[criley2]

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.

[sly010]

> 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.

[yebyen]

Ulcers are one of the possible results of acid reflux, that's a symptom too but also a risk factor. You won't be able to heal ulcers if you don't get the acid reflux under control somehow first.

I'm on Pantoprazole for over a year now and saw my doctor a few weeks ago; I asked about long term risks, and she mentioned stomach cancer, but framed the dangers a bit differently than what I've read in the article from this study.

Basically the established risk is that these PPI drugs work so well that if you were to develop stomach cancer while taking it, the likelihood is strong that the drug would mask the symptoms of the cancer until it was already too late to treat it effectively.

Long story short, I am not (this kind of) scientist, I know it's not a miracle drug but I can testify with anecdata that it certainly does a great job of controlling reflux.

(What my doctor did recommend was of course better diet and exercise habits, not eating so late in the day, and not drinking alcohol right before bed, so I can eventually stop taking it without those symptoms coming back.)

It's quite worrisome for me reading this article now!