Why you should not take PPIs

I have a very personal experience of the ill effects of PPI and I am now a firm believer there is no other solution to acid reflux but maintaining a good diet and not touching a PPI again.

I went with a stomach ache to a doctor and was put on a PPI for no apparent reason. Me being completely ignorant of what I am taking started have side effect like burning throat, burning back and upper abdomen ache. These are very rare side effects of PPI which not many get. And then followed all usual symtoms (symptoms) of what is being called 'GERD'

ALL I BELIEVED AT THAT POINT IS: A DOCTOR CAN'T GO WRONG
But I was terribly wrong and I realized that it was the medicine that created these


SO WHY DO PEOPLE GET ACID REFLUX: (This is just my understanding and I am a firm believer that experience is 100 times better than any book knowledge)
Is it because the LES is malfunctioning. I don't think that is the truth and I have done some research on it. Look at references at the end of this page. The transient LES relaxation counts are same for people with reflux and without reflux. See ref1 below. And this is the reason why people still get heartburns after NISSEN

The truth is ACID imbalance in the gastric juice that leaves the food unprocessed and gastric juice unused. So this causes the contents to flow up when the LES relaxes. If you can bring your ACID-ALKALINE balance level to nominal then you will start feeling better. And taking PPIs does not help us in anyway. Because it reduces stomach acid to 10% of what is needed and do you think our body is so so so so so FOOLISH to produce that level of acid. No we need acid and reducing it will PPIs is the worst thing. This is why taking PPIs don't help with the

HOW TO ACHIEVE ACID-ALKALINE balance:
Eat healthy and exercise. Its that simple


SO WHY DOCTORS GIVE A DIFFERENT REASON:
I strongly feel doctors have an ulterior motive. I am not saying this without a reason.
1) One doctor suggested surgery just after being on PPI for 2 weeks. I had an endoscopy when I was conscious and the pictures that he gave me were no way closer to what I saw on the monitor.

2) When I strongly told my other doctor  that I can't take PPIs, he suggested eating healthy blah blah blah and asked me not to take if I don't feel comfortable. But he prescribed prtonix 40mg twice a day:-) Isn't that a paradox

3) I went to an ENT when I had rebound effect and explained that it was rebound and is there a way to get a relief as I had silent reflux now. He said there is nothing called silent reflux and gave me free samples of his new PPI drug 60mg and asked me to have it for a week. WHAT??????

ONE MORE REASON TO THROW PPI:
Personally even after knowing that PPI is causing all my side effects and acid reflux, I couldn't stop taking the medicine because of the REBOUND effect which exists for sure.  

WHAT HELPED:
STOPPING PPI, EATING HEALTHY AND SOME DGL

MY CURRENT STATUS:
I stopped PPI 2 months back and have had severe to minimal reflux up until 15 days back. I can't say I am symptom free but I feel I am 97% alright now and I have lost all my anxiety and 100% confident that I will be fully alright if I give it some time by eating healthy. I have reduced my DGL dose to 1 400mg before sleep every day.

I definitely know that at least 20% of my hypothesis is wrong but believe me, my conclusion is right and I am a living example.

I don't want to reveal my identity so I created a fancy alternate id for answering any of your questions if you wish to discuss them personally(all that I can reveal is I am a software engineer in the west coast). But remember I have a biased opinion that one should never use PPI(atleast 90% of ppl its true). Reason for giving an email id, I know ppl who post their questions and never turn up once feel ok. I struggled with this for 5 months and its time to give back some of my knowledge to those still struggling. And also if some of you think it would give you more relief if you share your pain personally.

Reference:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/3-simple-steps-to-elimina_b_649609.html
http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/v96/n9/full/ajg2001648a.html
I have other references which I will post as and when I can go back and find them

CONTACT  ppi.victimatgmail.com (replace 'at' with '@' in the id)

[Smiley2000]

Hi there,

Thank you for taking the time to post here.  We are all basically GERD sufferers on here and some have had the Nissen Fundo, some are still trying to live with the PPI's or just getting medication and a recipe that works for them and some prefer the natural remedies and offer help and info here.

We appreciate every little bit of info as it helps someone with similar problems along the way, even if it gets "archived" because of post dates.

I myself have had a horrible time with GERD for a long time and due to other health issues just never got around to getting a proper diagnoses and treatment for it.  Due to the delay in treatment and intervention, I now have long segment of Barrets and complications to my UES/throat muscle and due to heart issues I can not exercise and have always followed a very health-conscience diet and lifestyle and by the time I agreed to the Nissen Surgery, I had all the tests and sometimes double of some of the tests, done to make sure that I actually do have GERD and need the op.  So in my case the PPI's helped to keep the Barrets from getting worse and somehow prevented to much damage like strictures, ulcers, etc.

GERD is a very complicated disease and everyone should do and try what works for them.  I always suggest the all-natural way and lifestyle changes first and the go for OTC anti-acids if even diet changes does not help.

But be the Advocate of your own health and don't always rely on Doctors and trust your own body to also speak to you.

Hope it helps :)

[Flycaster305]

Are you sure you have GERD?  Could it be Anxiety?
GERD has many causes, I'm sure your theory fits in the mix somewhere.

[daisy832]

HI there,
I have really bad acid vapors that come up from my stomach continually. I'm taking Pantoprazol but doesnt seem to be working very well. ive also ended up taking an antidepressant from all of this and suffer from very bad anxiety. im sure it is related to the huge amount of acid in my stomach, thats upset my body,s balance. i ended up with excessive acid after being on iron tablets for 4 months. all the time i had a burning mouth really bad but the doctors didnt realise it was acid. so im left with a huge problem and on PPI's indefinetaley which i m really worried about.Hayley

[kevieb]

My daughter was born with a hiatal hernia and her esophagus was getting ulcerated at only 8 months.  She had a fundo done just before she turned 10 months old.  She was on prevacid and another medication (can't think of it just now.

I remember the surgeon telling us that he did not think it was a good idea to change the natural PH of your stomach for a long time.  He knew that I also had reflux, and told me he thought I should get surgery, too.

Our local surgeon had told me 16 years ago that It was just a matter of time before I would need surgery because i was so young and my symptoms were so bad.

I have fought taking PPIs for years, even though I have been forced to take them at times when the reflux got really bad.  Consequently, I have had to have my esophagus dilated 4 times, 3 times I have had a shotzky's ring.

Most recently i was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis--doctor thinks it is secondary to the severe reflux I have had for almost 22 years. It has caused physical changes in my esophagus---it is ringed and also has furrows that run down it.

I now have to take high dose prevacid, 30 mgs 2x daily, and also swallow a steroid 2x daily---neither of which I want to be doing, but I have to get my esophagus in good enough shape to have a fundo done---and hopefully be able to afford it.  I had a set of twins almost 22 years ago and i was sure I had developed a hiatal hernia from being pregnant with them---it wasn't until about 3 years ago that I finally asked to look at my records--and sure enoug, I had a hiatal hernia--but no one had ever told me.

I definitely think that PPIs have their place, but I also don't think they were meant to be taken for long periods of time.  I'm not sure where I stand on the too much or too little acid in the stomach debate.  You are not going to get GERD unless the acid gets into your esophagus---but i have heard people swear by taking 2 tbsp of apple cider---who am I to say they couldn't really get help from that.

Smiley2000 is right, GERD is a very complicated disease--and i think it can be caused by different things in different people.  I also think different remedies and strategies work for different people.

I avoided the PPIs because I was always afraid I wouldn't digest my food properly or that my medications might not work---and I hate being constipated!!