Precautions

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to take it. Blood, urine, and other laboratory tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects. If your condition does not improve, or if it becomes worse, check with your doctor.

This medicine is sometimes given together with amoxicillin (Amoxil®) and clarithromycin (Biaxin®) to treat ulcers caused by H. pylori infection. Be sure you understand about the risks and proper use of any other medicines your doctor prescribes together with esomeprazole strontium.

Check with your doctor right away if you have a fever, joint pain, skin rash, swelling of the body, feet, or ankles, or unusual weight gain after taking this medicine. These could be symptoms of a serious kidney problem called acute interstitial nephritis.

Taking this medicine for a long time may make it harder for your body to absorb vitamin B12. Tell your doctor if you have concerns about vitamin B12 deficiency.

Serious stomach conditions may occur while taking this medicine alone or together with antibiotics. Check with your doctor immediately if you have stomach pain or cramps, bloated feeling, watery and severe diarrhea which may also be bloody sometimes, fever, nausea or vomiting, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may increase your risk of having fractures of the hip, wrist, and spine. This is more likely if you are 50 years of age and older, use high doses, or use it for one year or more. Call your doctor right away if you have severe bone pain or are unable to walk or sit normally.

This medicine may cause serious skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). Check with your doctor right away if you have black, tarry stools, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chest pain, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, painful or difficult urination, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, swollen glands, unusual bleeding or bruising, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Cutaneous or systemic lupus erythematosus may occur or get worse in patients receiving a PPI. Call your doctor right away if you have joint pain or a skin rash on your cheeks or arms that gets worse when exposed to the sun.

This medicine may cause hypomagnesemia (low magnesium in the blood). This is more likely to occur if you are taking this medicine for more than one year, or if you are taking this medicine together with digoxin (Lanoxin®) or certain diuretics (water pills). Check with your doctor right away if you have convulsions (seizures), fast, racing, or uneven heartbeat, muscle spasms (tetany), tremors, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may increase your risk for fundic gland polyps (abnormal tissue growth in the upper part of your stomach). This is more likely if you are receiving this medicine for more than 1 year. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.

Make sure any doctor or dentist who treats you knows that you are using this medicine. This medicine may affect the results of certain medical tests.

Do not stop using this medicine without first checking with your doctor, or unless told to do so by your doctor.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription (eg, atazanavir, clopidogrel, nelfinavir, Plavix®, Reyataz®, Viracept®) or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal (eg, St. John's wort) or vitamin supplements.