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Today my Gastroenterologist put my on Dexilant 60 mg twice a day.

My History:
I've had reflux diagnosed for about 10 years. I've been on Dexilant once per day for a couple years. Prior to that I was on Prevacid Solutabs 30
mg twice per day. The Dexilant has the same active ingredient as the Prevacid and the dual delay time release of the Dexilant gave me similar
dosages with a once per day administration which I have enjoyed. I had the same results on both. (I've been on all PPI's on the market and this
worked best for me.)
I had a Nissen Fundoplication in 2008 that worked immediately and that current testing shows is still intact. I have slept on a 6" slant for years
and watch my diet also.
Over the last 3 months, I developed another chronic cough and some asthma problems. Multiple approaches to treatment failed to work. I had
an Endoscopy that showed no damage. I had an upper pH test that I took while I stayed on my Dexilant and Pepcid and it came back horrible.
This probe measured aerosolized pH in the oropharynx. It is a pH test that is new on the market to measure reflux in the gas form in the upper
throat. Despite my surgery and medications, I had 102 incidents of acid reflux making it up past my vocal cords. One incident registered for 56
minutes. The normal RYAN score upright is <9.41 and my score was 106.17. The normal supine score is <6.8 and I was at 47.56. (literally 46%
of my night I had reflux in my throat despite sleeping on the incline, taking meds and not eating for hours before bed.)
I saw my ENT who did the pH test today who said I was already doing everything possible for my reflux and who wants me to focus on some
breathing exercises to help with the cough. Frustrating because I was already doing all that when my cough set in and while I've been
chronically coughing over the last 3+ months. I happened to have an appointment with my Gastroenterologist today as well. He confirmed my
EGD was normal, but when discussing the pH test, he recommended adding a second dose of 60mg Dexilant. He isn't sure if he can get
insurance approval, but he gave me a month of samples.
In my view, taking 2 60mg Dexilant is equivalent to taking 4 of most other prescription PPI's. I've never heard of anyone else on a regimine this
high. While I really want some relief because of how my reflux affects my breathing and coughing, I worry about what the high dosages of PPI's
are doing to my body. Any of you know anything about taking PPI's in such high dosages?
I have acid reflux and an ulcerated duodenum. I am taking either 60 mg Dexilant daily or 30 mg Prevacid twice daily for acid
reflux; and I take 1 gm Sucralfate before each meal. Neither the Dexilant nor Prevacid have worked sufficiently to rid my stomach of acid. I also
take Carafate when needed. When I get to the point of crying over my stomach pain, I resort to taking tons of saltless soda crackers. That at
least allows me to go to sleep at bedtime. Today the pain and burning got so bad after lunch that I felt like I was coming down with the flu. I
called my gastroenterologist with this update, and he said the only other med he could prescribe was Pentasa, which I had tried before. I DO
NOT have Crohn's Disease. I can't see paying for expensive medication that will not work. I can't find a suitable answer to this problem. What
else can I do for it? I am at a loss. I would appreciate any information anyone has to offer.
<Read the rules in the FAQ: do not post your name>
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someone help..my mother who is 79 cannot taste or smell no more,she just about stopped eating all together....she gets
frustrated cuz nothing taste good and has a hard time eating period.....I told her I was going to post this and see what kind of help I can find...or
any suggestions, shes been tested and the results is just plain old age....while we lose our hearing some lose there taste and smell.......can
anyone help during a very difficult time..
can't find too much info on it.
After being on ppis for 3.5 years for LPR symptoms I had to go off about a month ago due to increasingly bad side effects (and
I'm happy to say that the side effects diappeared after a few days) and the fact that they did not seem to be doing much for my LPR. However,
I'm going through rebound hell as some (but not all) have reported on this and other boards. I did some tapering using H2 blockers but found
after a while even those were giving me bad side effects. Right now I am not taking anything deliberate for acid excpet for DGL and occasioanlly
Gaviscon. It's been only about 2 weeks since getting off the H2 blockers.
I thought I would be prepared for this but I wasn't mentally or physically (note: I am a healthy 47 year old male who up to recently was biking 10
miles a day - though I do have pretty severe anxiety problems - more about that later). It was if I was going through SSRI withdrawl. I was
expecting the acid but not the other things. I didn't realize how my body was dependent on this damn things.
To make a long story short I experienced severe stomach burning, nausea, heartburn, LPR symptoms (though in general I would say they are
not much worse than when I was on the PPIs). I also developed severe panic attacks (as I mentioned I suffered from anxiety but this was off the
charts) and really bad insomnia.
My doctor put me on a very, very low dose of Remeron (1/4 of the lowest dose 15 mg tablet partly because I am so sensitive to these meds and
partly because I didn't want to trade one monkey (ppi) with another (anti-depressant).) That has helped both for mood as well as nausea and
now I am feeling pretty good with repsect to anxiety (i am also doing CBT) but my stomach is still a major problem. I am also taking a low dose
of Lunesta (1 mg) since I was sleeping less than 2 hours a night for 3 weeks straight. In fact, I thought I had my gerd problems licked when I was
on 2 mg of Lunesta - However, it was just acting as an acid control. When I went down to 1 mg (again paranoia of being on a narcotic med) I
noticed that around noon the next day my stomach would burn for a few hours before settling down again. The plan once my gastro problems
have settled is to get off both these meds.
Right now it seems anything I do to control my acid results in rebound (usually burning stomach). The Lunesta which I assume due to it's
anticholinergic properties is drying my throat out is also reducing my stomach acid (20 min after taking my stomach feels much less acidic) but
the next day I go through a mini-rebound period with a burning stomach.
My question is: is this par for the course? It seems my "acid feedback loop" is extremely sensitive and/or really messed up. It's been a month
since off ppis and over 2 weeks since being off all acid med and I do notice a very slow week-by-week improvement but this sensitivity to any
attempt at artificial means of controlling acid really has me worried. Will I ever return to normal or always have trouble with my stomach? Am I
doing OK for someone off all acid meds for this period of time? This has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through and I can see why people
never get off these things. For me there is no turing back - the side effects are just too severe.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
Dr gave me Dexilant..I have never heard of this..I'm guessing it's really new..I don't like to take new things..does anyone have
experience with it? How safe is it? Side effects?
Hi,
Just wondered if anyone gets what I have. Basically I get a feeling in my chest which makes me think I cannot breathe properly, when I do my
peak flows they are fine also had a lung function test with really good results. Doc thinks I may have reflux that may be causing this.
Sometimes I will have periods of days where it is not present then days when it is and off course when it happens I think about every breath and
makes things worse. When I take a deep breathe I can fill my lungs no problem.
Anyone else with this??
Just thinking about this situation makes me tired. I've had gastritis and reflux for several years now. The gastritis started first,
possibly related to NSAID use. The reflux started about a year after, while I was already on Prilosec for the gastritis. I finally managed to taper
off the Prilosec, and from January to May of this year I felt almost totally fine on no stomach meds at all.
Then my body suddenly decided that I have asthma, and it all fell to bits again. Asthma symptoms (cough, fighting for air) hurt my stomach.
Asthma medicines like albuterol relax the esophageal sphincters. Inhaled steroids aggravate the sore throat that the reflux produces.
Antihistamines trigger gastritis, reflux or both. And of course, if the stomach acid gets in the lungs, it can trigger more asthma symptoms. It's all
a tangled mess I can't sort out.
I am taking Zantac, 2 to 4 times a day. It helps with the burning in my abdomen, but not with the sore throat or acid taste. Sucking on sugarfree
DGL helps the sore throat a little. Still, I can't seem to feel good for more than a couple days at a time.
I do not want to go back on the PPIs. I don't think it will help and it might make things worse. Even when I was on them, I was never symptom-
free, I was never able to eat things like tomatoes, and after a few months, I think they weren't treating anything but my dependence.
The first time I tried to quit Prilosec, which was 2 weeks after I started taking it, I had a bout of gastritis pain that dwarfed anything that's
happened before or since. For eight hours I couldn't stand up straight. I know dependence doesn't normally happen that fast, but for me it did,
and I had no choice but to go back to taking them. And then the reflux started while I was taking them. I think maybe it's bile reflux, which PPIs
sometimes make worse, not better.
I tried Reglan. It helps my stomach like a dream, but it tightens up my lungs and apparently prevents my inhaler from working, which is just
scary, thank you very much.
I do take one other medicine, nortriptyline, 20 mg/day. I've tried quitting it on the chance that it might be related to the stomach problems, but
after about 2 weeks without it, the pain in my back becomes unbearable. If I don't take the nortriptyline, I've got to take something, or I can't
function--and everything else I've tried also upsets my stomach.
Last night I tried melatonin, just 2 mg. I slept for a solid nine hours and I still feel drowsy.
I've tried the apple cider vinegar. Didn't seem to help much.
I could go back to the GI. But I'm not sure there's anything more he can do, he kinda told me to find a way to live with it if I possibly could. Is
there anything I'm missing here?
can these cause your teeth to break off.things get stuck in the back of my throat and i make myself throw up to get this out. i have
taken nexium and 40 mg og prilosec nothing works
Hi everyone, Im real nervous for my mom. A little background. Always has been a very very nervous person. She has been
throwing up bile now for 6 years. She describes it as foamy clean liquid. She can do this all day long on and off. It use to happen twice a year
but now it happens once a week. No dr can tell her what is happening. She is at the point that she is scared to eat because she doesnt want to
throw up so this week alone she lost 10 pounds. Has anyone ever heard of this. She is going for an endoscopy this week if I can talk her into it.
Please send prayers her way that its nothing serious, Im very worried now. It stinks because she lives two hours from all her kids and has no
friends or realatives down there. Im hoping she is just worrying so much she is making herself sick over it and its nothing life threatening.
THanks for listening. Just trying to find some answers for her. Mindy
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