by Kaye Booth

Created on: August 21, 2009

Does the Little Purple Pill Heal Too Well?

Some years ago my husband went to the doctor heartburn. He prescribed Nexium, you know, "the little purple pill that heals". Not long after, when he was still having trouble and they were calling it GERDS, they did an endoscope and found that he had H-Pilory. They gave him an antibiotic for that and for several years, he was feeling better. On every doctor's visit, he told them that he was still taking Nexium and asked if there was any risk to taking it on a long term basis. He was always assured that it was perfectly safe and they instructed him to keep taking it. Eight years and several doctors later, he began having acid reflux symptoms once again. Again, he inquired as to the wisdom of taking Nexium on a long term basis. He was again assured that the Nexium could not be the problem. They decided that it was his gallbladder, so he had it removed. He did feel much better after his surgery, but he still experienced heartburn and acid reflux symptoms every time he ate. He decided that he had to be one of the medications that he was taking, so he quite taking them, one at a time. When his problems didn't end, he would resume the medication that he had stopped and try another one, until finally Nexium was the only one left that he hadn't tried discontinuing. As soon as he stopped taking the Nexium, his difficulties ended. His stomach pain disappeared and he began to feel better. My theory is that he originally needed the Nexium because the H-Pilory was wreaking havoc with his system. By continuing on the Nexium, I think that it continued to do its work until my husband wasn't producing enough acid and that's why he began to have the symptoms once again.

Nexium is a proton pump inhibitor used to treat GERDS or acid reflux, ulcers, erosive esophagus and other conditions that result from the production of too much stomach acid. Unlike other proton pump inhibitors, such as Prilosec, Previcid, Protonix, etc..., Nexium is advertised as the little purple pill that heals, claiming to not only reduce the production of stomach acids, but also to heal the damage done by their overproduction. Based on my husband's experience, I would venture to say that these claims are true. The endoscopy showed that my husband did have considerable damage to both his stomach and his esophagus. Considering that he did get better for a period of time, after treating the H-Pilory and embarking on Nexium therapy, I would

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