# Stopping omeprazole/nexium/prilosec/prevacid/PPI for acidity - causes acidity, nausea etc. ?



## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

I just stopped taking my daily dose of 40 mg X 2 Omeprazole, a PPI used to suppress the symptoms of severe acidity, acid reflux, GERD etc. I strongly suspect that my nausea, early satiety, low appetite could be a case of withdrawal. Well, my reflux and stomach burning seems to have gone, but I never had nausea before. I saw an article on webmd which says that withdrawal can happen in case of omeprazole - http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/news/20090702/stopping-ppis-causes-acid-reflux-symptoms

Has anyone experience acidity and nausea etc. after stopping omeprazole or any other proton pump inhibitor ? What were your withdrawal symptoms like and how long did they last ?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I don't get nausea, I just get bounce back acidity so can get really bad heartburn.

Usually what I do (although I have bad enough GERD I probably need to stay on the PPIs although I have tried to see if I can get away withouth them).

Take an antacid as needed (I usually use storebrand Tums or Maalox) with a H2 agnoist (like Zantac) and add DGI to the mix. However even doing that long enough for the bounce back to pass usually doesn't control the heartburn I have all that well and I have a little damage from the GERD so really don't want to end up needing that repaired so I just try to keep really good control.


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## snake (Jan 20, 2014)

I'm weaning myself off PPIs too. I get a little bit of extra heartburn and general bloating with a bit of nausea. I think our stomachs and duodenum get a little bit irritated by all the excess acid. High doses like 40mg b.i.d take down the acid levels considerably.

I was also on the same dose. I don't recommend going from 40 twice a day to nothing over night. I cut my dose in half and I will then cut that dose in half again over a period of 3 weeks or so. The acid rebound can be pretty horrible. Switching to something like Zantac might help you too. They don't really work at all for me so I don't bother. I take a few tums and some gaviscon as and when I need like Kathleen said.

SIBO was found in 50% of people taking PPIs.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20060064


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

I do not like PPIs one bit. I think it's better to be off of them.


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

Kathleen M. said:


> I don't get nausea, I just get bounce back acidity so can get really bad heartburn.
> 
> Usually what I do (although I have bad enough GERD I probably need to stay on the PPIs although I have tried to see if I can get away withouth them).
> 
> Take an antacid as needed (I usually use storebrand Tums or Maalox) with a H2 agnoist (like Zantac) and add DGI to the mix. However even doing that long enough for the bounce back to pass usually doesn't control the heartburn I have all that well and I have a little damage from the GERD so really don't want to end up needing that repaired so I just try to keep really good control.


Thanks. What is DGI ?


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

snake said:


> I'm weaning myself off PPIs too. I get a little bit of extra heartburn and general bloating with a bit of nausea. I think our stomachs and duodenum get a little bit irritated by all the excess acid. High doses like 40mg b.i.d take down the acid levels considerably.
> 
> I was also on the same dose. I don't recommend going from 40 twice a day to nothing over night. I cut my dose in half and I will then cut that dose in half again over a period of 3 weeks or so. The acid rebound can be pretty horrible. Switching to something like Zantac might help you too. They don't really work at all for me so I don't bother. I take a few tums and some gaviscon as and when I need like Kathleen said.
> 
> ...


Thanks for that paper and for the advice. It would not be surprising that SIBO or susceptibility to bacterial infections increases due to PPI usage. The stomach HCl is an important line of defense in killing any bacteria.


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

PD85 said:


> I do not like PPIs one bit. I think it's better to be off of them.


Yes, but it also helped to nip my painful acid reflux in the bud. At least I can sleep peacefully and work better. As long as I can print money with my brain, I am happy


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Oops should be D. G. L. not I.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deglycyrrhizinated_licorice


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

IndianRopeTrick said:


> Yes, but it also helped to nip my painful acid reflux in the bud. At least I can sleep peacefully and work better. As long as I can print money with my brain, I am happy


I've taken them too and they helped at the time.


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## TVgirl (Sep 16, 2009)

Have you had upper endoscopy? You should. If you get reflux and severe reflux you can end up with barrets esophagitis which is a pre cancerous condition. I just had a scope and they found baretts with me. Its very important to control the acid. But ppis arent meant for life. The nausea can be stomach irritation from increase acid production.


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## AIRPLANE (Mar 15, 2004)

I had both a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy 2 years ago. I was told that I had an inflamed duodenum (duodenitis) It was recommended that I take an antacid. I tried the samples I was given but only for about a day or so as I felt it gave me sharp gas pains lower down and made my IBS worse. I was told that I did not have H Pylori. I am very careful about taking Nsaids like aspirin, I never take Ibuprofen, because I know that they can cause irritation to the lining and even lead to leaky gut. I just wonder what would cause it, like if bacterial overgrowth other than H Pylori could- but can't find much info on the causes. The Dr. that did the tests didn't seem interested in having me back and later when I went to Mayo they had no interest in it (assuming they read my records as the appointments were pretty fast I don't think I got around to questioning it). I too read more often than not that reducing acid is not a good idea unless absolutely necessary (like for severe heartburn/reflux) and that most acid issues are more about displaced acid rather than too much acid, and that we usually have issues with too little acid as we age.


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

TVgirl said:


> Have you had upper endoscopy? You should. If you get reflux and severe reflux you can end up with barrets esophagitis which is a pre cancerous condition. I just had a scope and they found baretts with me. Its very important to control the acid. But ppis arent meant for life. The nausea can be stomach irritation from increase acid production.


Can you tell me what your symptoms were like before you were diagnosed with Baretts ? Did you feel like oh ! I am just having "irritating acidity" like most other people ? or was it so bad that you felt you had to see a doctor asap ?


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

AIRPLANE said:


> I had both a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy 2 years ago. I was told that I had an inflamed duodenum (duodenitis) It was recommended that I take an antacid. I tried the samples I was given but only for about a day or so as I felt it gave me sharp gas pains lower down and made my IBS worse. I was told that I did not have H Pylori. I am very careful about taking Nsaids like aspirin, I never take Ibuprofen, because I know that they can cause irritation to the lining and even lead to leaky gut. I just wonder what would cause it, like if bacterial overgrowth other than H Pylori could- but can't find much info on the causes. The Dr. that did the tests didn't seem interested in having me back and later when I went to Mayo they had no interest in it (assuming they read my records as the appointments were pretty fast I don't think I got around to questioning it). I too read more often than not that reducing acid is not a good idea unless absolutely necessary (like for severe heartburn/reflux) and that most acid issues are more about displaced acid rather than too much acid, and that we usually have issues with too little acid as we age.


sound similar to what I am facing. I get these pains (gas pains perhaps?) under the rib and burning sensation in my stomach. Reflux has reduced to 0 or sometimes bearable levels. But, I still feel this could be a problem.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

FWIW I have dealt with heartburn for the last 10 years and have discovered many things that are true to my situation. These are the things I feel that you MUST eliminate if you are serious about eliminating your heartburn:

-Smoking

-Coffee

-Tea

-Soda

-Beer

-Liquor

Also:

-Don't eat at least 3 hours before bed

-Don't eat too fast

-Don't over eat

When people complain of heartburn I ask if they eat or do any of the above things, and almost everyone does more than one of these... It's like complaining of a broken leg but you're still walking on it. I know it sounds hard to give up your morning cup of joe, etc, but just take a deep breath and realize that you can do it and you don't NEED any of these things. I can not for the life of me figure out my IBS, but if you have heartburn and you smoke and drink coffee, I can almost guarantee you can eliminate over 90% of your symptoms by stopping both.

Antacids help in the moment, but for me they create a cycle that contributes to more heartburn. When I take TUMS or Pepto, it will make my heartburn go away for the next few hours, but for a few days after that I have to keep taking and taking them because my heartburn won't subside.

Taking Betaine HCL and a digestive enzyme with your meal WILL help the digestion of food in your stomach. However it might worsen your IBS. I find that digestive enzymes WITHOUT lactase are much easier on my IBS than one's with. NOW brand SUPER ENZYMES has almost 0 effect on my IBS and definitely helps digestion of my food. I recommend skipping the Betaine if it's a small meal because you might get a burning sensation in your stomach. And wait until you aren't having terrible heartburn to start the Betaine. I take it at the beginning of when I know I'm about to eat a very large meal. Maybe only a few times per week.

In the end, your goal is to have a stomach that is primed for digestion of food. And that is a NORMALLY relaxed stomach and esophagus (not irritated/inflamed from coffee or smoking, or hyper-vigilant from caffeine, or over-relaxed from the alcohol, or burping from the soda), and a stomach that has good, normal levels of stomach acid. And last but not least, drink enough water.


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## Joa (Sep 25, 2019)

Hi,

I know your post is a longtime ago, but how does it went tmwith your nausea? How long did it take to go away?

Thanks!


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