Pantoprazole 40 Mg 8 Weeks Still In Pain

Janie Says:
Thu, Feb 28 '13, 6:26 AM

Hello, I was prescribed pantoprazole 40 mg to help with my stomach pain. The medicine did make the pain leave. However, after the 8 week course my doctor reduced the dose to 20 mg and told me only to take it when necessary. I was taking 20 mg for only two days before my symptoms returned and I was forced to return to 40mg. I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor soon but I am scared that I might have stomach cancer( 39 year old female). What should I expect at mh appointment. Is a relapse normal so soon after reduction in dose? Thank you.

Verwon Says:
Thu, Feb 28 '13, 11:26 AM
Well, I'd say that it isn't time to panic, calm down and relax. There are many other conditions that can cause stomach pain, that aren't stomach cancer.

I have experience in this area, several years ago, I started suffering severe stomach pain myself (only a year younger than you!) and that's exactly what I was afraid of, because I lost an uncle to stomach cancer, when I was just 9 years old. I saw quite a few doctors, ended up in quite a few ERs, with various tests and medications, I had diagnoses anywhere from Pancreatitis to ovarian cysts, before finding out what was actually putting me in so much pain.

In my case, it turned out to be gastritis, which is almost like having your entire stomach turn into one giant ulcer and the first medication they tried me on was also in the PPI class, it was Omeprazole.

The problem with the PPIs is that they can cause stomach pain as a side effect in some people and if you lower the dosage like that, there is a very good chance of experiencing a few days of a rebound effect, where they pain returns and may even be worse than it was before you started taking it.

What finally worked for me was Pepcid, 20mgs twice a day for 16 weeks and then I went to one a day for a month, then to an as needed.

You can learn more Pepcid details here.

So there are 2 possibilities, the Pantoprazole may not have been the right medication for you, or the abrupt lowering was just too much and you suffered rebound effects.

Are there any other questions or anything I can help with?