Risking a Celebratory Drink

I haven’t had any alcohol since July 2008 when I was diagnosed with GERD.  Its always been something I could give or take.  However, I did enjoy a nice glass of wine or a marguerita with the girls periodically.  Once I had things a little bit under control (last month) I decided to try a glass of white wine.  Wow, big mistake.  It really burned!  So,  I assumed that alcohol was permanently out of the picture.

This weekend I was out with a friend for dinner and decided I would try a marguerita.  It was probably a dumb move because it is alcohol AND a citrus base.  But, I was pleasantly suprised that I had no bad reaction at all.  Mind you, I only drank one and I didn’t drink it until after I’d eaten a portion of my dinner.  I was really pleased that I may be able to celebrate with friends every once in a while without suffering all night for it.

Remember, everyone is different and this might not work out for you.  But, like everything else in this journey, its trial and error.

Cheers!

United Healthcare disagrees with my doctor!

I went to my doctor today with excitement in my step.  I was going to finally get a perscription for the GERD medicine that works best for me.  As I said in my previous post, I tried ALL the different meds available due to the generosity of my doctor and her samples.  Prevacid was the winner.  But there was a big BUT.  United Healthcare won’t cover Prevacid.  They only cover:

•  Aciphex which only comes in a 20 mg version and stops working by mid-afternoon
• Zegerid which has sodium bicarbonate in it that makes my fingers swell and it makes me constipated
• Protonix which didn’t work at all.  I might has well have taken a sugar pill.
• a generic form of Zegerid without the sodium bicarbonate which dulled the pain a bit but also quit working by mid-afternoon.

So, the doctors want me to take Prevacid to avoid damaging my esophagus (which can lead to cancer.)  But the phone clerks who think they are doctors at United Healthcare disagree.  They told me I could take it by buying it at 100% retail ($159 for a 30 day supply).  Yeah, right.  They say that all the drugs have the same effect.  Then why didn’t the others work as well as Prevacid?

So, I’m pricing it in Canada.  So far, the cheapest price is $59.95 for a 30 day supply which is about $10 more a month than I would have to pay for one of the other meds.  If I can work out buying from Canada, I might be OK.

I’ve tried them all….

Well, I think I’ve tried all the PPI’s now.  My gastro gave me 10 day samples of each brand to try.  She wanted to help me figure out which wone worked the best so that I could possible save some money.  I had been taking Zegerid to help with GERD and cure an ulcer.  It worked great on my ulcer, but made it hard to “go” if you know what I mean. 

I’ve now tried Prevacid, Aciphex, Zegerid, Protonix, Nexium and Zegerid.  Protonix was the worst.  It was as if I wasn’t taking anything and I had this wierd side effect of twitching eyelids.  Prevacid was the best.  I tried it next to last and really wish I had tried it earlier!  Then I spoiled a good thing and tried Protonix last.  Yikes!  So, on Monday I go back to the doc to get a new perscription for Prevacid.

Don’t assume that you’ll have a bad reaction to Protonix.  But, I have heard a lot of people say it didn’t work for them.  Everyone is different.  I have hope that one day I’ll get off meds all togther.  Maybe I’m dreaming.  But, at least, for now, I have something that works really good for me.