Page 1 of 1

Prevacid

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:33 pm
by pedrime
Hi everyone-

I've had the good fortune of no symptoms for about 18 mos, thanks to .125 of Mirapex. Now, I have to take Prevacid for 14 days for gastritis.

The question for all you experts is: I'm on day 2--wondering if my ferritin level will crash over the next 12 days or if that's too short a timeframe for me to have to worry about it.

Thanks & I hope most of you are finding some kind of relief--I know I am very blessed and feel so badly for anyone suffering.

Meg

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:31 am
by SquirmingSusan
I wouldn't worry about it. Those meds do cut down absorption of iron, so over the long haul it can be a problem. Many people manage to absorb enough iron anyway. And it takes a long, long time to deplete your iron stores.

It's great to hear that you're getting relief from your RLS!

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:22 am
by Sleuth
I am in a state of shock. I have been taking Prilosec every night for two years now. Could that be contributing to my RLS symptoms?

Dale

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:13 pm
by pedrime
Thanks Susan!

And Dale--from what I researched, seems like acid reducers/ inhibitors frequently cause RLS problems.

That is what I hate so much about our condition--we have to consider the RLS exacerbation issue before starting any med. And of course we usually do our own research rather than humiliate ourselves by asking the prescribing dr 'will this affect my restless legs' as they glare at you, laughing.

Thank God for this site!

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:11 pm
by ViewsAskew
Dale, it could have kept you from absorbing iron, but you had to have the RLS gene to begin with and probably low ferritin. Ferritin takes years to drop in people who don't have RLS (unless they are bleeding somewhere). In some people if they had the infusion you had, they'd never have low ferritin again.

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:53 pm
by pedrime
That's good to know. Now I am (personally) not so worried in case I have to take this stuff any longer than 14 days. RLS gene--scary. I hope none of my 3 kids inherited mine.

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:36 pm
by Polar Bear
I take omeprazole and understand that this does not affect rls.

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:26 pm
by ViewsAskew
Not sure if I spoke correctly above now that I think about it. You obviously don't "have" to have the gene because they think only about 50% of us do. But, you do have to have low ferritin; either your body tends to that or you're losing blood some where as I understand it. For many of us with RLS, we just have it low for some reason and even with transfusions it's hard to keep it high.

Related to that, Dr B said that doctors are now starting to move the ferritin higher - at least 75, better if you hit 100. I can't get higher than 30, lol.

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:44 pm
by Wayne
Interesting about acid reducers as I take Zantac75 pretty much daily due to a slight acid reflux problem.

My iron level was checked earlier this year and was around 85 or so. The acid reducers didn't seem to affect my iron. But does it really contribute to RLS? That never occurred to me. I know antihistamines are mentioned frequently.

I think I'll go off the Zantac for a while and see.

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 7:57 pm
by SquirmingSusan
The acid reducers are all antihistamines, so I suppose it is possible that they can aggravate RLS. But it's usually the sedating antihistamines that worsen RLS, and the acid reducers are non-sedating.