Taking both Nexium and Prilosec OTC

I have to take Nexium 40mg twice a day.  The cost is getting prohibitive.  Does anyone take Nexium once a day and Prilosec once a day.  My doctor specifically mentions Nexium, but since Prilosec is available as a generic and OTC, I would like to substitute it once a day for the Nexium.  I know Prilosec contains two compounds and Nexium just the one.  It seems they are similar enough though that I might be able to do this.  Anyone else able to do this combination?

Prestwicky,

When my insurance declined the 40 MG 2X a day of Nexium, my doctor asked me to take once a day of Nexium and once Prilosec, but my doctor said that he would write to the insurance and explain why it's needed until they approve it. I bought the prilosec, but they only come in 20 MG over the counter. So, I never really took the combination, but I guess it can be done, but probably won't have the same results.

These medicines are really expensive, so I order mine through the mail for 3 months at a time, so I basically pay $50 for 3 months supply. I use to pay $75 a month. Maybe you can check if your insurance has prescription mail orders. The prescription has to be written for a minimum of 3 months supply.

Take care.


Bee

Hi everyone, I wanted to tell you what happened to me.  For years now I have had IBS and GERD, which I found very easy to control.  I could eat anything I wanted as long as it was in moderation.  In 2006, I started experiencing weird synthoms which made my GERD worse.  The doctors said it was depression, but I knew that it was something else.  I was in so much disconfort for months that I lost close to 40lbs.  My "new" GI doctor sent me for more testings and found that it was my gallbladder and that was removed shortly after - I was feeling wonderful for the first 3 months, eating what ever I wanted to because no one mentioned anything about a diet, infact, my doctor said I could eat anything I wanted to, so I did.  Well, guess what?  I got sick all over again, but this time I developed gastritis and was put on "PRILOSEC."  This worked great for the first 2 weeks; the third week, I started experiencing a lot of disconfort in my throat and I was afraid to eat, then my ears started hurting and the top of my head became very sensitive to touch, and on top of this my gastritis or GERD was pretty bad, so I stopped the med and those synthoms went away, except for the gas problem.  What now? I remembered two people talking about how they developed IBS after their gallbladder was taken out, so I started taking some pills I had for IBS and guess what? all the gastritis and GERD synthoms went away.  I still keep some of the over-the-counter gas products with me in case I want to eat something that produces a lot of gas. 

So, for those of you who are having GERD problems, have your doctor check you for IBS or give you a sample pill for IBS to see if that'll work.  I'm still amazed that the pain in the middle of my chest and back is gone and I could eat again.  I wish you all good health and that you immediately find something that works for you.