So I stopped all PPI's a little over two weeks ago and I have been getting hungrier more often. I don't feel any burning unless I drink coffee in the morning but I honestly seem to have the acid under control, but if it will help my hunger at least until I lose the remainder I want to lose then I am more then willing to go back on it prophylactically.

Anyone have any info or experience to prove or disprove this theory?

I don't know if there is any scientific proof on this subject but I did get more of the hunger sensation on the couple days that I di not take my PPI

I just looked it up on Medline and there was only one human study appropriate to us based on keywords "proton pump inhibitors/omeprazole" and "hunger."

AB We previously showed that oral administration of a liquid Soup preload was associated with a slower rate of gastric emptying and suppressed appetite more compared with intragastric administration of the same soup [Appetite 31(1998)377]. The present study was designed to investigate whether these results could be explained by the cephalic stimulation of acid secretion induced by oral administration. Eight healthy male subjects took part in a double-blind placebo controlled study comparing the effects of omeprazole and placebo on gastric emptying, appetite ratings and subsequent food intake following the ingestion of a liquid soup. Subjects were administered with a single oral dose of 80 mg omeprazole or placebo 3 h prior to ingesting the radiolabelled soup preload (400 kcal; 425 ml) over 15 min. Ratings of hunger, desire to eat and fullness were recorded over 135 min and gastric emptying was measured by scintigraphy. Food intake was evaluated from a test meal (yoghurt drink) given 120 min after the end of the soup ingestion. Analysis of data showed that there was no significant difference between omeprazole and placebo in gastric emptying, appetite or subsequent energy intake from the test meal. The results suggest that gastric acid secretion is not responsible for the differences in gastric emptying and appetite observed between intragastrically infused and orally administered soup preloads.

Then there was one study in cattle which showed the exact opposite:

Previous work has shown blood gastrin levels to be elevated and appetite depressed in ostertagia-infected calves. A possible relationship between raised blood gastrin values and feed intake was investigated in worm-free animals using the human gastric acid secretion inhibitor, omeprazole. An initial dose-titration experiment established that administration of the drug by intravenous injection at 1.95 mg kg-1 (four times the recommended human dose rate) resulted in a marked (5.2-fold) increase in blood gastrin levels in the calf. Daily administration of omeprazole by intravenous injection at 2 mg kg-1 for four days in a subsequent experiment resulted in a significant depression in feed intake (up to 40.4 per cent) which was accompanied by a significant rise in blood gastrin levels (peak 940 pg ml-1; 6.5-fold increase over control values). It is suggested that such a rise in hormone levels would reduce reticuloruminal and abomasal motility, slow down the passage of ingesta and, in turn, lead to a reduction in appetite.

Moral of the story = research is a PITA.

I just went back on mine after being off for 6 months. I definitely notice a difference. I did have acid but I also had stomach aches that felt like hunger.

My experience from being off for 6 months and going back on is, I would rather feel better than have stomach aches because I thought I was supposed to try to get off this medication.

This thought has crossed my mind too, if I forget to take it, my tummy rumbles and it 'seems' like I'm hungry (I feel the acid with the rumbling). With the rumbling noise, my mind goes into a 'let eat' mode. If I take it, I have to set an alarm to eat otherwise I forget!

As horribly lazy, and unmotivated as this sounds, this is the specific reason I do not want and am not going off my Prilosec. I don't want to deal with acid either, but let's be honest here, HUNGER scares the sh*t out of me at this point. I haven't felt hungry in a year and a half, and I have zero desire to ever feel that again. I had a ravenous physical hunger that wouldn't quiet down until I had binged. It's also one of the big reasons why I've quit and gone back to smoking 3 times. I know it's head hunger for the smoking issue, but I sure as heck do not want to deal with hunger at ALL. I've never found any "studies/articles" on this subject, just a lot of personal experience from sleeve veterans that all shared the same results. Which is wean off PPI and within 3-6 weeks, hunger was back along with mild acid reflux and Pepcid/Zantac (h2 Blockers) helped with the acid, but the hunger was fierce.

Well I think this calls for me to try my own personal medical study! I will pick up some more Prilosec and try taking it and seeing if in the next couple of weeks my hunger gets under control. I know I have been stressing about some extended family bull crap so it might just be an anxiety comfort food thing that I am experiencing. Either way it can't hurt to try to add the Prilosec back in, I can enjoy coffee when I take it so that is almost reason enough to keep taking it. If it seems to be working I will continue until I reach goal then try to stop it then.

Thank you all for weighing in on this though!

Blackberry you are correct research is a PITA! information overload and sooo much conflicting.

Tiffy I wish I had zero hunger....that alone makes me jealous girl.