# Anyone Take Nexium



## RitaLucy (May 3, 2000)

I just started taking Nexium yesterday. I am only on the 20mg capsules. I tend to have high reaction rates to medications so my Dr. said to try the 20mg and then maybe increase to the 40 mg. I felt like it made me race a bit yesterday but I am not sure if it was from the nexium or not.I started with esphogeal spasms last week for the first time and the attack I had lasted about 45 mins or so. I took OTC tagamet and bentyl and it seemed to help with the spasms. I have been eating very light since last week and really afraid to eat at all. I can only tolerate very small meals at a time. Does this sound typical GERD?


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## ryanred5 (Apr 4, 2002)

Hi RitalucyIm on Nexium and have been for a few months now, although my doc is slowly weaning me off them, cos you cant take them long term.I do find Nexium excellent and it definately gets rid of all my symptoms, heartburn, burning in my throat etc.I had a bad reaction to Zoton which is another of the PPI tablets, that gave me mega bad side effects, heart racing, couldnt breath, felt sick, hallucinating etc, it was awful, so the doc took me straight off them.I take 1 every 3 days, ie Monday, Thursday, Sunday and so on, and the second day Im mega bad with heartburn etc, so my doc says I may need an op on my stomache to try and relieve the excess acid that I have. I go and see him in a couple of weeks and see what he has to say about it.Catherine


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Catherine,Question for you------you said that Proton-type meds shouldn't be taken long term. I was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagitis 2 years ago and have been taking Prevacid every evening. Does that mean that I shouldn't be on that long-term either? I'm with the understanding the Barrett's is a worse condition than GERD. I'm not sure I understand any of them anymore and I get no help whatsoever from my GI in trying to understand or remedy this.


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## slacker (Mar 23, 2002)

RitaLucy (and everyone), Bentyl and family Exacerbate GERD. Esophageal spasm is a different story, and I beleive there's medication for it. Have you had an esophageal manometry to verify you really have esophageal spasm? ryanred5, An operation on your stomach to remove the excess acid?Feisty, PPI's are defintely NOT meant to be taken longterm for GERD. However, Barrett's is the exception to the rule. Yes, it's worse than GERD. The justification is that the benefits of PPI's for Barrett's, since it is pre-cancerous, outweigh the risks.Slacker


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Thanks, Slacker!!I was ready to discontinue use. I have a couple of other meds I am going to try discontinuing---first the Clonazepam (1mg.) that I take every night to help me get some sleep (I have Fibro and migraines), and then I'm going to stop the Menest (Estrogen replacement) because that can cause more headaches and both of them have weight gain listed as a side effect and that's me!! Was going to try doing without the Prevacid, too, but now I don't know if that's such a good idea. It's so expensive, though and we don't have very good insurance coverage and hubbie's without a job yet, etc. etc.


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## RitaLucy (May 3, 2000)

I don't know what I am dealing with yet. I had a hida scan this a.m. I will know more from that test in a few days. I had an ultrasound last week of the abdomen and it was normal. I haven't had any esophageal symptoms until recently along with the RUQ pain that I get. I only took the nexium for 3days because it gave me such a horrible headache. I have it on hand in case the acid gets bad. I never had acid reflux at all until I was on a course of steroids for a sun allergy that I had in the beginning of June. Ever since I was on the steroids it seems to have acted everything up. I had horrible heartburn while taking them and then when I stopped the steroids it seemed that I had heartburn on and off. Then I had an episode of esophageal spasms that lasted 45 mins. Yesterday I ate a low fat potato. It had non fat butter, non fat cheese and after I ate it I felt as though it was stuck in my mid esophagus. It passed after an hour or so and I tried not to think about it but no heartburn. After we get the results of the hida scan he wants to the endoscope too....


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## LittleBp02 (Aug 8, 2002)

Hey everyone I'm new here and was wondering I have recently been having tons of trouble eating and drinking to the point I can hardly get anything down my doctor told me I have acid reflux, I find I have a real hard time breathing after I eat does anyone else get this? Also I was recently put on Nexium and so far I haven't noticed any changes, how long does it usually take before any of you noticed an improvement from the medication? Just wondering thanks for taking the time to read my post.Bye for nowTake Care AllAmy


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