Zantac Liver Damage?

[Anonymous]

For some reason, I have recently become wildly concerned that Ethan might have suffered some liver damage from taking Zantac for several months. I don’t even know where I read about this, but I happened upon some information regarding Zantac (Ranitidine) which cited elevated liver enzymes (which indicates liver damage) as a potential side effect, particularly with long term use. I have searched and searched for the medical community’s definition of “long term use” (vs short term), but have found nothing. Does anyone know…is long term use two months, eight months, three years??? Has anyone ever had their Ped or Ped GI mention this as a potential concern? I know I could have his blood drawn to confirm one way or another, but I would hate to put him through two minutes of drawing 2-3 viles of blood because of my own paranoia. Has anyone else ever heard of this (zantac and liver damage)? Does anyone out there w/a medical background have a sense of whether I’m worrying over nothing? tillerlb2006-2-1 20:36:48

[Anonymous]

Okay, obviously I’m not a medical professional, but for the 12 years before we decided to try getting pregnant I was on a drug that had possible liver damage as a side effect. I was required to go in for bloodwork every 3 months so they could check my liver. So, I’m guessing that if liver damage was a concern with zantac they would require regular blood testing to check liver enzymes. Of course, that might only be the case if liver damage was a “common” side effect. So I could be totally wrong (which makes me no help at all). Since it’s obviously bothering you, I would call your ped and go talk to the pharmacist. Lots of times the pharmacists know more about the side effects than the doctors do.

[Author]

Posts