ZEGERID Patient Profiles

The following patient profiles do not represent actual people. They are only intended to be educational. Your results may vary.

James was diagnosed with acid reflux disease

Ideal ZEGERID omeprazole capsules patient

James suffered from heartburn at least three times a week. He finally decided to go to the doctor. His doctor said that his heartburn was due to acid reflux disease. The doctor also said that a proton pump inhibitor was a highly effective treatment for acid reflux disease. Now, James takes a ZEGERID capsule once a day, an hour before breakfast on an empty stomach.

Leigh treated herself at first

Leigh had heartburn a few times a week for many years and chose to treat herself. She bought over-the-counter (OTC) heartburn medication at the drugstore and her heartburn went away. Recently, these medications stopped working as well as they used to. She went to her doctor, who prescribed a stronger medication—a proton pump inhibitor called ZEGERID. She takes ZEGERID once a day.

Charley cannot easily swallow capsules

Charley had heartburn 2 times a week. Finally, he went to the doctor for his frequent heartburn. His doctor said that he has acid reflux disease. "You need a prescription medicine," said his doctor. Charley reminded his doctor that he had a hard time swallowing pills and capsules. "That's not a problem," his doctor responded. "ZEGERID Powder for Oral Suspension is a good choice because you mix it with water and drink it." Now, Charley takes ZEGERID Powder for Oral Suspension at bedtime.

Next page: Bedtime or Daytime Dosing

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Physician Resources | Important Safety Information

Please see full prescribing information.

You can obtain additional information about ZEGERID by writing Santarus directly. To speak to a representative by phone or to report an adverse event, call Santarus' Medical Information Department at 1.888.778.0887, option 2 (M-F, 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, EST).

Product Description
ZEGERID contains omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), and sodium bicarbonate, an antacid, which raises the gastric pH and thus protects omeprazole from acid degradation.

Indications and Dosing for ZEGERID
ZEGERID is indicated for heartburn and other symptoms associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
(20 mg); for the short-term treatment (4-8 weeks) of erosive esophagitis diagnosed by endoscopy
(20 mg); for maintenance of healing of erosive esophagitis (20 mg) (controlled studies do not extend beyond 12 months); for short-term treatment (4-8 weeks) of active duodenal ulcer (20 mg); for short-term treatment (4-8 weeks) of active benign gastric ulcer (40 mg); and for reduction of risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in critically ill patients (only powder for oral suspension 40 mg; use beyond 14 days has not been evaluated).

Important Safety Information about ZEGERID
The most frequently reported adverse events with ZEGERID are headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. In 178 critically ill patients treated with ZEGERID Powder for Oral Suspension, adverse events generally reflected the serious, underlying medical condition of the patients, and were similar for patients treated with ZEGERID Powder for Oral Suspension than in those treated with the comparator (acid-controlling) drug. For more information about these and other events, please see Table 13 of the Full Prescribing Information. Symptomatic response to therapy does not preclude the presence of gastric malignancy. Atrophic gastritis has been noted occasionally in gastric corpus biopsies from patients treated long term with omeprazole.

ZEGERID Capsules contain 304 mg of sodium per dose. ZEGERID Powder for Oral Suspension contains 460 mg of sodium per dose. This should be taken into consideration for patients on a sodium-restricted diet.

Sodium bicarbonate is contraindicated in patients with metabolic alkalosis and hypocalcemia. ZEGERID is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to any component of the formulation.

Since both 20 mg and 40 mg ZEGERID contain the same amount of sodium bicarbonate (1100 mg in capsules,
1680 mg in packets of powder for oral suspension), two 20 mg capsules are not equivalent to, and should not be substituted for, one 40 mg capsule, and two 20 mg packets are not equivalent to, and should not be substituted for, one 40 mg packet.