Reflux - Acid Reflux / GERD Message Board

Missa21 · 12-19-2008, 01:54 AM

I recently switched to 30mg 1x day of Prevacid (I was on Nexium 20mg 2x day, which stopped working for me). I am very unhappy with the prevacid...though at my 6 week check I didn't hate it near as much as I do now. I have been having horrendous globus at night. When I miss the prevacid, the rebound burning is unbelievable. I am so uncomfortable almost all the time. One night last week I actually popped a nexium i had left over on top of the prevacid...I don't know what to do other than to go back to my doctor. My doctor wants me to try to come off PPI's next summer. That scares me sooo much. I am terrified of being this uncomfortable or worse.

I think that my newest issue is related to the reflux. I am having shortness of breath and wheezing (when breathing and and out) as well as an increased cough. It definitely gets worse when I lie down.

I don't even know why I am posting this. I don't really want advice...I just want to know someone is going through the same thing. I hate this. All I can think is that I am waayy to young for this to be happening to me and I feel like I'm falling apart. I just turned 23 years old and I've been having reflux issues for about 2 years and on medication for 20 months.

nessie01 · 12-19-2008, 02:41 AM

hi missa
i have LPR and bad stomach issues so even thou my symptoms arent the same i can relate..............if you were on nexium twice a day why arent you on prevacid twice a day as well? you prob need to be covererd for the full 24hrs.......you could also try losec/proselic as its the orginal ppi and nexium is a copy of it (with something else added or altered) so its very simialar.................you could also consider surgery as you are young..........it does have a 90% or so succes rate do some researh on it.......do you have gerd (heartburn) or just LPR or both the coughing and short of breath is a common acid symptom...........
take care ness

Missa21 · 12-19-2008, 11:51 AM

I don't know why I'm not on Prevacid twice a day. I think my doctor did not think that that was helpful to me for whatever reason. He actually said that I shouldn't have been taking it as I was. I guess because its supposed to be good for the entire day, maybe? I'm not sure. I probably would feel a lot better taking the prevacid twice a day. My doctor said I can not go up on medication so much and still have him prescribe it because it is an off-label use and it would need to be prescribed by a specialist and I'm not currently seeing a GI doc...I guess I should-I did one time, and they seemed uninterested in my reflux and at the time I was also having abdominal pain and cramping almost every time I ate. I had an EGD and was negative for h. pylori on biopsy and no inflammation was seen in my esophagus from the gerd...maybe because of the Nexium I was on at the time. After my EGD I was told to go down on the Nexium to one pill every day instead of two. I ended going back up to two after about a month.

I would like to have surgery but it has not been discussed at this point. It would actually make a lot of sense because I am young and otherwise healthy, do not want to be on medications forever and am failing medical treatment. I am on my third PPI and from what I've heard Nexium and Prevacid are pretty heavy duty. I also have developed an iron deficiency and am bordering on low for my B12...both which I think are due to my medications.

I sometimes have heartburn though it isn't my main symptom. Mostly I have a feeling of a lump in my throat and the coughing stuff.

FMC3 · 12-19-2008, 04:58 PM

Is your question why you aren taking more Previcide? Okay, I looked them up in one of my drug books. You know that the active ingredient in each is different don't you? Previcide is lansoprazole and Prilosec is omeprazole. Apparently 15 mg. lansoprazole is equivalent to 20 mg omeprazole, as the usual starter dose of lansoprazole (Previcide) is 15 mg., and the usual starter dose of omeprazole (Prilosec) is 20 mg. You are taking 30 mg. lansoprazole which is twice the usual starting dose.

The globus sawllowing is just a symptom of the inflamation of the esophagus caused by the GERD. I have it too and I take omeprazole. I have to take it every day. You have to maintain a therapeutic level of the drug in your system.

Hang in there. Good luck.

Missa21 · 12-19-2008, 09:10 PM

Well that's comforting that I'm at least on the "right" dose...even though I've been on Prevacid for about 10 weeks I'm still not experiencing relief. Well, I guess I did initially but I haven't for the most part had relief in the last few weeks. I do trust my doctor so I knew there must have been a reason for him doing things the way he did.

I still wish I was feeling better though.