Surely people who have encountered problems such as high acidity or a stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer have heard from doctors about the medicine “Controlok” at least once. This medication is capable of eliminating abdominal pain, heartburn in a fairly short period of time. It can also save a person from such ailments as erosive gastritis, Zollinger – Ellison syndrome, gastric ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer. Therefore, today in the article we will consider the main points regarding the drug “Control”: analogues, form of release of the medication, rules for admission, contraindications, restrictions. We will also find out the price of this medicine and compare it with the cost of pills similar in action called “Nolpaza”.
Release form
The drug "Control" (international name "Pantoprazole") is sold in 2 forms:
- In the form of tablets.
- As a powder for suspension.
Indications
The drug "Control", the instructions for which must be included in the package with the medication, is prescribed to patients with the following health problems:
- Gastric ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer (in the acute phase).
- Reflux esophagitis is an inflammatory lesion of the esophagus due to repeated reflux of gastric contents.
- Erosive gastritis is a gradual destruction of the gastric mucosa.
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (or adenoma). It is characterized by a tumor of the process apparatus of the pancreas.
- Gastrointestinal stress ulcers .
How to take pills?
Before being treated with a medication, you should carefully read the instructions, follow all the doctor's recommendations, otherwise the medicine will be ineffective. Tablets should be swallowed whole, not chewed or bitten. Before meals or while eating, you can drink “Controlok” pills with water. The instruction for the drug states that the drug must be taken in the following dosage, depending on the patient’s diagnosis:
- For gastric and duodenal ulcers - 1 tablet (40 mg) of the drug daily.
- With reflux esophagitis, the doctor may prescribe 1 or 2 pills (20 or 40 mg) every day.
- If a person has kidney problems, or these are elderly patients, then the daily dose for them should not exceed 40 mg of the drug.
- If the patient has a severe violation of the liver, then the doctor can prescribe him 1 tablet every other day.
The duration of therapy is determined by the doctor. Usually, with a stomach ulcer, a person takes these pills for a month, in other cases this period can be extended up to 2 months.
The use of powder "Control"
The use of the drug in this form is justified if the patient for some reason cannot swallow the pill. The nurse dissolves the contents of the bottle in 10 ml of sodium chloride solution. The medication is administered to the patient intravenously for 2-15 minutes.
With a stomach ulcer, the patient is prescribed 40 ml of the drug (that is, 1 bottle of powder) per day. In the treatment of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, the daily dose of the drug can be 80 mg.
The prepared solution should be used within 3 hours.
Opinions of people
The drug "Control", reviews of which are mostly positive, is often prescribed by the doctor in combination with other drugs, including antibiotics. It is difficult for patients to determine which particular drug affected their health. But still there are reviews of patients who say that this drug helped them with stomach ulcers and erosive gastritis during the exacerbation period. Some even note the fact that the period of use of the drug has been significantly reduced. If the instructions for the medicine say that you can use the tablets for up to 8 weeks, that is, patients whose treatment period was only 2 weeks. After that, patients began to feel better and forget that they had problems with their stomach.
There are also few reviews of people who claim that the drug "Control" helped them cope with gastritis. Moreover, the doctor prescribed only this medication. And just a few days after therapy, people no longer had a burning sensation in their stomach, and they recovered quite quickly.
Pills or powder "Control", reviews of which are rare, still has a small number of negative responses. And they are connected with the fact that, according to patients, this drug did not help them in any way. However, attention should be paid to an important point: in these cases, people used it themselves, without the recommendation of a doctor. And to do this categorically is impossible. After all, only a specialist can prescribe this tool after all the tests performed, and often he prescribes it in combination with other tablets. Therefore, if the patient independently purchased this drug, drank the pills at his discretion, but did not wait for a positive result, then this is not the fault of the manufacturer of this drug, but, in fact, the person himself. Therefore, in order not to waste money, it is necessary to go to the hospital for a consultation, take tests, and only then, according to the recommendations of a specialist, purchase a medicine and carry out therapy with it.
Cost
The medicine "Control", the price of which varies depending on the form of release and volume, can be bought at any pharmacy, while the pharmacist sells the drug without a doctor’s prescription, if it concerns tablets. But for the purchase of powder, paper from the doctor is necessary, since the drug is administered intravenously only by a specialist within the walls of the hospital.
Controlok tablets, the price of which, by the way, is far from low, can be purchased on average for 700 rubles. This is for 14 pills of 20 mg each. If you buy the same number of tablets, but 40 mg each, then the cost of packaging will be more expensive - within 800–900 rubles.
Powder with the medicine is sold in bottles, and you can buy the drug in this form and individually. So, the price of one bottle of ground means for preparing a solution for intravenous injection ranges from 300-350 rubles.
Side effects
Adverse events after treatment with the medicine "Control" are available, and they are expressed in the following:
- From the nervous system and sensory organs: headache, dizziness, drowsiness or, conversely, insomnia, nervousness, depression, impaired vision, tinnitus.
- From the organs of the gastrointestinal tract: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, constipation, increased appetite.
- From the skin: alopecia, acne, dermatitis.
- Allergic manifestations: rash, itching, urticaria.
- From the genitourinary system: edema, impotence.
Contraindications
The tool "Control", analogues of which also have many side effects, can not be used in the following cases:
- With dyspepsia of neurotic origin.
- With individual intolerance to the components of the drug.
- Children under 18 years old.
- Women during pregnancy, as well as during lactation.
Similar means
Drugs that have similar effects on the body (substitute drugs) are also available in the Controlok medication. Analogues of these pills can be asked at any pharmacy, and the pharmacist will advise such pills as Nolpaza, Zipantola Pantaz, Sanpraz, Panum, Peptazol. These are all substitutes for the Controlok remedy, struggling with the same problems as the drug to which the article is devoted.
So, doctors can prescribe these medicines for peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
The most popular substitute is Nolpaza. Therefore, we will further consider this medication and find out what are the similarities and differences between both drugs.
The method of application of the analogue
The tool "Nolpaza", instructions, reviews of doctors which say that it is best to take pills in the morning - before breakfast, and with a double dose - in the morning and evening, is prescribed in the following dosages, depending on the nature of the disease:
- For dyspeptic symptoms, heartburn, and pain when swallowing, take 1 pill (20 mg) per day.
- For gastric and duodenal ulcers, doctors prescribe 1-2 tablets (40 mg each) per day. The course of therapy is 1 month.
- With Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, it is recommended to take 80 mg of the drug per day, this amount should be divided into 2 doses.
- For elderly patients, as well as those who have impaired liver function, doctors prescribe a maximum of 1 tablet (40 mg) per day.
The use of "Nolpase" - a pill-like drug relieves the symptoms of the above ailments usually after 14 days of therapy.
Similarities and differences
What is the same for both drugs? Firstly, it is one and the same active substance - pantoprazole. Secondly, both drugs are prescribed to treat the same diseases. Thirdly, the method of using the tablets and the dosage are very similar.
There are perhaps only two differences in these medicines. The first is different manufacturers. So, the drug "Nolpaza" is produced in Slovenia, and the drug "Control" - in Germany. The second difference is the price. The tool to which the article is devoted turns out to be more expensive than its analogues. So, Nolpaza tablets, the price of which in different pharmacies is slightly different (depending on what percentage of the markup the institution itself puts), can be purchased on average for 130 rubles - this is for 20 mg pills in an amount of 14 pieces. There is another packaging for this medication. So, if the package contains 28 tablets of 20 mg each, then the cost will be higher - within 250 rubles per 1 pack of Nolpaza pills. The price of larger tablets (40 mg) will be in the range of 400-420 rubles. For comparison, for 14 pills (20 mg each) of the medicine "Control" on average you need to give 700 rubles. The difference in price is more than 500 rubles, and this is a noticeable difference. Therefore, the question of which is better - “Kontrolok” or “Nolpaza” can be answered as follows: in terms of cost, then, of course, the last medicine. But, on the other hand, the medicine to which the article is devoted acts faster on the body. Therefore, from the point of view of efficiency, then, of course, the “Controls” tool is more preferable. In any case, at the doctor’s appointment, you can ask about replacing this medication with a cheaper means. And if the doctor allows you to purchase another drug, but similar in action to the Controlok tablets, whose analogues are much cheaper, you can safely go to the pharmacy and buy a substitute for this drug.
special instructions
- Before starting treatment with this medication, the doctor gives the patient a referral for examination in order to exclude the presence of malignant tumors. The fact is that the “Controls” tool can interfere with the timely recognition of symptoms of cancer.
- During treatment with a medication, it is necessary to control the level of liver enzymes in patients, so that in case of a sharp increase in their number, stop taking pills.
- After the end of therapy, experts recommend that their patients undergo endoscopic monitoring. This is necessary in order to be able to timely detect the presence of a tumor and to eliminate it in time.
Now you know everything about the medicine "Control": analogues, cost, patient opinions, rules for taking the remedy. We found out that this medicine has similar products that are cheaper, for example, Nolpaza tablets. However, the effect of the drug "Control" is faster than its counterpart. Therefore, it is impossible to say unequivocally which medication is better. In any case, the doctor must prescribe the medicine, and only with it can the approval of the replacement of the drug "Control" with the drug "Nolpaza" or another analogue.