Indigestion Medications Can Cause Anemia

I have written many times about the assorted risks of acid-suppressing drugs. Here’s one risk I havenot yet spoken about — people on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as esomeprazole (Nexium), omeprazole (Prilosec) and lansoprazole (Prevacid) run the risk of becoming anemic (due to an iron deficiency) due to inadequate stomach acid. And, worse, these people can not adequately absorb traditional iron supplements that are the traditional treatment for anemia.

Since the symptoms and problems associated with anemia are considerable, ranging from fatigue to weakened immune function and mental ability, not being able to “fix” it with iron supplements can be a big problem for the millions of acid-suppressant users who are at risk. Those who have had gastric bypass surgery are also at risk because the part of the small intestine that absorbs iron best is bypassed with the surgery.