Taking nexium20 twice for gastritis. a little improvement.increased the med for 40mg twice. i feel better now. but am i killing myself with high dose?

No: Esomeprazole, or Nexium (esomeprazole) as a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) normally prescribed at 40 mg, one capsule by mouth daily with meals in the prescription dose. For patient's with reflux esophagitis, refractory to once a day Nexium (esomeprazole), the dose may be increased to 40 mg, one capsule by mouth twice daily. However, PPI can interact with anticoagulant, such Plavix (Clopidogrel) through CPY2C19 in the body.

Nexium (esomeprazole): Nexium (esomeprazole) is now available over the counter. You should follow the directions on the bottle. An amount of 40mg in a day or 20mg twice a day is the maximum and may be continued until the condition resolves which could be up to 6-8 weeks. Some conditions require long term use and others do not. Use the shortest time possible. It needs to be weaned off, not cold turkey. Discuss use with doctor.

GI specialist: Nexium (esomeprazole) has been used in doses up to 240mg per day in cases of Zollinger Ellison, a syndrome of hypersecretion of acid in the stomach, however, this is only done with guidance of a GI specialist. There are many side effects and drug interactions of high dose long term PPI type drugs. One scary one is gastric cancer. I hope you have been tested for H. pylori.

No: You are not killing yourself, however, the hope is never to have you on a medicine for life. So continue to try to modify your routine to lessen the amount of gastritis you have such as minimize coffee, chocolate, alcohol and fat in your diet as those tend to make it worse. Also, try to eat your last meal at least two hours before bed but if this is not possible- try not to lay flat. Good luck :)