Pantoprazole

Pantoprazole is not suitable for some people. For example, check with your doctor if you have liver problems or you're pregnant.

Pantoprazole comes as tablets that you usually take once a day. Follow the instructions that come with your medicine.

Most people who take pantoprazole do not have any side effects. Serious side effects can happen in rare cases.

It can cause problems to take pantoprazole with some other medicines, such as antifungal medicines and medicines to prevent blood clots.

Most adults can take pantoprazole.

Children aged 12 years old and over can take pantoprazole if it's prescribed for them.

Pantoprazole is not suitable for some people. To make sure it's safe for you, tell your doctor if you:

• have ever had an allergic reaction to pantoprazole or any other medicine
• have liver problems
• are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding
• are due to have an endoscopy
• have low levels of vitamin B12

If you've bought pantoprazole without a prescription, speak to your doctor before taking it if you:

• have lost weight without trying to
• keep being sick (vomiting), or are vomiting blood (this may look like dark coffee grounds)
• feel weak or your skin looks paler than usual (this may be less noticeable on brown or black skin)
• have blood in your poo (your poo may look black or like tar)
• have chest pain or stomach pain
• have diarrhoea that is severe or does not go away
• have problems with swallowing

If you're going to have an endoscopy, ask your doctor if you should stop taking pantoprazole a few weeks before your procedure. This is because pantoprazole may hide some of the problems that would usually be spotted during an endoscopy.

Each tablet contains 20mg or 40mg of pantoprazole.

You can buy pantoprazole 20mg tablets from pharmacies. These are suitable for the short-term treatment of heartburn and acid reflux in adults.

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 40mg a day
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is 80mg a day at first – this can increase to 160mg a day depending on how well it works for you

Doses are usually lower for people with liver problems.

You'll usually take pantoprazole once a day, first thing in the morning.

If you take it twice a day, take 1 dose in the morning and 1 dose in the evening.

Changes to your dose

Sometimes your doctor will increase your dose of pantoprazole if it's not working well enough.

Depending on the reason you take pantoprazole, you may take a higher dose to begin with, usually for a month or two. After this, your doctor may recommend that you take a lower dose.

How to take it

It's best to take pantoprazole an hour before a meal. Swallow the tablets whole with a drink of water.

Most people who take pantoprazole do not have any side effects.

There are no common side effects with this medicine. Uncommon side effects that happen in less than 1 in 100 people include headaches, diarrhoea, feeling or being sick, constipation, a dry mouth or feeling tired.

If you do get a side effect, it's usually mild and will go away when you stop taking pantoprazole.

Talk to a doctor or pharmacist if a side effect bothers you or does not go away.

Pantoprazole is not usually recommended because there is very little information about its use during pregnancy.

Your doctor may recommend a similar medicine called omeprazole instead as there is more safety information available.

If your symptoms are mild, you may wish to try to treat them without taking medicine. You could try eating smaller meals more often and avoiding fatty and spicy foods. Sitting up straight when you eat can also help as it takes the pressure off your stomach.

If you get symptoms at night, you can prop your head and shoulders up in bed. This helps to stop stomach acid coming up while you sleep.

You can take pantoprazole while you're breastfeeding.

There's not much information about taking pantoprazole while breastfeeding, but it shows that pantoprazole passes into breast milk in tiny amounts. Your baby will not be able to absorb a lot into their body from the breast milk, so it's unlikely to cause them any side effects.

It's very rare for breastfed babies to have side effects from medicines you're taking. But it's important to keep monitoring your baby if you're taking any medicine while breastfeeding.

Contact your healthcare professional or call 111 as soon as possible if you notice that your baby:

• is not feeding as well as usual
• has constipation, diarrhoea or being sick (vomiting)
• is being irritable

If your baby has any symptoms that are not listed, or if you're worried about them, you can also call 111 or contact any healthcare professional.

Carry on taking the medicine, and keep breastfeeding as usual until you've got advice about your baby's symptoms.

Some medicines and pantoprazole can affect each other and make you more likely to have side effects or stop one of the medicines working as well.

Tell your doctor before starting to take pantoprazole if you're taking any other medicines, including:

• antifungal medicines such as itraconazole, posaconazole or voriconazole
• methotrexate, a medicine used to treat cancer, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis
• HIV medicines
• rifampicin, an antibiotic
• medicines that help to prevent blood clots, such as warfarin

These are not all the medicines that may cause problems if you take them with pantoprazole. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.