rayljr

I have an idea that could work for a lot of people trying to wean themselves off of omeprazole.

I'm on omeprazole 20 mg/day, have been taking it for about 8 months. I can't seem to get off this stuff either – my stomach comes back like a volcano every time after 5-10 days. First 2 times I tried were “cold turkey”, then after some searching learned about "acid rebound" and the “half dose” option (plus a strict diet regimen). I too am worried about the long term side effects, especially with vitamin and nutrient absorption and their effects on joints and bone, etc., etc., etc...

As to weaning oneself off omeprazole, most people have a hard time adjusting to a dose of 20 mg tablets every other day, especially the first 2-3 weeks or so... For this drug, typically it may be too much of a shock to the system. There are other drugs that require reducing the dosage 10-25%, waiting a month or so then repeating the process until the dose is low enough to finally stop – this could take over a year. These other drugs are also sometimes replaced with a more benign drug in the meantime.

It sure would be easier on your system to taper omeprazole to 15 mg/day for the first 3-4 months and proceed from there with a 10 mg dose, then a 5 mg dose. This may seem to take a while longer but a better chance of succeeding is better than not succeeding with no results (and the pain, frustration and depression that go with it). Plus I'm still reducing the dosage right off the bat.

The problem is with omeprazole 20 mg tablets, they cannot be cut in half or quarters with a pill chopper - this would negate the effect of omeprazole as it would be destroyed by stomach acids and not absorbed in the small intestine. The tablet has a coating so it can bypass the stomach acids and be released in the small intestine.

My friend said omeprazole was available in 20 mg capsules (I searched “omeprazole delayed-release capsules 20.6 mg” and there they were). He said to just open the capsule and inside are small time-release pellets which can be mixed in applesauce and drunk with a glass of water. That way you'd be reducing to “about” 10 mg dose every day by sorting the pellets in half (or as close to half as you can get). Still, it may not be much of an improvement over taking the coated tablets as omeprazole is very slow to release into your system. But still again, skipping a whole day every other day could well have some kind of yo-yo effect on your system and many days could be “unbearable”...


Now here's where the idea/suggestion comes into play. I was still thinking I need a 15 mg dose to start (to make things easier and more “guaranteed” results). So I said if they are pellets they can be weighed! So I did a search on “digital scale .001 gram accuracy” (accuracy down to the milligram) - and there they were. Now I could weigh the omeprazole pellets, take that number in grams and multiply it by .75 (75% dose) for a 15 gram dose! The same applies for a 10 mg (50%) or 5 mg (25 %) dose, etc...

I wanted to be sure I got enough accuracy in milligrams with these digital scales. The ones I liked were in the $150-300 price range (which can pretty much give accurate enough readings). In the end there were 3 brands/models that I liked – I spent a bit of time sorting them all out to make sure I got the right one. These scales may be a little pricey, but to me would be a tremendous bargain if they could help get me off this drug. These scales are so sensitive they come with a plastic or glass cover so when the air-conditioning or heat come on they could affect the results! These scales don't take up much space and are convenient and pretty much easy to use.

As for weighing the omeprazole pellets, just trim a clean square piece of paper (or wax paper) to fit on the weighing tray, also fold the paper in half (for dispensing). Then you just "tare" the scale so it sets back to 0 grams for weighing. Then just put your “75% or whatever dose” on a tablespoon of applesauce and take with a glass of water!

Another alternative to using a digital scale is to sort the pellets on a mirror or flat surface carefully with a razor blade into halves or quarters. I'm not sure how accurate this would be if done by eye, or if the “linearity” of the digital scales would be better at low milligram measures...

I hope this helps everyone as much as I think it should help me. Another advantage is you will not need as much of those H2 blockers or antacids (which can have their own acid rebound effect) to take as a substitute – if at all... I would also watch my diet closely and NO coffee, alcohol or tobacco (the usual triggers) whatsoever. Good luck!