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Studies Link Some Stomach Drugs To Alzheimer's Disease and Kidney Problems (scientificamerican.com)
While the recommended dosage for Nexium, Prevacid and Prilose is just two weeks, doctors often advise patients to continue taking them for years. But now Scientific American reports that "Chronic use of popular heartburn medicines may be riskier than was thought," citing two papers linking the drugs to an increase risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and a greater risk of kidney problems.
schwit1 quotes their report:
The papers did not prove that PPIs cause the problems. But some researchers have nonetheless suggested possible mechanisms by which long-term use of the drugs could trigger dementia or kidney problems. A reduction in vitamin B12, for example, might leave the brain more vulnerable to damage, says Britta Haenisch, an author of the JAMA Neurology study and a neuropharmacologist at the Bonn campus of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Last spring clinicians at the Houston Methodist Research Institute reported another plausible explanation for how PPIs might lead to these unexpected health issues: they picked up signs that the drugs act not only in the stomach but elsewhere in the body, too.
The article ends on an ambiguous note. "Without conclusive data, physicians and patients have to balance the need to prevent the ill effects of excess stomach acid and reflux with the desire to avoid potentially serious -- if theoretical -- side effects from long-term use of PPIs."
The article ends on an ambiguous note. "Without conclusive data, physicians and patients have to balance the need to prevent the ill effects of excess stomach acid and reflux with the desire to avoid potentially serious -- if theoretical -- side effects from long-term use of PPIs."
The recommended dose is two weeks for the over the counter (OTC) versions of the medications. That's so you don't keep taking it by yourself when you have symptoms that need an evaluation by a doctor.
You have no idea what you're talking about. It has nothing to do with anything you just said. I can eat my food fast, slow, it makes no difference, I still get attacked. And here's the best part: in my case, the healthier the food, the worse it is for me. Carrots, apples, cabbage, white meat are all guaranteed acid attacks. Chicken wings, fries, shit food, no problem.
And so you understand, I am the most anti-drug person you know. I take nothing. NOTHING. I resisted taking proton pump inhibitors for about 5 years after they were prescribed until I simply couldn't eat anymore, As in, my esophagus would basically squeeze shut and not allow any food or liquid to go down for HOURS. My doctor explained it as my esophagus protecting itself after years of damage from actual heartburn. I was also explained the risks of esophageal cancer.
Again, the healthier I was eating, the worse this condition became. Proton pump inhibitors changed my life. These stories about side effects don't mention that. I'll risk it thanks.
"While the recommended dosage for Nexium, Prevacid and Prilose is just two weeks"
The dosage for most drugs is measured in mass (mg, often)/time, not time alone. How does one meter a dosage in the time domain with no regard to mass (homeopathic medicines excepted, of course)?
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Surgery isn't healthy, either. If you have a hiatal hernia, you can go drug-free and get esophageal cancer, get surgery, or take a pill every morning. Guess which one I do?
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
If those work, they are cheaper as well. They don't work for me - I need all the acid to go away.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Proton pump inhibitor have been known to be troublesome for a long time
By reducing stomach acidity, it increases the amount of bacteria that pass alive in the intestine, increasing the odds of Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). It also increase the odds of proliferation of some bacteria such as heliobacter pylori in the stomach itself.
All that pathogens overload the immune system, and degrade digestive functions.
You can develop a resistance to H2 antagonists. My gut says you're probably better off with an antacid that directly neutralizes the root cause. That way, you can reduce the acid in your stomach only at night when you're most likely to experience reflux, while leaving it fully acidic during the day when that acid is actually playing a crucial role in digestion.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
I mentioned this association to my doctor. She advised caution in interpreting these results because these PPIs are routinely prescribed to patients at risk for the linked diseases. Anyone know more on this?
Of course, the older H2 blockers can be effective for those who want to avoid PPIs. Better still, some people, including myself, get complete relief by finding a healthy diet that does not trigger acid reflux. (For me, that means cutting down on grains and starchy vegetables, YMMV).
Anyone can suggest an alternative that actually works for them long term ? I have heard of apple cider ? does that actually work ?
I have been taking PPIs for 8 years now. Though I have reduced the dosage as much as possible but stopping them altogether gets really difficult in 1-2 days.
I would think that PPI use is also strongly associated in many case with certain lifestyle choices. Stuff like poor diet, lack of excercise, alcohol use. And also stress. PPI use and dementia could both be symptoms of the same underlying cause.
The papers did not prove that PPIs cause the problems.
So, click-bait, then ?
First:
It is unwise to immediately and completely change ones medications or prescription habits just based on one study. These large observational multivariate studies are always hindered by bias, though trying hard to compensate for them.
On the other hand, these kind of findings should not be ignored.
Proton pump inhibitors are already known for a long time to cause trouble. The article already mentions several, like the bacteria get a change of growing in the changed environment of the stomach, a defensive barrier is removed, certain vitamins and drugs need the acidity to get absorbed etc etc. Kidney issues are also not news. Other weird side effects, like I'll never forget a patient with an extreme hypomagnesia, like 0.10 mmol/l or so. She did not feel well.
But not forget the number of patients who have gained significant quality of life and the reduction of severe gastric bleeding. Remember the time where Bilroth gastrectomies were as common as cholecystectomies. The two week maximum advise for the over the counter drugs is because of the risk of patients masking a serious condition like malignancies.
But there is no denying that most people at some point start their PPI for some discomfort, and continue to swallow them for the rest of their lives. (Ideal drug for pharmaceutical companies.) The majority should just quit them, change their food habits and posture and get on with their lives.
The use of these drugs should be reserved for those who really need them. Right now it is prescribed more or less as a luxury drug
Why are other peoples sig's always more witty ???
It has been know for ages Omeprazol fucks up your brain. Now that could explain one thing or two about my ex. I already warned my parents to not abuse it...
The sleazy money game that is the drug corporations and their focus on lucrative, often dangerous drugs for aging boomers in denial over aging, and the endless studies that reek of ambiguity and questionable data capture? Everybody has something to gain here (market share and more research grants).
Maybe this is all very interesting, I don't know, but I do know that it's slightly off-topic, to say the least.
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.
Ever tried water? Loads of it!
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.
I have tried these drugs twice, and each time never made it through the two weeks. They triggered severe, daily migraines, with extreme halo effects. It literally felt like they messed with my brain. I will never take them again.
See you space cowboy
I had to go all the way to Brazil to find a gastro-enterologist who actually had the time to explain the difference to me.
He told me omeprazole lowers your acidity (increases pH) very effectively. Even so effectively that with prolonged use polyps can develop due to the almost total lack of acid. Lansoprazole, as he told me, didn't reduce the acidity that much, and so prevented way better those polyps to form.
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.
Wrong topic. Try /r/anti-vaccines
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.
I can understand the fear, but I think they are unfounded.
It is true however that, although maybe the cheapest, cyanocobalamin isn't the best form of vit B12 to take.
I found methylcobalamin much more effective. As in immediate relief from tingling sensations in the extremities.
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.
For the benefit of the acronym-annoyed, PPI=Proton Pump Inhibitor.
PPIs suppress acid generation, but don't do anything for acid that's already present. So you either have to take them in advance or use one of the products that combines a traditional antacid remedy with them to neutralize what's there and keep new acid from coming in. Or take your own antacid + PPI inhibitor (check with your doctor, though).
PPIs are wonderful. They allow me to eat and drink things that taste great but have a prohibitive acid cost (grape juice, for example). Stuff that traditional antacids could barely touch.
But these and other issues with PPIs have been known or suspected for quite some time. I try to avoid overdoing things, and since only when I consume known antagonists do I need acid suppression they are a real boon for me.
For the less fortunate who have full-time acid maintenance problems, this news is not unexpected, I think, but hardly comforting and it indicates that further work on acid regulation is in order.
No solution is totally safe, and some acid neutralizers themselves have had warnings - for example, Rolaids was using an aluminum-based ingredient that came under fire during the Great Aluminum Alzheimer's Scare. I'm not even sure what simple calcium carbonate can do to you if you overdo it.
Also, in many cases, you have to chain-pop antacids, especially in cases where it's not a single acid hit but an ongoing self-renewing onslaught. PPIs are often 1 pill for 12-to-24 hour relief and that can make a big difference when you are trying to sleep - a time when acid reflux is especially likely (as you noted). Waking up every few hours to an acid burp is no fun.
My gut doesn't have much of an opinion on the matter, but my stomach knows.
In any event, I understand that a lot of digestion is enzymatic, rather than brute-force acid. In any event, even major acid neutralization/suppression doesn't have a noticeable effect on digestion for me. At least in the short term.
Or, better yet, find out what's actually causing your stomach to produce excess acid and eliminate it from your diet.
Tomatoes, wheat, cheese. Yep, but sometimes I just gotta have a pizza or pasta.
Or swap for acidic fruit juice and you have a Continental Breakfast as supplied by most hotels and conferences.
Only a masochist or an idiot would consume this sort of stuff daily, but on days that I do, I bless Big Brother Pharma.
Though I wouldn't have downvoted you on your use of that term.
I used to sneer at the filtered-water crowd and the mere idea of buying water - in plastic bottles no less - at a cost per gallon higher than gasoline repels me.
But I got a filter pitcher once as part of my emergency preparedness kit and was amazed to discover that my heartburn rate went way down.
The chlorine in my tap water was doing it to me.
So even just drinking lots of water isn't totally risk-free.
There is not proof of causation, it may be that people who develop renal problems and dementia may be predisposed to gerd
So even just drinking lots of water isn't totally risk-free.
The water is fine. Chlorinated water, not so fine. Stop using rivers as sewers, then you can drink the water without chlorine.
Yup, I have a hiatal hernia, so while diet can help, my physiology will eventually give me esophageal cancer if I don't either take a PPI or have surgery. Even without the cancer, waking up every night with a mouth full of stomach acid and a constant pain in my eroded esophagus was getting old.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I was on a proton pump inhibitor for some time, and it helped amazingly. And then in came out that they are linked to greater rates of osteoporosis, already much more likely in women. So instead I ended up with taking a Zantac 300 (twice the highest OTC, I believe, at least at the time) every night before bed, before I finally found a permanent solution. I got a divorce, and suddenly my stomach acid problems went away... Oh, and even with mainly taking OTC short term acid medications (read: eating Tums like candy), my father ended up with some vitamin K issues, I think it was? He ended up with shots to bring things up to normal. I think it was Vitamin K, but whichever vitamin, it was one that is mainly gained in humans from eating meat, and he apparently had brought his acid so low that he wasn't breaking down meat enough to have adequate levels. (Note: this information is obviously second hand, so there might be some Telephone effects.)
I previously would occasionally take a Tums here or there, but my wife mentioned I should try drinking a small amount of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. It tastes horrible, and you have to rinse your teeth, but shockingly it works better than anything I've ever tried.
Am I lying when I tell you that im telling the truth? Or am I telling the truth when I say that Im lying?
Not Doctors. They'd fucking make you mainline heroin just to shut you up.
They went back to morphine long ago in most countries.
First off. I am not a doctor but I'd like to relate my personal anecdotal experience.
I was told to go on nexum for life, but was uncomfortable with long term use of a product that didn't seem to be well tested long term.
SOO.... i looked into it. Something that , according to my doctor, and several other sources has been used in the past to help fix acid reflux
is the stimulate acid production so you food digest more quickly. One way to do this is to drink 2 tablesppons of apple cider with a cup of water before every meal.
I kept this up for something like 2 months. The acid reflux , which had been regular went away and has yet to return a year later. I think if it comes back I will try this way again first.
So, just my nickle. you can try it, your mileage might very, on the other hand , it's probably safest to run in past your doctor to make sure you understood all the inns and outs, assuming you trust their advice.
âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
They did tests on cultured cells in a lab. There were no people involved in those experiments.
Some people's bodies work right, some people's don't. For the latter category, no amount of diet modification is going to solve everything 100%.
I saw three doctors about acid reflux that suddenly got very bad out of nowhere. Found out I had a hiatal hernia. One doctor told me I'd have to take one of these type of medicines the rest of my life. It kept making my digestive system extremely uncomfortable, plus I am scared to death of side effects of anything long term.
Turns out, all I had to do was not eat dinner (or anything) at 6:30 PM to solve 95% of my problems. Other things I do to manage the 5% of it are avoid alcohol (especially after 6 PM), avoid large meals (eat 4 smaller meals), avoid a lot of yogurt (not sure why, but it really triggers my acid production it seems), avoid sitting in a recliner type chair reading (something about the bending forward), and avoid sleeping on my left side. Right side or back is normally fine. I also drink more water, especially if I have a sinus/thick phlem problem which really aggravates the reflux problem.
Most drugs, just treat the SYMPTOMS, not the cause. If you constantly have headaches, "aspirin" might get rid of the headache, but the headache comes back. You need to treat WHY you are getting the headache. Same with some of these stomach drugs. Yeah, they might get rid of your ache, but it keeps coming back. Is it masking an underlying problem?
I wake up with it or sometimes even taking the pill with some water causes reflux. So at this point water and and/or my stomach being empty causes reflux.
This is your stomach so accustomed to being full of hard to digest 'food' that it constantly overproduces acid, even when empty. I used to be the same way -- daily anti acid pills with a scattering of chewables here and there, and one right before bed to keep the night reflux in check. After my diet change I haven't had any problems at all. No more daily pills and I only need a chewable on occasion when I eat too many onions. I use less anti acids in a year than I used to in a week before.
By they way, a Pepcid Complete right before bed helped me in that situation. Until you get your stomach acid under control, you might give that a try.
--- Keep the choice with the user..
No:
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Or, better yet, find out what's actually causing your stomach to produce excess acid and eliminate it from your diet.
Sometimes the problem is not due to diet, but other things like hiatal hernia, weak lower esophageal sphincter, pressure on mid-section, H, Pylori infection, etc.
I start having problems once I go over a certain body weight, but the symptoms go away when I lose the excess weight.
Some folks eat quinoa and twigs and still have risky acid reflux
Indeed. I have relatives in this position, more or less - careful attention to diet and regular exercise, but still chronic reflux. It's not always "lifestyle".
I, on the other hand, am somewhat less careful about diet (though I do eat a wide variety and probably hit all of the nutritional targets that have any actual evidence behind them), and while I do exercise it's decidedly irregular, but my weight and waist size haven't changed in a couple of decades and I don't think I've ever had so much as heartburn. Maybe it's genetics and epigenetics, maybe there's a microbiomic contribution ... but it's not because I lead some ideal lifestyle. Just luck of the draw.