Nexium protocol

[julietq]

Can Nexium be taken during or even after meals and still be effective? I take Nexium only as needed for avid reflux as prescribed by my doctor. However, if it is to be taken 30 minutes before breakfast, I would not really have an idea if I would need it later that night. Most of the time I feel the symptoms of a forthcoming acid reflux while I'm eating or after eating, not 30 minutes before breakfast. So can I take Nexium only when I feel the symptoms - that means during meals or after meals and it could be lunch or dinner?

 

[gcsjr]

Nexium really isn't designed to be taken that way. It's designed to be taken daily, 30 minutes before eating, over a period of time to reduce the production of acid in your stomach. Once you've eaten, it's much less effective because eating triggers acid production and Nexium takes time to work.

Other medications like Zantac and Pepcid (and of course Tums) are more appropriate and effective for the way you're planning to use the medication.

 

[rosebloom]

Hi Juliet:

Take what I write with a grain of salt because I am not a medical doctor. But if you only suffer from periodic heartburn, there are less potent remedies that may do the trick for you. As the other poster wrote, I think Nexium is not intended to use on an as needed basis but taken daily for more chronic or severe heartburn. If you only experience heartburn here and there, then an antiacid or H2 blocker may do the trick for you.

My opinion is that doctors now prescribe these very potent medications not really warning us about their potential long term adverse effects. In my case, taking a PPI daily for three years led to the development of osteopenia in both hips. I worry that others may be taking these meRAB when they can be using others with fewer side effects. You may wish to discuss this with your healthcare provider and also google "side effects of PPI use." I wish I had before I became dependent on them.

Rose