You might be feeling stressed and anxious at times and wondering why does it happening. I recommend you to check if you are taking proton pump inhibitors. Your doctor might have prescribed you proton pump inhibitors for your stomach related disease and you might be taking it for a long time. Yes, chronic use of proton pump inhibitors can show anxiety symptoms!
When Do PPIs Prescribe?
In digestive diseases like gastritis, there is increased secretion of stomach acid due to over-stimulation of parietal cells. This increased secretion of stomach acid can cause acid reflux and, in turn, leads to GERD (gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) and esophagitis. Doctors prescribe proton pump inhibitors and antacids to treat this …show more content…
There are hydrogen-potassium ATPase and chloride-potassium pumps in the parietal cells of the mucosa of the stomach. Stomach acid is secreted in the stomach in the form of hydrogen and chloride ions. Hydrogen is pumped into the lumen of the stomach via counter transport with potassium whereas chlorine enters in the stomach via cotransport with potassium. In this way, acid is secreted. This acid helps in conversion of pepsinogen into pepsin. Pepsin is an important enzyme for the digestion of proteins.
Mechanism of Action of PPIs:
Proton pump inhibitors inhibit hydrogen-potassium pump by binding irreversibly with a cysteine residue on hydrogen-potassium ATPase pump. Hydrogen is not pumped into the lumen of the stomach. Hence, production of stomach acid is reduced. And a condition called, achlorhydria appears.
How Does Gut Flora React To Low Levels of Stomach Acid:
The gut contains different types of microbiomes (bacteria, fungi, etc). There are both good and bad bacteria. Good bacteria are good for the normal functioning of the stomach whereas bad bacteria are harmful to health. In a normal healthy person, stomach acid kills bad bacteria to prevent gut from