Pan 40 side effects: common and serious

Side effects of Pan 40

Most people take pantoprazole without problems, and side effects are usually mild. A few rare risks are linked mainly to long-term use.

Uncommon or mild

• Headache
• Diarrhoea
• Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)
• Stomach pain
• Wind (gas) or bloating
• Dizziness
• Joint pain

Who should be careful

Some people need to check with a doctor before taking pantoprazole, or need extra checks while taking it, especially for a long time.

• Warning signs that need a doctor's check first: unexplained weight loss, difficulty or pain when swallowing, repeated vomiting, vomiting blood, or black stools. Pantoprazole can ease symptoms and hide a more serious problem such as stomach cancer
• Long-term use (especially more than a year): it can lower vitamin B12 (tiredness, tingling, a sore red tongue) and slightly raise the risk of bone fractures, gut infections and harmless stomach growths called fundic gland polyps. Your doctor may review whether you still need it
• Low magnesium, or taking medicines such as water tablets (diuretics) or digoxin: your doctor may check magnesium levels
• Weak bones (osteoporosis) or a high risk of fractures
• Liver disease
• A past skin reaction to pantoprazole or a similar medicine, such as a lupus-type rash
• A planned blood test for chromogranin A or tests for neuroendocrine tumours: pantoprazole may need to be stopped for some time beforehand, so tell the doctor doing the test
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding: there is limited information in pregnancy, so ask your doctor; only very small amounts pass into breast milk
• Past allergic reaction to pantoprazole or similar medicines such as omeprazole, esomeprazole or rabeprazole

If someone takes too much

Common questions