I've been taking Aciphex for 3 1/2 weeks now as well as adhering to a very strict 'no acid' diet. At first I was taking one a day but when I went to the doc last week and told him that I still have symptoms, he told me to go to 2x a day.
While the stomach discomfort I was having is gone, it seems like all my throat symptoms have gotten worse. I'm coughing more and feel a bit hoarse. Also, I feel like I have a weight on my upper chest/throat area. I guess I just feel like my chest is congested but I don't have a cold or anything.

Has anyone else experienced this? Also, does this mean that the acid is still coming up and there has been no healing going on for the past 3 weeks??? I've only been on 2x a day since Friday but still having these symptoms. Doc told me to come back in 2 weeks if no results but I don't want to wait that long. What do you think??

My doc started me out on aciphex twice a day and it took me a good 4-5 weeks to feel improvement. At times I can still feel a lump in my throat, but not nearly like it was. I am on a bland,bland diet and the minute I try to add something in it I can feel the difference. He also told me that it was going to take months for me to heal. Good luck and I hope you start feeling better!

if you feel like there is alot of weight on your chest and are haveing a hard time to breath you need to change meds this happend to me with nexium it is an alleric reaction

My doc started me out on aciphex twice a day and it took me a good 4-5 weeks to feel improvement. At times I can still feel a lump in my throat, but not nearly like it was. I am on a bland,bland diet and the minute I try to add something in it I can feel the difference. He also told me that it was going to take months for me to heal. Good luck and I hope you start feeling better!

How bad was your esophagitis? My doctor told me that mine was the least severe kind and that it would be OK if I took the meds for only 4-6 weeks.

I'm just concerned that if there are still symptoms that it isn't healing. Did your doctor tell you otherwise? Thanks for answering.

i've been taking Aciphex for a month now one pill a day. The doctor told me to take it twice a day so I started on Friday night. I don't have the breathing problems you mention but my stomach doesn't feel any better. I'm trying to get into a specialist. If I have an ulcer rather than GERD would the Acipex be prescribed for that?

How bad was your esophagitis? My doctor told me that mine was the least severe kind and that it would be OK if I took the meds for only 4-6 weeks.

I'm just concerned that if there are still symptoms that it isn't healing. Did your doctor tell you otherwise? Thanks for answering.

I have LPR and my ENT said that its the worst case he's ever seen. I'm probably going to be on meds for the rest of my life.

If you have an ulcer, its not likely that they'll treat you with aciphex or anything like that. Ulcers are not caused by acid (contrary to popular belief), they are caused by presence of a bacteria call H. Plori. Usually a round of anti-biotics will clear it up.

However, you can develop ulcers on your esophogus which would be treated with medication such as aciphex, but that is not the same as a stomach ulcer and is a sign of later stage GERD.

CMJacid,
Thanks for the information. My doctor sent in a referral for me to see the GI specialist but it may take several weeks to get in. She thinks that it's from medication that is irritating my stomach and causing excessive acid to develop and that I would probably just keep taking the 'Aciphex for it. We'll see what the specialist says after I get tested. I wonder if the Aciphex would be causing more problems in my stomach if it's not indicated for whatever my stomach problem is. Yikes. I'm not sure what to do but just eat bland food.

CMJacid,
Thanks for the information. My doctor sent in a referral for me to see the GI specialist but it may take several weeks to get in. She thinks that it's from medication that is irritating my stomach and causing excessive acid to develop and that I would probably just keep taking the 'Aciphex for it. We'll see what the specialist says after I get tested. I wonder if the Aciphex would be causing more problems in my stomach if it's not indicated for whatever my stomach problem is. Yikes. I'm not sure what to do but just eat bland food.

Treatment for h-pylori infection includes one of the PPIs (Aciphex, Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid) so you will be OK if you are taking them and end up being diagnosed with an ulcer. H-pylori infection also needs antibiotics to get rid of the infection but they still give you a PPI drug to help heal you. I'm not sure how they treat a non h-pylori ulcer but I would think that it would be either PPI or something from the Zantac/Pepcid group of drugs.

Debbie2862,
Ok, thanks for the clarification about treatment for ulcers. I just don't like taking medication without a diagnosis but I"m afriad of permanent damage if I don't take it and should have. But it doesn't really seem to be helping me yet.

Debbie2862,
Ok, thanks for the clarification about treatment for ulcers. I just don't like taking medication without a diagnosis but I"m afriad of permanent damage if I don't take it and should have. But it doesn't really seem to be helping me yet.

I'm with you on that! My regular doc tried to get me to take Nexium just because I said I was having reflux so I went to the gastro doc for a real diagnosis. Ended up having to take the same kind of meds anyway but at least I feel more confident that I'm doing the right thing. I've been taking Aciphex for exactly 3 weeks today. Yesterday I didn't have any reflux symptoms but I had a stomach ache. So, I'm not sure if that's a side effect or that the meds aren't working. It's just so frustrating and its hard for me to articulate what I'm feeling for the doctor sometimes which just makes it worse. I'm going to give it a couple more days now that I'm on 2x a day and if I don't continue to feel relief, I am going to go back in and see if I can try something else. I just hope that all this time on Aciphex hasn't been a waste and that SOME healing has happened!!!

Thanks, I've got a couple of weeks to wait until I can get into the doctor.