I took this stuff for a few years after a doctor prescribed it, assuring me it was harmless and saying his wife was taking it also.

This isn't the first time nasty side-effects have been reported in the media for this drug:

Common side effects of omeprazole include headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, constipation, dizziness, and drowsiness. These are usually mild and temporary, often resolving within a few days to weeks.

Rare but serious side effects that require immediate medical attention include:

• Severe allergic reactions: Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat; difficulty breathing; hives.
• Low magnesium levels: Muscle cramps, spasms, weakness, dizziness, fast or irregular heartbeat, tremors, or seizures.
• Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection: Severe, watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever.
• Kidney problems: Decreased urine output, swelling in the ankles, hands, or feet. -Vitamin B12 deficiency: Numbness, tingling, or pain in hands or feet, muscle weakness, dizziness, confusion.
• Bone fractures: Increased risk, especially with long-term use (over a year), particularly in the hip, wrist, or spine.
• Stomach polyps: Non-cancerous growths in the stomach lining, which may develop with extended use. Long-term use (especially over a year) may also lead to reduced absorption of calcium, iron, and vitamin B12, potentially affecting bone health and increasing infection risk. Sudden discontinuation can cause acid rebound, so tapering under medical guidance is recommended. -- Text above from Brave's LEO AI; link includes many individual URLs with relevant information.

Minor correction to my post's headline: the animals used in the study were rats, not mice.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15546719/acid-reflux-medication-omeprazole-dangerous-effects.html

Scientists believe one of America’s most popular medications could be sapping the body of vital minerals, potentially harming the roughly 20 million Americans who take it.

Omeprazole, marketed as Prilosec, is a widely used proton pump inhibitor (PPI) available both over the counter and as a prescription.

It has been trusted for over three decades for reducing stomach acid to treat frequent heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stomach ulcers and erosive esophagitis, causing inflammation and damage to the esophagus lining, usually from chronic stomach acid reflux.

PPIs like omeprazole reduce gastric acid, which is also crucial for mineral absorption, but they are intended for short-term use only.

Scientists at the Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil gave rats a standard human-equivalent dose of omeprazole and saw they developed blood markers consistent with early anemia, or iron deficiency, and showed a significant disruption in how their bodies stored essential minerals.

The research revealed a cascade of problems, beginning with plummeting copper levels in the liver, which impairs iron absorption, while iron itself accumulated abnormally in organs rather than circulating for red blood cell production.

At the same time, shifts in where calcium was stored in the rats' bodies suggested the body was pulling the mineral from bones to maintain blood levels, a process that could weaken skeletal structure over time. These findings offer a potential biological explanation for the increased fracture and anemia risks observed in some long-term human users.

The researchers stressed that the drugs are typically recommended for four to eight week courses, yet millions use them indefinitely, compounding the risks.

. . . Prilosec ranks among the top 10 most prescribed medications in the US with over 45 million prescriptions annually.

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