Nexium Free - Day Three (poetic, ain't it?)

A few days later, there are results.

Okay, I'm not going to say I am bouncing off the walls with energy and have a reflux-free gut.  But there is definitely something happening here.

Okay, I admit I have been staying away from spicy foods and will continue to do so for another week.  I may try pizza to see what happens with something as acidic as tomatoes, but we will see.

The bottom line here is this: I haven't taken Nexium since Tuesday.  In that time I have already noticed that I have had more energy.  I made it to just past lunch time Wednesday before I felt like I was getting drowsy.  Thursday was mostly a wash because I was sick, most likely from eating the Burnin' Love Burger at Red Robin to break a 24-hour fast.  Not my best decision, in retrospect.  Heck, I didn't think it was going to be a good idea when I did it, but come on -- fried jalapenos, pepperjack cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and a half-pound of choice beef on a jalepeno roll?  How can I, a lover of the spicy delicacy, pass that one up?

But Friday.  Ah, Friday.  Today I began using aloe vera juice and a B12 supplement (41,667% of the recommended dose?  Seriously?  How awesome is that?!).  I sat through a one-hour meeting about the company's performance in 2011.  Numbers and statistics, sitting still and only a cup of tea to keep me company.  Sounds like kryptonite to me!

*blink*

I.  Stayed.  Alert.

Someone call the authorities, something is very, very wrong here.  Or maybe very right.  Seems to be the B12 is working, eh?

As for the aloe vera juice?  Well, I took an aloe vera gel tab this morning before a breakfast of a fruit smoothie and coffee.  No burn.  Then I had Lean Cuisine mac & cheese for lunch, with an apple to finish off the meal (thanks for the tip, Dave; quite a good remedy!).  There was a hint of burn, so I drank a quarter-cup (two ounces) of the juice.

A brief side note here: there is almost no taste, but what is there is bad.  It tastes about like how wallpaper paste smells, with a little hint of lemon to top it off.

No.  Burn.

I'm almost beside myself right now, because I have gone nearly 84 hours without taking any Nexium and I have no heartburn.  And here's the kicker: I have a month of juice at $7.84, two months of B12 at $4.88 and two months of aloe vera gel tabs at $5.24.  Per month that comes to $12.90 plus the cost of any apples I choose to eat, but those are optional.  Last year, under Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (long story), I paid $50 per month for Nexium.  Under BCBS of North Carolina at my current job, I would pay $30 per month.  I just saved $17.10 per month and I feel better.  I'd call that a win-win if I've ever seen one.

Further updates as events warrant.