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omeprazole badly affecting athletes
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zoomer26
Jun 29, 15 11:25
Post #1 of 10 (8003 views)
Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone has taken omeprazole or other acid reflux medicines and noticed a severe decline in their athletic performances? I took it for about two years twice a day because I had horrible acid reflux. During that time, I started loosing a lot of speed and gaining weight. After my worse race at the time, I finally got my blood tested and realized that my iron levels (ferritin) had dropped drastically and my B12 levels were low. I stopped taking the medicine and instead started taking aloe vera juice (which, knock on wood, seems to be helping). I got my ferritin and B12 levels back to normal now. It's been about two years since I stopped taking it and though I have gotten faster, I've never returned to the speed and weight I was originally. I hadn't thought about this whole connection in a while, but then today my friend told me he was having the same problems.

I would love to hear your thoughts/experience with this! Thanks!
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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AMT04
Jun 29, 15 11:45
Post #2 of 10 (7938 views)
I've not heard that before, or ever made a connection. I've been taking omeprazole or ranitidine for about 8 years for serious GERD, and have managed to race and train for most of that. Not sure if I would have been faster without it, but I managed some decent results.

I'd be interested if any research suggests possible impacts to energy, anemia, or athletic performance.


-Andrew
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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Kevin in MD
Jun 29, 15 12:27
Post #3 of 10 (7843 views)
Never heard that suggested, have raced and trained taking it every day since 1998 after having to have my esophagus dilated a couple of times.

So I guess i don't know if I would do better without it.
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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Thom
Jun 29, 15 12:57
Post #4 of 10 (7767 views)
For what it's worth, it's used on race horses pretty regularly.
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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SwimMikeRun
Jun 29, 15 19:09
Post #5 of 10 (7547 views)
It interesting and i will follow to see...


I've gotten fatter since taking it, but I think its really the lack of exercise and the fact that I can now eat pizza without dying. Hmmmm maybe I should stop taking it, my daily diet was much better when I avoided the pepperoni.
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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Drdan
Jun 29, 15 19:16
Post #6 of 10 (7535 views)
It can drop your magnesium substantially in a small number of people and that might account for some of your symptoms.

Can't explain the iron deficiency though, unless that was because of your reflux causing some irritation and bleeding there.
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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DrTriKat
Jun 29, 15 19:31
Post #7 of 10 (7502 views)
zoomer26 wrote:
Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone has taken omeprazole or other acid reflux medicines and noticed a severe decline in their athletic performances? I took it for about two years twice a day because I had horrible acid reflux. During that time, I started loosing a lot of speed and gaining weight. After my worse race at the time, I finally got my blood tested and realized that my iron levels (ferritin) had dropped drastically and my B12 levels were low. I stopped taking the medicine and instead started taking aloe vera juice (which, knock on wood, seems to be helping). I got my ferritin and B12 levels back to normal now. It's been about two years since I stopped taking it and though I have gotten faster, I've never returned to the speed and weight I was originally. I hadn't thought about this whole connection in a while, but then today my friend told me he was having the same problems.

I would love to hear your thoughts/experience with this! Thanks!


Yes, long term use of PPI's (which is what omeprazole is) may have a number of adverse health effects, including low B12 levels, which may in turn lead to poorer athletic performance.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/...ng-term-side-effects
Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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nealhe
Jun 29, 15 19:36
Post #8 of 10 (7495 views)
Hello zoomer26 and All,

My wife had acid reflux for awhile and it turned out that it was caused by MSG ..... and now she never eats MSG and has no acid reflux.

.
Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster
Quote Reply
Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [DrTriKat] [ In reply to ]
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happyscientist
Jun 30, 15 5:14
Post #9 of 10 (7357 views)
DrTriKat wrote:
zoomer26 wrote:
Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone has taken omeprazole or other acid reflux medicines and noticed a severe decline in their athletic performances? I took it for about two years twice a day because I had horrible acid reflux. During that time, I started loosing a lot of speed and gaining weight. After my worse race at the time, I finally got my blood tested and realized that my iron levels (ferritin) had dropped drastically and my B12 levels were low. I stopped taking the medicine and instead started taking aloe vera juice (which, knock on wood, seems to be helping). I got my ferritin and B12 levels back to normal now. It's been about two years since I stopped taking it and though I have gotten faster, I've never returned to the speed and weight I was originally. I hadn't thought about this whole connection in a while, but then today my friend told me he was having the same problems.

I would love to hear your thoughts/experience with this! Thanks!


Yes, long term use of PPI's (which is what omeprazole is) may have a number of adverse health effects, including low B12 levels, which may in turn lead to poorer athletic performance.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/...ng-term-side-effects

Yep. That is why you can prescriptions for formulations that include Mg. I don't know if an OTC version is available or not, but you should look into it. You can also develop bone loss from long-term use of PPIs.

On a side note, I wish the FDA would fix their desired format for drug labels. You are actually given this information with you prescription or OTC versions, but they way they have it laid out, the average person will never read it, and if they do, they might not understand it.
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Re: omeprazole badly affecting athletes [zoomer26] [ In reply to ]
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ClayDavis
Jun 30, 15 5:55
Post #10 of 10 (7304 views)
I've been taking pantoprazole for around 7 years now, had some symptoms a few years back that all pointed to a B12 deficiency, so I've been taking B12 supplements since then without issue. Can't compare my performance levels pre-meds with those post-meds as I wasn't very athletic back then. I'm aware of the side effects/issues associated with PPIs, but the consequences of not taking them (esophagal cancer) are worse.
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