GERD Home > Prevacid Side Effects
Diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation are common side effects that have been reported with Prevacid. Those that are less common can include allergic reactions, high blood pressure, and migraines. Make sure to notify your healthcare provider if you develop something that "just does not seem right" so that your doctor can make sure it isn't a side effect of Prevacid.
As with any medication, side effects can occur with Prevacid® (lansoprazole). However, not everyone who takes the drug will have side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can be easily treated by you or your healthcare provider.
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Prevacid. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of Prevacid side effects with you.)
Prevacid has been studied extensively in clinical trials, with more than 10,000 people worldwide having been evaluated. In these studies, side effects occurring in a group of people taking the drug are documented and compared to those that occur in another group not taking the medicine. This way, it is possible to see what side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine.
Based on these studies, the most common side effects seen with Prevacid include:
- Diarrhea -- in up to 3.8 percent of people
- Abdominal pain (stomach pain) -- up to 2.1 percent
- Nausea -- up to 1.3 percent
- Constipation -- up to 1 percent.
Some side effects of Prevacid are rare -- occurring in less than 1 percent of people taking the drug. Because these side effects are so uncommon, it is difficult to tell whether they are a result of the medication or something else.
Some of these possible rare side effects include but are not limited to:
- Allergic reaction
- Chest pain (angina)
- Stroke
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Fainting (syncope)
- Migraine
- Heart attack
- Ulcerative colitis
- Gout
- Weight gain
- Weight loss
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Asthma
- Nosebleed (epistaxis)
- Acne
- Hair loss (alopecia)
- Unexplained rash
- Dry eyes
- Middle ear infection (otitis media)
- Impotence (also known as erectile dysfunction, or ED)
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Broken bones (some studies suggest this or other similar medications may increase the risk of bone fractures)
- Low blood magnesium (hypomagnesemia).