Child feels forced care for mom to Physicians can prescribe PPI use

Dear Amy: My mother is a single, 60-year-old woman who does not want to be a responsible person. Her father was verbally abusive. She married my dad and both of them were abusive toward each other, and toward their children. They divorced 14 years ago.

Since then she has become an alcoholic and a smoker. She blames her problems on her parents and my father, and feels like all of her kids should be taking care of her now.

She refuses to get mental help because she claims to not need it, due to her degree in psychology 35 years ago.

I want my child to have grandparents around.

Mom recently inherited money and now she wants to drive around the country camping until she can’t anymore, when she will come back and stay with me.

I have not agreed to this. Two of my siblings have blocked her from all contact. I block her while she is on her drinking binges because of all the verbal abuse, but I feel like someone should take care of her.

At what point do I call it quits? — Responsible, or Not?

Dear Responsible: Because you seem to have absorbed the message that children are obligated to take care of their parents, let’s examine the other half of that obligation: that of parents toward their children.

Your mother did not protect or nurture you. She abused you, and now she wants to use you.

You should be sort of parent to

Break the cycle.

Your mother is choosing not to deal with her alcoholism. She has the right to live her life. She does not have the right to force you to support her choices.

Also, your mother won’t seek help for her addiction, but you should. I urge you to attend Al-anon. a different your child.

Dear Dr. Roach: What’s the story with Prilosec? Doctors routinely tell people with GERD or acid stomach to take this forever. Yet it clearly describes only a 14-day treatment on the box. A physician assistant told me that because of a rare infrequent condition some users have that the manufacturer is legally bound to post the 14-day limit, but that the general population can safely ignore it. — C.D.C.

The patient instructions in the over-the-counter versions of proton pump inhibitors do recommend a 14-day course. However, longer courses may indeed be prescribed by a licensed prescriber. Even so, there are relatively few people who need lifelong medication. Those who do may have a condition in which PPIs are necessary. They not only relieve symptoms, they are also prescribed in hopes of reducing the risk of developing cancer of the esophagus.

For people with acid reflux, PPIs are usually not needed lifelong. However, it may still be reasonable to use these drugs long term if the prescriber feels the benefit outweighs the risk.

Stomach acids are important in protecting against bacteria, and two kinds of bacterial infections are more common in PPI users. The first is in the colon, where PPI users are about 30% more likely to be infected. The second is pneumonia.

Low stomach acid absorption of and minerals.

Early data suggest increased risk of kidney disease and dementia. That risk appears to be small, if it even exists.

Long-term PPI use has some risk of side effects and should be used only when there are benefits to PPIs that can’t be obtained with other treatments, including other medications. This especially includes better diet, weight loss when appropriate and not eating right before bed. may decrease vitamins