Patient/caregiver was educated on the side-effects of using omeprazole as follows:

Osteoporosis

• Prolonged omeprazole use can result in compromised absorption of calcium, leading to reduced bone mineralization and bone density, thus increasing the risk for pathological fractures of skeleton and osteoporosis.
• The risk for osteoporosis is very high in senior citizens.
• Periodical labs, administration of calcium supplements, and spacing out of supplement administration with omeprazole can help prevent demineralization of bone and development of osteoporosis and pathological fractures.
• Discontinuing the patient on omeprazole and starting the patient on any alternative medication could also be considered to prevent osteoporosis and fractures of the skeleton.

Lupus erythematosus

• Omeprazole intake can sometimes result in lupus erythematosus, which is an autoimmune response, when the immune system in the body produces antibodies against own tissues.
• Patients can present with diffuse skin rashes. Patients can also present with other constitutional symptoms of fever, headache, pain and inflammation of various joints.
• Discontinuing the patient on omeprazole and starting the patient on an alternative medication can be considered to prevent episodes of lupus activation.
• Symptoms of lupus, secondary to omeprazole intake, usually are self-limiting and resolve with discontinuation of the medication.
• Periodical labs for autoantibodies could be drawn to study the response to medication discontinuation.