Experiences with
Rabeprazole

Rabeprazole reduces the amount of acid your stomach makes. It's widely used to treat heartburn, acid reflux and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). GORD is when you keep getting acid reflux.

Rabeprazole is also taken to prevent and treat stomach ulcers.

Sometimes, it is also prescribed for a rare condition caused by a tumour in the pancreas or gut, called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Rabeprazole is only available on prescription. It comes as tablets.

Who can take rabeprazole

Most adults can take rabeprazole.

Who cannot take rabeprazole

Rabeprazole is not suitable for everyone. To make sure that it's safe for you, tell your doctor if you:

have ever had an allergic reaction to rabeprazole or any other medicine
are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding
are due to have an endoscopy

If you’re going to have an endoscopy, ask your doctor if you should stop taking rabeprazole a few weeks before your procedure. This is because rabeprazole may hide some of the problems that would usually be spotted during an endoscopy.

Dosage and strength

Rabeprazole tablets contain 10mg or 20mg of rabeprazole.

The usual dose to treat:

heartburn, acid reflux and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease is 10mg to 20mg a day
stomach ulcers is 20mg a day
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is 60mg to 120mg a day

How to take it

You’ll usually take rabeprazole once a day, first thing in the morning. If your doctor prescribes it twice a day, take 1 dose in the morning and 1 dose in the evening.

It's best to take rabeprazole before a meal. Swallow your tablets whole with a drink of water or squash.

Sometimes your doctor will increase your dose of rabeprazole if it's not working well enough.

Depending on the reason you take rabeprazole, you may take a higher dose to begin with, usually for a month or two. After this, your doctor may recommend that you take a lower dose.

How long to take it

Depending on your condition, you may only take rabeprazole for a few weeks or months. Sometimes you might need to take it for longer, even many years.

Some people do not need to take rabeprazole every day and take it only when they have symptoms. Once you feel better (often after a few days or weeks), you can stop taking it.

Taking rabeprazole for a short time to treat symptoms is not suitable for everyone though. Speak to your doctor about what's best for you.

If you forget to take it

If you usually take it:

once a day – take the missed dose as soon as you remember, unless your next dose is due in less than 12 hours, in which case skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the usual time
twice a day – take the missed dose as soon as you remember unless it’s 4 hours or less until your next dose. In this case, take your next dose as normal

Do not take 2 doses to make up for a forgotten dose.

If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to remember your medicine.

Stopping rabeprazole

Usually, you can stop taking rabeprazole without reducing your dose first.

If you've taken rabeprazole for a long time, speak to your doctor before you stop taking it. Stopping the medicine suddenly could make your stomach produce a lot more acid, and make your symptoms return.

Reducing the dose gradually before stopping completely will prevent this happening.

If you take too much

Taking 1 or 2 extra doses of rabeprazole is unlikely to cause you any problems.

If you take an extra dose, you might get some of the common side effects. If this happens or you're concerned, contact your doctor.

Common side effects

These common side effects of rabeprazole happen in more than 1 in 100 people. There are things you can do to help cope with them.

Make sure you rest and drink plenty of fluids. Avoid drinking too much alcohol. Ask your pharmacist to recommend a painkiller. Headaches should usually go away after the first week of taking rabeprazole. Talk to your doctor if they last longer than a week or are severe.

It may help if you avoid rich or spicy food. Drink plenty of water by having small, frequent sips to avoid dehydration. If you're being sick, take, small, frequent sips. Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee.

If you take the combined contraceptive pil l or progestogen-only pill and you're being sick, your contraception may not protect you from pregnancy . Check the pill packet for advice.

Drink lots of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee. Do not take any other medicines to treat diarrhoea without talking to your doctor.

If you take the combined contraceptive pill or progestogen-only pill and you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraception may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet for advice.

Get more fibre into your diet such as fresh fruit and vegetables and cereals, and drink plenty of water. Try to increase your level of exercise, for example, by going for a daily walk or run. If this does not help, talk to your pharmacist or doctor.

Try to rest and relax. It can help to eat and drink slowly and have smaller and more frequent meals. Putting a heat pad or covered hot water bottle on your stomach may also help. If you are in a lot of pain, speak to your pharmacist or doctor.

Avoid foods that cause wind, like lentils, peas, beans and onions. It might also help to eat smaller and more frequent meals, eat and drink slowly, and exercise regularly. Some pharmacy remedies, such as simeticone, may relieve the symptoms of wind.

If rabeprazole makes you feel dizzy or tired, stop what you're doing and sit or lie down until you feel better. Do not drive, cycle or use tools or machinery. Do not drink alcohol as it will make you feel worse.

Try chewing sugar-free gum or suck sugar-free sweets.

Keep taking the medicine, but talk to your doctor if this advice does not help and the side effects bother you or do not go away.

Serious side effects

Some of these serious side effects are more common than others.

Call a doctor or call 111 now if you:

have joint pain along with a red skin rash, especially in parts of your body exposed to the sun, such as your arms, cheeks and nose (this may be less noticeable on brown on black skin) – these can be signs of a rare condition called subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE). This can happen even if you've been taking rabeprazole for a long time
have diarrhoea that’s severe or that does not go away – this can be a sign of an inflamed bowel
notice stomach pains that are getting worse, the whites of your eyes or your skin turns yellow, although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin – this can be a sign of liver problems
are getting frequent infections, such as a sore throat or high temperature, or ulcers in your mouth or throat
bruise or bleed easily

Serious allergic reaction

In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to rabeprazole.

Meds New IA (H4) - serious allergic reaction

If you take rabeprazole for more than 3 months, the levels of magnesium in your blood may fall.

Low magnesium can make you feel tired, confused and dizzy, and cause muscle twitches, shakiness and an irregular heartbeat. Tell your doctor if you get any of these symptoms.

Taking rabeprazole for more than a year may increase your chances of certain side effects, including:

bone fractures
gut infections
vitamin B12 deficiency – symptoms include feeling very tired, a sore and red tongue, mouth ulcers and pins and needles

If you take rabeprazole for longer than a year, your doctor will regularly check your health to see if you should carry on taking it.

Other side effects

These are not all the side effects of rabeprazole. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet.

Rabeprazole and pregnancy

Rabeprazole is not usually recommended because there is little information about its use during pregnancy.

A similar medicine, calledomeprazole, may be recommended instead as there is more safety information available.

If you want to treat your symptoms without taking medicine, there are things you can do. You could try eating smaller meals more often, avoiding fatty and spicy food and sitting up straight when you eat - this will take the pressure off your stomach. If you have symptoms when you go to bed at night, propping your head and shoulders up can stop stomach acid coming up while you sleep

Rabeprazole and breastfeeding

If your doctor or health visitor says your baby is healthy, it’s OK to take rabeprazole while you’re breastfeeding. However, they might recommend a similar medicine we know more about.

It’s not known how much rabeprazole gets into breast milk, but it’s likely to be a small amount. Your baby will not take in a lot from the breast milk.

It’s unlikely that rabeprazole will cause any side effects in your baby

Rabeprazole and fertility

There's no evidence to suggest that taking rabeprazole reduces fertility in either men or women. However, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor if you're trying to get pregnant. They may want to review your treatment.

Meds New IA (H2) - Pregnancy non-urgent care card

Cautions with other medicines

If you are taking rabeprazole, it can affect the way other medicines work. Other medicines may also affect the way rabeprazole works. It can make side effects more likely, or stop one of the medicines working as well. Tell your doctor if you're taking any of these medicines before you start taking rabeprazole:

antifungal medicines such as itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole and voriconazole
clopidogrel and warfarin, medicines to prevent or treat blood clots
methotrexate, a medicine that treats psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis
HIV medicines
rifampicin, an antibiotic

These are not all the medicines that may not mix well with rabeprazole. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet.

Mixing rabeprazole with herbal remedies and supplements

Do not take St John's wort, the herbal remedy for depression, while you're taking rabeprazole. It may stop rabeprazole working as well as it should.

There's not enough information to say that other complementary medicines and herbal remedies are safe to take with rabeprazole. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.

Meds New IA (H2) - Cautions with other medicines alert