Pantoprozale and Famotidine- one year out

[gwbicster 257]

Hi all! I must admit I've taken a bit of a hiatus from this Site for awhile, as work got busy and the school year got more involved. Pleased to say that I have survived my first year on a new job and also my one year surgiversary is coming up next week, so I feel like I have become comfortable with this "new journey" and the "new me" has become the only me I can really remember!

My weight loss has slowed over the past several months, and although I had an emotional reaction to this at first (addiction to the scale moving can be as severe as our former addiction to the food was) I've really come to peace with it. I also see my body changing and am getting a lot of comments from colleagues (and even the occasion student, believe it or not!) so even if the scale is not moving, I know I'm turning fat into muscle and that is not always reflected in the numbers. I feel super healthy and am thankful to God for this incredible transition!

I do feel the appetite coming back pretty strong lately, and my fear always is, perhaps the "honeymoon" period is ending, and the gherlin is coming back. I know it differs for everyone so I don't exactly know if this is the case or not, but I do know that if/when this happens (or is happening) I will be stronger than it and maintain my body approximately where it's at, give or take a few ounces.

My question involved the anti acid and betablockers that I've been taking since shortly after surgery. The surgeon at my last visit over Spring Break said I can stop taking them, but I'm a little bit afraid of this. I never experience reflux of any kind, but I do know that the reason I started taking them was to help me control my hunger. I'm kind of afraid if I stop taking them that my hunger might not be as manageable as it is now. They are covered under my insurance so I feel like they are a worthwhile expense if they help the hunger even a little bit, but I'm also not sure if long term use of these medications might also be bad for me medically.

I'd love for the community to weigh in on their thoughts about this and share your personal experiences. I'm about at the end of my most recent three month doseage. Should I call in the refill or is it a better idea to say goodbye to these helpful little pills?

Thank you for your opinions, and all the best to my brothers and sisters here!

[Orchids&Dragons 9,046]

Congratulations on your excellent success so far. You are an inspiration!

I don't have enough experience to comment on your long-term meds, per se. However, I've been around prescription meds long enough to offer this advice: Do NOT let your meds run out, especially if the insurance will cover them. Renew the prescription, and then experiment with eliminating/reducing them one at a time while you have a good supply in case it doesn't work out.

You don't want to take the last ones you have, thinking that you don't need them anymore and then realize that you REALLY do need them and have to wait to refill a 3-mo prescription by mail. Been there, done that, it's rough.

Good luck to you and your monster-taming! Blessings!

[RickM 1,747]

As far as I know, the acid reducing medications do not control hunger per se, but rather excess acid can mimic hunger, which can in turn be controlled with these meds. So, if you aren't really having an excess acid problem, then that isn't the cause of your returning hunger, and the meds shouldn't be a significant factor in that regard.

On cutting out those meds, yes, as above, go ahead and refill them and then go from there. Typically, PPIs like pantoprozole need to be tapered off, or else they can create a rebound reflux reaction. Cutting the dose in half is a good start, or replacing is with an H2 inhibitor such as Zantac or Pepcid (which is what famotidine is) as an intermediate step is often used, so either replacing the pantoprozole with another famotidine for a week or two is a good start, then dropping one of the famotidine for another week or two before dropping the last one - checking for any reflux symptoms along the way, of course.

The PPIs have been showing signs of some long term side effects that aren't too pleasant, so they are good to get off of if one can, while the H2 inhibitors are generally considered friendlier to us, though somewhat less effective and not as enduring.

The returning hunger may be a revival of your grehlin (a big YMMV thing) but can also come from increasing dietary variety, particularly if some of the junkier foods are creeping back into your diet, as some of those are known in induce hunger.

Good luck, and keep up the good work....