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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Stomach acid might be produced in omeprazole withdrawal than was produced pre-treatment – even among persons with GERD. As a result, the GERD symptoms may become more severe than ever (in some persons) – due to an overlap of: untreated GERD and withdrawal-induced rebound acid hypersecretion.Though withdrawal symptoms may vary, it’s relatively logical to suggest the following: (1) any new symptoms reported following omeprazole cessation (i.e. symptoms never experienced before medication cessation) – are probably due to withdrawal; and (2) any symptoms that become significantly more severe than ever before (after omeprazole discontinuation) – are probably due to withdrawal.How do we know that withdrawal symptoms occur from proton-pump inhibitors? Well, there’s evidence from a trial in which 120 healthy adults were randomized to receive a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) or a placebo for 8 weeks – followed by a 4 week monitoring phase thereafter.A significant number of the proton-pump inhibitor recipients reported symptoms such as acid regurgitation, dyspepsia, and heartburn – in the 4 weeks following PPI treatment, whereas these reactions were not reported in the placebo users. This supports the idea that withdrawal symptoms likely occur after omeprazole (and related medications) are discontinued.What causes omeprazole withdrawal symptoms?Because omeprazole withdrawal hasn’t been extensively researched or discussed in scientific literature, a subset of medical professionals may not buy into the concept of a withdrawal syndrome following the discontinuation of a proton-pump inhibitor. Instead, it may be suggested that all symptoms arising following omeprazole discontinuation are merely due to a resurgence of the medical condition for which omeprazole was prescribed.Nevertheless, there are data highlighting the emergence of clinically significant “rebound effects” or symptoms following cessation of proton-pump therapy, even in healthy volunteers. Furthermore, there are numerous anecdotal reports on the internet documenting moderate-to-severe withdrawal symptoms following omeprazole cessation.The underlying cause of omeprazole withdrawal symptoms is probably post-treatment physiological readjustment. When a proton-pump inhibitor is administered regularly over a long-term (e.g. weeks, months, years) – it’s likely that the body adapts to its ongoing administration and presence such that enzyme expression, signaling cascades, etc. might shift slightly from homeostasis.In fact, research by Qvigstad et al. (1998) suggests that proton-pump inhibitors might induce similar physiologic adaptations as histamine (H2) receptor antagonists (another class of drugs prescribed to reduce gastric acid production). Although there’s no evidence to substantiate the idea of “tolerance” to omeprazole, it’s likely that ongoing treatment could induce subtle physiologic adaptations.Perhaps when omeprazole
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