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Whenever you decide to take a new medication, you should know what you will get out of it in terms of benefit and what side effects you might experience. This is especially important for drugs you will be taking for a long time. Unfortunately, doctors may not know a lot about long-term side effects when a medicine is new to the market. These come to light gradually. Could Nexium cause bone loss and nerve pain if taken for years?
Did Nexium Cause Bone Loss and Nerve Pain?
Q. I have been on Nexium for reflux practically forever. My gastroenterologist never monitored me for calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin B12 or other deficiencies.
Over the last seven years I have slowly developed osteoporosis. The peripheral neuropathy in my legs is due to extremely low vitamin B12. I worry what other side effects this medication may cause me.
Taking Acid-Suppressing Drugs for Years Can Trigger Side Effects:
A. Long-term use of acid-suppressing drugs like esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec) has been linked to nutritional deficiencies, including vitamin B12 (American Journal of Gastroenterology, March, 2009, Suppl. 2). Low levels of this vitamin can lead to depression, confusion, poor muscle control and nerve damage that produces symptoms of numbness and tingling (peripheral neuropathy). This nerve pain may improve with vitamin B12 supplementation, but it doesn’t always respond to treatment.
People on long-term omeprazole or similar drugs might also be absorbing too little magnesium. In some cases, this could trigger heart rhythm abnormalities (Oxford Medical Case Reports, July 27, 2016).
Acid-Suppressing Drugs and Osteoporosis:
Does Nexium cause bone loss? An Australian study in elderly women found that those taking a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) such as Nexium or Aciphex were more susceptible to osteoporosis and fractures (Bone, Dec., 2015). Men are also more vulnerable to hip fracture when they are taking a PPI (Annals of Epidemiology, Apr., 2014).
It appears that heart patients taking esomeprazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole or pantoprazole along with the blood thinner clopidogrel (Plavix) are more likely to suffer cardiovascular complications (Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, online Aug. 10, 2016). Other studies have shown an increased risk of kidney problems or dementia.
You’ll learn more about the pros and cons of Nexium and other PPI drugs along with other alternatives for managing your reflux in our Guide to Digestive Disorders.
Nora
I wish I knew about PPIs. I took Nexium For 5 years. My doctor (one of the inventors of Nexium) told me to take Nexium forever. Now all my bones are deteriorating. It costing me too much money to find relief for my bone loss: wheelchair, walker and different kinds of braces–still not enough relief.
Faith
NYC
I had a heart artery stent inserted, but the artery was blocked with calcium and the stent was banged in. This moved the position of my stomach causing GERD. The GI doctor prescribed Nexium for 6 weeks (free samples) but after 4 weeks I was feeling so bad – weak, loss of balance- so the doc. changed the brand to Oemprazole which she prescribed for 80 mg. daily for 4 weeks then down to 40 mg. for about 5 months, writing it down for me so that I followed the procedure to the letter. When I complained about how bad I felt, she dismissed it with screaming at me as well.
I decided to do a web search and found information that made me stop taking the PPIs immediately. As a result of this experience, I have involuntary movements in my lower back which on rainy days worsens leaving me fatigued. I am 86+ years old and in otherwise good health. I have tried various remedies–P.T., acupuncture, chiropractors, Feldenkreis, brain and spinal neurologists, with no remedies. Anybody out there with a remedy will have my enduring blessings.
HelenM
Modesto
I took protonix for years; it was so lovely to go to bed and lay down without an instant heartburn. Ditto for the acid that used to wake me at night. Before the protonix, I learned to fall asleep with a Tums in my mouth. Slow release, to keep the heartburn down. But in 2010 I began to be concerned about all the drugs I was taking and decided to drop whatever I could. I stopped lipitor, cold turkey and instantly my blood sugar came way down. I finally decreased my insulin by a third.
The protonix took longer as I slowly weaned off. When I got down to four a week, I began subbing an prevacid for one of the protonix. I slowly dropped to four prevacid a week, then I began decreasing them. No rebound reflux. However, I stopped eating ice cream around the same time and that may have had an impact. I also stopped the bp med that was giving me dizzy spells: it was to protect my kidney, I did not have high bp. And, finally, I stopped the anti-depressant.
Now? I have stooped shoulders and a round back, scoliosis, and spinal stenosis. At night the tingling in my left heel drives me crazy and interferes with falling asleep. I have noticed if I take more calcium, the tingling will stop, for a while. I am 78, consider my health fair. I have had four cancers, the back conditions, missing parts, diabetes, all of which I attribute to doctors. Fibro, attributed to nothing, I have both pain and extreme fatigue. I would keep it all with a grateful heart if I could get rid of the fatigue and brain fog.
Believe me, my doctor is caring and wants to help; but he sees around 35 patients a day, is grateful they are not as complicated as I, and has been taught to reach for the prescription pad in order to help. Does it all depress me? You bet! But I try to pick myself up by my bootstraps, have stopped crying in the bathroom in the mornings about having to face another day am working to find some joy in my life. It helps that I have a husband willing to take on those tasks in the house I can no longer do – except that bothers me too. I am a fussy person, I admit, something else I need to work on!
Susan
My physician had me stop taking Prilosec; I’d been on it for many years. It has to be a slow tapering off, and even with that, I had my share of rebound heartburn. I’m now taking Famotidine, a generic OTC which goes by various trade names, which I’m told suppresses stomach acid differently than the PPI’s. But I have to wonder if this will have side effects of its own.
Heather
Australia
I too have been on Nexium for too many years. I started taking Zantac one night then Nexium 20 the next as Zantac is less troublesome. It works but would like to give Nexium/zantac away. I tried ACVinegar but did not work tried coconut water did not work either. I believe Cannabis herbal would help the inflammation of my rheumatoid and as soon as available in Australia will change many drugs like Nexium, anti-inflammatories, prednisolone to cannabis which does not have the side effects
Clo6
Houston
Many years ago before these side effects were known, I was on Nexium and others before that for a very long time. I too developed severe bone loss and who know what else. No medication should be used for long term as I have learned the hard way. There are many medications that can cause these problems.
Marc
Montreal
I’m on Prevacid Fastab since years and get blood tests done every 6 months. My level of b12 vitamins and folic acid is very high and all the other vitamins and minerals are right in the middle range so all normal.
I do have horrible pain all over my body with nerve pain and have bones pain as well and parashetia. So it’s not all the time related to the b12 level. I have severe anxiety disorders and depression on the top of that and it’s clearly not related to the Prevacid Fastab since it all started way before I was put on a PPI.
I’m very sensible to the side effects of all drugs and prone to have all of them. I can’t even take a Tylenol or Advil without having mainly cardiovascular side effects with high blood pressure and tachycardia and the Prevacid have literally no side effect at all on me.
I did try other PPI’s and on Nexium I felt not very good so didn’t stay on it. Maybe it’s only related to the Nexium for the low b12 and the nerve pain? I have chronic headache and insomnia from the anxiety with facial pain from TMJ disorder as well and the Prevacid may deteriorate my sleep and give worse headache but I’m not sure since I skip some days once in a while and don’t sleep better when I don’t take it and the headache stay at the same level of intensity.
So overall, those PPI’s are safe for a short period of time and they should not lead to long term side effects that your describe in your article. Also the studies linked to your articles have some flawless and are not very good. The older drugs like Zantac (H2 antagonist) are worse for their side effects and not as effective to suppress the gastric acid production.