Does Prolonged Omeprazole Intake Lead To Collagenous Colitis?

Posted on Fri, 18 Jul 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 18 Jul 2014 Answered on

Thu, 7 Aug 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I've been on omeprazole for about 8 years but was diagnosed with collagenous colitis last year. This can be related to long-term proton pump inhibitor use so my family doctor is switching me to ranitidine. But I've had a huge increase in headache and muscle pain since starting the ranitidine. Can this be caused by the drug? I've also had fibromyalgia for 20 years, but I do pretty well most of the time with exercise and massage. My current muscle pain seems different than the familiar fibro pain.

Answered by Dr. Abhijit Deshmukh (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hello

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for the query.
Yes omeprazole, esomoprazole is known to be associated with collagenous colitis thought the strength of association is not clearly known.
I think it is correct to change to ranitidine. But the issue is ranitidine is too known to cause fatigue, muscle pain, headache.
So it is a difficult situation, can try taking some other antacid like famotidine and see if you feel better.
Other thing is continue lifestyle modification which will help you in controlling your acidity in long run,
1) Eating on time
2) Taking adequate sleep
3) Regular walking
4) Avoiding sleep 2 hours after meals
5) Cutting down on stress and anxiety
All this will help you to control symptoms in long run.
Hope this answers your query.
Wish you a speedy recovery.
Happy to help.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar