Prevacid

Prevacid (lansoprazole) is a medicine prescribed for the treatment and prevention of stomach and intestinal ulcers and other conditions caused by the excessive production of acid in the stomach. You are not supposed to be taking this medicine for longer than 8 weeks, as it has been specially designed for short-term treatment (usually from 4 to 8 weeks). If you keep on taking it after your health care provider told you to stop, your side effects may get worse and you will not benefit from your treatment as much. Before you start the treatment, make sure your health care provider is aware of any health conditions you have and any drugs you are taking. Such health aspect as a history of an allergic reaction to Prevacid, penicillin or macrolide antibiotics, such as clarithromycin or erythromycin, may prevent you from safely taking this medicine. Your health care provider is supposed to know about any medications you are taking at the moment to make sure they are not going to interfere with the success of your treatment. The following medicines are especially important to mention: atazanavir, theophylline, digoxin, clopidogrel, ketoconazole, blood thinners, ampicillin, and iron. Do not combine Prevacid with sucralfate, as an unpleasant effect is possible. To make sure your treatment is safe, beneficial and enjoyable you will need to wait for at least 30 minutes after taking sucralfate before you can safely use Prevacid. Take this drug before having a meal and make sure you never crush the pill of Prevacid that is not supposed to be crushed. This medicine has been specially designed to be swallowed whole to make sure the active ingredient will be released gradually for your maximum benefits. Some mild side effects are possible but they are not likely to last for too long. Your health care provider needs to be notified of the following side effects only if they get very bothersome and start to interfere with your everyday life: constipation, nausea, headache, stomach pain, and diarrhea. Never share your medication with other people to whom it was not prescribed, even though you think they may benefit from taking Prevacid. These people may have certain contraindications and as a result may not benefit from your dose of Prevacid as much as you do. If you suspect you have taken too much of Prevacid – call your doctor as soon as possible and tell him about this case of overdose to learn what you are supposed to do next.