Prescription Antacids Can Lead to Severe Magnesium Deficiency

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 by: Kerri Knox, RN
Tags: antacids, magnesium, health news

(NewsTarget) Prescription antacids are some of the most highly prescribed drugs in the US today. When these drugs were first approved, they were intended to be used for temporary heartburn and only for short periods of time. As their usage evolved, however, these drugs have steadily become a part of people's daily routine for years and even decades. While these drugs are generally considered 'safe and effective', the few long term studies coming out are beginning to show that there can be serious problems when these drugs are taken over many years. One of these side effects is such severe magnesium deficiency that people have had seizures and fatal heart arrhythmias as a direct result of these 'safe' medications.

With millions of doses taken by people across the globe every year, prescription antacids- technically known as Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPI's- were intended to be prescribed for short term usage. However, when the underlying cause of the heartburn and acid reflux is never addressed, people find that they are unable to stop taking these medications without their heartburn recurring each time. Since long-term studies had never been done on these drugs intended for short term use, it's only recently being discovered that there may be some nasty consequences to taking these drugs for many years. One of these side effects is magnesium deficiency, sometimes so severe that it has caused seizures and even death from heart arrhythmias. While admittedly cases of magnesium deficiency this severe are rare, a more pressing problem is a mild magnesium deficiency that often goes undiagnosed. Since magnesium is integral for the absorption and usage of calcium for the bones, this mild magnesium deficiency is likely one of the major reasons for the fact studies are showing much higher rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures in women who use these medications for long periods of time.

"The hypomagnesaemia could be partially corrected by high dose
oral magnesium supplementation, and resolved on withdrawal of PPIs."
'Severe hypomagnesaemia in long-term users of proton-pump inhibitors'

These slight 'subclinical' magnesium levels caused by prescription antacids may also be leading to all sorts of health problems in users who are unaware of this problem. Magnesium deficiencies so mild that they don't even show up as abnormal on blood tests have been connected to a variety of chronic health problems such as: depression, anxiety, low back pain, migraine headaches and PMS symptoms just to name a few. With millions of people taking these drugs and millions of people suffering from these problems, it's very much a possibility that prescription antacid usage could be risk factor in the development of many of these health problems. Unfortunately, most doctors and patients are not aware that these drugs can lead to magnesium deficiency and thousands may be suffering because of it. They just keep prescribing prescription antacids for anyone who complains of mild heartburn without an understanding of the long-term health problems of even a subclinical magnesium deficiency.

Resources
http://www.njmonline.nl/njm/journals/article...
http://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386%2809%...
http://www.side-effects-site.com/omeprazole-...

About the author

Kerri Knox, RN is a Registered Nurse and Functional Medicine Practitioner.
With over 14 years of experience in health care, she has the unique perspective of being solidly grounded in Conventional Medicine and being well versed in Alternative Medicine.
She can help you to to find and repair the UNDERLYING CAUSES of illness using cutting edge in home lab testing that finds nutritional deficiencies, hidden infections and chemical and metal toxicities that contribute to ill health.
She can be reached through her websites at:
Easy Immune System Health.com
Side Effects Site