I’ve been on 40mg of omeprazole for six years now. I did not realize this is considered a high dose. And there is strong evidence that long term use of strong doses are a risk factor with calcium absorption. And I’ve just been diagnosed with osteoporosis. And the more I think about this, the madder I get.
I remember when they first prescribed it to me. A couple of times it was mentioned to me that if I were to go online and read about it, I’m going to come across a lot of scary misinformation. So I just believed them and didn’t worry about it. I was having esophageal strictures and it was working. “If you need it, you should take it”, they said. Well now I have osteoporosis. Just great.
I’ve decided I’m not taking this anymore. And I will completely change my diet if I have to.
I’ve not yet spoken to my primary care physician or by GI doc yet. I’ve decided I want to get off this medicine. Today I meet with my primary care and we’ll see what she says. I’m afraid she’s going to be like the other doctors who seems to think that there’s a lot of bad studies around this drug and it’s ok to keep taking, that I might have something else. The truly scary part would be if they are right, and I have osteoporosis for some other reason. But this is the simplest and most likely explanation.
I can’t quit cold turkey because that will cause a major flare up of acid. A rebound effect. Today though I will drop from 40mg to 20mg. I’ll stay on 20mg a few weeks before I drop again. But I feel good about starting now.
In meantime, I’ve started looking into GERD diets and here’s the plan so far…
NO:
- High fat dairy or meats
- Caffeine/Alcohol
- Carbonation
- Laying down after eating
- Big meals
- Citrus or tomato sauce
YES:
- Lean proteins
- Complex Carbs (oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain)
- Non-citrus fruits/veggies
- Healthy fats (avocado, olive oil)
And there it is. It starts today. The healing starts today.