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Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

theguardian.com

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Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#31

Post by dm319 »

It worries me when I read an article like this, then see people in the comments suggesting that they're stopping their PPI prescription. Which ironically might increase their chance of cancer, depending on the indication.

Even at the end of the article the authors conclude:

> “The most plausible explanation for the totality of evidence on this is that those who are given PPIs, and especially those who continue on them long-term, tend to be sicker in a variety of ways than those for whom they are not prescribed.”

That's because this is an observational study. That means there is probably another confounding factor that is perpetuating the use of a PPI in some people, but not in others. Sometimes these confounding factors are controllable - as long as you know what they are - but usually they are not. For example, those who were taking omprezole may have peptic ulcer disease - which would put you at risk of gastric cancer, and for which the PPI is used to reduce the acidity of the stomach, and reduce the risk of ulcers and inflammation (which can be a precursor or risk factor for cancer). Similar story for gastro oesophageal reflux disease, where the risk is to the oesophagus.

If you want to answer the question 'Does taking a PPI increase my risk of gastric cancer?' you need another type of study. That is a randomised controlled trial, where you randomise people to either the PPI tablet, or a placebo, then measure what happens. This allows you to infer causality, and the randomisation prevents confounding factors.

Thankfully this has been done[1]. It's only one paper from a low-impact journal, but none-the-less a meta-analysis of several RCTs setting out to answer a specific question holds more weight than an observational study.

Also, I'm not a gastroenterologist, so if there is one out there who understands the field better, please chime in. Specifically, if you have a clear medical reason to be taking a PPI (i.e. reflux with oesophageal histology changes), are there RCTs comparing PPI use versus not? I've done a quick google and this [2] study seems relevant - they suggest that if you have mild disease you can just take the PPI when you have symptoms, but not for severe disease. However, they didn't assess cancer risk.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23906249

[2] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2036.2007....

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#32

Post by superb_herb »

Overtonwindow wrote: post #29
H1Supreme wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid Exactly. The amount of people completely, and utterly, misinformed about acid reflux is astounding. You don't have too much acid, you don't have enough! Ditching the dairy and drastically cutting back on animal flesh will cure most heartburn/acid reflux.

I started taking a probiotic (cheapest at whole foods) and stopped getting acid reflux all together.

I never put two and two together until just now, but probiotics got rid of my acid reflex as well.

I used to live on calcium tablets basically.

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#33

Post by wiz21c »

H1Supreme wrote: post #27
jasonhn9999 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paradoxically, I cured my reflux with betaine HCL (with pepsin) and digestive enzymes. I found that when I eat meat and/or when I’m stressed, my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid. This leads to a build up of reflux because the meat is essentially rotting in my stomach, which creates awful “bad acid” reflux. Instead of the drug(s), with every meal, I recommend taking one capsule of betaine HCL (with pe…

> my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid Exactly. The amount of people completely, and utterly, misinformed about acid reflux is astounding. You don't have too much acid, you don't have enough! Ditching the dairy and drastically cutting back on animal flesh will cure most heartburn/acid reflux.

>> Ditching the dairy and drastically cutting back on animal flesh

Sounds like moving to a healthy diet to me...

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#34

Post by mlloyd »

jakebasile wrote: post #11

Nothing gives you a morning dose of fear like reading this about a drug you’ve been on for 6 years. Guess I’ll start looking into alternatives and ways to screen for stomach cancer.

Seriously. I've been taking it sporadically for about that long as well. Doing the same as you now.

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#35

Post by mlloyd »

H1Supreme wrote: post #27
jasonhn9999 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paradoxically, I cured my reflux with betaine HCL (with pepsin) and digestive enzymes. I found that when I eat meat and/or when I’m stressed, my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid. This leads to a build up of reflux because the meat is essentially rotting in my stomach, which creates awful “bad acid” reflux. Instead of the drug(s), with every meal, I recommend taking one capsule of betaine HCL (with pe…

> my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid Exactly. The amount of people completely, and utterly, misinformed about acid reflux is astounding. You don't have too much acid, you don't have enough! Ditching the dairy and drastically cutting back on animal flesh will cure most heartburn/acid reflux.

For me it was increasing meat and fat and cutting carbs. Doing that has all but eliminated my reflux until I change my diet for a moderate amount of time.

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#36

Post by mlloyd »

forgotmyacc wrote: post #4

People don't realize PPIs are a short term solution. PPIs are terrible long term. That being said, I'd be long dead without them. They are truly a life saver until you find out the root cause. Many trips to the ER and years later, I found out avoiding gluten and taking probiotics cured mine.

"I found out avoiding gluten and taking probiotics cured mine."

I've done keto and it worked for me, could have been the elimination of gluten in retrospect. Haven't tried the probiotics.

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#37

Post by CodeCube »

mlloyd wrote: post #35
H1Supreme wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid Exactly. The amount of people completely, and utterly, misinformed about acid reflux is astounding. You don't have too much acid, you don't have enough! Ditching the dairy and drastically cutting back on animal flesh will cure most heartburn/acid reflux.

For me it was increasing meat and fat and cutting carbs. Doing that has all but eliminated my reflux until I change my diet for a moderate amount of time.

For me, it's cutting out (or at least, reducing) Pizza... my favorite part of the food pyramid

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#38

Post by sly010 »

criley2 wrote: post #25
jasonhn9999 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paradoxically, I cured my reflux with betaine HCL (with pepsin) and digestive enzymes. I found that when I eat meat and/or when I’m stressed, my body doesn’t naturally produce enough “good” acid. This leads to a build up of reflux because the meat is essentially rotting in my stomach, which creates awful “bad acid” reflux. Instead of the drug(s), with every meal, I recommend taking one capsule of betaine HCL (with pe…

I would recommend talking to your doctor before accepting medical advice on the internet. Please do not accept medical recommendations from strangers who are not licensed to offer medical advice. Also, if you continue to have to treat symptoms on a regular basis you did not "cure" anything, cure implies that you are free from managing your symptoms. Rather you are managing symptoms and doing nothing about the cause.

> Rather you are managing symptoms and doing nothing about the cause.

Which is also what a licensed MD does when he/she puts you on a proton pump inhibitor.

Re: Acid reflux drug linked to more than doubled risk of stomach cancer

#39

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

d--b wrote: post #6

Not to mention cognitive impairment: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4696341/

Jesus.... why isn't that being talked about more.

I got off acid reflux drugs because of the cancer risk by taking a probiotic, which took about a month to have the same effect.

Next week, we will find out the probiotics cause cancer and mental impairment.

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