Getting off of Omeprazole… part one of who knows how many

Part of my goals in getting healthy is kicking my Omeprazole habit. Many of you know exactly what Omeprazole is, but for those of you who do not, it’s commonly sold as Prilosec.

I want to go back and visit my past for a bit to fully explain why I want so desperately to get off of this pill.

I’ve had indegestion for as long as I can actually remember. While most kids were eating smarties and jolly ranchers, I was secretly popping Rolaids. For a middle school kid (maybe even elementary, who knows!) secretly is the operative word. Taking Rolaids made me feel old, and just frankly embarrassed me, but it was something that I had to do, so I made the best of it.

I was finally prescribed prilosec by a doctor at the local walk-in clinic at least ten years ago. I had an odd feeling where I felt like I needed to swallow to clear my throat, yet somehow no matter how many times I would gulp/swallow my throat still never felt totally clear. The doctor explained to me that the same thing happened to her father, she prescribed him Prilosec and it cleared the lump in his throat right up. I was just looking to get rid of the annoying lump, so I took the prescription paper to the pharmacy and began what is now an addiction that’s oh so hard to break.

I took that prescription for two months, and that annoying lump was gone, but something else really awesome also happened, my heartburn left right along with the lump. After my prescription ran out I went back to my rolaid popping ways, and waited. I waited for years and went through thousands of rolaids.

In 2003, when Prilosec finally went OTC, I started taking them every day. For me I felt that being able to obtain these without the once required prescription was an answered prayer.

I probably went along carefree for quite some time, but eventually I would get break through heartburn, and I would still have to take a rolaid. Worse than that, though, was that before I started The stuff I never got the actual acid coming back up into my throat. It was only after I had been on it that the terribly nasty side effect began.

Most recently, within the past few months, it was becoming a nightly occurance- me waking up choking on acid, having to chew tums and take a spoon full of peanut butter just to get the nasty taste out of my mouth.

So here I am today, going on two weeks now of being off of omeprazole, and I can 100% say this- it’s freakin hard, and it’s so much more than just getting off of a medication. This, I feel, is something that I’ll be going through the waves of emotions with for months to come.