Read This Guide Before You Take Prilosec
Prilosec is effective for treating heartburn. However, you should keep some things in mind before you start taking this medicine.
Do not take extra or more medicine than you were told to take. Do not take it for longer than suggested in the instructions. You should take each dose with a full glass of water, and before you eat a meal. Do not break, crush or open the capsules. You should swallow the whole pill. Prilosec is designed to release the medicine gradually into the body. If you break or open the capsule, you will release too much of the medicine at one time. If you have trouble swallowing Prilosec, you can sprinkle the medicine into a serving of applesauce to make it easier for you to swallow. You should swallow the mixture immediately and avoid chewing. Do not save the mixture for a later time, and you can throw out the empty capsule when you are finished. Although your symptoms may disappear before your 2 week treatment, your symptoms may improve a lot more if you take the medicine for two weeks. If you are not sure how long you should take this medicine, you can consult with your doctor or nurse.
How Should I Store Prilosec?
You should store Prilosec at room temperature, and keep it away from heat and moisture.
What If My Symptoms Do Not Improve?
You should contact your doctor if your symptoms get worse and if they do not improve while you are taking Prilosec.
What Medicines Will Affect Prilosec?
Before you take Prilosec, you should inform your doctor if you take any medications including a blood thinner like warfarin (Coumadin), clopidogrel (Plavix), atazanavir (Reyataz), disulfiram (Antabuse), cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune), tacrolimus (Prograf), phenytoin (Dilantin), theophylline (TheoBid, Theo-Dur, Theochron, Theolair, Elixophyllin, Slo-Phyllin), ketoconazole (Nizoral), voriconazole (Vfend), ampicillin (Omnipen, Principen), iron (Feosol, Mol-Iron, Fergon, Femiron, others) In addition, inform your doctor if you take medicine for anxiety or insomnia like diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), temazepam (Restoril), clorazepate (Tranxene), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), and others. If you are using any of these medicines, you may not be able to take Prilosec or you may need an adjustment to your doses or special tests before you take this medicine. There many be other medicines or drugs that can affect Prilosec. Inform your doctor if you take any prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, minerals, herbal products and drugs prescribed by other physicians. You should never start using any medicine with Prilosec without informing your doctor.