Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Do heartburn drugs cause osteoporosis? A gastroenterologist answers.

Michael Kirsch, MD
Meds
July 7, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

Every week, I am asked by patients if their heartburn medicine causes osteoporosis. The most effective heartburn medicines are called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs. If you watch more than an hour of TV per week, then you have seen ads for some of them. Nexium, Prilosec, and Protonix are three examples of these medicines.

Many of them are now available over-the-counter at reduced dosages.

Patients today are incredibly informed, and sometimes misinformed, about their medical conditions and their treatments. Most of their information is from the internet, and it’s easy for patients to become unwittingly trapped in the world wide web.

The information dangling in cyberspace is entirely unregulated. Information can be made to appear authoritative and objective when it actually is a paid advertisement. Many blogs may appear to function to inform the public, when their true purpose is to serve the corporation that sponsors it. If you are learning about probiotics, for example, consider the credibility of the site if you are encouraged to purchase certain products. Caveat emptor.

I personally do not believe that Nexium can break bones, although I have read the same articles in the lay press that arouse my patients’ concerns. I understand that a headline such as, “Nexium Linked to Hip Fractures,” will make my Nexium users so nervous that they might get wobbly and slip and chip a hip.

However, there is no convincing medical evidence that an individual user of Nexium or similar medicines has any significant risk of sustaining a fracture. The belief that they can cause or accelerate osteoporosis is derived from large, pooled medical studies that are not truly capable of concluding cause and effect, a critical point often omitted from your hometown gazettes.

However, no patient should be on Nexium, or any medication, unless certain requirements have been satisfied. Here’s what runs through my mind when I am recommending a medication for a patient.

  • The drug is absolutely necessary.
  • I am prescribing the lowest dose of the drug necessary for the medical task.
  • There is no safer alternative medication or other treatment available.

Of course, cost may be an issue depending upon the patient’s insurance coverage. However, the patient’s financial status should not taint the physician’s recommendations. The patient, however, can indicate that the doctor’s first choice is not possible, and he may choose a more affordable, but less effective option.

If you want a second opinion on any of this, try the Internet. That’s where I go when I need reliable medical information.

Michael Kirsch is a gastroenterologist who blogs at MD Whistleblower.

Prev

A medical student, overcome with the gratefulness that she is in medicine

July 7, 2015 Kevin 2
…
Next

What is pediatrics? It's more than just runny noses.

July 8, 2015 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Endocrinology, Gastroenterology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
A medical student, overcome with the gratefulness that she is in medicine
Next Post >
What is pediatrics? It's more than just runny noses.

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Michael Kirsch, MD

  • Are Ozempic patients on a slow-moving runaway train?

    Michael Kirsch, MD
  • AI-driven diagnostics and beyond

    Michael Kirsch, MD
  • The surprising truth behind virtual visits

    Michael Kirsch, MD

More in Meds

  • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

    Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
  • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

    GJ van Londen, MD
  • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

    Amanda Matter
  • How medicine repurposing enables value-based pain management and insomnia therapy

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • From stigma to science: Rethinking the U.S. drug scheduling system

    Artin Asadipooya
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • The hidden moral injury behind value-based health care

      Jonathan Bushman, DO | Physician
    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • The hidden moral injury behind value-based health care

      Jonathan Bushman, DO | Physician
    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Do heartburn drugs cause osteoporosis? A gastroenterologist answers.
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...