Greetings!
A while back I was having issues (long story)...been to various doc's, taken various pills, etc. Those issues have sudsided (for the most part). But I'm still left with an 'unknown' acid reflux issue that I can't figure out. Without getting into details - I've never had any major symptoms as most people have. Only minor stuff - dry cough at times, some sinus drainage, mouth watering, clearing throat...

But anyway - I was put on Protonix twice daily for 2 months. Those were the worst 2 months of my life. I never get heartburn - but those 2 months, I think I got heartburn all the time no matter how much I ate or what I ate. I felt so bad, sometimes I didn't wanna eat at all. But - I asked the doctor and they never really gave me a straight answer to why. After 2 months - I was told to drop down to taking it once a day. At that point, I felt MUCH better and started eating again. I took Protonix for another 2 months (once daily). I was instructed to stop completely after those 4 months. That was one week ago....

A month ago - I joined a fitness club. Why? Because I've been feeling weaker than normal and my bones/joints have been aching. At the time, I figured..."I'm getting old". I've been going to the club 3x weekly and working on the exercise equipment.

So now...after talking with some people and researching a bit..... seems my 4 months of taking Protonix wasn't necessarily the best thing. Other than the fatique (so to speak), I've had a lot of rectal itching that was driving me crazy!!

So...now that I'm off Protonix.... How long should I wait for my body to catch up (so to speak)? The rectal itching has gone away ...and I think I'm feeling better overall but not totally sure yet.

I'm wondering if my original symptoms were from a 'lack' of stomach acids (instead of too much)? I've been reading about taking vinager (YUK!!) and/or supplements to assist with digestion.... I'm curious to take some acid assisting -supplements to see what happens - but I figured I should give my body time to catch up after the usage of Protonix?

Thoughts?

I was on protonix for a month, it gave me muscle spasms/twiching and some stomach acid at times. i would say after a week, I had no more of those symptoms...

Hi,

if you can manage to stay off the drugs, you'll be doing yourself a favor. I suspect that the PPI has somehow caused all of my symptoms but one (nausea). If I had GERD before the Nexium it must have been asymptomatic. After Nexium I developed all of the symptoms, one by one. I don't know what else to think other than that lower acid content in the stomach is NOT necessarily a good thing. The acid in the amounts our bodies produce is there for a reason. When we start messing with the acid balance, we create problems. Just my opinion.

flowergirl