Rabeprazole Sodium

Rabeprazole Sodium is a proton pump inhibitor (ppi) medicine available in Bangladesh under many brand names. Below are its uses, dosage, side effects and precautions — and all brands with their current prices.

Rabeprazole Sodium is indicated for:

• Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) — heartburn, regurgitation and erosive oesophagitis
• Gastric and duodenal ulcers — healing of active ulcers
• Helicobacter pylori eradication — combined with antibiotics
• NSAID-associated ulcers — treatment and prevention in at-risk patients
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and other conditions with excessive acid secretion

Your registered doctor will confirm the diagnosis and decide whether rabeprazole is the right choice and for how long it should be taken.

Typical adult doses of Rabeprazole Sodium are:

• GERD and erosive oesophagitis: 20 mg once daily for 4-8 weeks; 10-20 mg daily for maintenance
• Gastric/duodenal ulcer: 20 mg once daily, usually 4-6 weeks for duodenal and up to 6-12 weeks for gastric ulcers
• H. pylori eradication: 20 mg twice daily with antibiotics for 7-14 days

Rabeprazole Sodium is best taken in the morning before food, swallowed whole without chewing or crushing. The exact dose and duration must be decided by a registered doctor based on your condition. For children, dosing is determined by the doctor according to age and body weight.

Most people tolerate Rabeprazole Sodium well. Reported side effects include:

• Common: headache, diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal pain, flatulence, dizziness
• Less common: constipation, dry mouth, rash, muscle or joint aches, sleep disturbance
• Rare/long-term: low magnesium or sodium, vitamin B12 deficiency, bone fracture risk with prolonged use, gut infections, and rarely kidney inflammation (interstitial nephritis)

Stop the medicine and seek urgent care if you notice severe skin reactions, swelling of the face or throat, breathing difficulty, or persistent watery diarrhoea.

Take these precautions with Rabeprazole Sodium:

• Inform your doctor of any liver disease, kidney problems, osteoporosis or low magnesium
• Alarm symptoms — unintentional weight loss, repeated vomiting, difficulty swallowing, blood in vomit or stool — should be investigated before or alongside treatment
• Long-term users may need periodic review and occasionally magnesium or B12 checks
• PPIs can slightly raise the risk of gut infections because stomach acid is a natural barrier
• Take the full prescribed course; stopping early may allow symptoms or ulcers to return

Important interactions of Rabeprazole Sodium include:

• Acid-dependent drugs: reduced absorption of ketoconazole, itraconazole, iron, and HIV drugs such as atazanavir and rilpivirine
• Warfarin: possible INR changes; monitoring advised
• Methotrexate: levels may rise, especially with high-dose therapy
• Digoxin: absorption may increase slightly
• Clopidogrel: rabeprazole appears to interact less than omeprazole, but inform your doctor if you take antiplatelet therapy

Share a complete list of your medicines, supplements and herbal remedies with your doctor and pharmacist before starting Rabeprazole Sodium.

Do not use Rabeprazole Sodium if any of the following apply:

• Known allergy to rabeprazole, substituted benzimidazoles (other PPIs), or any excipient of the
• Concurrent use with rilpivirine-containing products
• History of a serious PPI-induced reaction such as acute interstitial nephritis or severe cutaneous reaction

Caution is required in pregnancy, breastfeeding and severe liver impairment — in these situations the medicine should only be used when a doctor judges the benefit to outweigh the risk.

Pregnancy: Safety data for rabeprazole in human pregnancy are limited. It should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed and prescribed by a doctor, who may prefer alternatives with more established pregnancy safety records.

Lactation: It is not known whether rabeprazole is excreted in human breast milk, although it appears in animal milk. Because a risk to the nursing infant cannot be excluded, a decision should be made with your doctor on whether to discontinue nursing or the drug, considering how important the treatment is for the mother.

Store below 30°C in a dry place, protected from light and moisture. Keep the in the original packaging until use, as the enteric coating is sensitive to humidity. Keep out of the reach and sight of children. Never use the medicine after its expiry date; return expired medicines to a pharmacy where possible.