV ads which suggest you can eat absolutely anything if you take antacids they must be raking it in!

[ling in reply to Catseyes235]

You are able to eat tomatoes, oranges, curries now?

[Catseyes235 in reply to ling]

Absolutely ...never stopped. I love spices but not crazy for chilli but then I make them all from fresh myself so probably don’t have whatever they put in bought processed curries? Never stopped eating tomatoes fresh or tinned. Don’t eat too many oranges but again fresh is okay. (Along with beef, strawberries and dark chocolate seems to be a strange arthritis trigger.)

I sometimes have dilute apple cider vinegar if have some ‘bad’ food. Basically avoiding processed food, sugars and drink and yeasty bread seems to work great.

The hydrochloride acid in your stomach doesn’t need to increase to cope with tomatoes etc but does for a load of other stuff. Happy eating!

[ling in reply to Catseyes235]

Pretty amazing. I think you got the overall health mix down pat : ) When the body's overall in good shape, we note it helps tremendously with the reflux.

Could you share your recipe for curry?

Also, what was the cause of the childhood heartburn?

[Catseyes235 in reply to ling]

Childhood heartburn was simply caused by all the things I mentioned ...bread, toast my mother’s great baking - with white bread and white sugar. School dinners had more refined delights. I thought I was the only child to have this but not the subject of playground chatter. I have since found that babies can also suffer reflux and need omeprazole for a short time but whether it is genetic or dietary I don’t know.

No recipe for curry as make many different ones. Guess they all start with slowly softening chopped onions in ghee, oil or coconut oil with the hard spices of coriander seed, cardamom, fenugreek etc then adding whatever meat or veg or lentils or whatever with the powdered turmeric, coriander and cumin (the trinity) and salt of course and deseeded fresh chilli to taste. (Half or even less of a mild one is enough for me ). Serve with rice and raita. That’s the basics which I learnt from an Indian family in the 70’s but most recipes are a variation and I’ve picked up great recipe books from charity shops. Madhur Jaffrey and Jack Santamaria are favourites but you just need to have fun and experiment. It’s the paratha or other breads that are likely to spark off a bout of reflux so if a rare eating out I might take a 10 mg tablet first. See how you go!

[ling in reply to Catseyes235]

Thank you : )

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at previous posts, you have had complete thyroidectomy and very low FT3

Research shows 20% Patients with no thyroid can not regain full health on just Levothyroxine

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

If FT3 doesn't Improve with better vitamin levels you will most likely need addition of small doses of T3