Acid Reflux

Thanks for the comments - some of you suggested ACV - but isn't that contrary to what they tell you - don't take anything that is acidic - vinegar is very acidic - I would think that it would cause more acid in your stomach - what's your thoughts on this -

I think the ACV with Mother has probiotics. Correct me if I am wrong, please.

I started having reflux issues after I came down with Pneumonia and had to do 2 months of 3 different steroidal antibiotics. I'm positive the antibiotics just wrecked my stomach & digestive tract.
It was a good year after being ill and doing the equivalent of a detox before I felt any better. No processed foods, no sugar, no caffeine, and only whole grains in addition to taking pro-biotics to rebalance the digestive flora in my gut.
Before, I had reflux everyday. Gastro Dr had no real solution except to take antacids and take them I did. I ended up at 35 years old going to the emergency room one night because I thought I was having a heart attack. Esophageal Spasms, oh my!

Went to a natural Dr who prescribed me an all natural food based solution. It worked. I still have the occasional bout of reflux but it's rare & I can always tell if I will have reflux depending on what I eat & how much. Usually, it's times like during the holidays with so many rich foods that are over-eaten.

I've tried taking ACV. Yuck. Can't do it. I'll stick with yogurt or probiotics.

Joe Pa, Supposedly, when you take the ACV, it adds acid to your stomach, thus the receptors in your stomach see the added acid and back off your stomach from making more acid. My reflux was just like TRAILRIDERs and I take the same medicine now. Mine reflux got so bad, I could not hardly swallow my food. Had the scope thing done. Doctor put me on medicine and the lining in my throat grew back. It was almost cancer.

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Life......Is What You Make Of It

Vinegar is an acid but has an alkaline effect on the stomach. I use it too - it works really well. Lemon juice, also acidic in itself, has the same effect.

Not to be too personal, just trying to connect the dots. That year that you were so very sick, following pneumonia, did the inactivity cause you to gain weight? Seems that there is a connection between acid reflux and weight gain. Over eating, you mentioned, is another link. Have you noticed that if you eat a late supper that it is followed by acid reflux?

I know a teenager that was obese and she had acid reflux, damaging her esophagus, because she would overeat, causing stomach acids to back up.
While wolfing down a plate of BBQ chicken wings, her throat closed up. At the hospital, they discovered the scaring, determined that it was caused by the stomach acid backing up. Doctor recommended she avoid spicy, rich foods and lose 150 pounds. Once the family was sure it wasn't a food allergy, she returned to her standard gluttony.

I gained about 40lbs in 2 months. Not just because of inactivity but because of the steroidal antibiotics. It's a common side effect.
However, I was training for sprint Triathlons prior to illness so swimming roughly 3 miles, biking 20 mi, & running anywhere from 8-10 mi in a week. So, decrease in activity would have played a role but I don't think so quickly especially because being ill, I didn't eat a whole lot.

A lot of factors contributed, I believe. The acid reflux actually started while I was ill & continued to worsen.
I still haven't lost all that weight (but don't exercise like that anymore either) and I don't have the same reflux issues. So, I don't know how much weight plays a role. I think for some, it does. It's also a hereditary thing in my family.
My grandmother, mom, & sister all suffer from reflux (but to a much lesser degree) and they are all less than 140lbs & very active. I am not going to discount that I may have always been susceptible to reflux and the factors just contributed to triggering it.

I second those ideas. I find it also helps to eat a little lettuce before bedtime. I think it helps use up some of the acid without producing more like other foods.

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T.C.Hale has some very good advice on this topic in his book. He's all about getting your digestive system in peak condition (including having enough acid in your stomach and a properly functioning gall bladder to add bile to the mix). Here's a link to the web site if anyone is interested.

http://kickitinthenuts.com/

I just went through a bout. I had a cough through most of January that wouldn't go away, and first the Nurse Practicioner and the MD said to take antacids and cough pills. Then I found out that people have poor digestion and keep taking antacids for years. And while my cough got better, my singing voice didn't return. I need my singing voice if my (snicker) musical career is to progress, so I started looking deeper.

It turns out that as we age, our ability to produce acid decreases. So we don't digest as well. It's like Trailrider just said: Get your gut in order. Loose weight. Take probiotics. Increase your acid intake rather than decreasing it.

I went on a diet of fermented dill pickles and filberts for a few days and my voice came back. Since then I've been mostly back to a regular diet, with an occasional pickle or swig of ACV, and I go easy on heavy grease or starch, which are the harder things to digest. In the process, I've lost a couple pounds.

In short though, antacids are exactly the wrong answer.

huisjen, Exactly! Antacids are promoting the problem. You are correct.

I agree that chronic heartburn/reflux is NOT something to mess with or ignore. My mother had a lengthy history of heartburn. Due to a different problem, atrial fibrillation, she was on digoxin and became dig toxic, leading to a bradycardic spell for which she was hospitalized and subsequently required a pacemaker.

While she was in the hospital recovering, she developed an ileus, where the gut peristalsis slows down and stops for a period of time. She recovered, was discharged, and was scheduled for an outpatient upper GI a couple of weeks after discharge.

The gastroenterologist found Barrett's esophagus on the UGI, ordered dietary changes as well as a proton pump inhibitor to decrease the acid production, and ordered a follow-up UGI one year later. On that scan, he found an esophageal tumor. She had surgery, but was dead within a few months of diagnosis. I wish we had followed-up the original UGI in 6 months or sooner rather than one year.

Get on top of this problem. DO NOT ignore it.

I don't think you understand GERDS? It is a physical problem with the GI tract that is irreversible. That can be helped with strict diet but never fixed with that alone.

I have no choice but to take the pills. Either that or stop eating

Some problems are genetic/hereditary. My dad had it. My sister has it.

But through diet and pills (zegrid) I can at least limit the times a month it wakes me up in agony or feeling like the back of my throat is filled with acid.

So no antacids are not promoting my problem they are helping to try and solve it.

It can be many different causes, many different problems. Everyone is different. If you have no other health issues, get your digestion right first.

If your reflux is occasional I would just deal with it. Losing weight and changing your diet can make a big difference for a lot of people. Food allergies can aggravate reflux. I'd always thought of mint as being a tummy soother but it can actually make reflux worse. Chocolate and heavily spiced foods can also make it worse. You can find GERD diets online.

On the other hand, if you have persistent reflux, I believe you should take preventative medications. Persistent reflux isn't always terribly symptomatic. Reflux can be more than a matter of discomfort. It can cause scarring that can eventually require surgical repair. Reflux can also cause cancer. It's not a little deal.

I tried Prilosec which didn't do a thing. Previcid did some but didn't do much better than the Prilosec. My PCP switched me to Protonix once daily. It helped more than the others but didn't exactly fix the problem. My PCP sent me to a GI who found scarring that required dilation of my esophagus. My GI increased my medication from once daily to twice daily.

I remember one bout of heartburn in my late 20s but didn't have any symptoms until the last couple years. Apparently, I'd had asymptomatic GERD for quite a while. My opinion is that it's a good idea to start by making diet changes, losing weight, stop eating four to six hours before bedtime, and sleeping in an elevated position. If these things don't work I'd see the doctor before taking OTC PPI by your own. They're not medications people should take lightly, especially long term.

Hope you feel better soon.

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I'm another one with the bed tilted whose also tried ACV. Better but no cigar. After 20 yrs of people suggesting I try aloe vera juice, I started a month ago and it's helping. Another possibility for those still looking.

Upon what scientific research do you base this statement?

I am really sorry to learn of your cancer and hope it can be kept under control. You make a very good point about being tested and being treated for GERD. Not everybody who has severe GERD has severe symptoms. Nobody should take GERD lightly.

What do you mean by that? Upon what do you base this statement?

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Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD

I don't know that I had reflux, but I had nearly constant heart burn and was going through a lot of Tums, then the DR. had me take Prilosec.

One day I saw a PBS show about a Dr. that was treating stomach problems with antibiotics rather than the time tested treatments with excellent results. Coincidentally, I had been reading the same day about the anti-biotic qualities of honey.

I started keeping a jar of honey with me- in my lunch box or the car depending on what I was doing. Every time I felt the heartburn, I had a spoonful of honey. After 2 to 3weeks, t he heartburn was gone.

YRMV

I also had acid reflux,slept in a chair woke up choking on it nightly. destroyed my teeth,some days i would be to sick to go to work from the nights poisoning. .Mine was partly eating habits(no lunch big meal late after work) and weight gain.I started drinking chaga and walking.50lbs and one year later just about never have any heartburn.If i get to busy and forget my chaga its back in a couple of days.Take a min and look up chaga you will be amazed!Im very lucky to live where it grows and i work in the woods so its easy for me to find.Ive harvested over 20lbs last week at work!You will be amazed at the health benefits,

Best advise I ever received about it was to eat a pickle when it would begin. Stops it in it's tracks. Actually the advice was simply to eat SOMETHING fermented pickles are just what is handy

I rock. I shout my lyrics. My voice rolls with gravel and power. I growl and roar.

That's me in the blue T-shirt: http://youtu.be/jsNWlaoImRM
I couldn't do that with GERD. I kept coughing. But as soon as I switched off antacids and onto pickles, I got better.

If you read my first post on the subject, you'll see that I mention reading that as we age, acid production decreases. Acid is necessary to proper digestion. Acid is not the problem. The stomach is supposed to be acidic. Reflux from back-pressure, from poor digestion, from lack of acid, is the problem.