Acid rebound from NEXIUM!!!

pazshalom

Hi everybody!

I have a question: If we buy OTC prilosec 20 mg and want to reduce it to 10 mg, can we cut the pill in half?

Than you for the good info. It is great to know that we can support each other here and that we can bent out our feelings.

I am praying for healing for everybody.

Hugs

kacyc

I have a question: If we buy OTC prilosec 20 mg and want to reduce it to 10 mg, can we cut the pill in half?

Hi, you will need to ask the pharmacist because it will depend on the type of prilosec you get. With some of them if you cut them you will destroy the coating which effects how the medication is absorbed; some of them may be slow release in which case you shouldn't cut it. Seek advice. If you can't cut them, you should be able to buy OTC 10mg, but its worth you finding out anyway for when you want to take less than 10mg!

imlily

Hi everyone and thank you all for the good wishes for my tests. Thank goodness they are all over. The only thing I know is I had mild inflammation in the stomach and some little pockets in the colon. I have to wait for the results of the biopsies before I can ask all my questions. I am assuming at this point that the inflammation in my stomach has lessened since February as I don't have so many days feeling nausea although it is still there and some days I feel horrible or it may last a morning or an afternoon. I have no pain anymore from reducing the PPi from 40mgs to 20mgs. I am now about to start to reduce again in order to get off it but I am going very slowly.
I notice there have been questions about how to guess the amount of the PPI. The health food stores have clear empty pills so I aim to put the whole amount of one pill into the clear one and measure 3/4 of the pill (I might mark it) then return the 3/4 amount to the empty omeprazole shell and swallow that. I am going to alternate days with the full 20mgs and the 3/4 amount which would be around 15mgs for approx. 2 weeks then get right onto the 3/4 amount (15mgs) and stay there for a while. Then repeat the whole scenario again and again.
I am going to be very interested to ask the doctor if I really have GERD or acid reflux as there was no mention of it on the report.
Bec I was so pleased to see you back on here again. I do hope you are soon feeling better and not having so much pain. I think you were very brave to jump right off the PPI and you have been strong to stay off it. What is dyspepsia? Are the good days more now than the bad days?
I hope everyone has a nice memorial week-end.

kacyc

Hi Lily, so good that your tests are all done now with nothing major found, and great news that you no longer have the pain from reducing and are ready to start reducing again. How long did the (40 to 20mg) rebound last in the end?

As I said to rainbowsrock, some people get on ok with the alternate days method, but it didn't work for me because if you do that you are in effect altering your dose up or down every day, and that can cause dizziness and nausea etc, though it can help with the rebound. Try it and see how it goes, but if you find yourself feeling ill every day then try to stabalise at the same dose until you are ready to reduce again. (I like your idea to mark the clear capsule as a guide).

You've probably already done a couple of days by now so let us know how its going. Good luck and hope you don't get as bad this time round.

imlily

Hi Kacyc, It has taken almost 3 months since I made the switch from the 40mgs Nexium to 20mgs omeprazole. I think I made a lot of improvement over that period of time although I still don't think I am 100%. I don't know if it is the stomach inflammation or the acid rebound that has caused me so many problems. I decided not to alternate the 20mgs with the 15mgs but to just be on the 15mgs right away. I had so much burning yesterday which kind of surprised me as I didn't feel it right away when I did the first switch. Today I have the 'lump in the throat' feeling all day and I haven't had that for a few weeks now so it is like starting all over again.
I actually counted all the little beads in the pills and figured out how many would make the 15mgs. It was very tedius work but I made enough for one week so far. However, not all the little beads are the same size so I don't really know if I am getting a full 15mgs. I can tell this omeprazole is a generic (cheap) medicine because I think a brand medicine would be consistant with the size of the beads. I hope this throat thing soon clears away as it is very annoying and scary. I hope to stay on 15mgs for a while at least until maybe I have had another consultation with the doctor whenever that might be.

kacyc

Its so horrible I know, really wanting to get off the stuff and move forward, but knowing you are about to inflict pain and suffering upon yourself. You are very brave to take the step forward.

I know the lump in the throat is scary, but you should feel a bit more confident now that you know whats going on. It proves itself after doing the same thing and getting the same results over and over again, that I stopped worrying and just got on with it... not that that made it any easier....just less worrying!!

I had a brand of omeprazole and the little balls were not consistant, though in each pack tended to be roughly the same size. Each capsule varied in the quantity by + or - up to 1mg, making the job of reducing more complicated.

Out of interest how many granules did you have in one 20mg capsule?

Allan790

here is my method which is working one month on
take half the nexium before you get out of be
next eat a fat free breakfast
next eat your main meal at about 1pm
next eat very low or zero until bed
before bed take big teaspoon of slippery elm with honey and made up with water stir well
sleep as best as you can
i will drop to quarter of nexium next month and keep going
if you get a little acid reflux in late afternoon take minimum antacid but very little
so after a month this is working for me.
hope this helps

rainbowsrock

Glad everyone seems to be doing well cutting down on the PPI'S

I have to confess I went back to full dose for a few days as we went away for a countryside break and I knew I would be relaxing the eating habits.
Despite taking the full dose I suffered terrible night reflux

I enjoyed the break, and the food, but am eager to get back to my half a dose tonight

kacyc

Its really interesting what works for one person and doesn't for another. I'm glad you have found a way that works for you, but there is no way I could eat very little from lunch to bed. During my whole rebound experience, the cells in my stomach have gone haywire not only producing excess acid but also excess enzymes making me feel hungry all the time. If I don't eat often all day the acid eats into my stomach. The acid is there whatever I eat, I then need to eat lots of starchy foods to soak it up and give it something to work on other than my stomach lining. If I don't eat, the hunger turns into an acid attack. I also have to eat before bed (i know its not the recommended thing to do), but if I do not eat, the acid will eat away during the night.

We all have to find our own way. Its fascinating how different we all are.

PS. does anyone else get this ravenous hunger from stopping PPIs?

rorochezza

Just wondering is it common for the rebound to stop for a couple days and then return as that is currently what I've just experienced. Also a shame since I thought I was past it...

rainbowsrock

I think even when we're past the rebound stuff we then still have to watch what we're eating
I fear I will never be able to go back to some of my favourite foods/drinks

But that is preferable to me than eating all the bad stuff and having to take PPI'S

imlily

Hi rorochezza, I think this acid rebound is a very strange thing. It is different for everyone. I found that I never knew when it was going to happen it was just random. When I made the switch from 40mgs nexium to 20mgs omeprazole I was fine for around 6 days nothing happened at all. Then it started. Some days were just awful and it would last nearly all day then others just mild maybe lasting half a day or not at all. This went on for almost 3 months with lessening symptoms. I also had dreadful nausea that was random as well. However that may not have been to do with decreasing the PPi it may have been due to stomach inflammation. I hope this helps you.

imlily

Hi Kacyc, I have now been on the 15mgs for 1 week and I so far only felt any bad symtoms was day 1 and 2. I have had some heartburn but it wasn't too bad. You asked how many particles were in one capsule of omeprazole. The one I counted there were 146 particles. Now just looking at this I think I haven't been taking out enough particles for 15mgs so I am going to rethink it and take out more for the next few days. Oh well, slowly does it for sure.

kacyc

Totally common. Rebound is an imbalance, as your body tries to rebalance you will get days when you feel ok and days when it comes back; it will swing back and forth, gradually lessening in how bad it gets, until you get back to normal.