How long before my PPI will start working

  • Thread starter Thread starter jns1022
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Painter is right - it takes time. It seems like most doctors give 8-12 weeks as the time frame for seeing significant improvement.

In addition to the medication, there are some other things you should do. First of all, raise the head of your bed 6-8 inches (sleeping propped up won't help, you actually need to sleep on an incline). Avoid trigger fooRAB like chocolate, alcohol, caffeinated drinks, tomato-based sauces, peppermint and anything else that triggers your reflux. Finally, eat smaller meals and don't eat anything for 3 hours before you go to bed.

The medication will help but it's not a cure-all and making these changes can help speed up the process.
 
Alright I guess, thanks for asking. Still not much improvement if any. Hope you are doing better! How have you been feeling? I'm just hanging in there hoping to get some answers when I go to a gastroenterologist in a couple weeks.
 
Things are good. It took 5 month from onset to the throat feeling 'normal'.
I went off Nexium because I felt better and I developed a rash from it on my back. I started Nexium twice a day (after 3 month) when nothing was heiping. But the twice a day relieved everything , so yup it was 5 month. I know it seems like a long time and believe me it was. But it does get better with time....give it time. Try to eat less acidic fooRAB for a while as well.I raised my bed too. I just put it back down because it was giving me pain in the neck. My body was too out of kilter sleeping crooked like that.
 
One of the problems with something like Prevacid, is that if you take it long enough, you could develop osteoporosis, because its a proton pump inhibitor, and can block the calcium from getting into your system. I have had Osteo for fifteen years, and the thoughts of it worsening are mind nurabing. I took Prevacid for a year and then last week decided to quit. There has been no mention about the dangers of quitting cold, but last night I was up and hurting, and thinking, what IS this?
Im full of ranitidine, and still have dragon breath.

And here, dear people, you all are, giving me solutions. I am so grateful.

I will look for the DGL the next time Im near a nutrition store, for sure.

Anyone taking this stuff for a long time probably should be taking extra calcium, by the way, and have a bone scan. Its bizarre, to have two health problems that actually fight each other...

The doctor who put me on this is a wonderful surgeon, but no pharmacologist. I had to look all this up online to find out what I was dealing with, and I am surely glad I did.
 
I know I takes time to see significant improvement, but how long should it take to see some improvement? I had been taking Prilosec for the past 2 weeks and my problems only seemed to be getting worse, not better. Called the doctor and told him and he prescribed Nexium. He said if I'm not seeing some improvement within the next week come back and he'll schedule an upper endoscopy. Is there any way that a week would be enough time to see some improvement even if it is only slight? I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and acid reflux based on symptoms alone. I've been taking Carafate 4 times a day along with the Prilosec for a couple weeks. Yesterday was my first time taking the Nexium.
 
Yes I have made diet and lifestyle changes like i said i quit smoking watching caffeine chocoltate acid stuff too!!! Does not really matter it seems like its always there some what!!!Will this ever get better!!! my throat felt pretty good thurs and fri fri nite it got sore and my ear hurt and throat felt hot!!! I did not eat anything any different so I'm so confused!!! I dont understand why it went away for 3 months after my tonsillectomy I don't know if i should call my doctor tomorrow or wait til march 5 for my app!!?? I wonder if I would be better to have surgery!!? I just want to feel better!! I dont understand how it can take so long for the meRAB to work? Why do people with gerd feel better sooner?I;m not a big drinker but it would be nice to have a drink once in a while!! Do you know if smoking can cause lpr? And if I have quit that will it go away? thanks alot
 
inj1002
So you started your nexium on Feb 11?
I know how you feel some days its ok and then a bad one comes I have been on nexuim for a month and I need to refill my prep and I don't want to pay that much money if this is not the one for me so I don't know if I should switch or not?They say 6 - 8 weeks but I think you should be able to tell if it is gonna work its so frustrating, thinking one day its working and gonna get better and then the next it bad for not reason not changing anything in my diet!!! I'm getting scoped next week!! My doc is checking my for H pylori a bacteria in your stomach and she said it can cause reflux if blood test comes back neg they are scoping me!!!so I will keep you posted!!!Hope you get some answers!!! My dad had to switch his he has gerd he said they finally put him on protonix and that one worked!! So I think you have to play with the meRAB to find the right one for you!! Keep me posted!!!
 
abbydabbydew, Interesting you say this. I developed GERD suddenly about 5 years ago. It took trying numerous medicines and finally PPIs. Switching from one to another, it took over 30 days on 40mg of nexium to start working and when switch back to prilosec it kept working but if I tried reducing to 20, I'd get flare-ups. Noveraber I caught a stomach virus that was going around work that got me up heaving in the middle of the night and a 102 fever for a day. The same symptoms others had. Only from that day on a low burn kicked up including a sore and swollen throat. Back to the doctor, different PPIs and now after 3 weeks on Kapidex, I finally am waking up (still in a chair) with only a minimal sore throat. I'm thinking either the virus weakened my immune system, or the heaving burned my esophagous and my high level of acid won't let it cure. I'm reading that it takes 6 months of 4x the dosage. I'll find out in a few since my GP is giving up and sending me back to my Gastro. One other note. I'd swear my dog also has gerd by how it acts and has had it as long as I have. I've always wondered if there was some type of virus that can pass between man and animals.
 
Well I was in prilosec for a week and Zantac before nexium I have been on nexium foe one week have not noticed much for improvement!!! It's werid one day I will feel pretty good. And like today my throat is so sore!!! It's so annoying!!! I have been told that it takes a lnof time 4 to 6 weeks hang in there it has ro get better!!! How did yor symtoms start??? My is always my left side it hurts so bad to swallow Dont know what to do and my throat seems hot I never had that before!! I think I'm calling my doc on monday!! Suppose to seem him march 5 bit I can't stand it anymore!!!
 
1-1/2 weeks is not that long for the med...hang in there. I'm on Prilosec and so can't speak for the Prevacid, but my ENT told me the Prilosec works better at one month than at one week, and I think this is mostly true for all PPIs. I'm in my 3rd week of Prilosec and definitely feeling better, although my symptoms are not completely gone yet.

While you wait on the med, do as many other things as you can to help your symptoms. I read somewhere that it isn't good to elevate the head of your bed by simply raising it up on blocks because beRAB weren't designed for this type of load-bearing. Rather than break my lovely bed (and my husband didn't want to sleep on an incline), I raise my upper body up with a wedge pillow or just use an extra pillow when the wedge pillow gets on my nerves. People tell you not to do this, but I think it's fine as long as you're careful to INCLINE your upper body vs. just bending at the neck area. I never did have nighttime heartburn, but I did sometimes wake up at night gasping for breath, and what I suspect was happening was that I might've been aspirating a bit of acid into my lungs at night or choking on it. Since I added the extra pillow this hasn't happened once, so it seems to work for me with no ill effects.

Good luck - honey drops helped my throat alot when it was still sore and I think they also stimulate saliva that helps to dilute the acid. (I'm a fan of gum and lollipops, too, for this reason). Have patience and a positive attitude. Stress makes this worse, so try to relax, do other things, take your mind off of it if you can. Speaking of that, I'm off to put up Christmas decorations!
 
Oh yes, I forgot to say I chewed gum all the time . It really helped the throat feel better because it does create saliva. I thought watermellon (sugarless trident) Avoid mint flacors, they are more irritating.
Hang in there you will get better. I also ate acid free. You loose a lot of weight if you do it dilagently.
 
Please posters, explain your anagrams, I know what PI is but what is LPR? Maybe the first time you use the abrevations you could spell it out and then after use the anagrams. I am benefiting from these posts as I have been on Prevacid for years. I want off. The next time I see my MD we are going to have a good discussion as to the reason I should be on this for at least 5 yrs.
 
Painter207

Thanks so much for responding to me!!! Today is a little worst than yesterday and I did not change anything at all the last few days!!!Is that normal did that happen to you when your first started the meRAB? I'm soo happy that you are feeling better that is awesome!!! Well I will keep you updated as well !!! I hope these meRAB work,I'm sure they will it just takes time and I'm not so patient need to work on that!:)
 
It's been 2 weeks on the Nexium and no improvement. If anything, it seems worse. The last couple days have been rough, especially today. My stomach is tender to the touch and aches and so does my chest. It feels like I can't take a deep breath.. I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist but it's almost 3 weeks away. No certain fooRAB seem to be triggering my symptoms. It's so frustrating not knowing what is really going on and it's all that I can think about.
 
jns - What dose of Prilosec are you on? I was on Prilosec 20mg/day for 2 weeks prior to seeing my ENT and it did nothing. When the ENT doubled my dose to 40 mg/day I saw improvement after about a week and it has steadily improved ever since.

Yes, most of us do seem to have "setback" days. I'd been feeling pretty good but now the past few days have had slightly worse chest pain and some throat pain again. Don't despair; just do your best to ignore it and hope the next day is better. Gaviscon liquid is a terrific friend on my setback days.
 
Hang in there. You may not want to hear this but it took over 30 days for me originally before Nexium (40 mg) started to work. Try also a pepcid complete. That gave me temporary relief. You may want to start eating some of the fooRAB people have used that give them help (pears, braebery apples (spelling), cellery, carrots). Try doing a search on acid - alkaline fooRAB. Drinks lots of water. One of the things that trigger acid H-pylori so pepto bismol may give a little relief.
 
My Gastroenterologist recommenRAB trying a PPI for a month before trying the next. He says that gives your body time to adjust to the med. I never moved on to try the next PPI without giving it an "honest" chance. Typically with LPR, you need to take a double dose per day for PPI's to be effective. One in the morning and one in the evening, with the exception of of Kapidex which is time release.

It takes very little acid to trigger LPR. It can take only one incident of refluxing per day to keep the LPR flared. It often takes much more for GERD. That is why it is often much more difficult to get LPR under control.

Surgery really should be a last result after all lifestyle modifications have been made and all other treatments have beeen tried. It is a serious decision. It does have some success, but it isn't always successful for everyone.

I kept my LPR under control for years with the lifestyle changes and PPI's. They just eventually stopped working well and the reflux was affecting my asthma so badly that it became life threatening for me. I had great success with the Nissen Fundoplication for about a year. My procedure has since apparently "slipped" and I am now going through testing to confirm this. If you do go this route, ensure that you find a surgeon who has lots of experience with this procedure and go in with the understanding that it may not be your final solution.

Are you sleeping on an incline at night? (Not propping on pillows, they squish the stomach.) Lying down at least 3 hours after eating? Do you have any weight to lose? Have you cut back on carbonation and gas producing fooRAB? Are you eating a low-fat diet? I also found that cutting back on dairy helped also.
 
Will this ever go away??? I was on Zantac for almost 2 weeks then they put me on prilosec fo 1 week switched me to nexium now on that for 1 week does it take as long for the meRAB to work since I have been on the others??? I have noticed ear pain today!!! I just wonder if the meRAB arnt gonna work!!?? I don't know if I should call my doc on Monday?? I have been bartleing this on and off for a couple of years!! They said it was simius stress allergies which I have been tested no allergies had simius surgery finally went to a differnt ent said lpr he did not scope my throat but said if I'm not feeling better by march 5 he was gonna scope me
 
I can't eat to low of a low fat diet cause I'm tiney!! I have cut back on cabonation caffeine chocolate!! I did quit smoking like I said I think that may have been the biggest thing!!! I'm not huge on dairy so not to worried about that!! It is so werid I had a great couple of days didn't change a thing in between these days and then I had a bad sore throat and a hot throat!! Today its a little better and like I said I didn't change a thing!!! Once you get it under control are you able to enjoy fooRAB again? Some people say the can!! Why do you think it was better after my tonsillectomy for 3 months then it came back!! I have been to the doc for a couple of years complaining about this not one ever could figure it out finally went to a new ent and he said he thinks it silent reflux and gave me meRAB so I have been only trying these meRAB for like a month like i said zantac 2 weeks prilosec 1 week and now nexium!! So maybe it will help and now that i have quit smoking it will go away I just am wondering if that is what cause it!!?? And if you get it under control is the les able to repair itself and become strong again!! without have to do surgery!! thanks for talking!!
 
Hey painter I saw that you said after you started you 2 ppis a day after 4 weeks you were healed are you are still healed!!!???? If So that is awesome!!! I also noticed you are from WI so am I pretty cool!! Even when your meRAB starting working did you have better days than others!! Cause yesterday It was real good Today its not as good but not horriable!! Did you have the feeling of something stuck in your throat? Mine is Ialways on my left side Its there a little today but it does seem smaller than before I have been on nexium for 1 week!! I'm also taking Gaviscon during the day to help while nexium is taking effect!! Do you think that is ok? I know it can take up to eight weeks to see improvement!! Why did the pharmist tell me it should be working within one week!!!?? sometimes you don't know what to believe cause you hear differnt things! But I will take the info from you guys cause you have been through it!! What do you think started yours?? I think mine was smoking I heard that,that can cause it do you know anything about that? Thanks for taking the time to chat!! Also AbbyDabby thank you to you too your girls rock!!
 
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