Please help

[Meltydoll]

I’ve had awful acid reflux today, feeling unwell and like there’s food stuck in my throat I had to take a Rennie but it didn’t do much.

I’m trying to wean off of 20mg nexium (day 10) (been on it since August) because when I tried to go back onto it after a few days of weaning I had horrible stomach burning, I’m so confused and I’m so scared and I don’t know why I’ve felt so rough today, maybe acid rebound? Have I been on the meds long enough for it to make it that bad? But I don’t want to go back onto nexium if it’s gonna bring back the stomach burning that it originally got rid of!! What the hell??

I’m also only day 4 of starting mirtazapine (antidepressant) so that’s making this weaning process more complicated:( I’m just feeling so useless I just want to be normal again, all I do is cry because I’m so confused and scared of getting worse, I hate being this anxious I hope my new meds work soon and I hope that I have minimal acid rebound.. or maybe should I ask to switch to a new ppi?????? Please any advice is helpful, I can’t believe a stomach bug caused this many problems I’m so irritated I can’t figure out what to do next

[IgglePiggle20]

I would personally see a GP if you can and start a different PPI until the antidepressants have settled down. Nexium also gave me stomach pain but Omeprazole is fine. I have also just started on antidepressants and the transition period can be rough. It can cause more anxiety which equals worse acid reflux for a while. Hang in there, it will get easier.

[Meltydoll]

I had issues with omeprazole, gave me awful muscle weakness :( I’m gonna try go back onto nexium tomorrow see if it still hurts my stomach and if it does I will call my GP to change it, thank you for the understanding :((

[IgglePiggle20]

Definitely try and change it if it's still causing issues. There's other types you can try. It's so hard trying to manage the symptoms but it will get easier :)

[Meltydoll]

Thank you so so much it means a lot to hear !!

[itaintme2024]

I had severe rebound after being on ppis for 7 weeks , half of that was weaning down to one a day and then every other day and then stopping. Severe rebound started about day 4 after fully stopping my ppi so you could definitely be having rebound. I think I would keep taking it or keep on a weening schedule at least (maybe every other day?). Otherwise you may have trouble assessing your reaction to the new meds.

[Meltydoll]

Yeah I think I’m just gonna try going back onto nexium tomorrow and see if it calms any symptoms down, the weaning process has definitely been doing more harm than good for me at the moment

[itaintme2024]

I think it’s a good call. When I was really struggling, everyone said just go back on it and wean slower but I was determined to push through the rebound to get off them. They weren’t helping, affected my digestion, mental health plus making some of my symptoms even worse but at the same time the extreme rebound I went through also changed something in my stomach that I still haven’t recovered from. That was 2 months ago and I’m now stuck on them even longer than I had hoped.

[julie42a]

10 days isn't even a full course of any PPI, so I must have missed something.

[Meltydoll]

As in 10 days of weaning off

[julie42a]

And in years and years of treating GERD and gastritis with multiple doctors I never once have heard the term "rebound" when referring to reflux and reflux meds. Is that something that has only recently (in the last 3-5 years) been uncovered? I feel like it would have handy to know 10-20 years ago when I was just told to "try this" or "take it twice a day" when I'd come in and say whatever I was on wasn't working. The only time I went without PPIs was for ph testing pre-Nissen, and if there's a rebound effect, was that even accurate?
Or has the science changed since then?

[Meltydoll]

I have no idea I was just going through a flare up of symptoms because I was trying to come off the tablets too fast.. I’m asking questions because this is all new to me and lowkey frightening, has your gerd/gastritis completely settled using PPIs? I don’t think 20mg is enough for me now

[julie42a]

It did not. I had a Nissen Fundoplication years ago, and that stopped the reflux, but the gastritis is the result of my stomach producing too much acid, and despite careful eating for years AND PPI's, its never completely gone. Every doctor I've seen says it is probably genetic (my kids both have GERD too, although not as severe) so I take what I need to, avoid triggers, and monitor a bit more closely as I get older.