Prevacid and vitamins

Question

I am a long term user of Prevacid with good results. My concern is, does blocking all this acid production somehow increase a need for any particular vitamin(s) due to lack of absorbtion? In particular, a few years ago, I thought I read that if you are on any of these meds long term, that you should take extra B12. But this may not be the correct vitamin. Does anyone have any info on this that you can share? Thank you.

marygold · Answer

Yeah, I've been taking Nexium with good results for almost a year now, and I've been advised (here) to take extra B12 because it's absorbed less when there's less acid in my stomach. I decided on my own when I started taking Nexium to take vitamin supplements. Since my diet is really strict I was worried about deficiencies, so I take a multivitamin (just a centrum type) and a vitamin C every morning with my Nexium. I'm fine, and haven't had any problems with deficiencies of any vitamin. If you're worried, take a multivitamin once a day. I can only help. The only drawback of centrum type multis is that the pills are quite big. I could only take them after I had my esophagus dialated because it had narrowed. You can also get multivitamins in different forms. Maybe someone else will post here with some info on those. Good luck!

nanci · Answer

Not to knock any particular vitamin but after talking to several nutrionists and spending hours upon hours researching, the conclusion made is a person gets very little of the vitamin/mineral content of supplements such as Centrum, One a Day, etc.  

If you are going to spend money, spend alittle more and look into supplements such as Green Magma or one of powder types  It's easier on the stomach and you're gettng all the nutrients and minerals claimed on the bottle.

Just my two cents.

marygold · Answer

yeah, I know that centrum type aren't great, but I'm a first year university kid who's paying tuition, groceries, Nexium prescriptions, phone bills, and vitamins out of my student loan. My job only pays enough to cover my rent. I don't have enough money to pay for a better vitamin, so I stay with my lousy centrum. Even my biology prof says that centrum vitamins are not very good, but I figure that some is better than none, so I stick with it. I understand that they're not great, but I can't give any advice on any better vitamins because I have no experience with them.

Prevacid and vitamins

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