How long for omeprazole 20mg (gastro-resistant capsule) to start working

[billie-ray]

I have been prescribed OMEPRAZOLE 20 mg capsule for my gastro problem, i.e keep burping and discomfort in sternum and around side and back, also constant bloating. I am on my third day and the burping is slowly disappearing and also the discomfort in my sternum has gone.  I am so so so so happy.

But I was wonderig how long for it to work completely as I am only on my third day and have been told to take the whole 28 days worth.  I would appreciate any advice.  Many thanks

[pildorin]

Every human body reacts differently to medication. I have tried prilosec (omeprazole) but to me it is very slow. Usually you will see max results by the end of the month. I personnally like prevacid and nexium (30mg) . They are fast and help repair any erosion in the esophagus. They are the same as prilosec but are more expensive and are sold with prescription only but they are worth it. They too have to be taken for 15 -28 days. Just be patient and remember that nervousness , anxiety and stress increase gastro problems. I'm like that and the doc gave me Mutabon D which helps calm  down your anxiety etc.

[billie-ray]

Thanks so much.  I will last out the 28 days and then see what happens then.  Is bloatedness a sympton too, its right under my breasts sometimes but always in the sternum area.  My stomach is very soft.  Since takin Omeprazole the burping has eased quite a bit and also the discomfort in my sternum has eased, still there but not as uncomfortable, its only day 6 of taking the tablets so maybe i am expecting too much too soon. .  Its just this damn bloating.  Never knew bloating could get you down so much.  I have had this since May.  You are also right about the anxiety and stress.  I have alot of anxieties in my life and my mum said i was a born worrier so maybe that does not help. write back soon.  xxx

[badey]

Hi!
How did you get on with this? I have some but am reluctant to take it for fear that it will make my IBD worse. I took ranitidine before and was so ill that I nearly had to go back on steroids. My bowel is better but I am determined not to take any more pills that will upset my insides. However, I can't tolerate this indigestion every day either.
Thanks

[penred]

Hello,
I have just been prescribed omeprazole for my occasional problem - a severe pain behind the breastbone - like a knife being twisted.  It's not associated, when it happens, with the usual indigestion symptoms, although I do get a lot od indegestion. Don't know the cause (although stress is definitely a factor) and nothing I've tried yet stops the pain when an attack occurs. The attacks usually last for hours until I've woken up the next day.  Does the treatment actually do anything for the pain when an attack occurs or is it only effective in the long term? - was prescribed ranitidine before but it was completely ineffective.
Would appreciate any comments.  

[vicky1987]

hi all, i have recently been perscribed omeprazole capsules too as i have been in alot of discomfort and as im sure you are too, im getting abit impatient, i was wondering do any of you know of any foods that i could try eating or cutting out that could ease my discomfort and bloatedness in the meantime?? any suggestions wuld be greatly appreciated.

oh and penred i am afraid the capsules are for a more long term cure but i do hope you can find a more imediate relief, when you do, please let us know!

[CheesyMcQueasy]

I've used 20 mg Prilosec on a daily basis for 4 or 5 years. If I forget to take a pill I may feel the affects the next day. If I take a pill as soon as I sense the acid then it subsides with in an hour or two. I just found out today that generic omeprazole is available so I am happy.

good luck

[vicky1987]

Thanks for that, I was slighty worried that taking these tablets will damage me eventually but now i know I can take them for as long as I feel that I need to I am not as worried. I have been taking the tablets for a week now and am begining to feel better but like billie-ray i cant get rid of this bloated feeling, have you any ideas how long it will last for?

Thanks again for your help

[soz143]

i have been given 28 omeprazole gastro capsules take 1 daily i have been told to stop takin anadin extra asprin nurofen as they r all known facts to take the lining of your stomach i only take anadin extra when i have a headache they r the only thing that take my headache away dont know wot to take now parecetomol dosent seem to work for me

[Bettelou]

Is anyone having bowel symptoms [sotmach stuff] along with terrible acid reflux--in throat---yuk--and does omeprazole help---and with bowel stuff???  What is best time of day to take--and with or without food?
thanks

[nice519]

i have been having burning in my left breast on the breast wall and somtimes in my back does anyone know what it could be the doctor gave me omeprazone 20 mg  it just be so uncomfortable like it like iam on fire in my breast

[nice519]

i have been having burning in my left breast like on the breast wall the doctor had pescibe me with omeprazole some times in the back like right in the middle of the bbreast is it acid reflex or a disgestive system problem he set me appointmemt to get that thing in my stomach were they take picture of my stomach  thank you

[boater1]

I had my gallbladder out last year.  Twice this year I have woken a few hours after going to bed with incredible stomach pain and bloating that was very similar to the gallbladder pain, accompanied by a killer headache.  I was lucky enough that my doctors office has a nurse on call program.  When I spoke with the nurse she said I needed to try and calm down and quit fidgeting.  I told her I had been trying all kinds of different positions to make the pain lesson.  She said lie quietly propped up on pillows.  Take a liquid antacid like Mallox, or chew some tums.  Take small sips of water and an OTC medicine to calm the acid, then get into the doctor.  Her advice really helped.  Since that time the doctor has put me on Prilosec 20 mg TWICE a day to get the healing under way.  If I forget to take it, and eat poorly, drink alcohol, etc... the pain comes back with a vengence, and I am back to breathing deaply and hoping the mallox kicks in quick.  The prilosec I am on is time released, so it is a "quick fix" for those painful awakenings.  Rather it is a long term medication that I may need forever given my current life style of high stress and poor diet.  I think continuing to see your doctor and having the test done is great.  As other posters indicate, there are other drugs that will help heal the esophogus if that is what you need, and it seems the only way to find out for sure is to have the tests.

[Megan1710]

The information about Omeprazole seems to be that you may need 40mg initially to get things under control quickly if symptoms are severe, then drop back to 20mg once symptoms have eased.

I even have heard the suggestion that perhaps as a long term maintenance dose 10mg may be sufficient but only once symptoms are in good control.

[madamehot]

i am goin to start taking the omeprazole 20 mg twice a day today and  see how it works but i want to know should i take  it with food or no food ? imma try and see thanks

[LAK53]

I had gallbladder out and ERCP on 10/28/08. Developed burning in stomach/chest, etc. First was on Pepcid which stopped working after 2 weeks, then onto Prilosec for a week which did nothing, now I'm on Prevacid 30mg for the past 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to be doing anything. In fact I feel worse. I will see dr in 2 days, but don't know what to ask for. More tests? Did they miss a gallstone? Do I need a different med - like Nexium or aciphex? I was told it may take a few months for these to work, but I'm getting horribly depressed and scared something is terribly wrong.
Any insite would be helpful.

[a85]

I been having bloating problems since Dec 08, they found h pylori and i had to take prevpac for 2 weeks. I still feel bloated and my endoscopy came back negative. I started taking prilosec 2 days ago but what should I eat to avoid getting bloated. This makes me feel awful and I hate it.

please help!!!

[mzcurious]

I was recently prescribed omeprazole 20mg for 12 days after experiencing a painful, to say the least very discomfortable battle with food poising. I am not really sure what this medication is suppose to do, nevertheless, the dirrahia has stopped, thus, I am having headaches. Could it be a reaction to this medication? I have 5 days in not sure if I want to complete the remaining 7days at one pill a day.

[Sissy3211]

I can't swallow food, liquid nor solid's, feels like my food get's stuck in my throat and the liquid felt as if I was getting strangled I lost 16 pounds in 2 weeks.First I had the barium estrogram done nothing showed up. Went to the ENT and he stuck a camera through my nose and said he didn't see nothing wrong. So he is treating me as if it's acid reflux put me on omeprazole 20 mg 2 capsule once a day I took them once so far But I still can't eat, I am drinking water but it still feels as if I am going to get strangled. I have to go have a CT done with the contrast June 17 09 Maybe by then the pills will kick in enough so I can atleast eat a meal soon.

[sonia09]

Hi Sissy:

I had the same symptoms that you are having and was rushed to emergency on Friday.  They thought it was an allergic reaction to juice I drank so they gave me prednisone and Benadryl which did not work.  I still had the choking feeling in my throat, which stressed me out and spirled me into a panic attack which I have never had. I kept grasping for air, felt like hands were wrapped around my neck and I could not breathe or swallow. I went to the E.R. again and they did a stress test to make sure it was not my heart, then they did a lung test, they did blood work and then an upper G.I. You want to rule out any type of heart condition and any type of blood clot which is can kill you. I requested a D Dimer blood test among the many that they took and that came out negative. That test helps to determne if there are blood clots in your body. As far as I know, the heart, the lungs and the esophgeal can give the feeling of choking or not being able to swallow.  For now it looks like I have swelling of the esophogeal and I will take a pill and cut acidic foods until I heal. They also gave me anti-anxiety medication just in case I panic because my throat closes. Knowing that you have that in itself helps you stay in control. Ask and even demand for tests to be taken.  I didn't leave E.R. until they found the cause.  

I hope this helps.

Sonia

[cas10]

WOW i didnt realise there were as many people who had the same problem as i do!

I have been to many different doctors who cant give me a definate answer. I take Lansoprazole 30mg twice a day and metochlopromide  (unsure of spelling) to try to control my reflux. Its not working.

I get intense chest pain, difficulty breathing, palpitations, rapid heartbeat (especially after eating), difficulty swallowing, choking feeling, bloating, constipation and back pain,

Like you sonia i am not long away from A&E. I got a chest x-ray, CT scan, blood tests, ecg the works and they all came back non conclusive. I have had an endoscopy which showed i have a hiatus hernia, but thats it.

Why is there not more research done on this condition??  As it causes lots of people alot of pain!

Thanks Cas

[sonia09]

I have just found research that in women who have unexpected choking feelings or rapid heartbeat out of the blue can be attributed to either an imbalance in hormones, too much estrogen, not enough progesterin or low levels of seratonin and sometimes this is misdiagnosed and we are lead to believe that we have acid reflux because of the trouble swollowing or the feeling of choking. Progesterin has calming effects and if they are low, they can bring on an unexpected panic attack that can be confused with other disorders. It can't hurt to check hormonal levels checked.

[bevpower]

I've been taking Omerprazole 20MG now for the past 2 weeks. Ive been finding my mouth very sore and dry and its also burning . I just researched the drug and it has a little of the sulfer drug in it.. I am allergic a little to sulfer.. I am wondering is that why my mouth is sore?? and if i should stop taking the drug???

[juliabrazil]

HELLO EVERYBODY I AM NOT HAVING GOOD TIME WITH THIS STOMACH INFECTION, ACID EVERYWHERE AND IT IS CAUSING ME PAIN ON MY BACK, SICKNESS AND DIZZINESS, I AM IN MY FIRST DAY OF HOMEPRAZOLE AND I GOT WORSE WITH THIS MEDICINE TODAY, DO YOU THINK IT IS BECAUSE IS MY FIRST DAY ON IT?? PLEASE HELP, ITS HORRIBLE SENSATION  

[Cliveanthony]

Like many of you, I had my gall bladder removed and that's when stomach acid started to give me problems.  Occasionally, I would wake up choking on vomit due to excess acid - which belive me is really frightening.  I was initially prescribed Nexium 40mg., and for several months I was acid free and had no side effects.  A year later I had an appendix burst while I was working in the Middle East and peritonitis which nearly killed me but for the quick action of a Syrian surgeon who opened my abdomen and flushed out all the pus.  The infection had spread to my colon and later when I was back in the UK, resulted in the removal of 15" of bowel.  Fortunately, my brilliantly skillful surgeon managed to make a good join so I did not have to have a colostomy.  However, a year later, I began to get constipated and bloated and began to pass what I can only describe as yellow mustard, which felt like my backside was on fire! This is bile passing straight through and so I went back to Nexium.  Again it held the acid back for a few months but I began to get bloated and constipated together with a general feeling of being extremely unwell.  I read on the net about some alternative methods of relieving acid, invoving changing dietry practices, eating apples and drinking a glass of water after each meal.  Strangely enough that works if you can bother to keep it up.  Unfortunately I lapsed and I was soon waking up choking on acid vomit.  Nasty!  I now take omeprazole gastro resistant 20 mg.  This has cleared the bloating and reflux.  However, if I eat bread or any other wheat based foods, I get bloated.  I know that I have had a lot of surgery and that I cannot extect things to be the same as before.  It is likely that I will be taking omeprazole for life, but if it keeps working, then so be it.  Other sufferers should try the dietry reflux remedies - especially if you like apples.  That was my problem - I can't stand them!  You have to pay for the booklet but the advice he gives across the whole subject of reflux is worth knowing.