# prilosec effectiveness fading



## onyx (Jan 13, 2006)

I've been taking prilosec/omeprazole 20mg 1/day for years now, and up until now it's worked very well to control my GERD. Really been a miracle drug for me. However lately, it's not working as well any more. Any options? Should I see if doc will kick up to 40mg? Or try switching to a different PPI? Or maybe go off the PPI's for awhile and try to limp by on Zantac till PPI's are effective again? Help, I'm scared, my GERD is serious when not controlled.One curious note. This change in my heartburn seemd to coincide recently with a particularly aweful IBS bout that lasted for weeks, consisting of very painful acidic D. It really felt like I was passing pure undiluted acid. Could the two be related?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Usually acid diarrhea is a bile issue (release more than you can recycle) not stomach acid.I'd check with the doctor and see what the options are for your medications with dose or switching to another PPI, etc. There may be some protocols that are generally shown to work, I just don't know what those are. Might as well start with them if the exist.


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## onyx (Jan 13, 2006)

Just following up on this note I posted several months ago. Since then I've tried double doses of Prilosec, Protonix, and Prevacid, all with limited effectiveness. I think years and years of PPI use has caused me to get some kind of tolerance to them. About a year ago I was doing ok with my GERD and IBS, now my GERD is no longer controlled and my IBS has come roaring back. I feel like my life is over, so tired of fighting all this. My whole life is about my GI tract. I have so much more going for me if not for these horrible conditions which have devastated me.Anyway I guess I'm down to two more PPIs to try, Aciphex and Nexium, but I'm thinking they're longshots at this point. If anyone has any other ideas for what I can do let me know. I'm considering the Nissen surgery but very very skeptical about it so want to rule out every other possibility before I go down that questionable road.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I don't know if this would help you or not, because I don't know if it has been used with anyone who has had such a long standing case of reflux; but my GERD disappeared after 6 weeks of taking a flavonoid based supplement. While I began using it for my cholesterol, it apparently has some anti-inflammatory effects that can work on the GI tract. (It also brought a 10 year "flare" of daily D under pretty complete control over time.) This has all held for over 10 years. If you can spare a couple of months for a test, let me know.Mark


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## onyx (Jan 13, 2006)

overitnow said:


> I don't know if this would help you or not, because I don't know if it has been used with anyone who has had such a long standing case of reflux; but my GERD disappeared after 6 weeks of taking a flavonoid based supplement. While I began using it for my cholesterol, it apparently has some anti-inflammatory effects that can work on the GI tract. (It also brought a 10 year "flare" of daily D under pretty complete control over time.) This has all held for over 10 years. If you can spare a couple of months for a test, let me know.Mark


Hi Mark, thanks for the reply. I've been on this board for years now so I'm familiar with your story







I'm getting to the point where I'm willing to try almost anything to get my GI tract functional again. IBS is bad enough but not having my GERD under control is much scarier, as it can lead to very serious complications. I've already progressed to some new symptoms which have me a bit freaked out. If I remember correctly you were using a product called Provex CV or something like that? If I wanted to try it out where can I find it, and how much would you recommend I take and for how long? Btw are you familiar with any other stories out there like your own? Honestly I've seen lots of anecdotes over the years of people trying certain things that "cured" them but don't seem to ever work for anyone else. Not doubting your personal experience at all but you know I'm just trying to figure out what's worth trying.Thanks much


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

onyx said:


> Hi Mark, thanks for the reply. I've been on this board for years now so I'm familiar with your story
> 
> 
> 
> ...


There have been others, both on and off the Board who have had some help with this, others not so much, some not at all. I know of four who used it with success; but chose not to go through the hassle of taking out a membership and buying it for themselves. (In the past couple of years, due to a testing disagreement between the manufacturer and the Canadian Government, I am no longer allowed to buy it for anyone but my wife and myself, so I can no longer offer that shortcut.)There are, currently, three other people on the Board using it, with results from not so much to pretty good. A fourth, who no longer is a member because of how well it worked for her, used it for years until finally isolating a wheat allergy that was causing the inflammation that caused the D and GERD and all of that, just last month.It's a trial. Take out a membership, try it for a couple of months, if it doesn't work you send the bottles back and cancel your membership and you will be out of pocket only for shipping charges. It worked for me in 6 weeks (2 caps a day) as far as the GERD is concerned, so a couple of bottles will be enough to see if it has any effect or not.When I started taking this stuff, I was working from home and didn't know what was to become of me once that contract was done. Three months later and I was out of the house and able to rejoin the workforce--not without difficulties, but still... Now that I am retired I have enrolled at the local U, a couple of days a week. I go to the bus about 10 in the morning and don't get back home until 3-3:30. If I am not in school, I am usually out in the woods with my dog in the afternoon or biking somewhere. Then there is a 90 minute yoga class every Sunday morning. At my age, peeing is the only major problem I face during those hours. (If it ain't one thing, it's the prostate!) If it wasn't for the Provex CV, I would be housebound until after the post-lunch poop, presumably hooked on PPIs, and still living in fear all of the time. What makes me sad and frustrated is to read stories similar to yours and know that nothing I say will do any good. Either it is all too suspicious, or it probably won't work, or it will take too long, or it costs too much. While I also had those fears--and throw in fear of side effects or maybe cancer--it turned out to be one of the two or three smartest things I ever did in my entire life.


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## onyx (Jan 13, 2006)

Thanks for all the info Mark. I will probably give it a try even if it's maybe a longshot. I'm in alot of daily pain with my GERD now and the PPIs seem to have basically stopped working. If there's any chance I can avoid facing the surgery I'm gonna take it. If I end up trying it I'll post my results on the board sometime.


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