Pantoprazole and Anxiety: What Users Say

• Pum...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 8, 2021

For GERD "14 months ago, my GI put me on 40mg pantoprazole for GERD and esophagus erosion. My GERD seemed better, but not resolved, however, I continued taking it. Then, one month later, COVID-19 hit. More and more, I felt really sick with bloating, joint pain, severe back pain, extreme tiredness, and no energy, headaches, depression, and anxiety. I also experienced blurry vision and brain fog. I thought it was all due to stress because of COVID. My physical well-being changed so drastically during this time. Now, for the first time, I researched the side effects of this drug, and the realization set in that these are probably all side effects from this drug! I will not take it any longer and hope that I might start feeling better! Often, I thought I was on my deathbed feeling so awful! Could these have been all the side effects of this drug?"

• Anonymous
• April 26, 2021

For GERD "I got acid reflux and the doctor prescribed pantoprazole. The side effects are brain fog, ringing in my ear, weakness, depression, and anxiety. The dizziness was so horrible until I passed out, and my husband found me on the kitchen floor, which is very terrifying. Then, they prescribed Ativan, Sertraline Hydrochloride, and I was told to seek help from mental health. I am a health care worker for over more than 10 years, and I can say I am a very healthy individual until I had the GERD issue. The Pantoprazole is just so awful, why are they even out in the market?? I just stopped taking all the medications and do some juicing and a good diet. I am at home now for medical EI. Let's see how it goes. Hopes everything goes well, and please say a prayer for me to get better!!!"

• Tyl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 19, 2021

For GERD "Started taking this after bad acid reflux, helped with the acid reflux but started feeling very ill, muscle pains, muscle twitching, headaches, back pain, neck pain, abdominal pains. I dropped weight really fast, dry throat, nausea, didn't feel hungry, panic attacks/anxiety, depression, foggy head/troubles concentrating, troubles sleeping, ringing in my ears, my sugar levels also started to crash a lot two weeks in. My doctor thought it was my diabetes medication, while emergency thought it was all in my head when I expressed concern to this medication being the problem. Also ended up spending a lot of money being told to take other meds for anxiety/sleep, taking trips to the hospital, and being out of work. Would not recommend this medication."

• Jam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 12, 2021

For GERD "I've been on Pantoprazole for 5 days. It got rid of my GERD. However, the side effects are bad. I am dizzy and light-headed. I have a poor appetite, anxiety, and brain fog. Water tastes bad. I am bloated, weak, and tired. I don't plan to continue taking the drug."

• Ann...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 28, 2020

For GERD "I took this pantoprazole for less than 24 hours, and I have to say it was not a good experience. I had heart racing, massive headache, an odd tingling sensation, shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, dry mouth, and anxiety. I’m feeling slightly better this morning, but woke up feeling dehydrated despite drinking my weight in fluids yesterday. I will say I had a reaction to another similar medication to this as well, which is why I switched to this one, so I don’t know if my body is just sensitive to these types of meds or what. I will never take these or anything like it again, and I’m surprised that they get away with saying reactions are rare when clearly that’s not true. I started taking a probiotic, and that has helped so far I think. Just hoping it didn’t do any long-term damage."

• Eva...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 3, 2020

For Stomach Ulcer "The doctor prescribed this drug to heal my stomach after having nausea and no appetite. After taking this drug, I have experienced really bad side effects which have affected me so much. Depression and extreme crying, anxiety to the point of having chest pains and a tight chest feeling, joint pain, pins and needles, fever, gas and bloating, extreme nausea and no desire to eat, abdominal pain, brain fog, weakness and tiredness, insomnia, headaches. This has made me go to the ER thinking something serious was wrong with me. Being off of this medication for 2 days and symptoms are subsiding but still present. I was finally able to regain some appetite and eat again. I am sharing my story to let others know of the serious side effects of this medication."

• Sun...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 22, 2021

For GERD "I was put on pantoprazole almost 2 months now. I first started and it seemed to be working. I just received my COVID vaccine and thought I was having a bad reaction from the injection. I just out of the blue googled the side effects from pantoprazole and I have almost all of them. Crazy - I've been wondering why I'm so dizzy all the time with nausea, diarrhea, intense anxiety and more acid waking me up, gas, and burping. I'm done!! Tired of trying meds that don't seem to work."

• Sto...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 16, 2021

For GERD "I was prescribed PANTOPRAZOLE (Protonix) by an Emergency Doctor. She said it was safe to take it. Day 1 gave me stomach pain, but it went away. DAY 2 I was fine, DAY 3 I was fine, until DAY 4. I started feeling dizzy. I immediately suspended the pill. I have felt the anxiety that everyone is referring to. Also, it gives you brain fog. I would highly recommend to first do some research before you take this pill. I was taking Nexium before with no side effects, however, it works slowly. I should have stuck to it instead of switching to this horrendous pill. As of now, I will be waiting to wipe it off my system. Think again if you need to take this pill, there are other pills that can be less harmful."

• Rox...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 28, 2021

For GERD "So I've been taking this medicine for about a month now, and it was helping me so much I was amazed. But then I started having problems where I thought I was going crazy. Really bad headaches, neck and back pains, just pains all over my body. Swelling in my legs and hands, my legs hurt. Ringing in my ears, panic attacks, anxiety. I feel the brain fogginess, I just feel weird like something is always wrong. Tonight I finally googled the side effects of this medication. And I'm seeing all the side effects that I'm having, and it's mind-blowing. I've been to the doctor so many times for each problem, they give me different medications for this and that. Seeing all this, I won't be taking it any longer and will be going back to my doctor tomorrow. Thank you, everyone, for your comments on here, it's helped me so much. Oh, I also have a really bad dry throat and weight gain."

• Ms ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2020

For GERD "I took this for GERD. I took it twice. Horrible stomach ache/gas. It also made me feel weird. I even started feeling super anxious and depressed. I started crying and feeling hopeless. It also did nothing for my symptoms. Although I wasn’t on them long enough to help. They made my reflux worse!! Horrible medication. Never again!"

• Lat...
• July 4, 2021

For GERD "I have been taking this medication for 3 days. Day 1: severe headache all day. Day 2: anxiety peaked through the roof from a funny feeling, and now Day 3 I am dizzy and feeling sick to my stomach, and of course, anxiety through the roof again because of the weird feeling I have. I did notice stomach pain decreased with eating oatmeal. I think this will be my last day taking medicine. Through this all, I’m still bloated and constantly burping as I was doing prior to taking the meds."

• Rec...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 11, 2021

For GERD "25-year-old male, no other medications. I started this medication in February of 2021 for gastritis while my doctor figured out what was really wrong. I have never had a panic attack or suffered from anxiety/depression before. Approximately a month after taking this medication, I began having several panic attacks a day and freaking out over several things that I normally would never think twice about. After 2-3 more months on this med, the anxiety morphed into depression and intrusive thoughts. I had several other side effects that developed, such as weakness and ringing in my ears. After months of trial and error on testing, we finally figured out that my gallbladder was working at 19% and had it removed in June 2021. I talked with my doctor about these meds and how I suspected that it may have been causing all of my issues. My doctor agreed due to PPI causing B-12 and magnesium deficiency. Currently weaning off and hope to be done soon. I’ve already started feeling better in recent weeks."

• Lpe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 9, 2021

For Gastritis/Duodenitis "Can anyone tell me how long the side effects last from this medicine? I took it for 12 days. During the second week, I started waking up crying and feeling depressed every morning. I have more anxiety. I started having stomach pain, and one day I had severe nausea. Also, I was dealing with some loss of appetite, and that’s gotten worse. I also experienced brain fog and extreme exhaustion and fatigue, like I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I think that PPIs can be extremely dangerous for some people. How can a medicine that’s supposed to heal bring so much destruction to your body? Ugh. I want to figure out something natural to take."

• Sp0...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2021

For GERD "I've had acid reflux for a while now, alongside POTS, women's health issues, blood clots, severe anxiety/depression, and more. Needless to say, I'm a complicated case. However, I asked my doctor for something to control the incessant heartburn, pain, and GI issues it's caused. After Pepcid failed me, she prescribed Pantoprazole. It helped my symptoms within 24 hours. I could eat anything I wanted, and I wouldn't have heartburn or anything. However, I noticed over the course of 2 months on this, my anxiety has increased so much that it's causing more frequent panic attacks, or makes me feel all day/night like I'm going to have one only for it to never go away, and makes me feel unable to break out of the anxiety. Definitely recommend if you're having GERD issues, but if you have any anxiety/depression, be prepared that while you get the upside with treating the GERD, the additional anxiety can be the downside of taking this."

• Ata...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2019

For GERD "I was put on this drug for GERD and gastritis. I wasn’t scoped, then I was just scoped a year later. I have acid reflux worse since starting this med. It gives me severe anxiety. I’m bloated 24/7 and constipated, brutal. My bowels reek foul. I have migraines and a sore chest. My back and abdomen gurgle. I tried getting off, but I get acid rebound so bad you have no choice. I’ve been in bed for 3 months. I’m exhausted from side effects. I wouldn’t take this drug ever again. I can’t even walk, barely nausea, bloating 8/10 24/7."

• Anonymous
• April 15, 2009

Pantoprazole for GERD "I had the worst side effects with Protonix. I took it for 15 days and experienced increased anxiety and heart palpitations. I also had dizziness, nausea, and insomnia. Going off of it took 6 days to feel somewhat normal."

• Pau...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 14, 2021

For GERD "I thought I was going mad! I started out with bloating, diarrhea, headaches, to feeling complete body pain and racing heartbeat. Then the anxiety full on. My doctor switched me from Nexium, which comes with its own faults, to pantoprazole. Saves him having to make a call for a prescription number, as Nexium in Australia is restricted. I searched online after feeling terrible and found this page. Thank goodness I'm not alone. I hope others heed our warnings."

• Liv...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 17, 2020

For GERD "Went on this medication due to reflux that couldn’t be fixed with over-the-counter medication. It did help with the burning sensation, but in return, I got chest pains that spread to my back and neck, constant burping, coughing, cold sweats, and a whole heap of anxiety. Heading back to my doctor tomorrow to hopefully find something else that will work."

• Nur...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 18, 2023

For Laryngopharyngeal Reflux "Horrible medication. A pulmonologist ordered this because he suspected reflux, and it made me feel fatigued and bloated, made me retain so much water, as well as caused anxiety and depression. I took it for three weeks, and my symptoms got worse. Within three days of stopping, all of these adverse side effects went away. Will not be using this again."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 2, 2023

For GERD "I had reflux for a month or two and also had severe stomach pain. The doctor prescribed this, thinking I might also have an ulcer or gastritis. Almost 2 months later, I found this page and can’t believe I didn’t connect the dots. My reflux symptoms persist after 7 months of taking the drug daily. Here are some of the symptoms I had over the last 2 months (not knowing for certain if these are caused by pantoprazole): feeling like my lungs are irritated and occasionally cough, anxiety and panic attacks, feeling like something’s stuck in my throat, heart palpitations, confusion, random pains in my body, especially in my stomach, gas and belching, throat ache, breath smell. I took my dose today but can’t wait for the drug to be out of my system and see if all of this was because of 40 mg of daily pantoprazole."

• Xan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 16, 2022

For Gastritis/Duodenitis "I had chest pain and heart palpitations and a stomach ache and had to go to the emergency room. After a 6-hour wait, I was diagnosed with gastritis and prescribed pantoprazole. I took it for a month with no improvement, so I got a refill from my doctor with hesitation. The second month, I started having anxiety attacks and was crying all the time. I felt this huge depression come over me and lived with unbearable stomach pain and gas. I could not eat from the nausea. I passed out three times, twice in the kitchen and the third time down the stairs. Something that has never happened to me before. I could not get out of bed. It got so bad I wanted to die. So I started Googling my blood pressure meds and anything I took. Then I started reading all the bad reviews on pantoprazole. So for me, it’s deadly, the worst medication I have ever taken in my life. I can’t believe it’s on the market, it almost killed me. Take at your own risk!"

• Edw...
• September 16, 2021

For GERD "I was given pantoprazole by a GI doctor for long-term use for difficulty swallowing, acid reflux, and GERD. I began taking the medication, and it helped some of my symptoms, however, I became very weak, lightheaded, like I was going to pass out, and felt as though I was dying. I took this medicine for 4 months, in which I lost 40 pounds, could barely get out of bed to walk to the bathroom or fix myself meals. The panic attacks and anxiety were so bad I couldn’t be around people or even drive. I consulted my doctor, in which he stated I must take the medicine for the rest of my life. I continued, and it only got worse. I then called again, and he switched my medication to Pepcid generic. I stopped taking the GI medicines altogether. I’m about 2 1/2 weeks after taking it, my side effects have gotten better, but I’m still not 100%. How long does it take to return to normal after this poison of a medicine?!!"

• DIM...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 21, 2022

For GERD "Was prescribed pantoprazole 9 years ago while pregnant. While this pill did eliminate my heartburn issues, it caused extreme fatigue, anxiety, depression, debilitating lightheadedness, muscle cramps, vitamin deficiency (D, iron, magnesium, and calcium specifically), and probably more issues that I'm unaware of. I've seen every doctor imaginable in the past 6 years: cardio, gastro, bariatric, ENT, ob-gyn, therapist, psych, regular GP, general surgeons, respiratory, sleep lab, you name it. Not one could tell me why I feel so awful all the time. Everything checks out medically, I have 0 issues besides needing to lose 40 lbs. I came across a thread on Reddit regarding anemia and PPI use, this opened up a giant rabbit hole for me. I started reading everything I could about this drug and didn't like what I saw. I stopped taking it cold turkey 4 weeks ago. I have never felt better. I finally feel like the old me again. I cannot believe this pill is what was causing my downfall for so long."

• Sta...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2022

For GERD "I got put on 20 mg twice a day for gastritis, which I don’t believe I had, no heartburn, just a slight pain after eating. Was on them for 4 months until I took myself off them 2 weeks ago. Had very slight anxiety beforehand, but wow! Started having really bad heart palpitations, severe panic attacks, pains in left arm, pains in left calf, left shoulder blade, really bad shooting chest pains, jaw pain (been to A&E loads of times thinking I was having a heart attack). They did ECG bloods, and everything is perfect. Feeling not myself, keep having dizzy spells if I’ve been standing up too long, got really bad health anxiety all because of this medication! Why the hell are doctors giving this with such bad effects on people! After being off them 2 weeks, I am still having the chest pains and jaw pain. Anxiety feels like it’s getting a lot better. So glad I came across this page, it makes me feel a lot better. Wondering now how long I’ll still have the effects of this medication?"

• Zak...
• April 10, 2022

For Gastritis/Duodenitis "I was prescribed pantoprazole for gastritis and took it for 10 days, which was horrible. I get heart palpitations, chest pain, kidney pain, both ribs ache, I feel numbness and tingling in one arm, I feel dizzy, tight throat, tight head, and ringing in my ears. I feel weak and feel faint. Anxiety on the roof, my heart feels weak and nervous. Horrible drug."