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Question about Nexium, Lakeside


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I have been coming to Lake Chapala since 1996, and closed on a home in 1997, so I should probably know the answer to this. My doctor has got me on non prescription 24 hour Nexium. I can bring some with me. But I remember that there are some non prescription drugs that are available in Canada and the US, but are not allowed in Mexico.  I presume bringing Nexium into the country is fine and that it is readily available lakeside. But I thought I would just check in case it is not,  (I feel really dumb asking this) . But the rainy season is about to start and it's time to get ready to come back to what I now call home, Ajijic.  

:) 

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Recently I went through a couple of days of heartburn hell. I was "prescribed" a couple of things here, which are available at the Farmacias Similares. Ranitidina is a Zantac generic ( a histamine blocker); 150 or 300 mg packages of 20 tablets for 16 pesos. Popram Pantoprazol is a "proton pump inhibitor", just like Nexium (these reduce the acid your stomach makes) for $130 for 14 pills of 40 mg. These are both used for serious heartburn and are part of an arsenal that includes Tums at the basic level, because the symptoms are all variations on GERD.

All products at Farm Simi are cheaper when purchased in twos or threes.

https://www.farmaciasdesimilares.com/#!/busqueda/695/pantoprazol-grageas

https://www.farmaciasdesimilares.com/#!/busqueda/175/ranitidina-grageas

I'm certainly not qualified beyond my own symptoms and research, but it would be worth checking out Nexium vs. these others. I have checked, and there are minor side effects, and of course some have contradindications when used with other drugs... but talk about a price difference. And they work. I use Ranitidina almost exclusively.

 

 

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I greatly appreciate all of your comments. In my case, I was told by both my Doc in Mex and my Doc in the US that I am darn good at making too much acid. And both suggested I take a 20 mg Omeprazole once per day. When that didn't give sufficient help, they both coincidently suggested I try two Omeprazole tablets per day, one every 12 yours.

When I still had a problem it was suggested that I try a 24 hour Nexium which up north is only 20 mg per day. I guess the 20 milligram pill up here has the same amount of Nexium but more highly concentrated the  40 mg down there.

. The Doc and the instructions both said that it takes up to 3 or 4 days for the Nexium to work at 100% efficiency on some persons. When I said should I continue to take the omeprazole just in case for several days, my Doc said, what for? That the Nexium is maybe 3 times more effective than omeprazole.  Only time will tell, at least with these meds I am able to reduce and/or eliminate my acid reflux. Don't laugh, I even was told to slope my bed downward by raising the head side of the bed by maybe 8 inches to make it harder for the acid to leave my stomach and head up hill. :) 

Oh yes I have had 3  endoscopes over the past 15 years..

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I take 20 mg. Omeprazol - Spanish spelling - once a day and have no acid reflux but if I decide to not take it in a few days the acid reflux will return if I eat a meal with excess oil or fat or any amount of chile

 Then when I go back to once a day 20 mg

 It takes about 4 days to work to stop any acid reflux and really does work as described

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Omeprazol is not the same as Nexium .. just another prazol drug.. To me the best is pantoprazo although none of them seem to  lessen my problem and they are not good to take long term... It is interesting that Nexium is way cheaper in Europe than here or the US.. 

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Exactly. In fact it is suggested I have no food for the final 3 hours before going to bed, and to limit all liquids during those same three hours and at night to a very small amount.

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5 hours ago, johanson said:

Exactly. In fact it is suggested I have no food for the final 3 hours before going to bed, and to limit all liquids during those same three hours and at night to a very small amount.

That is fairly standard advice for handling GERD. It all helps.

Make sure you are clear on instructions from your doctor regarding the drugs he is prescribing for you. There is a lot of info on the internet, and this forum, about these OTC drugs that will not be applicable to you. Example, if you're placed permanently on omeprazole, the OTC usage instructions (don't use permanently) don't apply to you. The doctor has made the determination on the severity of your GERD vs long term usage and can explain it to you.

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The video is wrong about sleeping on your right side except people with acid reflux according to the Mayo Clinic. A typical social media BS YouTube video going around. Anything medical I always look at the Mayo Clinic website for the facts.

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It may be time for you to have a Nissan Fundoplication.  It is , perhaps, the only effective way to stop acid reflux.  Please do a search of this procedure on your search engine.  You may also think about making an appointment with Dr. Hector Valenzuela @ Quality Care.  With digestive issues, he is brilliant.  He knows his stuff. 

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I think I remember that you had one..How old were you when you got it? Did you have problems with swallowing after tyou got it? Could you throw up ? I also read that with time the acid reflux comes back  ..How long ago did you have it? No doctor hasspokn tme about ityet but I have a chronic cough caused by acid reblux, I did not know I had..I have the silent type.. the one without burns or acidgoing back up in the mouth..

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FYI-- Omeprazole is a combination of s-omeprazole and d-omeprazole.  The s- form is the active part of omeprazole,  The d- form has no activity.  The company that makes Nexium was able to remove the inactive d-form and when the patent expired came out with the s-form (therefore es-omeprazole) which is called brand name Nexium.  Therefore,  to get equivalent of 20 mg of Nexium it is necessary to take double the amount of omeprazole (40mg) or 80 mg of omeprazole to get equivalent of 40mg Nexium.  The company was able to keep their profits at a  high level through vigorous promotion of Nexium.

 

Incidentally, I have been a registered pharmacist for over 50 years.

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what about the Pantoprazole?

A French doctor gave a woman an know in a community esomeprazole which I was not able to buy in Mexico but I realized it was Nexium and I bought Nexium thre  in Europe where it was way cheaper.. so I bought a whole bunch  and brought it back.. Do you know if you can get the esomeprazole here now?

When did the generic come out in Mexico.. DO you know if you can buy it now.. I could not get it in Chiapas 4 or 5 years ago but then it is Chiapas

 

 

 

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21 minutes ago, Ferret said:

Thank heaven that the Mayo Clinic is more open minded than you.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/alternative-medicine/art-20045267

 

I do not see an endorsement, just warnings in very polite terms.

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They do not dismiss them, off the cuff, like you do. Try being open minded as to the possibilities. I'm sure there's people born in either India or China who have the opinion that Western Medicine is "limited" and mostly treats symptoms with pharmaceutical meds as opposed to finding the root of the problem. YM, obviously, MV.

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