Day 5 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education

Published on by Jeri
Day 5 of 12 Education:

PPIs, also known as proton pump inhibitors, are one of the most widely used medications on the market. PPIs are available over the counter and by prescription. They include omeprazole

Proton pump inhibitors and CYP2C19(Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), pantoprazole (Protonix), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (AcipHex), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant).

Several PPIs are metabolized by CYP2C19. If you are a poor metabolizer for this enzyme, you may be at increased risk for side effects from some PPIs. If you are a rapid metabolizer, you may be at risk for the PPI not helping you.

In addition, PPIs are often over-used and over-prescribed. Most individuals should use these medications for no longer than a few months. Long term use increases your risk for bone fractures, infections,

vitamin deficiencies, dementia and chronic kidney disease.

If you are on a PPI, talk with your prescriber about getting to the root cause of why you needed the PPI in the first place and address the root cause (obesity, certain foods, eating too close to bedtime, certain medications, an overgrowth of certain bacteria in your gut).

Addressing the root cause will likely allow you to stop the PPI.

A pharmacogenomic test will determine what type of CYP2C19 metabolizer you are and therefore help guide prescribing the most appropriate PPI for you. Pharmacogenomic test results help guide prescribing of many other types of medications too.