Heartburn Drugs Can Lead to Fatal Heart or Kidney Disease

Completely anecdotally, I knew these meds were bad news. I had bad heartburn and reflux and was prescribed Priolsec. Took a few doses and the side effects were really disgusting and disturbing. Too graphically bad to print here. I ended up just changing my diet and habits and the issues resolved themselves. I was fortunate because I was 22 when this happened. Not everyone is as lucky. But ever since then I've been wary of friends taking the stuff and have always just mentally filed this medication group under "not good."

It should be noted that the study involved older, mostly white, male veterans. How is that a valid test of the side effects of PPIs? What else was already going on healthwise with this group? Young people get conditions too for which these medicines are helpful. A good study would look at various groups.

Well. I'm no medical expert or angry poster, however I can tell you this. I was prescribed one of these a few years ago. They burn your butt worse than 10 alarm chili. I assume because it's pulling your acids out of your body. I only take half of what I'm prescribed and not all the time. I'm glad you print these articles. We can learn from each other. Thanks.

PPIs will also screw up your natural gut biome. I came down with a terrible C. diff. infection, even though I had none of the typical means of exposure, and it took weeks to diagnose. Now I'm trying to eat more foods that are naturally probiotic--plain Greek yogurt, raw sauerkraut, kimchee and miso--to get my gut back in balance.

It's incredible how many NYT readers offer nothing but their own anecdotal experiences as if they had some universal validity, or they had some inside track to secret hidden treatments. So much for the educated elite. As for the study, there is no causal link mentioned since this once again appears to nothing more than the usual epidemiologic associations that fail to account for confounder variables. While it does seem likely that there are potentially bad or fatal side effects, what are the actual risks? What is a "low dose?" What is a "short period of time?" What is "long time?" What is the impact of "long time" usage? The lack of any real science makes this article useless, or worse. The study is of dubious usefulness. Most of "Epidemiology" should not be considered a part of science. It's simply a self-serving hustle to generate grants, publication credits and media prestige, not science.

I might be able to cease taking PPI for GERD, if only I didn't have GERD. Alternatively if I could stop eating. That might help. I heard a neighbor say his cousin knew someone who found a Buddhist Lama on Google who helped him stop eating and his GERD went away and he stopped the PPI! Unfortunately, it only lasted a few weeks until he died from malnutrition. But hey his heart disease was way better. So I thought since I know so much I should share this, since I know for a fact it worked. I tried celery purges but I couldn't stay at work 'cause the bathroom was too far. They might work as a natural, homeopathic, vegetarian alternative for colonoscopy preps! - Report on latest medical developments in Bay Area, bro.

Do each of the PPIs rate equally in terms of these risks?? Prevacid, Protonix, Prilosec, etc. Are any better/worse than another or has the research examined them all as a group?

I feel like the poster child for overuse of ppis. Weighing the pros vs cons is very important with all medicines. In my case taking ppis was the answer until it wasn't. Ultimately I got to the point where the meds blocked my body's ability to absorb nutrients. At that point the cons had won. I was only able to find true relief, repair and proper medical care through an integrative medical practice. Supplements and probiotics have helped me more than big pharma.

Interesting article. I do wonder how you rationalize research such as this with other research that shows GERD can be a material risk factor for esophageal cancer. How do you decide? For what it is worth, I was on a PPI for years that made my GERD disappear completely. Then in an effort to be healthier I quit drinking completely and after a few months tried life without my PPI rx - I have been off of it ever since. At some point I want to have an endoscopy to see if the visual signs are gone as well but for now it feels great.

I manage my reflux by not eating for 4 hours before bed and raising the head of my bed by 4-5 inches (feels odd at first but you quickly get used to it), and watching what I eat to moderate trigger foods (coffee, chocolate, fatty foods). I was on PPIs for about 6 months nearly 20 years ago, but have been without them ever since. In part this is luck, but I suspect PPIs are overused without trying lifestyle changes.

"But half of the people on P.P.I.s had none of the common indications for taking them, including peptic ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) or Barrett’s esophagus. For those people, the most common causes of death were cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or upper digestive system cancers." This is a statistic worth further examination. Are P.P.I.s being too quickly prescribed without examining underlying causes for things other than GERD. I find many practitioners are too busy to spend time in curiosity about their patients. I recently had 2 friends diagnosed with cancers (ovarian and pancreas) where the earliest indicators were rashes and itching of "unknown origin". As patients we need to listen to our bodies and advocate for ourselves. OUR lives depend on it.

There is hope. I had terrible GERD in my 30s and an endoscopy revealed I had an inflamed esophagus and stomach. I ate a mainly organic diet with lots of vegetables and exercised frequently. But I have a hiatal hernia that is too large to be operated on that I was born with. My gastroenterologist suggested a full allergy panel (that insurance didnt cover) and found out I was allergic to many foods I ate every day. I eliminated those, bought a GERD pillow (which really helps especially if you can't raise your bed) and only take esomeprazole (Nexium) when I need it. This had made a tremendous difference. It will never fully go away but this has healed me enough to where the last endoscopy revealed my insides are no longer inflamed. Keep trying and do what you can. GERD is awful. It could be that you have food sensitivities that keep you inflamed.

Surgery is not always the answer. They're A LOT of problems with the hidden fundoplication. They often come undone. I know that many people have them redone two and three times. After having mine come undone after the third surgery I found out they damaged my vagus nerve and now I have gastroparesis. There is no cure. They ruined my life. I'm very sick everyday. Think hard before doing surgery. Especially laparoscopic. Newer techniques do not always mean better.

Why gastroenterologists are ignorant of DigestZyme baffles me. This supplement may not solve everyone's GERD but it sure does mine. I could tolerate neither prilosec nor previcid. I've been using it for more than 15 years. Only side effect has been that it also cured my sinus issues. Beats me why it does that, but it's great.

I wish this article had more details on H2 inhibitors. I quit PPIs after developing osteopenia, which is a known side effect.

If your GERD is so bad that an endoscopy shows an esophageal ulcer or Barret's esophagus, surgery (Nissen fundoplication) should be considered. After that, no more GERD and no more PPIs.

Is Nicholas Bakalar a physician? If not, then i am not sure why he is giving medical advice.

Is Nicholas Bakalar a physician? If not, I am not sure why he is offering medical advice.

I had a self diagnosed case of acid reflux that has completely disappeared since I significantly reduced my intake of processed foods loaded with sugar. It has been 3.5 years and not 1 episode. I can't say it would work for everyone but it has been miraculous for me. In fact, that wasn't even my purpose for the diet change but it was a wonderful side benefit.

Been on Prilosec since an endoscopy in 2006. Go on and off after reading these articles but can’t stay off. Tried Zantac and Pepcid but they don’t do the job. Avoid acids. It seems that small portions is the best help. Got my annual at the VA two days ago and the NP renewed my prescription while saying that they were discouraging usage and to try it every other day. I did but had to take a Tums after lunch. No easy answer. Had a big feast for my birthday at 2 pm and had awful reflux that night. Raising the head of the bed helped after 2 Tums. Avoiding alcohol helps not only with reflux but with nighttime leg cramps and bad dreams. Moderation and avoidance aren’t the total answer. Everyone seems to be different on which foods affect them. Good luck everyone.

My primary care doc took me off Prilosec due to concerns mentioned in this article. He put me on another Otc med that didn't work. It wasn't long before I was getting scans for extreme stomach pain and GERD. My stomach doc said he never saw a case where Prilosec was a danger and put me back on the med. I have an RV bed that can't be raised so am getting a recliner to sleep in. These reports scare me because I don't know what else to do and am very low income.

I have chronic GERD, have been taking PPI's for years, and will continue to take them. Yeah, I know about the slightly increased risk of stomach cancer, but I'll take that risk happily if the other alternative is to not take them and have a much higher risk of esophageal cancer from all the stomach acid coming up at night (raising the head of the bed does not help). I even had a nasty case of aspiration pneumonia once because of it. As it turns out, stomach acid and lung tissue don't get along. Sometimes, its just a case of "choose your poison", and it's PPI's for me.

When I complained about heartburn, the doctor prescribed a proton pump inhibitor. When I asked about the side effects, he said curtly, "All medications have side effects!" In the library, I looked up the side effects and they scared me so much that I did not take any. Instead, I went to bookstores and read about natural ways to reduce heartburn, including the advice to raise the head of the bed about six inches. Applying some of these remedies to my diet and exercise habits, the symptoms disappeared, although that took months. This won't work for everyone, but many tips are available in books and online about foods and drinks and exercise patterns that can affect heartburn.

It's not obvious if there is a direct cause and effect. People take there PPI so they can eat their pizza and hotdogs. They take their PPI cuz the Motrin and relieve upsets the stomach. NSAIDS are a known common cause of kidney disease.

My brother went off a prescribed PPI after he changed his diet to plant based whole food eating (he avoided animal products and processed foods and starting cooking more) and started exercising. He lost 70 pounds. He also went off several other meds, including for T2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. This change was gradual, maybe over a few years. It seems as though our lifestyle is making us sick. We don’t need drugs so much as we need more information about nutrition and physical activity — and then to put that information into practice. The drugs may be helpful for the few for whom lifestyle changes are not able to slow, stop, or reverse their conditions or diseases. But not for most of us.

I used to be on a PPI and my doctor did tell me if I had to take it more than five years we would need to look at more invasive procedures to take care of my heartburn because of the risks involved. Fortunately, I have been able to go off of the medicine. I appreciate this article because, as a health insurance agent, these are good things to point my clients to so that they can be educated about their health. Thank you for publishing it.

I was able to stop taking Prilosec after visit a pharmacy in Bethesda, MD. that specializes in homeopathic alternatives.I had read about the dangers of these Proton prohibitors snd aggressively researched natural alternatives. I take Digest More and DGL twice a day at breakfast and dinner. After about two days I never experienced heartburn again.