Omeprazole and hair loss

I am 57yr. old male who has been taking Omeprazole continuously for 7yrs., not knowing that it should not be taken more than 14days at a time, this was never stipulated on the bottle,my bad for not reading the accompanying side effects brochure, some of the effects I experienced were sweating, dizziness, weak legs, hair loss, fatigue, depression, joint pain, loss of sexual drive, erection dysfunction,difficulty in urinating,and most embarrassing of all, enlargement of breast. Starting today I am finished with Omeprazole, thank God for this site,I thought I was just getting old.

I'm so relieved that I found this site. Shortly after I started Omeprazole, about a month ago, my hair started falling out. At first I thought it was due to the change of seasons, but the shedding was much more than in other years. My doctor said the minimum duration to take the medicine was 4-6 weeks. My four weeks will be up very soon and he will have to prescribe something else if I still have an ulcer. Does anyone know if the other there is another medicine without this side effect that he could prescribe? My heart also has some subtle flutters and I feel a bit depressed (especially about the hair loss).

I was on Prilosec for over ten years when my insurance company took it off their formulary, and switched me to a generic. I haven't had any problems with the generic, other than that which I experienced with Prilosec, except slight hair loss. I changed generics, and that stopped. However I firmly believe that this drug is addictive, and I cannot function without it. The insurance company calls it a currative, and my doctor calls it a maintenance drug. The doctor says I will be on it the rest of my life, and the insurance company only approves it for 10 week period of time. I have tried Nexium and can tell no difference. I learned at the beginning how to adapt to the side effects of brief periods of nausea, and constipation.