Acid rebound and kicking ppi's

[stcyt 15]

For those of you wanting to kick your ppi I will share my experience with rebound. I never had a day of acid or heartburn pre-surgery so I was really hoping that my body had a good regulatory system in this department and would sort itself out once off ppi's. I stayed on them for 5 weeks per my doc then quit cold trukey.

Day 1 No issues :tongue_smilie:

Day 2 :001_rolleyes: a little uncomfortable but managable

Day 3 :flame:Hell on earth. :mad5: Lots of gaviscon :target:(tums and rolaids cause rebound) difficulty eating... mostly just drank creamy Protein

Day 4 :ack2: uncomfortable but better than day 3. Appetite returned by evening meal (my tiny sleeve appetite):hungry: Used gaviscone once

Day 5 I can feel it.... but its almost gone.

Day 6 To be continued..........

I'm hoping by tomorrow it will be gone.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I will be off my PPI three weeks on Wednesday. I am pretty good all day long, but the heartburn gets kind of bad in the evening. I take a little bit of gavescon and it gets rid of it.

I have an appt. with my PCP on Friday. I am going to talk to him about all of this. I may ask for a prescription of Tagamet which is what my parents took before dinner.

All in all, I think it's getting better, but I didn't expect the heartburn to last this long. Dr. Aceves said it can take 3 months to get off of them with the rebound acid.

[ouroborous 519]

I have to say this makes me nervous. My surgeon has me on PPI's and Carafate for at least 6 months. He says that excess acid can actually damage the sleeve and delay the healing process. This makes me very nervous for your "day 3 hell on earth" with no PPI's only 5 weeks out -- what is all that acid doing to your staple line? Are you risking a stricture or esophageal erosion, or Barrett's esophagus, or a gastric or duodenal ulcer? Is it REALLY worth it just to avoid taking a fairly low-risk pill for a few more months?

I'm happy for you if you're feeling better, but me -- no way, no how. I'm following my doctor's orders and staying on the PPI's for at LEAST 6 months. The risks of PPI's are WAY less frightening to me than the risks of severe, uncontrollable acid reflux.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I am wondering the same thing. I heard on the news that PPIs make it so your bones do not absorb Calcium.< /strong>

Since my bone density test showed the beginning of osteoporosis, this really concerned me. However, this acid rebound and heartburn is very

concerning to me too. I am going to discuss it with my PCP on friday and maybe taking an acid reducer is the answer, instead of an acid blocker (PPI).

Edited June 1, 2010 by Oregondaisy

[ouroborous 519]

Yes, bone loss is the one big thing that is a risk for PPI's. If you're having any signs of osteoporosis, it's good to talk to your doc about it. Truth be told, however, osteoporosis is also a risk for ALL weight loss surgery, so I'm not sure how much worse it is.

Still, I scratch my head at people acting like PPI's are heroin or something that you have to "kick." Our knowledge may certainly change (hey, we used to think that Phen-Fen was a good thing, and we used to think that Vitamin C cured the common cold!), but as of right now, aside from the osteoporosis risk, PPI's are considered VERY safe and VERY well tolerated.

I even asked my PCP about this because I thought I had an ulcer before surgery. I said "is there a risk with being on omeprazole long-term?" And he laughed and said "if there is, then about 30 million Americans are in trouble!"

So that's how I learned how to stop worrying and love the bomb-- er, the acid blocker pill :crying:

[stcyt 15]

Yea... I hear what you guys are saying...it concerned me too to have this much acid this early out. My doc says that I can handle a week or so of acid but if it hasn't dramatically decreased after 7 days I should consider going back on. The thing is.... I have already made it through my "fires of hell" day so I want to keep going. I'm hoping that since I have been on the ppi's a shorter period of time maybe my rebound will resolve quicker.

Oregondaisy.... I know gaviscon... but do you know what other types of acid reducers don't cause rebound. Is tagament only by perscription? how is it different from gaviscon.

I started drinkin Aloe Vera juice today. Its supposed to sooth the esophagus and regulate PH. So far today I had a little tinge after lunch but it went away after eating a ginger chew.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Sorry Stacey, I don't really know what the difference is between gavescon and Tagamet. I know that Gaviscon is an antacid and Tagamet is an acid reducer you take before you eat. The generic name for it is

cimetidene.

[stcyt 15]

Day 6 :bored0:A little twinge after eating

Day 7 :scared:Yikes Its back :smokin:. Not as bad as day from hell but its there:cool4:. Got some Zantac and now I'm better. From all my reading it appears that Zantac has about a 10 day rebound period while ppi's can be 2-3 mos. I'll see how things are tomorrow, but I may try to do every other day of Zantac. I will call doc tomorrow :phone2:to report the increase and get her thoughs on my Zantac plan.

She really wants me off the PPI's as I am at risk for osteoporosis and ppi's inhibit the absorption of diazapam..... a medcation that I need periodically.

[redroses47 1]

Interesting thread. I am also someone who never experienced a moment of acid or heartburn in my life pre or post-op. I am 5 weeks out and called the surgeon to ask if I could stop altogether and the answer was a sharp 'no'. I need to be on this for three months, he said. They are pretty adamant that there is stomach acid kicking around and can harm the stomach so I obviously don't want to do that.

I had read recently that PPI's are very detrimental to bone loss .. perhaps my main concern since I am in my mid-40's. We'll see how this goes. Thanks for sharing your experience Stcyt.

[stcyt 15]

Interesting thread. I am also someone who never experienced a moment of acid or heartburn in my life pre or post-op. I am 5 weeks out and called the surgeon to ask if I could stop altogether and the answer was a sharp 'no'. I need to be on this for three months, he said. They are pretty adamant that there is stomach acid kicking around and can harm the stomach so I obviously don't want to do that.

I had read recently that PPI's are very detrimental to bone loss .. perhaps my main concern since I am in my mid-40's. We'll see how this goes. Thanks for sharing your experience Stcyt.

I would absolutly stay on them if your doctor wants you to.

I hope... that when doctors give the go ahead... this thread will help people know what to expect.

take care

stacey

[ouroborous 519]

Definitely follow the doctor's orders on this one.

If the doctor says get off them (because, like stcyt you are at risk of osteoporosis, which is about the only real risk of PPI's), then get off them.

If your doctor says to take them, then take them.

The point is, these are not something you should fool around with without talking to your doctor first.

[Itstime 0]

I think we all agree we are not following what WE want to do, our doctors know what is best, I would hope by now. Each patient has different reasons for discontinuing PPI's OR staying on them. Its good that we can share what our experiences are IF we stop, not trying to influence the decision.

[ouroborous 519]

Well, we can all give advice -- you know what they say opinions are like -- but absolutely, you're right: the doctor should always be the bottom line. Get a second opinion if necessary, but make sure it's a second medical opinion.

I'm such a stickler for this because a friend of my girlfriend's nearly died last year because she decided to ignore her doctor's advice and try a "natural" remedy instead of take her medicine (unrelated to WLS, but still...)

[goodlife 3]

At my 1 week post op appt. the PA asked me if I was having any problems with acid...at the time I wasn't..hell I wasn't having anything at that point but Protein and fluids and I was taking the PPI. She told me to stop taking them. I've not taken them real regularly..maybe every other day...every 3rd day or something like that when I start the feel it burning in my stomach.

However; I have two pills left and I don't want to get it refilled as for some reason it was ridiculously expensive AND it was generic (protonix). So I think I'm going to get the OTC prilosec or something.

Are there any differences between the OTC brands that I should know about? Is one better than another?

[ouroborous 519]

At my 1 week post op appt. the PA asked me if I was having any problems with acid...at the time I wasn't..hell I wasn't having anything at that point but Protein and fluids and I was taking the PPI. She told me to stop taking them. I've not taken them real regularly..maybe every other day...every 3rd day or something like that when I start the feel it burning in my stomach.

However; I have two pills left and I don't want to get it refilled as for some reason it was ridiculously expensive AND it was generic (protonix). So I think I'm going to get the OTC prilosec or something.

Are there any differences between the OTC brands that I should know about? Is one better than another?

We take the generic Omeprazole (Prilosec, IIRC) you can buy in bulk from costco, and it's ridiculously cheap.

I recommend it