Tammy,
My GI doc said to really tell the effectiveness of the PPI's we needed to give it about a month.
I actually had my best luck on the Prevacid and that is currently what I am taking twice a day (even post surgery...what a bummer). It worked very well for about 3 years then its effectiveness declined.
I'm on the Solutabs, but I would imagine some of the same side effects would apply. I like the solutabs better than the pills. For some reason they seem to be a bit more effective for me.
I've not had side effects with the Prevacid. I had a few with the Aciphex, but that was after taking Nexium which killed my gut. I did OK with Zegrid, but it didn't do much for me. Protonix worked ok for a couple years when things were mild, then it stopped working. No side effects from that one either.
I had some luck supplementing the 2x/day PPI's with Gaviscon, but it has Magnesium in it which I wondered about because I think it might have affected the diarrhea. Already had the big "D" before I started it though so I'm not sure. Advise on Gaviscon...don't buy the strawberry smoothy. It tastes horrible.
Your symptoms could be from stress too. Try giving it a bit longer before making your decision.
By the way, in addition to just giving each med an "honest" try, it was required by insurance before I could get authorization to take the next ones. They really want you to buy OTC.