Doc put me on tables for heartburn / indigestion

Hi girls My doc has put me on the following tablets Lopraz 40mg Gastro resistant capusles I have severe heart burn and indigestion. Esp at night which makes sleep impossible. Only managed 2 hrs last night Anyway wondering was anyone on these ? The leaflet says there is insufficent evidence to say whether is harmful to the unborn child but to date nothing has been found. Doc says i am 34 weeks pregnant now so should have no adverse effects and he said its what hospitals give small babies for severe reflux. Still cant help but worry ... Any experiences ?

Lopraz is a PPI which stands for Proton Pump Inhibitor. I have suffered from gastritis for the past 18 months and after a scope etc, was told that it was just an aggravated stomach lining and I was put on a different PPI for 2 weeks constantly and then as I need it from there on. Basically PPI's disables the acid pump in your tummy. In my case, it was to give my stomach time to heal initially, and then to stop the influx of acid after I ate something spicy as I needed it. When I got pregnant I asked him if I should continue to take it. He said that he has patients who take a few of them a day each day of their pregnancy, and they go on to have perfectly healthy babies. He did say to take them as a last resort and in the meantime recommended the pink gaviscon liquid (which is actually really good!) If it gets really bad, I still take one of my PPIs but I've only had to take about 3 lots of it since getting my BFP. I guess what I'm saying is, the medical community are not slow to tell you not to take anything when you're pregnant and to just grin & bear the discomfort, putting it down to "the joys of pregnancy" If he prescribed them, I'd say take them (if you've tried the non-prescription alternatives) One thing I have learnt from taking them is that you can get caught in a vicious circle. If I take two, one day after another, I have to wean myself off them again by taking another one 2 days after the last one etc etc or else I get a huge rush of acid ones my tummy's acid pump is allowed to restart! Hope that's not too confusing!! There are other things that I do to stop it happening - coffee, coke, oranges and spicy foods set me off, as well as too much tea or chocolate. I'm sure you've heard all this before but just incase something makes a difference for you!!

I have been on the liquid gaviscon since the start of pregnancy and still take it every day. I found this was not enough so he put me on acid repressant tablets - these just kept it at bay during the day but once my head hit the pillow at night it was then the fun would start. Went back to him today and its just a last resort to get me through the last 6 weeks but its not sitting right with me...

Lopraz is a fairly common drug taken by pregnant women. The doctors wouldn't prescribe them if they weren't ok. The pharmacist def wouldn't dispense them if they thought they weren't ok. I know you are worried about side effects but most medications are not tested on pregnant women at all as it would be unethical. FYI the active ingredient in Lopraz seems to be OMEPRAZOLE which results from three prospective epidemiological studies indicate no adverse effects of omeprazole on pregnancy or on the health of the foetus/newborn child. Omeprazole can be used during pregnancy. Omeprazole is excreted in breast milk but is not likely to influence the child when therapeutic doses are used. I wouldn't worry too much about this particular drug. take it and hope it give syou some relief. (PS i'm heading towards having to take it myself as have been suffering with severe heartburn for weeks esp at night.)

Thanks for that post i feel more re-assured now. I guess you are right but i am always a worrier at heart