Generic name: pantoprazole (taken by mouth or injected) [pan-TOE-pra-zole]
Protonix is the brand name.
Proton pump inhibitors are a type of drug.
What is this drug called?
Pantoprazole is a proton pump inhibitor that lowers how much acid the stomach makes.
Pantoprazole is used to treat adults and children who are at least 5 years old who have erosive esophagitis. This is damage to the oesophagus from stomach acid caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Most of the time, your doctor will give you pantoprazole for up to 8 weeks at a time while your oesophagus heals.
Pantoprazole is also used to treat Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and other stomach acid problems.
Warnings
Pantoprazole is not used to get rid of heartburn symptoms right away.
People often think that the first signs of a heart attack are heartburn. Get emergency medical help if you have pain or a heavy feeling in your chest, pain that spreads to your arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, or a general feeling of being sick.
If you take pantoprazole for a long time, it may also make it harder for your body to absorb vitamin B-12, which could lead to a lack of this vitamin. Talk to your doctor if you need to take pantoprazole for a long time and are worried about not getting enough vitamin B-12.
Pantoprazole can cause kidney problems. Tell your doctor if you’re not going to the toilet as much as usual or if there’s blood in your urine.
If you have diarrhoea, you might have a new infection. If you have diarrhoea that is watery or has blood in it, you should call your doctor.
Pantoprazole may cause or make lupus symptoms worse or bring on new ones. Tell your doctor if you have joint pain and a rash that gets worse in the sun on your cheeks or arms.
If you take this medicine for a long time or more than once a day, you may be more likely to break a bone.
Before you take this drug
Early signs of a heart attack can be like those of heartburn. Get help from a doctor right away if you have chest pain that moves to your jaw or shoulder and makes you feel anxious or dizzy.
You shouldn’t take this medicine if:
- You also take rilpivirine (Edurant, Complera, Juluca, Odefsey);
- If you’ve had breathing problems, kidney problems, or a severe allergic reaction after taking pantoprazole in the past; or
- If you’re allergic to pantoprazole or similar medicines (lansoprazole, omeprazole, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, and others).
Tell your doctor if you’ve ever had
- Low magnesium levels in your blood,
- Lupus, or
- Osteoporosis or low bone mineral density.
If you take pantoprazole for a long time or more than once a day, you may be more likely to break a bone. Talk to your doctor about ways to keep your bones healthy, especially if you are an adult over 50.
No one knows if this medicine will hurt a baby who is still in the womb. If you are pregnant or want to get pregnant, you should tell your doctor.
If you are breastfeeding, you shouldn’t take this medicine.
Pantoprazole is not supposed to be used by anyone younger than 5 years old.
How should I take this medicine?
Take pantoprazole exactly how your doctor tells you to. Follow all of the directions on the label of your prescription, and read any guides or instruction sheets that come with it. Follow the directions to the letter.
Use the smallest amount of medicine for the shortest time needed to treat your condition.
Pantoprazole can be taken by mouth or put into a vein as an infusion (injection). A doctor or nurse might show you how to use the injection on your own.
You can take pantoprazole tablets by mouth, with or without food. People should take the oral granules 30 minutes before a meal.
Do not chew the tablet or break it. Take it all in.
The oral granules should be mixed with applesauce or apple juice and given by mouth or through a nasogastric (NG) tube.
Instructions for Use that come with your medicine should be carefully read and followed. Ask your doctor or chemist if you have any questions.
Use this medicine for the whole time it says to, even if your symptoms get better quickly.
If your symptoms don’t get better or get worse while you’re taking this medicine, call your doctor.
Some medical tests can give wrong results if you are taking Pantoprazole. Tell your doctor or the people working in the lab that you are taking this medicine.
Pantoprazole may also mess up a urine test for drugs, giving you false results. Tell the people working in the lab that you take this medicine.
Keep this medicine at room temperature and out of the light, heat, and moisture.
Information dosage
Normal dose for an adult with erosive esophagitis:
Erosive esophagitis is treated by:
40 mg orally once a day for up to 8 weeks. If the patient hasn’t healed after the first 8 weeks, an extra 8 weeks may be considered. Safety and effectiveness after 16 weeks of treatment have not been proven.
To keep erosive esophagitis from coming back, take 40 mg orally once a day. Controlled studies have only looked at pantoprazole for a year.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Typical Adult Dose:
Parenteral: Give 40 mg once a day through an intravenous infusion over 15 minutes for 7 to 10 days. As soon as the patient is able to take medicine by mouth again, intravenous therapy should stop.
Oral: Take 40 mg once a day, but only for a short time (up to 8 weeks). If a patient hasn’t healed after the first 8 weeks, an extra 8 weeks may be considered. Safety and effectiveness after 16 weeks of treatment have not been proven.
Typical Adult Dose for Duodenal Ulcer
Study (n=54):
For 28 weeks, they took 40 mg by mouth once a day. The dose was increased by 40 mg every 12 weeks, up to a maximum of 120 mg per day. Data show that monotherapy with daily doses of 40 mg has been linked to complete healing of duodenal ulcers in up to 87% and 94% of patients after 4 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively.
Dosage for Adults with Gastric Ulcer:
Adults usually take 40 mg once a day by mouth to treat gastric ulcers. Data show that monotherapy with daily doses of 40 mg has been linked to complete healing of gastric ulcers in up to 87% and 97% of patients after 4 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively.
Normal dose for an adult with Helicobacter pylori:
Study (n=242): Typical Adult Dose for Helicobacter pylori Infection – Triple therapy: 40 mg taken by mouth twice a day for seven days, usually with clarithromycin and either amoxicillin or metronidazole to get rid of Helicobacter pylori, then 40 mg taken by mouth once a day until day 28. With triple therapy, more than 95% of the disease has been wiped out.
The QUADRATE Study (n=405):
40 mg by mouth twice a day for seven days, along with bismuth subcitrate and tetracycline, both taken four times a day, 200 mg of metronidazole three times a day, and 400 mg before bed. 82% of patients were able to get rid of Helicobacter Pylori.
For Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, the usual dose for an adult is:
Parenteral: 80 mg every 12 hours, given through an infusion that takes 15 minutes. No research has been done on daily doses higher than 240 mg that are given in 15-minute infusions or on doses that are given for more than 6 days.
Orally: 40 mg twice a day, up to 240 mg a day. Some people have been taking pantoprazole as medicine for more than 2 years.
The usual dose for adults to prevent stress ulcers:
Study (n=21): Preventing blood loss from stress ulcers in the Critical Care Setting: 80 mg twice a day as a bolus infusion over 15 minutes, up to a maximum of 240 mg per day, split into three equal doses.
Study (n=20): Peptic Ulcer Rebleeding Prevention after Hemostasis in the Critical Care Setting: 80 mg IV bolus, then continuous infusion of 8 mg/hr for 3 days. After that, therapy can be continued with an oral PPI.
Treatment of Peptic Ulcer in Adults:
Study (n=21): Typical Adult Dose for Peptic Ulcer – To prevent bleeding from a stress ulcer in a critical care setting, give 80 mg twice a day as a bolus infusion over 15 minutes, up to a maximum of 240 mg per day, split into three equal doses.
Study (n=20): Peptic Ulcer rebleeding prevention after hemostasis in the Critical Care Setting:
80 mg IV bolus, then 8 mg/hr infusion for 3 days. After 3 days, therapy can be continued with an oral PPI.
What will happen if I don’t take a dose?
Use the medicine as soon as you can, but skip the dose you missed if your next dose is almost due. Don’t take both doses at the same time.
What happens if I overdose?
Get help from a doctor right away or call 1-800-222-1222 to reach the Poison Help line.
What should I stay away from while I’m taking pantoprazole?
This medicine can make you have diarrhoea, which could mean you have a new infection. Call your doctor if you have diarrhoea that is watery or bloody. If your doctor doesn’t tell you to, don’t take medicine to stop diarrhoea.
Pantoprazole side effects
If you are allergic to pantoprazole and have hives, trouble breathing, or swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat, call 911 right away.
Call your doctor right away if you have:
- Severe stomach pain, diarrhoea that is watery or bloody;
- Sudden pain or trouble moving your hip, wrist, or back;
- Bruising or swelling where intravenous pantoprazole was injected;
- Kidney problems (fever, rash, nausea, loss of appetite, joint pain, urinating less than usual, blood in your urine, weight gain);
- Low magnesium (dizziness, fast or irregular heart rate, tremors (shaking) or If you take pantoprazole for a long time, you may get growths in your stomach called polyps in the fundic glands. Talk to your doctor about this possible danger.
- Joint pain and a rash on your cheeks or arms that gets worse in the sun are new or getting worse signs of lupus.
If you take pantoprazole for a long time, you may get growths in your stomach called polyps in the fundic glands. Talk to your doctor about this possible danger.
If you take pantoprazole for more than three years, you might not get enough vitamin B-12. Talk to your doctor about what to do if you get this condition.
Some common side effects of pantoprazole may include:
- Headache, dizziness;
- Stomach pain, gas, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;
- Joint pain; or
- Signs of a fever, rash, or cold (most common in children).
This isn’t a full list of all possible side effects, and there may be others. You should talk to your doctor about any side effects. You can call 1-800-FDA-1088 to tell the FDA about side effects.
What other medicines interact with pantoprazole?
Tell your doctor what other medicines you are taking. Some may have an effect on pantoprazole, such as:
- Digoxin;
- Methotrexate or
- A “water pill” or “diuretic.”
This list doesn’t have everything. Other drugs, such as prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products, may have an effect on pantoprazole. Not every drug interaction that could happen is on this list.
Popular FAQ
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- Dosage, and patient tips;
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- Proton pump inhibitors are a type of drug.
- Breastfeed while taking them.
Patient resources
- Pantoprazole Intravenous (Advanced Reading)
- Pantoprazole Delayed-Release Tablets
- Pantoprazole Delayed-Release Granules
- Pantoprazole Injection
Different brands
Protonix and Protonix IV
Professional Resources
- Information for Doctors
Similar health care guides
- Dumping syndrome
- Duodenal ulcer
- Erosive esophagitis
- Barrett’s oesophagus
For more details
Remember to keep this and all other medicines away from children, never give your medicines to other people, and only use pantoprazole for what it was prescribed for.
Talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider to make sure that the information on this page applies to your situation.
Disclaimer for Medical Use
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