Side Effects:

Common Nausea, Headache, Abdominal pain, Constipation, Flatulence, Diarrhoea.

Expert advice for Somaz Tablet
Inform your doctor if you do not feel better after taking it for 14 days as you may be suffering from some other problem that needs attention. Somaz can decrease magnesium levels in blood. Get your magnesium levels checked regularly. You may need a magnesium supplement or need to discontinue your medicine.  Inform your doctor if you are suffering from osteoporosis as Somaz can weaken your bones by decreasing calcium levels in blood. You may need a calcium supplement, preferably calcium citrate. Somaz is a well-tolerated medicine and provides relief for a long time. It may take a few days to show its effect. You can take an antacid for a quick relief during this time unless your doctor has asked you not to use them. Once you start feeling better, do not stop taking your medicine. Take it for the duration as advised by your doctor

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is Somaz available over the counter?
No, Somaz is not available as an over-the-counter product. It is a prescription medicine and is available only when prescribed by a physician.

Q. Can I take Somaz with aluminum hydroxide and magnesium carbonate or other antacids?
Somaz can be taken with antacids like aluminum hydroxide and magnesium carbonate. But antacids should be taken two hours before or one hour after taking Somaz. This is because Somaz requires a lower pH for its action and antacids can increase the pH of the stomach and hence decrease the action of Somaz.

Q. Is Somaz a controlled substance?
Somaz is not a controlled substance. It is available when prescribed by a doctor.

Q. Is Somaz safe to use?
Yes, Somaz is safe if taken for prescribed duration in prescribed doses as advised by your doctor. However, its use is associated with some common side effects like nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and flatulence.

Q. Can I take Somaz with paracetamol (acetaminophen)?
Somaz can be taken with paracetamol. No drug-drug interactions or harmful effects have been seen when they are used together.

Q. Does Somaz cause weight loss?
Somaz is not known to lower weight. However, it may cause damage to your stomach lining on a long term use and weight loss could be an indication of the same or it can be due to an underlying condition which requires immediate attention.

Q. Does Somaz cause hair loss?
Hair loss has been reported as a rare side effect of Somaz. Talk to your doctor in case you experience excessive hair fall while you are taking Somaz.

Q. Why is Somaz better than omeprazole?
Somaz and Omeprazole both belong to the same class of drugs and are used in disease conditions with excess acid production like heartburn, acidity, stomach ulcers and intestinal ulcers. Somaz is an S-isomer of omeprazole and is seen to provide more effective and rapid acid control than omeprazole, without any increase in side effects and fewer variations in response between different patients.

Q. Does Somaz cause palpitations (feeling of rapid, strong heart beat)?
Somaz can lower the magnesium levels in your body and this can cause palpitations. You must get your magnesium levels checked regularly if you have to use this medicine for more than three months.

Q. Can a patient undergoing dialysis take Somaz?
Somaz can be taken by a patient undergoing dialysis in a manner as prescribed by the doctor. This is extensively bound to proteins in the body, so, it is not expected to be removed by dialysis.

Q. Is Somaz better than rabeprazole?
Both Somaz and rabeprazole are similar in efficacy and safety. One study mentions rabeprazole as a better choice for mild-to-moderate gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) compared to Somaz while another study mentions Somaz provides a more effective and faster acid-inhibitory effect.

Q. Is Somaz better than ranitidine?
Both Somaz and ranitidine lower acid production in your stomach and treat heartburn and heal stomach and intestine ulcers. There are not many studies which compare Somaz with ranitidine. However, one study mentions that Somaz once daily is more effective and well-tolerated compared ranitidine twice daily for healing gastric ulcers.

Q. Can I take Somaz with domperidone?
Somaz can be taken with domperidone. Somaz decreases the acid secretion and domperidone increases the gut motility and helps in nausea and vomiting. It is safe to use the two medicines together and these are also available as a fixed-dose combination and help in the treatment of heartburn, stomach and duodenal ulcers and gastritis.

Q. Can I take Somaz with clopidogrel?
Somaz decreases the activation of clopidogrel and hence reduces its effectivity. Avoid using both drugs together or use an alternate drug. Patients who are taking these medicines together needs to be monitored closely by a doctor.

Q. Can I take Somaz with levosulpiride?
Somaz can be taken with levosulpiride. Somaz decreases the acid secretion and levosulpiride increases the intestinal motility. It is safe to use the two medicines together. Somaz is also available as a fixed-dose combination with levosulpiride. This combination helps in the treatment of heartburn, stomach and duodenal ulcers and gastritis.

Q. Is dexlansoprazole better than Somaz?
Dexlansoprazole and Somaz belong to the same class of medicines and works the same way. Some studies mention that dexlansoprazole helps in better control of symptoms like heartburn as compared to Somaz, however, there is no definitive evidence for this and different patients may find that one works better for them than the other.

Q. Is Somaz an antacid?
Somaz belongs to the class of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) which decrease the amount of acid produced in the stomach. While antacids only neutralize the stomach acid by coating the stomach.

Q. Does Somaz cause tinnitus?
Tinnitus has been reported as a rare side effect with Somaz (

Q. Does Somaz has an expiry date?
Yes, Somaz does expire. Please check the expiry date written on the pack and it refers to the last day of that month. Do not use Somaz after the expiry date.

Q. Is Somaz an antibiotic?
No, Somaz is not an antibiotic. It is a proton pump inhibitor used for the treatment of acidity, heartburn, intestinal ulcers and stomach ulcers.

Q. Can I take Somaz with nitrofurantoin?
Somaz can be taken with nitrofurantoin. No drug-drug interactions or any harmful effects have been reported when they are used together.

Q. Can I take Somaz with ranitidine?
Yes, Somaz can be taken with ranitidine. No drug-drug interactions or any harmful effects have been reported when they are used together. As Somaz do take some days to show its action, so, ranitidine is given to the patients to immediate relief.

Q. Can I take Somaz with ibuprofen?
Somaz can be taken with ibuprofen. No drug-drug interactions or any harmful effects have been reported when they are used together.

Q. Can I take Somaz with hyoscine?
Somaz can be taken with hyoscine. No drug-drug interactions or any harmful effects have been reported when they are used together.

Q. Does Somaz cause tiredness?
Tiredness is a rare side effect seen with Somaz. Talk to your doctor if you experience excessive tiredness as this may be due to some liver abnormalities as Somaz breaks down in the liver or due to an underlying condition that needs attention.

Q. Can the use of Somaz cause weight gain?
Weight gain has not be reported to occur with Somaz. However, its use is associated with some common side effects like nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and flatulence.

Q. Can the use of Somaz affect birth control?
Somaz does not seem to affect birth control, as no drug interactions have been reported between Somaz and oral birth control pills. It is safe to take the two medications together.

Q. Can a patient with underlying cardiac disease take Somaz?
Patients with the underlying cardiac disease can take Somaz. However, Somaz can interact with certain drugs (e.g clopidogrel, digoxin) which might be used by these patients. They may need to be monitored for digoxin toxicity. Somaz decreases the activation of clopidogrel, thus reducing its effects, so the patients taking these medicines together should also be monitored regularly.

Q. Can Somaz be given in cancer patients?
Somaz is seen to increase the antitumor effect of the medicines with no added side effects. Since cancer patients may also take many medicines for the primary cancer treatment or for other symptoms and infections, there are chances of drug-drug interactions with Somaz. So, it should be used only as advised by your doctor.

Q. How is Somaz different from pantoprazole?
Somaz and pantoprazole both belong to the same class of drugs and are seen to be equally effective in the treatment of disease conditions with excess acid production like heartburn, acidity, stomach ulcers and intestinal ulcers. However, as per some research studies, pantoprazole provides significantly faster first-time relief from daytime and night-time GERD-related symptoms than Somaz.

Q. Is Somaz more effective than lansoprazole?
Yes, Somaz is seen to achieve a better acid control and is more effective in relief of heartburn symptoms and acid reflux symptoms as compared to lansoprazole in many research studies. Also, healing rates were consistently high with Somaz.

Q. Can I take Somaz with sodium bicarbonate as a buffer?
Sodium bicarbonate buffer can protect against acid degradation of Somaz in addition to immediate antacid action. Somaz can be taken with sodium bicarbonate as a buffer only in a manner as prescribed by the doctor.

Q. Can I take Somaz with naproxen?
Naproxen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which works by reducing inflammation and pain in the body. Somaz and naproxen can be taken together. There are no reported drug interactions or harmful effects of using Somaz with naproxen.

Q. Is Somaz a narcotic?
Somaz is not a narcotic. It is a proton pump inhibitor used for the treatment of acidity, heartburn, intestinal ulcers and stomach ulcers.

Q. CAn the use of Somaz cause constipation?
Constipation has been reported as a common side effect of Somaz. Other common side effects associated with its use are nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and flatulence.

Q. What is the difference between Somaz and famotidine ?
Somaz is a proton pump inhibitor whereas Famotidine is an H2 histamine receptor blocker. Somaz is more potent at inhibiting gastric acid production compared to famotidine and also its effect lasts for a long time.

Q. Is Somaz a steroid?
Somaz is not a steroid. It is a proton pump inhibitor used for the treatment of acidity, heartburn, intestinal ulcers and stomach ulcers.