Simple heartburn can be treated with antacids or other drugs, plus diet and lifestyle changes. You may only have heartburn every now and then—such as after a big, spicy meal. This may be uncomfortable, but it is not serious. If you need a PPI, taking a low dose for less than a year is probably safe. PPIs are expensive and have been linked to higher risk of some problems. Talk with your doctor before taking them for longer than two weeks.
Be sure you have a good reason to take the PPI, and take it for the shortest time possible. PPIs interact with some common prescription drugs. This can increase the risk of heart attack and even death.
If you get any of these symptoms, tell your doctor. Taking esomeprazole for more than a year may increase your chances of certain side effects, including:. If you take esomeprazole for longer than 1 year, your doctor will regularly check your health to see if you should carry on taking it. It's not known if esomeprazole works less well the longer you take it. If you feel like it isn't working any more, talk to your doctor.
A Hong Kong study published in suggested that people taking proton pump inhibitors PPIs like esomeprazole for at least 3 years have a very small increased chance of developing stomach cancer.
For every 10, people taking a PPI long term, it was thought an extra 4 people get stomach cancer. However, the study didn't prove that PPIs were causing stomach cancer and the results may not apply in the UK.
People who take PPIs regularly shouldn't be particularly concerned by this study. However, like most medicines, PPIs have side effects, so it's best to take them for the shortest time possible. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you are concerned. Usually, you can stop taking esomeprazole without reducing the dose first. If you've taken esomeprazole for a long time speak to your doctor before you stop taking it.
Stopping suddenly could make your stomach produce a lot more acid, and make your symptoms come back. Reducing the dose gradually before stopping completely will prevent this happening. Like esomeprazole, these medicines are proton pump inhibitors. They work in the same way as esomeprazole to reduce acid in your stomach. They generally work as well as esomeprazole and have similar side effects, but may be given in different doses.
Sometimes, if esomeprazole isn't working or doesn't agree with you, your doctor may suggest that you try taking another proton pump inhibitor. There are other pharmacy and prescription medicines for indigestion and heartburn.
Antacids , like calcium carbonate Tums , sodium bicarbonate, Maalox and Milk of Magnesia, relieve indigestion and heartburn by neutralising the acid in your stomach. They give quick relief that lasts for a few hours. They're ideal for occasional stomach acid symptoms. Some antacids, such as Gaviscon , have an extra ingredient called alginic acid. They work by lining your stomach so that juices from it don't splash up into your foodpipe.
H2 blockers histamine antagonists reduce the amount of acid made in your stomach, but they do this in a different way to proton pump inhibitors. They include famotidine Pepcid , ranitidine Zantac , cimetidine Tagamet and nizatidine Axid.
In general, proton pump inhibitors like esomeprazole are used first because they are better than H2 blockers at reducing stomach acid. However, if you don't get on with a proton pump inhibitor for example, because of side effects , your doctor may prescribe an H2 blocker. You can buy famotidine and ranitidine without a prescription from pharmacies. You can take esomeprazole with an antacid, for example Gaviscon. Take it 2 hours before or after your dose of esomeprazole.
Yes, it's safe to take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen at the same time as esomeprazole. It's best to take ibuprofen with, or just after, a meal so it doesn't upset your stomach. There's no firm evidence to suggest that taking esomeprazole will reduce fertility in either men or women. However, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor if you're trying to get pregnant. They may want to review your treatment. Esomeprazole doesn't affect any type of regular contraception including the combined pill.
It may reduce the effectiveness of one type of emergency contraception called ellaOne ulipristal , so a different emergency contraceptive may be recommended instead. Occasionally, esomeprazole can make you feel dizzy or sleepy or affect your vision.
If this happens to you, do not drive, cycle or use machinery or tools until you feel better. Yes, you can drink alcohol with esomeprazole. However, drinking alcohol makes your stomach produce more acid than normal. This can irritate your stomach lining and make your symptoms worse. However, you should avoid foods that seem to make your indigestion worse, such as rich, spicy and fatty foods. You should also cut down on caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee and cola, as well as alcohol.
It may be possible to ease symptoms caused by too much stomach acid by making a few changes to your diet and lifestyle:. Page last reviewed: 16 November Next review due: 16 November Esomeprazole On this page About esomeprazole Key facts Who can and cannot take esomeprazole How and when to take it Side effects How to cope with side effects Pregnancy and breastfeeding Cautions with other medicines Common questions.
About esomeprazole Esomeprazole reduces the amount of acid your stomach makes. Esomeprazole comes as capsules, tablets, granules and as a liquid. Help us improve our website Can you answer a quick question about your visit today? It's usual to take esomeprazole once a day in the morning. Common side effects include headache, diarrhoea and stomach pain.
These tend to be mild and go away when you stop taking the medicine. When esomeprazole is mixed with naproxen it's called the by brand name Vimovo. If you've bought esomeprazole without a prescription and your symptoms don't improve after 2 weeks, see a doctor before taking any more. To make sure that it is safe for you, tell your doctor if you: have had an allergic reaction to esomeprazole or any other medicines in the past have liver problems cannot absorb certain types of sugars including glucose or sucrose are due to have an endoscopy Ask your doctor if you should stop taking esomeprazole a few weeks before your endoscopy.
How much to take Each tablet or capsule contains 20mg or 40mg. Each sachet contains 10mg. The usual dose to treat: heartburn and acid reflux is 20mg a day gastro-oesophageal reflux disease is 20mg to 40mg a day stomach ulcers is 20mg a day Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is 80mg a day - this can increase to mg a day depending on how well it works for you Doses are usually lower for children and people with liver problems.
Will my dose go up or down? How long will I take it for? They work best when you take them an hour to 30 minutes before a meal. PPIs have been in use since PPIs like Nexium and Prilosec are used to treat gastric acid-related conditions, including:. Omeprazole Prilosec and esomeprazole Nexium are similar drugs. However, there are minor differences in their chemical makeup. Isomer is a term for a molecule that includes the same chemicals, but is arranged in a different way.
So, you could say that omeprazole and esomeprazole are made of the same building blocks, but put together differently. While the differences in isomers might seem minor, they can result in differences in how drugs work. This means that levels of the drug are higher in your bloodstream, and that esomeprazole may decrease acid production for a longer period of time.
It may also work slightly faster to treat your symptoms compared to omeprazole. Esomeprazole is also broken down differently by your liver, so it may lead to fewer drug interactions than omeprazole.
Some studies indicate that the differences between omeprazole and esomeprazole may offer some advantages to people with certain conditions. An older study from found that esomeprazole provided more effective control of GERD than omeprazole at the same doses. According to a later study in , esomeprazole offered faster relief than omeprazole in the first week of use.
After one week, symptom relief was similar. They cited concerns such as:. The authors analyzed 41 studies on the effectiveness of PPIs. Until March , Nexium was available only by prescription and at a significantly higher price. However, generic omeprazole may be less expensive than Prilosec OTC. Work with your doctor or pharmacist to decide which PPI is best for you. In addition to cost, consider things like:.
A link to possible dementia risk was reported in , but a larger confirmatory study in determined that there was no increased risk of dementia from using PPIs. Many people experience excess acid production when they stop using PPIs. At the end of the recommended treatment duration, you should taper off of the medication gradually.
Work with your doctor to do so. Before taking either medication, talk to your doctor to learn about the risk factors and drug interactions associated with them.
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