Home › Forums › Infant Reflux Information › Medicines › Anyone here from Canada know…
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November 17, 2007 at 4:15 pm #45565
Anonymous
Inactive… if they sell Zegerid in Canada by prescription?
November 17, 2007 at 5:55 pm #45566InactiveI think I have heard/read Lori say that they can’t get it in Canada. Maybe she will chime in and let you know for sure.
November 17, 2007 at 8:09 pm #45568InactiveWell my doctor had never heard of it so I guess they don’t.
November 18, 2007 at 11:39 am #45579InactiveNo sorry, Zegerid is not available yet in Canada. I wish it were – I would have loved to have tried it when my DD was small and we were struggling with the timing of the Prevacid.
(I’m a pharmacist and pharmacy owner)November 18, 2007 at 12:38 pm #45581InactiveI noticed that you had also asked about Losec in another post, so I thought I would give you a little info about the PPIs that are available here in Canada, and their dosage forms. It can be confusing as a lot of the information out there relates to what is on the market in the US, but that isn’t the same as what’s available here.
Prevacid (also called lansoprazole)Prevacid FasTabs – this is the Canadian equivalent to the Prevacid solutabs in the US. They are available in 15mg and 30mg tablets. Since the tablets contain numerous enteric coated granules, they can be cut. The FasTabs are a delayed release PPI, so they should be given on an empty stomach, 30-60 minutes before a feeding in order to work best.Prevacid Capsules – these are filled with enteric coated granules, so they can be opened and given in a small amount of an acidic food like applesauce. Do not give in a non-acidic food (like formula, milk, or cereal) as this will dissolve the enteric coating and the drug will not be as effective. Give on an empty stomach (other than the small amount of applesause) then follow up with a feeding in 30-60 minutes.Losec (available in Canada as the generic omeprazole)Omeprazole capsules – much like Prevacid capsules, these can be opened and given in a small amount of applesauce, on an otherwise empty stomach, and followed up with a feeding in 30 – 60 minutes.Unfortunately, there are no IR (immediate release) PPIs (like Zegerid) commercially available in Canada. Your pharmacy can compound Prevacid or Losec into an IR suspension, however most pharmacies do not know how to do this properly. (Being a pharmacist, I know this first hand!) Please see this link for instructions on compounding PPIs:Another option is to get Caracream directly from MARCI-kids and you can compound your own IR PPI. They can be contacted at http://www.marci-kids.com . Caracream contains the proper amounts of buffer, etc. so that the PPI can be given without regard to timing and feedings. It doesn’t contain the PPI, so you would still need to get a prescription for Prevacid or Losec capsules from the doctor. MARCI-kids will give you step by step instructions on how to mix the PPI into the Caracream.Note: The following are currently NOT available in Canada:Zegerid, Prevacid packetsI hope this helps a bit!November 18, 2007 at 12:55 pm #45582InactiveThank you for your help Sheri.
Here is my problem. My son was on the compounded Prevacid and it did help some but It bothered his stomach and I’m not sure if it was because of the high sodium bicarbonate, 16.8%(the pharmacy was making it that way for me) or from him just not agreeing with it. So I took him off of it, and that was when he was 3 months old.I am nursing him so I found that I was able to control his reflux, for the most part, just by cutting out dairy from my diet.Now he is six months old and every time I try to introduce solids, his reflux seems to get worse.So I now received a prescription for the losec yesterday(which will be compounded) from our doctor. I’m wondering if we just have it made with the 8.6% if it will still be effective for him even though he will be getting less than 7ml? It did work at the time for my middle son when he was a baby so all I can do is try I guess.November 18, 2007 at 1:12 pm #45583InactiveHi Colette,
Is the timing of the dose a big issue for you/your son? From my understanding, the high sodium bicarbonate percentage is so that the PPI can be given any time, without having to time the dosage around meals. In that case, a lower amount of sodium bicarbonate should be fine if you aren’t needing to give the dose at the same time as a feeding. Do you think your little guy would be able to take it on an empty stomach? If so, then I think the 8.6% should be fine even though his dose is less than 7 mL.Either way, I wish you luck! Hopefully he tolerates it well!November 20, 2007 at 9:26 am #45624InactiveYou can always email Dr. Phillips, the pharmacist who developed Zegerid, at marci-kids and ask him your compounding questions.
I could be very wrong, but I remember Joel (from marci-kids) posting a while back that the 16.8 percent sodium bicarb was needed to buffer the acid when the PPI hit the stomach so that the drug (which had it’s enteric coating removed) was not destroyed by the stomach acid. Not sure if that’ s right or not, Sheri is obviously more knowledgeable than I am. But, given that the introduction of solids is what’s causing the reflux to flare, I’m wondering if you’re dealing more with MSPI/allergies, than reflux itself. My daughter has done really well on CaraCream with prevacid. With losec, it tasted so bad that I couldn’t get her to take it. Not sure when you last tried, but maybe you can try again and see how he does with it. Where in Canada are you, btw?November 20, 2007 at 11:58 am #45633InactiveI’m in Edmonton.
So you didn’t have a problem ordering the caracream from marci-kids then? … and if I do that, what kind of prescription exactly do I ask for from the doctor?November 20, 2007 at 12:52 pm #45636InactiveI would see if you could get some samples. All kids are different, so your little one might like it, or might not. Best to find out before ordering a shipment. You need to get a script for prevacid capsules, either the 15mg or the 30mg, doesn’t matter, but you need to tell marci-kids which kind of capsules you have b/c it makes a difference to how to mix it up.
No problems ordering it… no problem with customs, but you may have to pay brokerage, especially now when they’re getting pretty sticky at customs b/c of the dollar doing so well. -
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