# Relief from GERD/ acid reflux nightmare



## eerickson (Apr 1, 2004)

Hi, I'm 23 and have had stomach problems my whole life but doctors never took it seriously.It gradually worsened as I got older and got so bad that I was literally nauseous for WEEKS with no relief. I even got disability pay because I was so horribly sick. (This was just a few months ago). I ate oatmeal for about a month straight and hardly anything else! I want to share my experience and brief knowledge- hopefully it will help someone out there find relief faster.I started taking Prilosec and it helped immensely but after a month or so it got worse again and I started to have searing pain that I'd never had before. I found out that some people my age do not tolerate certain medicines well. They gave me bentyl/ (dicyclomine) and hyocyamine for pain but that gave me terrible diarrhea. I was referred to a specialist (which I would recommend) and they did an endoscopy, thought I had slow digestion and did another test where I ate radioactive eggs and they took pictures of my body digesting them for 1 1/2 hrs. And then they simply told me they couldn't help me and sent me on my not-so-merry way! I was devastated. They tried another medication- Famotidine (Pepcid 40 mg 2xs per day). This actually helped but the acid taste never went away. I severely restricted my diet... Tried several medications and seem to be doing very well with Protonix 40mg. Be careful to take on an empty stomach. Do not overstuff yourself at meals. Elevate your bed or raise pillows at night (I sleep on 2 fluffy ones). Don't lay down for 2 hrs. after eating. Avoid spicy, acidic (cranberry, citrus, tomato)and citrus foods. Avoid fatty foods, oil and grease. I found the MOST relief from avoiding ALCOHOL and CAFFEINE (even chocolate) altogether. This is difficult but extremely effective. Still have nausea from time to time but it's helped by pepto bismol and especially, strangely enough, alka-seltzer tabs in water work better than anything. I avoid tums as that can end up making things worse. I am still on the road to recovery but have had significant relief with lifestyle changes and especially -STRESS MANAGEMENT. Stress counseling helps, please try this! Hope this helps, feel free to write me for support or help!


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## lizzy (Jul 5, 2002)

thanks so much for the info, I think that is going to help, hard to give up the chocolate though, even though I know it is bad, did you ever get bad chest pains, like you were having a heart attack? I am getting them shooting all the way up my arm, so I was wondering if you ever had that? I have UC and I thought that is enough to deal with, so I have ignored the acid reflux, though I think I have let it go to far, and now am really feeling bad, I guess this whole time I thought it was the UC just making me feel bad, and now I realise it was the gerd, I started taking pevicid so I am hopeing that does the trick thanks for the pointers


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## eerickson (Apr 1, 2004)

Glad to help. Be careful neglecting any problems, though I know how you feel. (Did I mention I struggle with allergies, acid reflux, IBS and IC/bladder problems all at the same time)? I thought I had to live in misery but thankfully my husband pushes me to seek help.Acid reflux is an often ignored but nasty problem. If it goes untreated for too long you can get very sick, like I did. It can also cause erosion of the esophagus and stomach and eventually lead to growths and cancer. Make sure you see a doctor to follow up on this. Over the counter meds are rarely effective long term. Are you on a prescription?


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## eerickson (Apr 1, 2004)

Oh yes, and I did have weird chest pains and found out I had exercise/ allergy induced asthma of all things. I'd never had an "attack" per say so I was very suprised. I thought I was having mild heart attacks. I take a Singulair every night before bed. I've heard of people having pain with acid reflux though...


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## lizzy (Jul 5, 2002)

yes I called my GI doctor and got a perscription, the sharp pains are getting better, and I do not feel as sick to my stomach as I did. So the medication is helping, I do not go to see the doctor for a couple of months, but I am going to make sure we talk about this new problem, he now treats me for UC as well as pancreas problems, so we will just add this one on the list.


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## c100176 (Feb 3, 2004)

prevacid is good, although things they dont normally tell you, is that some meds raise your BP and heart rate, which can add to IBS problems. I only learned this through trial and error, and confessions from fellow GERD sufferers. I think the key is a certain regimen that your body needs..what that is, is different for everybody, but please be aware of anything you put in your body. It may help, hurt, or both.


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## kdjenn25 (Apr 13, 2004)

Are you saying that Prevacid could cause IBS symptoms? I suffer from constipation and nausea quite frequently and i take prevacid...I never thought there could be a connection???


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## Meesh (Apr 8, 2003)

Hi,Thanks for the summary of tips. I find I have reflux very badly when my intestines spasm AND I am having intense bloating that presses on my abdomen. MY GI doc also told me slow motility, but I can feel the spasms stop me up. What is a helpful way to eat? "Do not overstuff yourself at meals."--on gassy days, that is not very much. If I eat dinner on spasm days, I have severe reflux and burns. But I am concerned if I eat too little, I won't be able to sleep. Is that a problem for you? Any suggestions? Is pschotherapy the same as "stress counseling"?Meesh


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## AlmostFamous (Apr 11, 2004)

Wow- I had a suspicion that Tums made things worse, but I blamed it on other food I ate that night, but it's happened at least twice. I thought it was just me! I wonder why it did that.


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## simon2004 (Jan 23, 2004)

Why Antacids Should NOT be Taken When you eat, food enters the stomach. Pepsinogen, one of many digestive chemicals, is secreted by the peptic and mucous cells of the gastric glands in response to the expansion of the stomach walls. When pepsinogen is first secreted it has no enzymatic or digestive properties. However, as soon as it comes in contact with hydrochloric acid, the pepsinogen is formed into pepsin. Pepsin is an active Proteolytic enzyme, but is active ONLY in a highly acid medium (optimum pH 1.8 to 3.5). If stomach environment rises above pH 5.0 pepsin has very little proteolytic activity and becomes "completely inactivated" in a short time. Therefore, hydrochloric acid is as necessary as pepsin for protein digestion in the stomach. Not enough stomach acid, "Achlorhydria" is much more of an issue than too much acid. The reason people get "heartburn" is because of a compromised stomach wall, not because of too much hydrochloric acid.Do you actually know what happens when you take antacids? When you take antacids, stomach acid is decreased to a point where pepsin cannot be made. Therefore, the ability of the stomach to digest food, especially protein, is decreased or stopped. Unfortunately, this allows food to pass through the stomach undigested; therefore, the food you eat is unabsorbed. Another problem with antacids is that in order for calcium to be absorbed you need protein and pepsin in an acid environment. Decreased acid also contributes to the removal of calcium from the bloodstream. This leads to a decreased quantity of calcium in the blood, which can contribute to Osteoporosis, muscle cramping and other maladies. Since calcium can only be absorbed in an acid environment, adding calcium to anti-acids does not decrease the risk of osteoporosis.


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## mom2byz (Nov 2, 2003)

i asked my gi doc about 'low stomach acid' and he basically laughed at me. how does one determine if stomach acid is low and what can be done about it?


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## simon2004 (Jan 23, 2004)

mom2byz, I would definitely recommend you get another GI doc if he doesn't know about "hypochlorhydria" otherwise known as "low stomach acid" This often has to do with one thing: less digestive power.As we age, if we could pinpoint one thing that leads to digestive problems, what would it be? Some would say not eating enough, or eating too much of the wrong foods. Others might worry about getting enough water, or increasing incidences of indigestion. But perhaps the most common thing that goes wrong with our digestion as we age—and the root of many digestive problems—is a condition known as hypochlorhydria. This is very simply the underproduction of hydrochloric acid, or stomach acid.Hypochlorhydria is quite common and becomes more prevalent with age. It occurs in about 15 percent of the population. Among people who are worried enough about symptoms to see a doctor, 50 percent are diagnosed with it. By age 40, 40 percent of the population is affected, and by age 60, 50 percent. A person over age 40 who visits a doctor’s office has about a 90 percent probability of having hypochlorhydria.


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## simon2004 (Jan 23, 2004)

Unfortunately, one of the difficulties associated with "hypochlorhydria" is that it is often misdiagnosed as the opposite-as having too much stomach acid. This is because both conditions share the same symptoms-bloating, belching, burning, flatulence, indigestion, and gassiness-and, perhaps, because there is an easy "remedy" for too much stomach acid: antacids. However, antacids can be a large part of the problem.Antacids buffer the stomach from the HCL, which also blocks it from doing its part in the digestive process. Thus, someone who has too little HCL and who takes antacids will have even less HCL available to do its digestive job. Antacids also change the stomach's pH, which can adversely affect the "good" bacteria. Taking antacids, then, can make the problem of hypochlorhydria even worse.As mentioned, hypochlorhydria can be difficult to diagnose, and many health practitioners treat this condition as too much stomach acid. When looking for ways to support HCL, the first and simplest solution is to take something that will help you digest foods well. Doing so will ensure that you get the nutrition you need and lessen the possibility of foods rotting in your intestines, leading to the onset of dysbiosis.An easy way to aid digestion is to take digestive enzymes. These help the enzymes created naturally by the pancreas; thus, foods are digested more quickly and more completely. When choosing a digestive enzyme, choose one that contains a wide spectrum of enzymes. This is important because the macronutrients found in foods are "enzyme-specific"-a specific enzyme works on a specific macronutrient. For example, any formula you take should include lipase to digest fats, protease to digest protein, and amylase to digest carbohydrates. It would also do well to include cellulase to digest fiber, sucrase to digest white sugar, and maltase to digest malt sugar. The enzyme supplement that I take with meals works wonders for me. I have found it to be the most effective and the most economical. http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C42513.html


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## mom2byz (Nov 2, 2003)

i've heard these enzymes can be dangerous if you don't need them. is there a way to diagnose hypochlorhydria?


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