Prevacid Question

I was put on prevacid for 6 months. All my paper work says to be prepared to take prevacid for 6 months. I was wondering if most are fine after 6 months or do some need to keep taking it. Also if there are symptoms that would indicate needing it longer? Thanks in advance for any input and experience.

Take Care

Lisa

My surgeon told me that you will know when you don't need it.  That one day you haven't taken it and you don't have and pain, then you know you are OK to stop taking it.  Others on the forum have said that when they stopped taking it they experienced more hunger because of the increased stomach acid.  Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I actually forgot it a few times in the last 2 weeks and nothing felt wrong put I am trying to remember cause the last thing I want or need is trouble.

Hi, i stayed on my Previcid the whole 6 months, but now i am back on it due to possible ulcer. I wish i would have stayed on it longer , maybe that would have prevented it, but who knows..Good luck to you...Krista..

one problem with prevacid doctors fail to mention is that when you stop taking it you get heartburn so you start taking it again.. I "weaned" myself off of it by taking zantac one day, prevacid the next, zantac 2 days, prevacid the next, zantac 3 days, prevacid the next et****il I was only on zantac. Then I stopped taking zantac slowly.. 

When I first stopped taking prevacid I had horrible heartburn for weeks so went back on it. It is not meant to be taken for life (although some would argue differently it seems) This article mentions the weaning off a PPI using ranitidine (Zantac) even.. first article I came across when I googled it: http://www.acpinternist.org/archives/2004/07/ppis.htm

It worked for me.. at first I just went back on the PPI (Prevacid) to stop the stomach acid.. then with research realized the acid rebound after coming off it was common and it would go away with the treatment I used

ETA: I think often, a lot of people go off it, get heartburn and think its due to them no longer taking the prevacid... so go back on it again (like I did) It really works if you can deal with the couple weeks of heartburn. I did not want to be on any medications unless I  had to.. and I didn't have to be on prevacid after 6 months. But i took it for about 8 before figuring out the issue. 

Thanks so much for the info. I do not like to take meds at all. I will definitely give it a couple weeks after my 6 months is up before starting it again.

Should I be concerned that I was only given a 1 month prescription for it? I'm thinking now I should have had more than 30 days..

I would maybe call your clinic and make sure. I'm with Humber and right for my orientation they told us to be prepared to take prevacid for 6 months in was in the expected costs paperwork. It never hurts to put in a quick call. Take Care

oddly enough, my family doctor yesterday wants me to continue taking it. He has been prescribing it since the 1st script after the hospital. and at 12 months post op (I'm 16 months post op now) I just stopped taking it on my own because I was under the impression I only needed it for a year, Yesterday at a check up he asked me if I needed a refill on the refills and I said oh I don't take it anymore and he said  NO keep taking it as a preventive measure my pouch is much to small to take the chance of getting an ulcer and he has another Bariatric patient who got an ulcer so now he wants me to keep taking it.  so I have a script to fill today :)

I think it's individual.  I have a friend who was never prescribed it and one who is still on it 3 years later due to an ulcer. I took it for the 6 months, then stopped and haven't had any problems or had to take anything else for heartburn, pain or ulcer