Keep in mind that I am NOT a doctor, everything I am telling people here comes from my own personal decades of experience and my own research.

PPIs don't cure reflux, they treat a symptom and they do it poorly.

PPIs reduce the amount of acid in your stomach with the idea that less acid in the stomach means less acid that can reflux and cause heartburn. The problem is that less acid causes the LES to stay open all the time, so the remaining acid has nothing to stop it from passing back up into your esophagus. And because you have less acid to digest your food, your food stays in your stomach a lot longer, giving more time for reflux to happen.

A much better option is to have the proper amount of acid and the proper pH in your stomach, which will cause the LES to close when it is supposed to (assuming it isn't damaged somehow), and will digest your food in a normal amount of time so it can leave your stomach into your small intestine. In order to do this, you have to stop taking all acid blockers, so understand that before you decide to proceed or not.

There is a huge problem when you stop taking PPIs after you've taken them for years, and that is rebound heartburn. Basically when you stop taking them your stomach will not just go back to producing the normal amount of acid, it will produce way too much acid for possibly a few weeks before it gradually returns to normal. That is why the recommendation for stopping PPIs is to NOT stop cold turkey, but to wean yourself off of them slowly. For example, for the first week or two, take 3/4 of each pill, then for a week or two take 1/2 of each pill, then for another week or two take 1/4 of each pill, then stop. This will make the rebound effect much less severe, but it may not completely eliminate it. Personally, I was in a hurry so I did 1/2 pill for a week and then stopped. Everybody is different, so do what works for you but err on the side of doing it more slowly.

Personally, the only reason I can see for taking PPIs or any kind of daily acid blocker is if you have some kind of nerve damage or some other medical issue that causes the LES to be non-functional so that reducing acid is the only option remaining.

Keep in mind that I am NOT a doctor, everything I am telling people here comes from my own personal decades of experience and my own research.

PPIs don't cure reflux, they treat a symptom and they do it poorly.

PPIs reduce the amount of acid in your stomach with the idea that less acid in the stomach means less acid that can reflux and cause heartburn. The problem is that less acid causes the LES to stay open all the time, so the remaining acid has nothing to stop it from passing back up into your esophagus. And because you have less acid to digest your food, your food stays in your stomach a lot longer, giving more time for reflux to happen.

A much better option is to have the proper amount of acid and the proper pH in your stomach, which will cause the LES to close when it is supposed to (assuming it isn't damaged somehow), and will digest your food in a normal amount of time so it can leave your stomach into your small intestine. In order to do this, you have to stop taking all acid blockers, so understand that before you decide to proceed or not.

There is a huge problem when you stop taking PPIs after you've taken them for years, and that is rebound heartburn. Basically when you stop taking them your stomach will not just go back to producing the normal amount of acid, it will produce way too much acid for possibly a few weeks before it gradually returns to normal. That is why the recommendation for stopping PPIs is to NOT stop cold turkey, but to wean yourself off of them. For example, for the first week or two, take 3/4 of each pill, then for a week or two take 1/2 of each pill, then for another week or two take 1/4 of each pill, then stop. This will make the rebound effect much less severe, but it may not completely eliminate it. Personally, I was in a hurry so I did 1/2 pill for a week and then stopped. Everybody is different, so do what works for you but err on the side of doing it more slowly.

Personally, the only reason I can see for taking PPIs or any kind of daily acid blocker is if you have some kind of nerve damage or some other medical issue that causes the LES to be non-functional so that reducing acid is the only option remaining.