Can Omeprazole increase calcium levels

The risk of osteoporosis is linked to prolonged usage (particularly over 1 year), at high doses and perhaps more likely in elderly patients. Omeprazole does not increase calcium levels in the blood - you would need other investigations to find out why your calcium levels are raised. Gaviscon is not a good idea as it contains calcium and is likely to raise your levels even further. If you are still concerned about taking omeprazole I would suggest getting some advice from your doctor about a suitable alternative.

Tarun (hospital pharmacist)

Thank you for this reply. I was advised to take Gaviscon Advance each night by an ENT Consultant when they were checking my thyroid as I had trouble swallowing, and he assumed I have a silent reflux. I am now going to book a doctors appointment asap and will see what I should do now. It is only since July (after my thyroid op) that my GP took a routine blood test which showed the high calcium level, I will raise a query about Gaviscon containing calcium and see if this could be a possible cause.

Not a medical opinion, just a guess, but I believe your initial assumption may be correct. Omeprazole prevents the proper absorption of calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients. So one of the side effects of long term use is osteoporosis, even in young people.

But this may have nothing to do with excess calcium in your blood. A diet heavy in acidic foods might, though. Your blood has to maintain a very narrow Ph range of 7.36 to 7.42 for optimum health.Even a little outside that range means you are ill in some way. Your body will attempt to compensate for an overly acidic diet by pulling alkaline substances into the blood stream to bring the Ph level back to normal. Calcium and magnesium are both alkaline, and it will steal them from your bones or other organs with no thought of the consequences.

If you are on Omeprazole, I'm sure you have already been told to reduce acid foods. You should also seriously consider both a calcium and magnesium supplement, or increasing those minerals intake by food adjustments while on any acid surpressing medicine. Calcium is easy to increase with diet changes, but magnesium is not. Modern monocropping methods have reduced the magnesium content in everyday foods, so a supplement may be necessary.

Another serious culprit that always results in increased blood calcium levels is a malfunctioning parathyroid gland. You have four of these little rascals and it only takes one bad one to throw your body into a bone-stealing, calcium-sucking machine. If there is a growth on a parathyroid gland, your blood calcium levels will definitely be above normal, usually followed by a CT scan of the neck, where the parathyroid glands are located. If one is suspect, further testing will confirm which of the four is causing the issue, resulting in laparoscopic surgery to remove it. Research "hyperparathyroidism" to find out more.