Eating (or not) after taking omeqrazole

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TamiHi

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Hi everyone
My doctors told me that I have GERD, and prescribed me 20mg omeprazole 2x a day. I have been told to take it 30-60 mins before breakfast and dinner. I tried to look this up, but I can't find it anywhere, is it bad if I don't end up eating until 2 some hours after taking the meRAB? I work 2 jobs, and am a volunteer EMT, so my schedule is really inconsistent, and I can't always control when I eat (even when I have food sitting waiting for me!). I don't think I have had any negative side effects except gas, but I am still nauseous sometimes, and my voice is rather horse (this is the symptom that made the docs think I have GERD), so maybe the meRAB aren't working?
Does anyone else have trouble taking the medicine a certain time before eating?
Thanks!
 
If it's not bothering you, I don't think it matters much. As far as it working, how long have you been taking it? I started feeling slightly better after about a week, but my doctor told me to give it a good month before I should expect to feel markedly better. I think many people make the mistake of deciding after only a few days or a week that their PPI "isn't working" and they switch (prematurely) to another one. PPIs don't directly heal the throat and esophagus - they switch off the stomach acid so that the throat and esophagus can heal themselves. Healing can take a long time, depending on how much damage you have. After 6 weeks of the omeprazole, I'm now feeling much better and glad I stuck with it. Good luck!

By the way, if your voice doesn't clear up, an ENT can scope your throat and look at your vocal corRAB to see if there's damage there. This was a quick office procedure that (for me) was just slightly uncomfortable but not at all painful.
 
I take the same medication but at 40 mgs twice a day. My gastroenterologist was a Medical Professor at Yale Medical School and he told me that you really should take it within 20-30 minutes of eating because food is what activates the medication. Not sure exactly what that means but thats what he said.
 
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