Prevacid is a medication used to treat cases of persistent heartburn (a.k.a. acid reflux or GERD). For the most part it is safe as along as a person has been properly assessed as an ideal candidate to use it.
However, no medication experience is necessary going to be perfect. You should be carefully monitored and your progress should be reported regularly. Your doctor should be informed immediately if any unbearable side effects occur (i.e. shortness of breath, anxiety, insomnia, or fainting).
After using this product for 14 days, about 7% of users reported diarrhea. Another 6% reported headaches and another 5% reported bad taste in the mouth. The majority of these side effects had first appeared between 10 and 14 days.
When Prevacid was used in dual therapy regimens in conjunction with amoxicillin up to three times a day adverse reactions increased. The chance of reaction or side effects also increased when a triple therapy was applied along with amoxicillin and clarithromycin.
According to a 24-month cancer study on rats who were given 5 to 150 mg of this med aggravated growth of cancerous cells. During shorter studies, carcinogenic testing results were negative.
According to recent research, there is a chance of affect on unborn babies. However the overall effects are not totally known. In any case it is not recommended for children one year old or less.
You should take this product according to the instructions give you to you by your doctor. Do not use it without a prescription and be careful not to take too much of it. Furthermore, you should never take a double dosage to make up for the missed one.
As always, you should also never use it for longer than the amount of time specified. Usually it is only meant to be used for a few weeks, or maybe longer if your doctor instructs you to do so.
If you have any unusual behavior or you know you accidentally overdosed you should consult medical help or the poison control center. Do not wait until symptoms worsen or you could go into shock or faint.
Under normal circunstances though, you should not have any problems. Still it is better to be safe than sorry. If anything, you should call for precautionary reasons just in case you need to know what kind of reactions to look out for.