PPI Side Effects
PPI Side Effects: These drugs are generally considered safe by the FDA and although all cost-benefits should be considered when using a drug, PPIs have a long history of safety for use up to 11 years.
We understand you don't want to medicate your baby. Nobody does! This is one of the biggest concerns before beginning proton pump inhibitor treatment for your child. But if the choice of using a very safe medication to keep your baby out of pain outweighs the long term effects of not treating infant acid reflux then generally speaking, PPIs are very safe.
PPI Side Effects Study
As you can see from the study notes to in the Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Omeprazole in Adults image, they concluded PPIs safe and effective for up to 11 years of treatment.
- 230 patients with esophagitis refractory to H2RAs had long-term therapy with omeprazole less than 20mg a day for a mean of 6.5 years (range, 1.2 to 11.2 years).
- 158 relapse episodes observed in 1490 treatment years (patients who relapsed responded well to dose adjustments).
- Incidence of adverse events did not increase with long-term treatment.
- No dysplasia or neoplasms were observed
- Conclusions: safe and effective for up to 11 years of treatment.
Now take into account that infant acid reflux is normally resolved within the first 18 months of the child's life, this window keeps you in an extremely safe window of use with no long term or permanent effects.
It's true there have been studies done that have produced results of negative symptoms of long term use of PPIs. Most of those studies done were executed on veterans that had been using multiple drugs for periods of over 20 years, had lead very compromising life styles and there were no conclusions that the PPI use was the cause of the symptoms. Only that the symptoms were present and so were the use of PPIs along with other drug use.
The extends to the inhibition of absorption of Iron, Calcium and Magnesium. It also extends to the association of PPI use and bone fractures being more prevalent. This evidence based medical report states: There is no good evidence to establish that PPI use has a significant risk for bone density loss or osteoporotic-related fractures.
When you're working with a pediatrician that specializes in infant acid reflux, not only can they treat with an effective dose of a medication that is VERY safe, but also connect you with a reputable compounding pharmacy that can formulate a compound that is stable for 30 days, is immediate release (no more timing around feedings), tastes amazing and uses calcium and magnesium as the buffers which are more gentle and supplement those elements.