Omeprazole and Brain Fog: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Bec...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 4, 2021

For GERD "Absolutely horrible. Sure, my stomach pain subsided, but the anxiety that came with it was NOT worth it. I had brain fog and anxiety all day. Even after stopping for 2 weeks, I still have anxiety, but there’s no more brain fog. Try to avoid the medication."

• RLS...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 29, 2022

For Indigestion "OMG! Reading all those reviews makes sense now, as I’ve had similar experiences by taking omeprazole only when I was getting a flare-up of a gout attack coming up, as I had to take 20 mg of it 1 hour before a meal and after a meal, colchicine, and Voltaren 100. Been doing this for the last 15-20 years, as I was diagnosed with gout nearly 30 years ago when I was 18 years old. It’s been happening lately, let's say a few years back, when taking omeprazole that I have been getting symptoms of chronic fatigue, blurred vision, extreme anxiety, panic attacks, brain fog, muscle cramps, severe insomnia, and depression. I cannot function at all, especially in the mornings when I wake up, and only start to function in the late afternoon after pushing myself to exercise, even with extreme fatigue, so that I felt better afterwards as my body would produce endorphins and serotonins. My GP prescribed me antidepressant drugs also. I still feel horrible now writing this review. :( THANK YOU to all of you for your reviews."

• Kai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 31, 2020

For Laryngopharyngeal Reflux "I had issues with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) about 4 years ago. Took Prilosec OTC and was fine... well, I have it again, and like usual, bought Prilosec, and I also have anxiety/panic disorder. This medicine is horrible! I've had dizziness, brain fog, palpitations, panic attack. I literally just came home from the ER because I thought I was having a stroke! After reading these reviews, I'm convinced it is Prilosec doing this. I had 4 more to go, and I threw all of them in the trash. I'll take Gaviscon until my appointment with the GI doctor. I'll never use that medicine again. The dizziness is unbearable!"

• MW2...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 13, 2022

For GERD "I got diagnosed with severe acid reflux in June of 2022 (a condition that I knew I had but just chose to ignore for a long time). They did a battery of tests and decided the best path forward would be to take omeprazole. I would say by the 2nd day I started having the side effects: severe brain fog, anxiety attacks, tingling in arms and legs, restlessness... it was awful. But when I told both my PCP and my gastroenterologist, neither of them connected any dots back to omeprazole, so they both added more drugs for me to take. This lasted for weeks. I thought I was going crazy, and nothing was helping to relieve the symptoms. So I eventually started looking online and found this blog, and I stopped taking it immediately. I printed out these pages to show both of my doctors so that when someone else complained of these things while taking that drug, maybe they will remember my case. It's been about a month now, and the symptoms have gotten much better, but they are not gone."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 24, 2019

For Laryngopharyngeal Reflux "Omeprazole is highly effective in helping with reflux issues. No more agonizing sore throats and congestion in sinuses. However, I do feel it has raised my anxiety considerably, and brain fog is noticeable. I have also suffered from muscle twitching/jolts. All these symptoms started a couple of months after I started the omeprazole."

• Tri...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 15, 2021

For GERD "I started taking omeprazole 5 years ago for my GERD symptoms. Let me start with saying this drug is very effective at stopping heartburn. You take it once a day in the morning, and wham, heartburn gone. I was prescribed the 20 mg delayed-release pills. I took them almost every day for 5 years. However, over a period of time, I started to develop daily anxiety, brain fog, difficulty keeping my eyes focused on one thing, and mood swings. My mental quality of life really took a nosedive. I even had several panic attacks over the years. It never occurred to me that my heartburn medication could be causing these symptoms. So I tried everything... magnesium, CBD, exercise, getting good sleep, changing my diet, nootropics, went to a therapist, etc. My anxiety was the worst symptom. I was worried about driving my car, my daily activities at work, even going to the grocery store! I stopped taking this drug, and it is all slowly going away. Save yourself 5 years by not taking this drug!"

• Tri...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 15, 2021

For GERD "I started taking omeprazole 5 years ago for my GERD symptoms. Let me start with saying this drug is very effective at stopping heartburn. You take it once a day in the morning, and wham, heartburn gone. I was prescribed the 20 mg delayed-release pills. I took them almost every day for 5 years. However, over a period of time, I started to develop daily anxiety, brain fog, difficulty keeping my eyes focused on one thing, and mood swings. My mental quality of life really took a nosedive. I even had several panic attacks over the years. It never occurred to me that my heartburn medication could be causing these symptoms. So I tried everything... magnesium, CBD, exercise, getting good sleep, changing my diet, nootropics, went to a therapist, etc. My anxiety was the worst symptom. I was worried about driving my car, my daily activities at work, even going to the grocery store! I stopped taking this drug, and it is all slowly going away. Save yourself 5 years by not taking this drug!"

• Anonymous
• January 18, 2022

For Gastritis/Duodenitis "Been on this drug for 14 days now, it sure helped with my stomach acid. I felt relief after 3 days, but then I started having anxiety, headaches, diarrhea, brain fog, my eyesight was going out of focus. I literally have been calling off work because of this drug. Beware."

• Har...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 21, 2022

For GERD "Holy cow, this medicine should be pulled from the shelves. I can't believe there isn't a lawsuit against the makers. I took this for GERD for 10 days. I noticed around day 9 that something was off. It is now 14 days since my last dose, and I'm a mess with side effects, including dizzy, brain fog, oh, the brain fog. I even feel like I'm getting a cold or something weird in my head. My ears hurt. I feel like I'm hungover or something to that effect. I had to go home from work yesterday because I was wobbly. This medicine is a nightmare. I hope these side effects end soon. I mean, how long can you actually have side effects? I feel like I'm detoxing. Horrible, absolutely horrible."

• spk...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 7, 2020

For Duodenal Ulcer "I had slight burning pain in an area that my doctor thought was an ulcer or gastritis. It was radiating a bit to my back. Doctor prescribed omeprazole, 40 mg for a month, 20 mg for another month, 10 mg for the third month. Initially, it seemed to help, but I developed mild side effects that kept getting worse: flatulence, slight nausea, loss of appetite, tightness at the bottom of the rib cage, jitteriness, intermittent loose bowels and constipation, malaise, fatigue, increase in heartbeat upon moving, and toward the end, brain fog. I still had slight burning intermittently in the duodenum area. I’d planned to go off it soon anyway, but two days ago I realized that my life had become a misery and maybe it was the drug that was causing it! I’ve been off it for two days and I have improvement so far. If I had it to do over again, I absolutely would not take it for more than a month. Ridiculous drug."

• Dud...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 28, 2021

For GERD "I started them over two years ago, did not think of any issues until I started to have fog, brain was not sleeping, I had bad nervousness in my stomach, I could not focus and was just crying all the time, thinking of the worst. Then I started having seizures, had a head scan, could not find any issues in my head. I stopped taking them, everything was okay, did not have any issues for at least two years, but I was still having acid reflux, so I called the doctor and he gave me some new medication. I took them for one day and I had two seizures, nervous badly, and also passed out, ended up being in the hospital. I made sure never to take them again. It wrecked my life, just telling everyone out there, do not take this."

• Joh...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 20, 2021

For GERD "Omg, where do I even start? I got an endoscopy, and the doctor said I have acid reflux and H. pylori. I was prescribed omeprazole (August 2020). It was okay for the first few weeks, then out of nowhere, I started belching nonstop, and I still do to this day. It caused me heart palpitations, headaches, brain fog, anxiety, depression, extreme weight loss. I stopped it and started taking anxiety medications. Everything is all good, then I just, 3 days ago (December 17, 2021), I wanted to try it one more time just because I had heartburn and acid reflux very badly, and it worked good the first day. 2nd day, same symptoms, never again in my life. Ever. Now we all know the reason why we all have the same problems. I went back to my GI doctor several times complaining. What did he do? Upped the dosage. OMG, never again."

• RLa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 16, 2019

For Stomach Ulcer "This medicine was absolutely no good for me at all. Doctor suspected an ulcer due to some ongoing pain in a specific area. Within days of starting this, my brain was completely foggy, I had constant severe stomach pain, both diarrhea and constipation, nausea, horrible gas pains, and a serious headache that Advil couldn't even touch. I honestly felt so sick for so many days that I thought about going to the ER more than once, and it didn't make the original pain subside at all. I didn't immediately suspect the omeprazole, but then realized that starting it was the only recent change. Sure enough, within one day of stopping it, I'm much better. Still not myself at all, but I'm hoping everything will subside with a few days."

• Fir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 24, 2022

For Helicobacter Pylori Infection "My dose is 40 mg twice a day for 10 days for H. pylori along with Pylera. Ok for the first 5 days, then lightheadedness and just got worse from there on with brain fog and anxiety. Changed to pantoprazole 40 mg twice a day at day 8 of Pylera. It is now the 5th day since I stopped the pantoprazole and Pylera. I have had an extreme exacerbation of my anxiety. Triggered by little things, even just the telephone ringing or a text message pinging, my heart beating very hard. No appetite. I get up from the chair and walk around and have to sit down to rest until my heart stops pounding, then can't get up to answer the phone because my heart is pounding again and tingling arms and legs. I was sure it was all the meds I took as I have no anxious feelings, just panicky symptoms. Doctor said I need Lexapro. This is not the same as my anxiety in the past, and I am already feeling better, so I think all the meds are wearing off at last. I thought all the negative reviews were fake until now. Not worth the side effects."

• Mag...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 30, 2022

For GERD "So weird how a medicine simply meant to lower levels of stomach acid can cause side effects as devastating as 220 mg Effexor withdrawal. I can continue to live my life by willpower, but the brain fog, brain zaps, forgetfulness, vertigo, among others, really makes it a drag. I only took it twice. I took it at 3 pm, and the next morning when I woke up, I thought I was getting sick. Then I googled omeprazole and felt eased. No anxiety increase, but it has really slowed my thinking. Garbage medicine. Three points because it actually worked well for my heartburn. Maybe I'd use omeprazole sparingly, but I can't see myself following a daily course for weeks in any universe. Thank God it doesn't conflict with any other medication I'm currently taking because I'm really kicking myself for not looking it up before taking it or even purchasing it. $40 down the drain. I'm depending on Aspirin to keep going for now because, without it, the pounding heartbeat side effect really saps my energy."

• ENP...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 21, 2022

For GERD "I have been on a very low dose of antidepressants, 10 mg, for 3 months and feel good, however, they make my stomach burn. My doctor prescribed omeprazole, 20 mg, and I have been taking it for 2 days. My mum always screams at me for googling side effects, but thank God I do because the side effects on the leaflet of omeprazole do not say brain fog, anxiety, or depression. I am thankful to you all for your reviews because without reading them I wouldn’t have stopped at just 2. Wish you all the best."

• KDa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2021

For GERD "I suffer from acid reflux and a feeling there is something in my throat and was prescribed omeprazole by my GP (General Practitioner) 20 mg a day. On the first day, I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing, anxiety, and a feeling of wanting to scream. I was overwhelmed with fear and mental fog. On the second day, the effect was even worse. I had severe abdominal pain, aches and pains in my joints, and anxiety. I am coming off the medication immediately. I have opted for the healthy options to address the acid reflux: maintain a healthy weight, change my diet, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and the like."

• ano...
• August 4, 2021

"I was put on 40 mg omeprazole because I had a possibility of having GERD and indigestion, along with the chances of celiac disease, Crohn's, etc. They don't know what's wrong, but my doctor put me on this to stop the morning sickness portion of my symptoms. Although it's reduced the amount of acid I throw up in the morning, I feel much worse than I did when I didn't take medication at all. I now have chronic stomach pains in the early mornings (3 a.m.-9 a.m.), and I am much more nauseous than I was before. On top of this, I've experienced extreme brain fog to where I will be wandering around my house forgetting why I'm even up. I feel extremely weak all the time, and although I do struggle with ED, this is not helping at all. Some mornings I wake up with uncontrollable shaking, which never happened until I started this medication. All this medication has done so far is stress me out because of all of the symptoms preventing me from being able to go to school and even function normally."