Do Not Buy Zegerid
Zegerid is one of those bullcorn “me too” drugs in the worst kind of way. If massive advertisements for it start as the “latest treatment for heartburn,” it’s best to just put your fingers in your ears and shout “La la la, I can’t hear you la la la!”
Health Care Renewal has a great writeup on it; it’s essentially the exact same thing as over-the-counter Prilosec or prescription Nexium, just mixed with baking soda, and dissolvable in water. (What a breakthrough! Congratulations, Pharma!)
Although 42 doses of over-the counter omeperazole [Prilosec/Nexium] costs about $25 at retail, Santurus is selling 30 doses of Zegerid for about $140.
“That’s a lot to pay for baking soda,” says the significant other.
If you buy this, you are an idiot.
I won’t take anything under three years old and I recommend to my patients not to take the “new, improved!!” because it’s the same as the old most times. One must research these things. Thanks for the post!
Solid advice! That’s why it’s a good idea to dialog with pharmacists!
If you understood how PPIs worked and what makes Zegerid different you would realize hwy 95% of GIS in the US agree that there is a huge benefit with Zegerid 20 and 40mg.
First, the product works longer than any other ppi on the market ph>4 for 19 hrs. This is just as good as Nexium 40mg BID coverage. This has a great benefit for patients who are currently on a ppi bid and are paying more out o pocket and receive the product for only 6-8 weeks.
Second, since the use of sodium bicarb in the formulation the ph in the stomach and espophogus get to a ph of 7 in less than one minute. IF you understood how a PPI worked you would realize how benefitial this is to a patient. All ppis need a food to be productive. The food stimulates the stomach to produce acid. Therefore all delayed release ppi’s need a food 30 mins to 1 hr after taking your nexium, pravid, prilosec, etc. The food turns pumps on (pumps release acid) enabling the delayed release ppi to work. If the product is taken without food and since it has a 1-2 hr half life the product will go in and out of the bloodstream quickly…so you have to have a food quickly after you take the product to turn off the pumps (PPI = proton pump inhibitor).
Third, it works quickly..no ramp up. No waiting 104 days for product to work. SO before you say this product is for idiots do your homework. By the way TAP (who makes prevacid) will be bringing an immediate release prevacid to market in 2008 and the rights were bought from Zegerid (Santarus) and residuals will come with that.
DO your homework moron!
Jason,
I’m not sure if you’re medically trained, or what your stake in Zegerid is (seeing as though your email address has “prevacid” in it), but you’re incorrect in saying that “PPIs need a food to be productive.” There are at least 4 mechanisms by which the stomach is stimulated to create acid–and food doesn’t account for all of them. Also, I’m not aware of any dosing of Nexium as 40mg BID–this may be for some very serious, small subset of patients, but it surely isn’t the normal Nexium or omeprazole dosing.
Although you may not need food to initiate the effects of a PPI, to maximize the dose of delayed release PPI’s it is a must. As for 40 mg BID of Nexium or any other delayed release PPI, you are not a practitioner if you have never seen this. BID dosing of delayed release PPI’s is on the rise in a big way. Zegerid is not a new drug, it is a new delivery system that allows the PPI to be more effective, but don’t let the actual data get in the way of your criticism. I am now a happy idiot who takes Zegerid whenever I have symptoms and it works immediately. I guess only an idiot would want to take something that actually works on symptoms when they are present!
Speaking of PPIs, has anyone seen any studies linking their concurrent use with antibiotics to Clostridium difficile infections? I am doing my thesis on this subject and would appreciate any serious response. Thanks!
P.S. Jason, you may need to take a few PPIs in order to cut the “acid” from your tone… Be civil please..
To the idiot who claims anybody who buys this is an idiot I have this to say. I have been suffering with nighttime heartburn for over a year taking all the different brands of PPIs on the market with no real relief either they didn’t last thru the night or they caused side effects such as abdominal pain. I just started on Zegerid 4 days ago. In this time I have obtained complete relief from the burn at night. It is the first time I have been able to sleep thru the night without waking up at 3AM and having to take another dose of the PPIs to get thru and waiting few hours for it to take effect. Also I am not suffering any side effects I have no linger heartburn in the morining or during the day and no stomach pain. I am completely satisfied and I am thanking God for the relief I have found.
Has anyone complaining tried baking soda plus a PPI?
You cannot take a ppi and baking soda/antacid it doesnt work the same way Zegerid does.
Zegerid active ingredient is omperazole but a nonenterically coated omperazole. If you took prilosec + baking soda or an antacid you would still not get an immediate effect from the ppi. The PPI would still have to go throught the GI tract then back to the bloodstream…if you used baking soda and a delayed release PPI every day for like 2 weeks you would eventually get to steady state but for a true immediate release product it would have to have the enteric coating off the ppi to get in the bloodstream immediately
Hmm…graham or whoever runs this website…looks like i know what Im talking about huh?
By the way, I do not have stake in the company, but I am a PA in California and I know that for maximum and true effect from a PPI you would definately need a food to help stimulate your stomach to make acid in order for your PPI to work most effectively.
See the new studies Zegerid Capsules have out when they go head to head with NEXIUM and PREVACID. All drugs in study didnt have food after taking PPI…see how well prevacid and nexium didnt do….
When a site is made to discredit how a product works that annoys me. Obviously this graham character has not tried the product and did not to any real research to see the validity behind the product. Top thought leaders on GERD in country are behind this product (Dr’s Castell, LAine, Puera (Head of AGA), & Chey)
I’ve deleted prevacidbanking AT yawho DOT com’s multiple recent comments because he or she is pretending to be multiple different people, and closing this thread.