Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI's) prescribed for GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) aka Heartburn may lead to Dependency.

Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, Aciphex and Zantac are drugs known as Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI's) prescribed by doctors throughout the world to treat GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) for the last 15 years. They replaced drugs used to treat Hyperacidity based on Aluminium Hydroxide and used since the late Forties including Gelusil, Actal, Digene up to that time, as it was feared that the Aluminium component in the Antacid could cause Alzheimer's disease. The PPI's were hailed as the latest advance in medicine to treat cases of GERD which affected over 30% of the population in the developed countries usually at night after a heavy dinner when they would wake up in the early hours of the morning in severe distress with a burning sensation in their stomach which was sometimes mistaken for a Heart Attack.

These PPI's quickly became the superstars of Big Pharma as they are not exactly cheap and once the patient is hooked on their use on a daily basis they discovered that there was no hope of a reprieve by stopping them. It is estimated that patients suffering from GERD spent over $26 Billion on these PPI drugs annually. These drugs helped to temporarily treat GERD by reducing the Hydrochloric Acid in the Gastric Juice but in a few weeks the patient discovered that s/he was hooked on them and was condemned to take them after a meal for life. The latest reports indicate that they can cause serious side effects ranging from a Loss of balance to Heart Attacks and Osteoporosis to Pneumonia and even much worse.

The latest research published in Gastroenterology by the American Gastroenterological Association quotes the results of tests that prove that using a PPI drug for a few months induced GERD, and acid related symptoms like Hearburn, Regurgitation of Acid and Dyspepsia in anyone who stops taking the drug for a day or so as the patient is now caught in a vicious circle and compelled to depend on the drug even though it is causing other more serious side effects.

I have had some success in the treatment of GERD with Nat Phos 6x Biochemic Cell Salts and Arnica 30c in the Wet dose both of which have helped many patients to overcome their ailment and many have confirmed their response on the Homeopathy and More in the Thread entitled "The Treatment of GERD" on:
THE TREATMENT OF GERD (GASTRO ESOPHAGAL REFLUX DISEASE) :: homeopathyandmore.com

The report of the American Gastroenterological Association of July 1 2009
Acid-Reducing Medicines May Lead to Dependency

The US News of August 19 2009 gives more alarming details about PPI's on:
Got Heartburn? A Caution About Your Proton Pump Inhibitor - US News and World Report

I would recommend that members who suffer from GERD read the link that I have given above on the Homeopathy and More Forum and use the therapy that I have advised which has sometimes been referred to as "Joepathy" presumably because I was the first Homeopath to share information of my discovery with patients suffering from GERD, many of whom were able to use the remedies that I recommended to replace the PPI drugs, some of whom were cured by these 2 remedies enabling them to stop their dependence on them.

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Joe De Livera
Colombo
Sri Lanka