Omeprazole and gerd

Wow, I was amazed to find this site! and glad I did. I went to my doctor about 3 months ago, and I had some reflux coming up and he prescribed me the omeprazole. I didn't do any research on the drug and thought it was just a stronger version of tums or rolaids because I've never had to deal with this before. Well, I started on the Omeprazole and I felt like I was in another world. After I started taking it, I honestly feel many other things have happened, such as after I would eat, I couldn't breathe! It's not that I felt the food was getting stuck, but was moving slower or something and I couldn't take air through my nose or mouth...not once did I blame it on this meds...anyhow, My neck started hurting VERY bad! I thought it was just stress....next, my memory feels like it's really slacking and I'm only 38. I can't concentrate. So, I ended up in the ER and was having very bad chest pains...thought it was a heart attack, but everything turned out to be ok and they said I had GERD. They prescribed me Nexium. That's when the true hell began. The first day wasn't bad,but a lot of gas and chest pain, along with the shortness of breath continuing. By day 2 on nexium, I was having severe, and I mean severe anxiety and panic attacks...I ended back up at the ER, again, they said everything was ok and they gave me ranitidine to take too. If I'm not mistaken, nexium and prilosec are almost the same thing? Tonight was the worst of my life.....my panic attacks were horrible, felt like something was stuck in my throat, my neck hurts so bad and my mouth was so dry I couldn't even spit, I was so dizzy I couldn't walk, my ears were cramping from the anxiety and my eyes were blurry...I honestly feel crazy. I have taken prilosec on and off for 3 months, and now I know why my anxiety was so bad for so long, but the nexium topped it off. I heard that 40 mg of prilosec is actually 20 mg of nexium....this drug is BAD and I will never take it again. I will try the apple cider vinegar method w/ some honey. My grandparents swore by it and just start watching what Im eating. I heard its 72 hours before this crap gets out of your system..I can't wait!

After reading all of the comments, I am embarrassed to say that I have taken omeprazole for the past 2 years. Originally, I began taking it for nausea from GERD. I began taking it soon after the death of my cousin (as I figured the anxiety from her death caused my stomach issues). I began to become depressed shortly after, which I also attributed to her death, financial issues, etc. However, when life got better I was still depressed and anxious. Two years passed and I still couldn't figure out why I felt so bad mentally. Not to mention I was mildly nauseous most of the time and NEVER had a normal appetite. I would only know it was time to eat when I felt faint. Light-headedness, stomach cramps and lethargy were also side-effects that I experienced almost daily. The worst part was that I didn't know if the nausea was caused by my stomach issues or by the omeprazole. It was obviously the omeprazole. About 2 months ago I switched to Prevacid which caused much less nausea but many of the other side effects were still there although a little less. I weened myself off completely (which I would recommend to anyone) and I actually feel like my old self again mentally and physically. I didn't realize how low my energy was until this last week that I've been off those meds. I'm actually HAPPY again, I WANT TO EAT something, I have ENERGY, and no light-headedness or stomach pain at all. It saddens me to think that I spent over the last 2 years feeling this way needlessly and thinking that I was crazy. There ARE other alternatives to acid reflux, GERD, etc out there that are much safer and more tolerable. If any of you are experiencing some of the symptoms that I or others have described, explore other options before you just "get used to" feeling like crap.

I began taking omeprazole in early june for burning in my stomach for gerd. I started with 20mg twice a day. I felt extremely bloated. I couldn't eat, or lay down. I had to sleep sitting up, and even that didn't work. I was regurgitating the little food I ate. I told my doctor, and he told me to go down to just one pill a day. The bloating went down for about four days, and then came back. I am not on this drug anymore... it has been two weeks. I had an endoscopy yesterday, and I was told that there was a bit of inflammation in my lower esophogus, and stomach (no bleeding). Well the burning pain is gone, but now I am dealing with indigestion. I get a full stomach after only a few bites of food. I am only able to eat one meal a day. I can't drink much water because of the full feeling I have all day. I am very frustrated since I can barely eat (I feel dizzy as a result). I think this drug has thrown my digestive system off balance as I did not have these symptoms before the drug. I understand that this drug changes the ph of the stomach acid as well as lessening the production of it. Because of this, it can potentially bring a bacterial infection, and digestive enzymes cannot help digest food under these conditions. Gastritis can come about from the bacteria, and if I am lucky and do not have this, well I may have indigestion due to lack of certain enzymes. I am trying to get to the bottom of this. I bought digestive enzymes to take, but I want to get a blood test first to check to see if I am lacking this. Is anyone having the same symptoms as me? I will update.

I have taken this drug for 4 nights, as prescribed. It is for GERD caused by RA medications and stress. It seemed to help for two nights, then I started feeling worse, back to the same feelings I had previously. I have difficulty being able to take a "deep" breath and I had terrible nightmares last night. I woke up and was feeling extremely depressed all day and had no energy at all. I think I will have to stop taking this before I get even worse.

My husband was recovering well from hepatitis A. He's been bothered by some GERD-related digestive problems so he tried OTC Omeprazole because he didn't find any contraindications for liver conditions on it. He took 20 mg daily for 3 days, suddenly felt too full and had no appetite, stopped it but tried again 3 days later when he started having stomach discomfort again. On the 4th day he complained of stabbing pain in his stomach. The next day he was exhausted, bloated,and had a tickling irritation in his throat, and swelling in his feet. He'd had none of these symptoms before taking Omeprazole. I did some research on the Web (at physician's sites) and learned that it is very bad for people with liver problems -- it suppresses key liver enzymes and remains in the body for a very long time. That's been 10 days ago now and his symptoms continue -- mostly fatigue, bloating and swelling in the feet. He never experienced ANY of these things before taking Omeprazole! I see by postings that many people do experience these symptoms for a very long time.

I just stumbled across this site and it has given me such renewed hope. I have GERD and have been on 40 MG of pantoprazole for about two months. My DR suggested taking two pills a day (one in the morning, one at night) for two weeks to see if that helped my lingering problems. It did. So much so I started eating like an animal again. Of course, this it me hard in the throat. In a panic (insurance wouldn't cover two pills a day) I added Prilosec OTC as my nightly solution. I had already noticed pins and needles in my arms and legs slowly developing. Exactly two days after including the Prilosec I was instantly hit with a panic attack and extreme anxiety literally out of no where. I had nothing on my mind and absolutely content moments before and then in a totally different mind set. I had paranoia and abnormal thoughts. I didn't sleep for almost 5 days (with a few hours here and there). I am 31 and have never had anything like this anxiety and like other readers here thought I was going crazy. I stopped the OTC when I thought it was the culprit and four days later I am doing a bit better. Reading the stories here I believe I am stopping the omeprazole starting tomorrow to see if I get even better. I feel like my entire body is shaking from this stuff and it is the only thing I have changed or added to my life. Thank you all for your stories as I was grasping at straws.

i started taking omepron 20 mg. last march 10 for GERD and today, march 29, i am still experiencing drowsiness, pain in the throat and back.sometimes i feel itchiness on my face.Could all of these be side effects of omeprazole?

Terrible ringing in both ears, low B 12. Have been taking this drug for severe GERD for about 5 months. Does any one know if Prilosec has the same negative side effects that I've had or have been reading about on this forum.

I was given Prilosec after an upper endoscopy confirmed GERD. Mostly my symptoms were a feeling like a swallowed a childes building block and it was stuck in my chest, along with heart burn. Prilosec seemed to help, but after about 2 months on it, I began to experience severe dizziness, anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, tingling hands and feet, occasional numbness to right side of body and was diagnosed with anemia. The dizziness was the worst for me. It got so bad, I thought I had agoraphobia, because the dizziness seemed to get worse when I went into stores or public places with bright or fluorescent lights. I thought I was losing my mind and my life. Christmas is coming so I had to force myself to try and shop. Ironically, because of all the hustle and bustle, I forgot to take the Prilosec that day and I was able to shop with very little dizziness! Before this, I would have to leave stores because the dizziness got so bad. My husband thought I went back on it the following day and said this would be the test to see if the Prilosec was the culprit. But, I hadn't taken it for the 2nd day and I was able to shop for almost 6 hours and felt like myself again! I know Prilosec was the cause of my feeling like I was going to die for almost a year now! I was about to contact a psychiatrist, it was getting so bad. Unfortunately, after the 3rd day, the heartburn got so bad, I had to take the Prilosec again and I feel awful again. Helped the heartburn, but all the horrible side-effects are back. After the holidays, I'm calling my doctor to see if she can put me on something else.

I've been on Omeprazole almost two years, the GERD went away. if I miss a dose I'm okay too, but after missing 1 or 2 doses,I quickly start to get the dreaded heartburn. Anyway, My wife and I are busy raising two active boys, 5 and 7 years old. There isn't any time for sex... but now when there is, I don't have a sex drive anymore and my erections are not as firm, almost weak. I heard someone say that GERD medications can cause lack of sex drive and ED. Again, not a big sex guy because of the children, I'm just now realizing how this drug, Omeprazole, could be the problem. Not for sure though. I will stop taking the drug to see if my condition persist. Thought I would share. anyone have any feedback? thanks.

I am 71 yrs. old and have had a lifetime of tests and medications to try to control what is now referred to as Gerd. Prilosec was prescribed several years ago and for me it was nothing short of a wonder drug. However, for the past couple of years, I have had several episodes of chest pain and pressure across my shoulders that resulted in Nuclear stress tests, ultrasound, etc., etc. All negative. Today, I had a chest x-ray and they are talking about a cat scan to follow. I have had increasing pressure in my chest, both arms go numb, and what feels like pressure or rawness in my esophagus. I have finally realized that it all coincides with my Insurance Co switch to the generic OMEPRAZOLE. That led me to your site on the internet. I think I have found the answer. Switching to the generec has been a very expensive mistake for my Insurance company. I have discontinued the medication and hope to get back to normal.

I began taking Omeprazole in late December but switched back to Prilosec due to an increase in GERD systoms. Then my husband picked up my medicine and ordered the generic again. I only order 15 pills at a time. On Jan 12 I experienced dizziness and a fall. Five days later I went to the doctor but EKG, bloodwork and urinalysis were all neg.Still having these spells is anyone else?

I have been taking Losec for many years then was switched to Omeprazole. My GERD has seemed to have worsened I always experance thirst, but the most worrying thing is that I get these choking attacks where I seem to be suddenly choking on nothing. It can happen any time not only when I am eating or drinking, even if I am resting quietly. I also experance a sudden increase in my heartbeat, at such a time my heart will suddenly and seemingly without cause start to pound this can continue for some time and leave me exhusted and often with a headache, these two last symtom accure together. Is there any one else with these symtoms (side effects)?

I was switched to the generic OMEPRAZOLE from PRILOSEC about 6 months ago. I take 20 mg. every other day. Seems to control my GERD, however I itch. Not just a little itch, gut generally all over my body. Am I the only one?