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When Donna Johnstone began suffering from reflux more than 20 years ago, her doctor gave her a prescription for a medication he assured her would sort it out.
And, to her amazement it did, Johnstone said.
The mother, from the NSW Central Coast, began taking Somac, a type of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) which works by decreasing the amount of acid in the stomach.
"It helped the reflux, it was beautiful," she said.
"I had no symptoms or anything, it was fantastic for that."
Johnstone kept taking the medication for the next two decades, until she began having serious health problems with her kidneys around 2018.
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"I ended up with lots and lots of kidney stones," she said.
"Then, my doctor was doing some routine blood tests, and one of them showed my kidney function had dropped to 19 percent."
Johnstone said she was stunned to hear her kidney function was so low, as she had no symptoms.
"I had no side effects at all, nothing," she said.
"If I hadn't had those routine blood tests done, I would have ended up on dialysis, because when your kidney function drops to 15 percent they put you on dialysis."
When she saw a specialist, the doctor advised Johnstone that the loss of her kidney function was due to the heartburn medication.
"He said that this was due to the Somac. And he said, 'No more Somac'," she said.
Proton pump inhibitors like Somac have been widely prescribed since the early nineties because of their effectiveness for treating heartburn and reflux.
But there is now a concern proton pump inhibitors could increase the risk of debilitating kidney issues and gastric cancers.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca settled a US lawsuit late last year, paying $630 million to almost 19,000 patients who claimed two proton pump inhibitors – Nexium and Prilosec (marketed as Losec in Australia) – caused their chronic kidney disease.
Shine Lawyers is now investigating proton pump inhibitors still available here in Australia, including Nexium, Losec, Somac, Pariet and Zoton for a potential class action lawsuit against the manufacturers.
Craig Allsopp, Joint Head of Class Actions at Shine Lawyers, said PPI drugs were incredibly popular.
"In the past four years alone, there are likely to have been more than five million Australians who have filled a prescription for a PPI drug," he said.
"In 2021, over 23 million individual prescriptions were filled, and this number is increasing year on year."
Shine Lawyers will be examining the latest research into the heartburn and reflux medications, with the help of US class action specialist legal firm Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, Allsopp said.
"Research across the globe has revealed that users of PPIs are at an increased risk of developing stomach cancers and kidney injuries,"
"This is concerning given research also shows that PPIs are some of the most-prescribed medicines on the market and that consumers typically take PPIs for longer periods and at higher doses than recommended," he said.
Johnstone, who is now living with chronic kidney disease, said she was eager to take part in a class action if it went ahead.
While her kidney function has improved over time thanks to medication, it was still only sitting at around 60 percent, she said.
"I'll have chronic kidney disease for the rest of my life and there is nothing I can do," she said.
"I have a 10 year old special needs child. I live with this daily, knowing that I might die well before my time because of the kidney disease that I now have through no fault of my own.
"I could leave my son and it's the most horrible feeling in the world."
Johnstone said she was given no warning from the doctor who prescribed her medication that it could have any adverse effects.
"He said it was the best treatment and would solve the problem. And it did. But there was no mention of what side effects could come from that," she said.
A spokesperson for Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturers of Somac, said the company chose not to comment on potential or ongoing litigation.
