Omeprazole and heartburn

I have been diagnosed with a pericardial cyst and thought that the problems I have been having were related to this.....until I found this site! I have been taking omerprazole for over a year now and have had several disturbing symptoms. Heart palputations, racing heart, night sweats and hot flashes, sudden onset of nausea that lasts for about 5 to 10 minutes then goes away and horrible chest, back and rib cramping, which is the same feeling as having a severe gall bladder attack. Recently the worst has happened. In the past I have had the sweats thinking it was only menopause and chest pain thinking it was the acid refllux. We shall see....as of today I am stopping the drug to see what happens. In the past week the most severe problems have occured. I started with bronchitis and the antibiotics and prednisone the doctor put me on seemed to be having side effects which I have never had before with them. The only other medication...omerprazole. (haven't had bronchitis since BEFORE I started taking the omerprazole) After the first day I began having severe chest, back and rib cramping which seemed to worsen by the day, more so that ever before. Then came the swelling in the hands and feet until they looked like I had elephantitis. There is aching somewhat in my arms with a strange weakness. And...the heartburn became so bad that I feel like it's coming out of my mouth. So..the doctor increased the omerprazole to 40mg or up to 80mg if needed. I have been taking 40mg and it didn't seem to really cure the reflux! So I was going to increase it. Not now! I believe after reading all the posted side effects everyone has been having, most of my problems are being caused by one thing....omerprazole! I was truely believing I was having a heart attack, but since I just had ALL the tests done and was given a clean bill of health and better with the exception of the pericardial cyst, I couldn't believe this to be the problem, so back to the doctor I went. She has put me on motrin for the pain and skelaxin for the cramping which seems to be helping. But, and this is the big but, I am going to come off the omerprazole and see if this will begin to eleviate the symptoms completely. Will update this in a couple of weeks when the drug is totally out of my system. Thank-you for this site and keep posting.

Hello All,
Thank God I have read this site, I thought I was going crazy!
I have the tightness of the chest and waking up in the middle of the night thin king my heart is going to jump through my chest. My heartburn and sickness even feels worse. I am going to stop taking immediately and cancel my appointment at the nut house.
Many Thanks to you all.

I can't describe any side effects,but I have to say I'm thankful for finding this site with all yours comments.I got my Omeprazole 20 mg like week ago and something just kept me away from taking it.I'm in pain-heartburn and awful stomach pain,but after reading this,I'd rather keep my pain and take some pain relive pills then this omeprazole.Thank you so much,you helped a lot.

I've been taking Prilosec OTC for 3 years, 20mg a day. All problems with my acid reflux disappeared. HOWEVER, I switched to generic Omeprazole 20mg and the heartburn reappeared. This has been awful! I thought they were supposed to be the same drug! I switched back to Prilosec OTC and my stomach is finally feeling some relief.

I'm not sure if this is a side effect but since I've been taking this drug my face has broken out in these small red bumps. After reading this blog I can finally figure out why I was always scratching my arms and legs especially at night and why I'm so tired all of a sudden. Is the drug worst than the heartburn???

Have been using since 1998, ten years, 10gm per day, stops most all heartburn but does have some side effects. I have a warm discomfort high around waist and mild sweating. MD said if I stopped it would take 5-8 days to leave system, and the diet must be very non acid generating, like yogurt, jello, fresh fruit and apple juice, no orange or citric juices. He said some people then add 1 teaspoon of Aloe Gel after meals and take Zinc-L-Carnosine (PepZin) twice daily. Have used this technique for 3 weeks, all discomfort, except for mild sweating has gone. Remember, acid blockers, acid pumps, and anti acids only stop the acid, they do not do much for healing. Be kind to your tummy, no booze, coffee, pain pills etc.

I have been taking Omeprazole since December 2007 now so 2 and a half months.

I had the dose increased to 40mg 3 weeks ago as 20mg wasn't curing the burning in my throat.

For a few weeks now i have had increasing vertigo/dizziness and palpitations. I only linked the 2 to the medication just yesterday, googled it just now and confirmed my suspicions to the Omeprazole.

Other feeling i have had since taking this medication...

Severe dizziness
vertigo
palpitations
headaches/migraines
weakness
fatigue
sweating
nausea
bloating
stomach cramps
visual problems
intolerance to bright lights
aching joints
chest pain

Now my question to myself is do i come off the tablets and endure the misery of my acid reflux? surely there must be something else we can take for our stomach problems that don't cause these awful side effects.
Anyone tried anything else that worked and didn't make them unwell?

I have had diarrhea and a constant headache on one side of my head since starting Omeprazole. I've taken Tylenol and even migraine medication but this just eased the pain. It is 24 hours a day. I think I'd rather take a chance with the heartburn.

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.

BEEN ON OMEPRAZOLE FOR A FEW YEARS,BUT RECENTLY GOT DIAGNOSED WITH H-PYLORI STOMACH BUG,THIS BUG CAUSES ULSERS AND GIVES YOU SEVERE HEARTBURN.I WISH MY DOCTOR HAD THE BRAINS TO CHECK ME FOR IT WHEN I FIRST WENT TO HIM FOR HELP WITH MY HEARTBURN. HOWEVER I HAVE JUST FINISHED A COURSE OF ANTI-BIOTICS AND HAVE STOPPED TAKING OMEPRAZOLE.MY STOMACH IS NOT AS BLOATED AND MY SEVERE FACIAL RASH IS CLEARING UP.I THOUGHT IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE STOMACH BUG THAT WAS CAUSING THESE SYMPTOMS,BUT 7 DAYS AGO I STARTED TAKING OMEPRAZOLE AGAIN AS MY HEARTBURN WAS BACK.SUDDENLY MY FACE ERUPTED AND I WAS BLOATED AGAIN.I STOPPED THEM AGAIN AND ALREADY IM GETTING BETTER. MY HEARTBURN IS STILL TRYING TO GET ME BUT IM TAKING REMEGEL SWEETS THAT ARE SOLD IN MY LOCAL NEWSAGENTS AND SEEM TO BE WORKING FOR ME.I HAVE READ ALL THE SIDE EFFECTS LISTED HERE AND I AM SHOCKED THESE TABLETS ARE STILL ON THE GO. I BELIEVE OUR STOMACH ACID SHOULD NOT BE MESSED WITH AS THIS GETS OUR FOOD OUT OUR SYSTEMS QUICK ENOUGH TO SAVE BAD TOXINS ESPECIALLY RED MEAT POSIONING OUR BLOOD.

I have been on Omeprazole for the past 2 years, the drug makes you become dependant on it because of the recurring heartburn if you dont take it. I dont get to many side effects from it, but every 2 weeks I get a killer stomach ache for about 24 hours. I plan on stop taking this drug tommorrow, alot of tums will be in my future.

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 have been taking Omeprazole for just over two weeks now... the heartburn stopped almost straight away but i now experience tingly almost tickly sensations on the right side of my face and the right side of my back. At least thats better than the heartburn!

Every time I start taking Omeprazole, I get uncontrollable amount of gas! It's great that my heartburn is no longer there, but the amount of gas I pass in a day is embarassing.

I took prescribed Losec (omeprazole) to control occasional heartburn for two years. After taking 20mg per day for 2 to 3 days I notice an occasional skipped heartbeat. I stop taking omeprazole and within 1-2 days this side-effect goes away. Two weeks later, I take omeprazole and go through the same cycle. I have thus experimented for two years before switching to zantac. There is no doubt in my mind that Losec causes temporary arrythmia and heart patients should be thus warned.