Omeprazole, What Does It Do?

Omeprazole is used to treat most stomach problems or problems such as acid reflux and ulcers. It functions by decreasing acid your stomach produces. Overall, this condition is known as Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Furthermore, Omeprazole helps relieve heartburn, swallowing problems, coughing and indigestion. This medicine can be bought without a prescription from the pharmacy or when prescribed by your doctor.

Omeprazole is available in the following forms.

• Powder intended for suspension 
• Tablets
• Capsule with a delayed Release
• Packet

How does omeprazole work?

If your doctor has given you omeprazole as a prescription, read the Patient Information Leaflet before you start taking it and each time you get a refill. If you are self-treating with an over-the-counter medicine, read and follow all of the directions on the package before taking the medicine.

Take this medicine by mouth, usually once a day before a meal, as directed. The dosage and length of treatment depend on how your body responds to treatment and how your health is. The dose for children is also based on their weight.

Do not take it more often than the directions say. To understand more about it, you need to learn: omeprazole, what does it do?

It is recommended not to break, chew, or crush delayed release pills. If you do this, the drug could all come out at once, which could lead to more side effects. If you are using delayed-release tablets, handle them with dry hands. Put the tablet on your tongue and wait for it to break down. The tablet can be swallowed with or without water after it has broken up.

You can also swallow the tablets whole with water. You can take antacids with this medicine if you need to. If you are also taking sucralfate, take the omeprazole at least 30 minutes before the sucralfate. Use this medicine as prescribed to get the most out of it. Take it at the same time every day to help you remember.

Even if you feel better, you should keep taking this medicine for as long as your doctor tells you to. If you’re treating yourself with an over-the-counter medicine, take it for a few days and notice its effects. This is because omeprazole does not work right away. You shouldn’t take it for more than 14 days unless your doctor tells you to. Get help from a doctor right away if you think you might have a serious health problem.

Side effects of Omeprazole

Apart from all the good omeprazole, what else does it do? Well, for starters: Headaches and stomachaches are the most common side effects. Tell your doctor or pharmacist right away if you have any serious side effects, such as muscle spasms, an irregular heartbeat, or seizures, signs of lupus, or a low magnesium blood level (such as rash on nose and cheeks, new or worsening joint pain).

If your doctor has prescribed you to use this product, keep in mind that he or she has decided that the benefits to you outweigh the risks. Due to a bacteria called C. difficile, this medicine can rarely cause a severe intestinal condition. This condition can happen while you’re getting treatment or weeks to months after you’re done.If you are in the USA it is best to consult a Gastroenterologist in New Jersey.

Tell your doctor right away if you have diarrhea that won’t stop, pain or cramping in your abdomen, or blood or mucus in your stool. If you have these symptoms, you shouldn’t use anti-diarrhea medicines or opioids because they might make the symptoms worse.

This list of possible side effects is not all of them. If you have any other side effects that aren’t on this list, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Precautions

1. Before you take Omeprazole 

Before you take omeprazole, tell your doctor if you are allergic to it or to similar drugs (like esomeprazole, lansoprazole, or pantoprazole) or if you have any other allergies. There could be inactive ingredients in this product that can cause allergic reactions or other problems. 

Before taking this medicine, you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your health history, especially if you have liver disease or lupus. Some symptoms could be signs of something more serious.

2. After You take Omeprazole

Get medical help right away if you have heartburn with dizziness, sweating, or feeling lightheaded, pain in your chest, jaw, arms, or shoulders (especially if you are short of breath or sweating a lot), or weight loss that you can’t explain.

As discussed earlier, Proton pump inhibitors, like omeprazole, may make you more likely to break a bone, especially if you use them for a long time, take higher doses, or are an older adult. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about ways to keep your bones from breaking.

The side effects of this drug, like bone loss and fractures may be worse for older people getting weak or breaking. For example, you could take calcium (such as calcium citrate) and vitamin D supplements.

Children may be more sensitive to this drug’s side effects, especially fever, cough, and nose, throat, and airway infections. This medicine should only be taken when it is clear that it is needed. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits.

Omeprazole can get into the breast milk. However, The effects on infant health are unknown. Talk to your doctor regarding omeprazole, what does it do to breastfeeding.

3. Self Medicating

Also, before you self-medicate with this medicine, you should see a doctor right away if you have any of the following signs of a serious condition: trouble or pain swallowing food, bloody vomit, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, bloody or black stools, heartburn for more than 3 months, frequent chest pain, frequent wheezing (especially when you have heartburn), nausea/vomiting, stomach pain.

If you’re having a surgery tell your doctor or dentist about everything you use before surgery (including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and herbal products).

Please know that it is best to talk to your doctors however if you do not feel like going out to the doctor’s office you can contact AZZ telemedicine service to get assistance.

What happens incase of overdose?

Call your local emergency service if someone has overdosed and is having severe symptoms like passing out or having trouble breathing. You should also get in touch with the local poison control center. Some signs of an overdose include unusual sweating, blurry vision, and fast heartbeat

Things to consider

If your doctor has given you this medicine, don’t give it to anyone else. If your doctor tells you to take this medicine regularly for a long time, lab and medical tests (like a magnesium blood test or vitamin B-12 levels) should be done from time to time to check on your progress or see if there are any side effects.

Missed a dose?

If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember about it. If the next dose is almost due, don’t take the one you missed. Take your next dose when you are supposed to. Don’t double the dose to make up for the lost dose.

Storage

Keep things at room temperature and out of sunlight and rain. Don’t keep the medicine in the bathroom. Keep the drug away from kids and animals.

Unless told to, do not flush medicines down the toilet or pour them down a drain. When the medicine expires or runs out, discard it in a responsible way.

How fast does Omeprazole work?

Does omeprazole work right away? Not really! Over-the-counter omeprazole is used to treat heartburn occurring 2 or more days a week. It can take from 1 to 4 days to have its full effect, it does not help with heartburn right away.

How soon can you drink coffee after taking omeprazole?

Like any other drug, omeprazole can cause some side effects. One of these side effects is that your body has a harder time taking in caffeine. Coffee and other caffeinated products can cause stomach issues like gastritis, GERD, and others worse. 

You can drink coffee while taking omeprazole. If coffee doesn’t make your health problems worse, you can have a cup of coffee 30 to 60 minutes after taking your medicine.

You might be wondering how long does it take omeprazole to work? It takes at least 30 minutes for omeprazole to start to work. If you can go a whole hour without coffee after taking your medicine, you’ll give it more time to work and avoid pain and other complications.

Meanwhile, if you have diabetes but love to have coffee the other blog on how long it takes to reverse prediabetes is a great read.

Is Omerprazole a proton pump inhibitor?

Omeprazole is a proton-pump inhibitor, a class of medicine. People who have been taking these medicines for an over prolonged period ( 1 year or above) are more likely to break their wrists, hips, or spines more often than people who don’t take these kinds of drugs.

People who take proton pump inhibitors might also get polyps in their fundic glands (a type of growth on the stomach lining).

This is because Omeprazole Proton pump inhibitors weaken your bones and joints. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about ways to keep your bones from getting weak or breaking. For example, you could take calcium (such as calcium citrate) and vitamin D supplements. So think twice before you undermine it and think Omeprazole what does it do?

However this is not a very common side effect. Use of omeprazole ppi, have only rarely caused a deficiency of vitamin B-12. If you take them every day for a long time, the risk goes up (3 years or longer). Tell your doctor right away if you start to feel weaker than usual, if your tongue is sore or if your hands and feet feel numb or tingly.