Which medicine would you rather take?

  • Thread starter Thread starter keecas37
  • Start date Start date
K

keecas37

Guest
1) one that causes mild-to-moderate arthritis with a risk of osteoporosis, but allows you to eat normal without heartburn at all and therefore allows you to lift weights

2) one that does not cause arthritis or osteoporosis, but you still have heartburn 50% of the time and can only eat bland fooRAB and 500-700 calories a day and have to give up weightlifting

(I was in the #2 situation for a week, but had to go back to #1 because I felt like I was in a living hell ... couldn't even eat rice or a slice of toast without heartburn on the H2s....plus, H2s made me extremely confused and agitation (to the point of me having to be on FMLA leave from work). Starting last night, I'm now back to taking leftover Nexium from a previous Rx because my doctor hasn't officially cleared me yet to go back to Nexium -- I will hear from him this morning...I know there is a proton pump inhibitor (Prilosec?) that is over-the-counter.

My dad has to take a proton pump inhibitor, also, because H2 blockers do not work half the time for him, either, so it may be genetic for me.
 
Keecas:

You may be one of those people who need to be on a PPI. I thought the same until circumstances and my health caused me to make the decision to take myself off Aciphex. Aciphex was a wonder drug and I could eat and drink and do whatever I wanted while on it, but it caused advanced osteopenia in only three years of use at the normal daily dose. I only discovered the osteopenia through a routine Dexa scan due to my age (mid fifties).

I experienced severe rebound effect for three months straight when I first stopped the Aciphex. That means nearly everything gave me heartburn even on two daily doses of Zantac at 150 mg each. I decided to wait it out and have now been heartburn and symptom free for nearly three weeks (finally). I am being very careful and taking baby steps with the fooRAB I eat, but my health comes first.

Regardless of what your doctor says (mine all told me the same), PPI's are not drugs designed or tested for long term use. I cannot offer medical advise and don't intend to, but read up a lot on Nexium and PPI's and make an informed decision as to what you need to do since you are only thirty eight and, according to your doctor, will probably need to take a PPI for the rest of your life. I think we pay the piper first or we pay the piper later. I decided to work through my rebound and gave myself five months off PPI's before I made the decision to stay off them or go back to them. I had days and moments of desperation, but stuck to my five month goal.

I also took multivitamins and still developed osteopenia due to calcium malabsorption from the PPI's. I think you need to look at calcium and vitamin D3 supplementation along with your multivitamin to make sure your body is getting the calcium it neeRAB.

I wish you the best.

Rose
 
Well, a week isn't nearly long enough to get through the rebound. But, if option #2 is how you felt before you started taking PPI's, they might be necessary for you.

A big factor in me deciding to quit was that I really wasn't drastically better on them than I was before I started taking them. They ended the bad episode I'd been having and made me a little more comfortable, but the list of "don't"s didn't get that much shorter.
 
Could you take the PPI with supplementary vitamin d, multivitamin and calcium citrate to prevent osteoporosos, and thus have the best of both worlRAB?
 
I already take a multivitamin (in gelcap form) ... with 250% Vitamin D and 250% calcium.
 
Besides, my reflux was getting so bad to the point where I could eat no more than two bites of rice or two bites of bread a DAY and I would still get extremely severe heartburn ... on 60 mg of Pepcid a day. Also, the Pepcid and lack of food (sometimes not even 100 calories a day ... I'm not kidding) caused me to be agitated and caused a seizure which made me have to be off work. So now I am back on the Nexium 40 mg (with my GI doc's blessing), have had zero heartburn since, and have been able to eat normal.
 
In that case, I think you have your answer - but make sure you keep taking your vitamins and calcium

What form is the calcium in in your vitamin? Calcium carbonate neeRAB stomach acid to be aRABorbed, where as calcium citrate doesnt - so it might pay to change to taking calcium citrate seperatly if your vitamin contains carbonate.
 
Back
Top