Can i take ranitadine for reflux as well as iron tablets for aniemia?!
Question: I have been prescibed both on seperate occassions as i have bad acid reflux and a week or so later blood tests showed i was aniemic so i was prescribed iron tablets.However,1 doc said i can take them both,but a friend who is a nurse says i cant,and on certain websites it says you cant take antacids and iron tablets.Does anyone know why and if its ok or not?Thanks.(i would ask my doc again but hes very cocky and is ages until i can get an appointment.)
Answers: I have been prescibed both on seperate occassions as i have bad acid reflux and a week or so later blood tests showed i was aniemic so i was prescribed iron tablets.However,1 doc said i can take them both,but a friend who is a nurse says i cant,and on certain websites it says you cant take antacids and iron tablets.Does anyone know why and if its ok or not?Thanks.(i would ask my doc again but hes very cocky and is ages until i can get an appointment.)
Ranitadine is NOT an antacid it is an H2-antagonist it has no interaction with iron. Your friend the nurse who is quite wrong, should not use her link to the medical profession to involve herself in things she has no knowledge of as this is potentially dangerous!
Read the leaflet that came in the boxes of tablets or speak to your pharmacist.
Micromedex lists no drug interaction between ferrous sulfate and Ranitidine. You can take iron and antacids but they should be taken more than four hours apart so absorption isn't impaired. Ranitidine however is not an antacid but a histamine blocker. There is a 20% possibility iron may irritate your stomace or increase your gerd symptoms. If so you can
-start at a low dose and gradually move up
-use iron preparations containing lower levels of elemental iron
-use a liquid iron preparation
-take iron with meals(this will impair absorption somewhat)
-if all else fails your doctor may consider parenteral iron
I have prescribed similar combinations for my patients, I am not aware of any interactions. Also, the computer system that most GP's use flags up any drug interactions for newly prescribed drugs and compares them to other drugs which have been prescribed.
If you really want additional reasurrance the best persons to ask are your local pharmacist.