Prilosec vs. Prevacid?

Question

What is difference if any between the two. My doc says that they are both about the same. One is by precription and the other is otc.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Correct. They are both proton pump inhibitors, and they decrease the amount of acid in your stomach. Prilosec has been around longer, and has gotten OTC status, but in a lower dose.

The makers of Prilosec faced potential financial problems when the patent was about to expire in 2001, and cheaper generic drugs could flood the market.

What they did was to gain approval for Prilosec to go over the counter, and introduced Nexium, which is very similar to Prilosec.

There are a number of other PPI's out there, including Aciphex, Nexium and Protonix. They have varying degrees of success with different patients, and some are tolerated better than others.

If you have a prescription plan, it might be cheaper for you to go with one of the prescription drugs. If not, you may fare better with Prilosec OTC.

If one drug doesn't work, keep trying them until you find one that does. It took me 3 tries (insurance wouldn't cover Nexium, and Protonix gave me a headache) until I settled on Prevacid.

Source(s):

I'm a doctor, plus personal experience.

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Asker's Comment:

Thanks Doc!!!