Prescription antacid abuse

[benbo1]

Is there any other consequence to overdoing prescription antacids besides undigested food, for a burning in the epigastric area that won't go away? Cardiac causes have been ruled out, and repeated tests on the esophagus & hiatal hernia have proven inconclusive. I'm thinking specifically of proton pump inhibitors, ppis. My thinking is if enough acid is suppressed, the food can't get digested, and more will pass thru u instead of being absorbed. Not planning on going crazy & o.d.ing on them, but if I take more than the recommended dose, will there be other consequences than more undigested food coming out of me?

[grude]

..............why would you abuse antacids?

[jz78817]

Originally Posted by benbo1

Is there any other consequence to overdoing prescription antacids besides undigested food, for a burning in the epigastric area that won't go away? Cardiac causes have been ruled out, and repeated tests on the esophagus & hiatal hernia have proven inconclusive. I'm thinking specifically of proton pump inhibitors, ppis. My thinking is if enough acid is suppressed, the food can't get digested, and more will pass thru u instead of being absorbed. Not planning on going crazy & o.d.ing on them, but if I take more than the recommended dose, will there be other consequences than more undigested food coming out of me?

try a course of omeprazole (a PPI) and see if it helps. I took it recently and didn't have any issues with food.

[KarlGauss]

Even with maximal acid suppression, there will be no problem digesting food; acid is helpful but not essential in that regard. In the longer term, there could be some difficulty absorbing iron if the acid stays suppressed but even that must be exceedingly rare (if it even occurs). Huge numbers of people are on PPIs (and the weaker acid suppressors called H2-blockers, e.g. Zantac) and don't development iron or vitamin deficiencies.

The most relevant thing about taking high doses of PPIs such as Prilosec, Nexium, Pantaloc, etc., is that there is no additional acid suppression at huge doses. Even for people with bad acid-induced GI disease, there is little additional benefit to be had by taking a double dose. I am aware of no benefit at all in terms of acid suppression by taking megadoses. And, with respect to safety, PPI drugs even in overdose are pretty much harmless (although there might be some heart rate increase as a result).

[Colibri]

Medical advice is best suited to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[lavenderviolet]

You might have less than optimal absorption of nutrients, but you will still digest food.
Long term PPI use could increase your risk of bone fractures. People on PPIs also seem to be more likely to develop certain types of infections (pneumonia, C. diff).

If you're taking the recommended dose of a PPI and still not feeling relief, you really should call your doctor and ask about what else can be done. Are you taking anything else for it? I found that even when I was on a PPI, that taking a product with alginic acid (Gaviscon) helped soothe things more than the PPI alone. Perhaps the PPI isn't the right med for your problem, or maybe there is another med that could help if it was added. Perhaps you would be a candidate for one of the procedures that can be done for severe GERD.

[ZipperJJ]

There are lots of different PPIs. They do work differently. I am on my 4th right now (Prilosec -> Dexilant -> Nexium -> Protonix) and finally finding some relief. I only switched from Nexium because of the price. Getting side-effects from Protonix, tho, so might have to switch back. But it does do the best on the pain.

You do need to make sure you are doing non-drug stuff to make yourself feel better. Stay hydrated, avoid spices, avoid fatty foods, eat long before bed. You might need to do some "tests" on yourself to see what foods make you feel worst. I can eat pepperoni all day with no ill effect but if I eat eggs I'm sick for 2 days.

Anyway, my advice is to not take more drugs, take different drugs. Dexilant did absolutely nothing for me. I was laid out for 2 weeks while I tried it. Protonix is better than Nexium except it makes my heart race.

Sorry you have to deal with this tho. I'm on my 6th month of trying to get my newly-diagnosed GERD under control and it's seriously depressing. And painful.