The medication Prevacid comes in both prescription and over-the-counter preparations and is commonly used to treat gastrointestinal conditions that involve too much acid in the stomach. OTC versions are a common treatment for heartburn, while doctors prescribe the medication for such conditions as ulcers, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and erosive esophagitis. While the medicine is safe for most people, it can cause side effects, including some that may be serious.
How Prevacid Works
Prevacid is a proton-pump inhibitor that helps to treat gastrointestinal conditions such as ulcers and heartburn by reducing the amount of acid your stomach produces, MedlinePlus reports. When your stomach contains less acid, ulcers are less likely to develop or become worse and the symptoms of acid reflux also dissipate. Depending on why you need Prevacid, your doctor may also prescribe other drugs to further help to treat your condition. For example, if you suffer from gastric ulcers, you may also need antibiotics to kill the infection causing the condition. You should always use Prevacid and any other medicines your doctor prescribes exactly as directed to achieve the full intended effects of the drugs.
Side Effects
Prevacid can cause side effects in some users. They include nausea, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, headaches and dizziness. These side effects pose no risks to your health, but you should inform your doctor if they become severe or do not resolve over time. Other side effects of the medicine may indicate a potential problem. If you experience any of these symptoms, stop taking Prevacid and contact your doctor immediately: Excessive tiredness; muscle spasms; uncontrollable shaking; seizures; lightheadedness; a fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat; blistering or peeling skin. Also look for signs of an allergic reactions, such as swelling of the face and mouth, hives, difficulty breathing or swallowing or a skin rash.
Safety Precautions
Because of how Prevacid works in the body, your doctor may order blood tests or other laboratory tests regularly while you use it, and it's important to keep all these appointments. Also, bone fractures of the wrist, spine and hip are more likely to occur in people taking Prevaid, in particular if you use high doses, use it for more than one year, are older than 50 or have osteoporosis, Mayo Clinic reports. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not use Prevacid, and people who have or have had liver disease or lows levels of magnesium in the bloodstream should not use the medicine without first consulting with a doctor.
Nutritional Information
Prevacid tablets do not affect your daily diet in any way. The medication contains no calories and also has no fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, potassium or essential vitamins and minerals, MyFitnessPal reports. Some forms of the medication do, however, contain aspartame. This means people who have phenyketonuria should not take them because the aspartame forms into phenylalanine, MedlinePlus reports.
