Nexium sucks.

Recently TriCare switched approved formulas meaning a pharma company lobbied for their drug to be bought by the military. I have Acid Reflux bad. So bad I used to have to keep whole milk next to the bed every night. Ive always had it and it didnt matter what I ate.
I saw a Dr. about it and he put me on Protonix. Within a week I was sleeping through the night and not having any issues with indigestion or acid reflux. Well a year later TriCare no longer will cover or prescribe Protonix. One a day hell 3 times a week most of the time and I could eat habaneros and not have acid reflux or heart burn. Id have other issues but you get the point.

Nexium does the job but I have to take 2 to 3 times the dose each day to get it to work. Hell Zantac 150 does just as much. Im sure the Got is paying out the rear for this crap.

This is the rambling section right? *mumble*

I have bad reflux too and I take Nexium once a day. Zantac 150 is good for half the day, but Nexium keeps me good all day. I think I liked Prevacid better, but Nexium heals your throat as well as controls acid. Is Prevacid covered by your insurance?

only Nexium- Prevacid, Acifex and Protonix used to be but all got dropped when they picked up Nexium

Wow! Really?! I thought I had acid reflux bad. Nexium is the only thing that works for me. I take one pill a day and i am good to go. I used to go through a 500 count bottle of tums every 2 weeks. Couldn't sleep through the night without a problem. You must have it worse than me. I am completely miserable without it. I can't imagine how bad you must have it if you have to take 2 to 3 pills a day. Jesus! That must blow!

Yea- God forbid I miss a damn pill. But I am wondering if its beginning to build. The first 2 weeks it was 3 a day and now it seems I only need 2. Hopefully I will get to one a day.

But like I said with Protonix- 1 a day for a week and then only 3 times a week I was golden.

Damn, sorry to hear that, I remember you telling me weeks ago how good protonix is.

What's the out of pocket on Protonix without the coverage? Despite the fact that you get tri-care, you might want to see if there are any of those "drug discount" plans out there that would offer a discount on the protonix, all sorts of groups have these plans now, it's like for a monthly fee of maybe 20 bucks, you get between a 60 and 80% discount on drugs at participating pharmacies, and my understanding it is on ALL drugs, not a limiting number....I know for a fact that Ameri-plan has one of those plans, becasue a couple of my friends sell it. I think even Triple A offers a drug discount plan as well....

It may be worth it if you can find a good discount plan with a low membership fee and a deep discount to pay for it yourself, if it works better than the other crap.

Hrm I will look into that Revy- Hell A years supply for me is only about 100 pills for that stuff.

Maybe I will have to ask my doctor about Protonix and find out if my insurance covers it

Two Nexium pills per day isn't that bad. If you changed your diet accordingly, you'd probably be fine with one. Ready to give up alcohol?

Nexium is very similar to Prilosec. I would say to discuss this with your doctor, but Nexium has been marketed to them as being better. I don't want to get into this too much it might get too political, but it might be worth looking into. Prilosec is over the counter and depending on you insurance it might be cheaper. I think that it is availible generic too, so that would be even cheaper.

I used to take the Prilosec everyday, but I made a few small changes in my diet (stopped eating tomatoes) and have been able to stop taking it.

Soulive said:

...you'd probably be fine with one. Ready to give up alcohol?

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You should be smacked for that comment.

ohiobrewtus said:

You should be smacked for that comment.

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Just joshin'...rock on! :rockin:

Have you ever been checked for the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria? Both my dad and myself were diagnosed with severe acid reflux. My dad had been suffering from it for 50+ years and in all that time was only taking over the counter stuff (Gelucel, etc). He was also diagnosed with a peptic ulcer.

When I started to get reflux in my mid thirties I had one doctor prescribe Prilosec, which worked pretty good. I changed doctors and the new guy asked if I had ever been checked for the H. pylori bacteria. I told him that I hadn't and had never heard of it. Well, it turns out that I had the bacteria. My dad got checked and he had it too! We were both prescribed a course of targeted antibiotics and that's all she wrote! No more reflux! No more medication! For my dad, no more peptic ulcer! For the first time in 50+ years my dad can eat whatever he wants!

If you haven't been check for this bacteria, do yourself a favor and ask your doctor about it.

If you changed your diet accordingly, you'd probably be fine with one. Ready to give up alcohol?

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Its not diet related or alcohol related. I know because Ive been deployed where both were changed considerably. Plus I tend to eat healthy too.

I havent been checked for the bacteria from what I know. I will look into that. I do know that with the proton pump inhibitors (IE Protonix) my Acid reflux is gone no matter what I eat/drink.

MikeFlynn74 said:

I do know that with the proton pump inhibitors
(IE Protonix) my Acid reflux is gone no matter what I eat/drink.

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Nexium = proton pump inhibitor

I wonder why it doesnt work as advertised. Of course some meds work for some, some dont.

It was more of a rant on Pharma lobbying for meds to be covered. bastards.

MikeFlynn74 said:

I havent been checked for the bacteria from what I know. I will look into that. I do know that with the proton pump inhibitors (IE Protonix) my Acid reflux is gone no matter what I eat/drink.

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Please, please, please get yourself checked for the bacteria. It just might change your life, like it did for my dad and I. I just talked to my nephew who also had bad reflux. A couple of weeks ago I told him to get checked for the H. pylori. He did last week and the result was positive for the bacteria. He is now on the antibiotics. I'll bet he'll soon be free from taking PPI's for the rest of life too!

johnsma22 said:

Please, please, please get yourself checked for the bacteria. It just might change your life, like it did for my dad and I. I just talked to my nephew who also had bad reflux. A couple of weeks ago I told him to get checked for the H. pylori. He did last week and the result was positive for the bacteria. He is now on the antibiotics. I'll bet he'll soon be free from taking PPI's for the rest of life too!

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That's interesting. I'll have my gastro check me next time I visit. Changing my diet and PPIs have helped me get back to normal. It'd be nice to not have to take them though...

I know with Protonix, it took a good couple of weeks of taking it every day before it really worked completely for me.

Maybe Nexium is similar, and needs some more time to start developing its full effect?

(Incidentally, I had to stop taking Protonix; it was great for acid reflux but gave me stomach aches after a while.)

I'll second the prilosec suggestion. It is available both OTC and prescription. My doc started me on Nexium, which worked OK. My insurance company stopped covering it, so I tried the OTC prilosec (actually the much cheaper generic from Target) and find that it works better than Nexium ever did.

Protonix should be generic fairly soon, I hope they would cover it then.

Ugh, I feel you pain, I hate heartburn, lucky for me it's only on occasion.

Remember folks, if you are going to use Protonix:

Do not stop taking Protonix even if you begin to feel better. Your symptoms may improve before the condition is fully treated. Do not crush, chew, or break a delayed-release (enteric-coated) tablet. It is specially made to release the medicine slowly into your body.

Some conditions must be treated long-term with Protonix. The chronic use of Protonix has caused stomach cancer in animal studies, but it is not known if Protonix would have the same effects in humans. Talk with your doctor about your specific risk of developing stomach cancer.

Do not take Protonix if you are allergic to pantoprazole. Before taking Protonix, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs.

Long-term treatment with Protonix may also make it harder for your body to absorb vitamin B-12, resulting in a deficiency of this vitamin. Symptoms of a vitamin B-12 deficiency may develop slowly and include pale skin, weakness, tired feeling, shortness of breath, and a fast heart rate. Talk with your doctor if you need long-term Protonix treatment and you have concerns about vitamin B-12 deficiency.
FDA pregnancy category B. This medication is not expected to be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. It is not known whether Protonix passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby

Here in Ireland, I’m on the (government funded) prescription drugs payment scheme. That means that I pay no more than €90 a month for prescription drugs. Considering my asthma inhaler costs €100+ a month this means that I pay a flat rate €90 a month toward drugs as any time I’m sick and need a prescription I’m already at the limit.

As for heartburn and acid reflux:

Disclaimer: I don't suffer from heartburn or acid reflux, I'm neither a doctor nor a pharmacist and this is the drunken ramblings and mindless mumblings section...

For instant non medicated relief from heart burn (this is probably of no use to you chronic sufferers) take a small sip of peppermint cordial (undiluted). It gives instant relief and (can be) a good natural alternative to the third, fourth or fifth tablet. Hell, for all I know the stress of having to reach for the pills could be what’s causing the problem…

Repeat Disclaimer: This is probably of no use to you as a chronic sufferer. Always consult your doctor…

I am an ex acid reflux sufferer and was on prilosec for 12 years before reading on the dangers that all the acid reflux pills do to your body. I have been symptom free for almost 2yrs now and if i get a rare flare up I take a natural antacid from a health food store. What doctors dont tell you is most acid reflux sufferers do not have too much acid but an acid imbalance, You have two types of acid in your stomache that need to be in balance. I cured mine through major diet changes in the beginning and now minor ones for the rest of my life, I also currently drink beer, red wine, and scotch with no problems and I lost weight as a positive side effect of going off the pills. Most say it was diet changes but two of my friends when seeing my weight loss went off their pills and each dropped over 15lbs (not sure if you need to or not). pro pump inhibitors do not allow your body to digest food properly and cause weight gain, they also block the calcium absorbtion to your bones. I took a natural digestive enzyme with each meal in the beginning and after a year i only need it now when I eat hard to digest meats. The first few weeks were hell but it got easier with each day as my body rebuilt my acid levels to proper balance through the natural supplements (unfortunately not covered by my $5 copay like prilosec was). There is a simple test with apple cider vinegar to see which acid you need more of. I'm living proof that doctors due to their kick backs from drug companies dont always give the best advice and if you do your own research you can change your life for the better, good luck and contact me if you want any more info on how i did it naturally, Ken

The generic costs half what Protonix costs, but it is still a lot.

SWMBO has to have her Dr. file yearly with MEDCO for a waiver to get coverage.

We recently went vegan and she has been able to cut way back on need for Protonix.

BTW--I think only Aciphex and Protonix are listed with FDA for long-term use. Most others are for use for 16 weeks max or less. Am not a pharmacist so don't know if this is important (or correct).

Hey, KENfromMI, what's the apple cider vinegar test you speak of?

I tried a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water a couple times a day (only for one day, as it turned out) to relieve heartburn. Gave me the worst stomach ache of my life, so I went back to Zantac.

Beerrific said:

Nexium is very similar to Prilosec. I would say to discuss this with your doctor, but Nexium has been marketed to them as being better. I don't want to get into this too much it might get too political, but it might be worth looking into. Prilosec is over the counter and depending on you insurance it might be cheaper. I think that it is availible generic too, so that would be even cheaper.

I used to take the Prilosec everyday, but I made a few small changes in my diet (stopped eating tomatoes) and have been able to stop taking it.

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I take 1 Prilosec daily, have for about 4 years now. It costs me about 20 bucks a month, as a 42 pack is 26.00 here. I tried everything else, and its the only thing that seemed to work.