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The Purple Pill Causes the Very Symptoms it is Prescribed to Treat
Researchers also believe users may become dependent on the drug, leading to increased long term usage.

The Purple Pill may cause or aggravate the very acid-reflux symptoms it is prescribed to treat, according to a newly published randomized controlled trial, the gold standard in medical research. Researchers also believe users may become dependent on the drug, leading to increased long term usage.

Nexium is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) that inhibits the production of acid in the stomach is the second-largest-selling drug in the United States, with total annual U.S. sales of $5.5 billion.

Due to obesity and poor lifestyle, acid reflux complaints are on the rise and many people see doctors specifically requesting medications as a result of the extensive advertising of these drugs.

This may explain why these drugs are popular, but Denmark researchers say the increase in chronic problems may be due to the drugs themselves.

They gave 120 healthy people who've never had acid reflux the generic form of Nexium and found that 44 percent of the healthy volunteers developed acid reflux symptoms after stopping the drug.

Researchers believe ceasing the PPI's trigger a rebound effect that creates more acid.

"The observation that more than 40 percent of healthy volunteers, who have never been bothered by heartburn, acid regurgitation or dyspepsia, develop such symptoms in the weeks after cessation of PPIs is remarkable and has potentially important clinical and economic implications," said Christina Reimer, MD, of Copenhagen University and lead author of the study. "This study indicates unrecognized aspects of PPI withdrawal and is a very strong indication of a clinically significant acid rebound phenomenon that needs to be investigated in proper patient populations."

The use of PPIs is extensive and rapidly escalating. While the incidence of new patients being treated with PPIs remains stable, the prevalence of long-term treatment is rising. It now appears that dependency on the drugs make explain the rise.

Previous studies have shown that up to 33 percent of patients who initiate PPI treatment continue to refill their prescriptions without an obvious indication for maintenance therapy. Rebound symptoms following PPI drug treatment is observed within two weeks after withdrawal of treatment and could theoretically lead to acid-related symptoms such as heartburn, acid regurgitation or dyspepsia that might result in resumption of therapy.

The new study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, found that those who took a the generic form of Nexium for eight weeks were more likely to develop heartburn, indigestion, and similar symptoms in the weeks after they stopped taking the drug. Overall, 44 percent of people who took the drug reported at least one acid-related symptom after stopping, compared with 15 per cent of volunteers who took an inactive placebo. The symptoms caused mild-to-moderate discomfort.

"We find it highly likely that the symptoms observed in this trial are caused by rebound acid hypersecretion and that this phenomenon is equally relevant in patients treated long term with PPIs. If rebound acid hypersecretion induces acid-related symptoms, this might lead to PPI dependency. Our results justify the speculation that PPI dependency could be one of the explanations for the rapidly and continuously increasing use of PPIs," Dr. Reimer added.

Last year about a hundred million prescriptions were written for acid reflux medications. Acid reflux drugs have outsold every other class of medication except cholesterol drugs and anti-psychotics.

Safe, effective chiropractic care offers a drugless alternative to dependence on chemicals that treat the symptoms of many common digestive disorders.