Hospital told me to come off Omeprazole for 5 days.

Do not apologise for having a rant.......it is justified! I would be equally as angry if I were in your situation. I take blood thinners which have to be ceased for five days prior to any surgery or even a tooth extraction but I take them to guard against having a second stroke.
Poor communication is a pet hate of mine - it does no harm to pick up the phone and talk to people in these situations does it?
I know procedures can be cancelled on the day but your situation was just plainly avoidable IMO.

Agree that it was very poor communication and your suffering was unnecessary.

Did you try the doctors suggestion of Rennies and Gaviscon? Both my husband and I suffer from acid reflux. I had a gastroscopy and was found to have a hiatus hernia and prescribed lanzoprazole - one of the ppis. It worked well for me until I got unpleasant side-effects. Since then I manage with Rennies, Gaviscon tablets (hate the liquid), ranitidine and occasional ppi.
Husband doesn't like ppis, but shallows gallons of Gaviscon liquid, which seems to work for him.
When you have to come off ppis again, before gastoscopy, try taking a couple of tablespoons of Gaviscon before bed, or suck a Gaviscon tablet before you lie down. During the day, take a Rennie as soon as you feel discomfort. I can suffer even in the morning, after only a cup of coffee, but a Rennies sorts me out! I have them in every coat pocket and in car.

How annoying for you and I don’t blame you for being angry.
Being in pain was so unnecessary!
Hope all goes smoothly next time.

Farmor15 - I also took Omprazole for quite some time before I experienced side effects. Also for acid reflux and a hiatus hernia. And Barrett's Disease. My GP has prescribed Famotidine instead which seems to be milder but is working well. It's an H2 blocker not a ppi so it may be ok to take before a gastroscopy.

I take omeprazole, have done for some years ever since suffering with GERD. I would be livid. If I have a flare up after not taking the meds it takes a while to recover, even when back on the meds I find I need to double up for a short time to repair damage done. The worst thing is the surgery often won’t prescribe before an allotted time even when I have been doubling up meds during a flare up which is what a doctor advised me to do originally. So I end up running out of meds and having another flare up. Is a vicious circle. 😳

There is very good reason why PPIs need to be discontinued before an upper endoscopy. This:

… powerful acid suppressing proton pump inhibitors produce significantly more rapid symptom control and healing of benign ulcers. It is not surprising to find that these drugs also rapidly abolish the dyspeptic symptoms of early gastric cancer. Importantly, well documented cases also exist of ulcerated early gastric cancers that have healed endoscopically after a short course of a proton pump inhibitor. Ulcerated lesions visible at an initial gastroscopy may be virtually undetectable even by experienced endoscopists after less than four weeks’ treatment with these drugs.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1114430/

Stopping PPIs creates rebound hyperacidity aka rebound acid hypersecretion (RAHS). RAHS is the recurrence of symptoms due to an increase in gastric acid secretion above pre-treatment levels. That’s probably why it’s so painful now. RAHS symptoms typically last for two weeks but can go on for longer.

It’s frustrating to be messed about over appointments moreso because this is a time of year that people are looking forward to Christmas feasting but sounds to me like you can start taking the PPIs again until the 4th January then take OTC antacids until you have the endoscopy on the 9th. They should neutralise the excess RAHS acid turning it to water.

Thank you so much for answering. I did buy Gaviscon Advance and Rennies. I was using both - Rennies in the main. Gaviscon is not to be taken with aspirin so have to leave until later in the day. Rennies also may deplete the absorption of the aspirin. I take coated aspirin so not sure how long that takes to go through. I will take the Gaviscon at night as suggested and just top up with Rennies which works quickly but in no time it is back again. I used some half dose Omeprazole for four days before coming off them in the hope that the switch might be tolerated to some extent. I found each day was worse than before. I have always found that I have to have my oats and yoghurt to stop the pain and often have to eat one of those Scotch type pancakes that you buy from most shops. They are soft and very helpful in the normal way of things. When I rang the hospital to ask what had happened she said we don’t usually send letters but would do so. Two minutes later I had a message that there was a letter in my app. It simply told me the date of my January appointment. Previously when getting my original appointment it was by text. So how simple to have informed me at the time. The only bonus is that my January one is at 3pm so will be able to have an early breakfast and a drink. On Friday I was in real pain and dreading going there without food and drink as it was 10.50. Thank you all for your help and understanding.

Are you taking aspirin for another condition? Unless it's for circulation, if you are just using it for pain relief, I would switch to paracetamol which can be taken with antacids. (I am assuming paracetamol has no contraindications with any other meds you take.)

Coated-aspirin should by pass the stomach but it's still an irritant for the gastro intestinal tract as is ibuprofen.

When the stomach it sore from excess acid it can be tempting not to eat but the sromach acid needs something to work on so managing to eat something is good. At times like this, I find the BRAT diet good - Banana, plain boiled Rice, Applesauce (just microwave apple pieces and mash them up) and Toast. Avoid anything with added sugar which is another gut irritant and tea and coffee. I would cut out the yoghurt too as lactose can also a irritate the stomach.

Try not to dwell on what has happened over the hospital appointment. These things happen to all of us. All it will do cause you stress which will further irritate your digestive system. Take the PPIs until the 4th so you can enjoy some Christmas food and then OTC antacids, paracetamol and bland food to get you through the five days before the endoscopy.

I hope that helps.

I find standard strong mints, (Trebor, Mentos) peppermint capsules or peppermint tea to be very effective at breaking up gas and soothing uncomfortable insides. . Sometimes even better than prescription meds.

@Katek, mints might alleviate wind or a gippy tum but it actually relaxes the oesophagus causing acid to flow more freely upwards.
A doctor once told me this when I said I was drinking peppermint tea for reflux.
🫤

Farmor I was taken off ranitidine a couple of years ago, it had been withdrawn from the market?
I take Famotidine (hiatus hernia/ GERD) I can’t take omeprazole or others from that family, it reduces my sodium too much, Gaviscon on prescription.
Lovetopaint I understand the pain you were in and why you were cross, I hope your next appointment proceeds with no hiccups.

Sorry for not getting back sooner. Decades ago, when I had a suspected ulcer and eating was painful, I took tubs of powdered Slippery Elm, and mixed it with either milk or water. Can't remember which. Very soothing and sustaining. Came off tea, cofee and chocolate. Ate Carob instead, and drank camomile tea. You just need something to get you through the next wee while, until your procedures. Hope you find what you need.

Raise your bed 7 or 5 inches with bricks or blocks under the top end.

Sleep on your left side.

These help to keep stomach contents where they should be---in the stomach, at least while you are asleep.

Jaxjacky thank you for saying about the sodium deficiency from Omeprazole. When I looked it up the symptoms coincided with mine (apart from convulsions), although I had been on it for many months. Perhaps that's why it's necessary to come off it before an operation.