Heartburn Medication and Your Bones

Filed in archive Digestive Health on April 21, 2007

Who hasn't suffered, at least occasionally, from the misery of heartburn? Spicy food, greasy food, or just too much food can bring on that uncomfortable, burning sensation that travels all the way from the stomach into the throat.

Sharon Gilson, About.com Guide to Heartburn and GERD lists these causes of heartburn:

• Eating acidic foods, such as tomatoes and citrus fruits
  


• Drinking alcohol
  


• Smoking cigarettes
  


• Having certain medical conditions, such as diabetes and asthma
  


• Taking certain medications, including asthma drugs, antibiotics, dietary supplements, and some heart medicines

So how does one counteract an attack of heartburn? If the heartburn is severe, you may be suffering from GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) and your doctor may prescribe an acid reducing group of medications called Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI). WegGERD.com has this to say about PPIs:

PPI class of drugs, i.e. Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid are the agents of choice in achieving symptom relief, improving quality of life, healing, and prevention of mucosal injury in GERD patients. As a class, these drugs are extremely safe.

New research, however, reveals one serious drawback to using PPIs for your heartburn. An article from Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs warns:

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania find use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increased the odds of breaking a hip by about 44 percent in people who took the drugs for about a year. People who took higher doses for longer periods were about two-and-a-half-times more likely to suffer a hip fracture.