Nexium by another Name - PRILOSEC - OMEPRAZOLE

For two years I've taken Nexium to guard against the possibility of acid reflux creating the potential for esophageal cancer. Two years on I was checked, had my photos taken and it all looks OK. I've tried to compare these pictures to the ones from 2006 but the quality is just not good enough. Why the doctor cannot get a decent picture with such expensive equipment is one of those mysteries. 

I'm now on the cheaper version of Nexium, it's called Prilosec (or sometimes Omeprazole). They all come from Merck or AstraZeneca. Men's Health said it's evil and who knows maybe they are right. Astrazeneca have a video saying basically "Keep taking it and if that's too difficult, ask your doctor."

The Mayo Clinic Health Letter said it's OK if you are very careful - very reassuring.

Then there was the worry that Prilosec and/or Nexium might increase the risk of heart attack but the FDA said "probably not."

Nexium and Prilosec seem to slow absorption of minerals like calcium and iron, so you might worry about anemia and osteoporosis. There was a long term study of about 13,000 people over 16 years (ending in 2003) which concluded that if you take nexium (or prilosec) for a year then your risk of hip fracture goes up by about 1%. Difficult to know what to do for the best with a low, but non-zero, risk like that. 

The University of Wisconsin at Madison has a small clinical trial in progress to try (stage completion December 2008) and gauge the impact of prilosec on calcium absorption. This might give us some clarity on the calcium and bone strength issue.

Inadvertently I had a gap of about a week between finishing Nexium and starting Prilosec and in the week my weight went down about 3 pounds. Was there a connection ? Who knows but I'm waiting to see what happens to my weight in the first week of taking Prilosec.