1. Community
  2. Gut, bowel and stomach
  3. Reflux Oesophagitis

can anyone give me tips on how to treat my Acid Reflux

Posted , 13 users are following.

davidlamb
davidlamb

I was recentley diagnosed with a Lax Cardia via Endoscopy but i dont really know how to treat it. Im taking Lansoprazole but its not doing much to be honest. Does anyone have any suggestions on what foods i could eat or excercises i could do to help manage my Acid Reflux? 

1 like, 39 replies

39 Replies

Next
  • kevinb1
    kevinb1 davidlamb

    Posted

    hi what is Lax Cardia, i have never heard of that problem?
  • W2lich
    W2lich davidlamb

    Posted

    Hi, hope you are well. 

    I did suffer from Acid Reflux and I've been doing test once a year (gastroscopy) I have fully healed my stomach by using pills PANTOPRAZOLE - 20mg 2 a day morning and before bed. After last test - I've been told that my stomach is fully healed from reflux - I suffered for over 7 years.

    • davidlamb
      davidlamb W2lich

      Posted

      wow thats great news! how long did you take the medication for?
  • wknight
    wknight davidlamb

    Posted

    Hasn't your dr told you what to do and how to take the PPI. What dose did they recommend. They work best if you take them 30 mins before taking food so I take mine before breakfast. Dosage is important as I find a low dose doesn't work for me.

    If you google foods and acid reflux you will gets lots of advice. It does vary by people so you will eventually learn what foods make it worse but first you need to get the PPI starting to heal your insides.

    You say the PPI is not working, how long have you been taking it. When I started it was about 4wks before I noticed it starting to work.

  • moonbuggy
    moonbuggy davidlamb

    Posted

    Diet is very impoetant with reflux. A total pain having to give up all the nice things LOL. A bland diet with is alkaline. Fruits/veg/white meat/fish. No coffee/milk/alcohol/spicy/fatty food (sigh). This really helps. Moderate exercise is good but be careful with weights or anything that strains your stomach muscles.

    Don't eat late at night. I have found that really high dose probiotics help (30 billion/tablet). I know I have mentioned this before elsewhere - but my favourite logic with this is looking at it like a blocked sink.

    The digestive system needs sorting or acid will keep backing up.

    There are many different causes - food intolerance, low stomach acid, overdose of bad bacteria/candida, anxiety.

    I would try one thing at a time and keep a diary. I found I felt better after cutting out milk and coffee. We all have different triggers and it takes time to work it out. Unfortunately GP's always seem to want to give us all PPI's which really is like sticking plasters and not getting to the bottom of what is causing it.

    • hevski77
      hevski77 moonbuggy

      Posted

      Are probiotic yogurts still okay? I love them, plus could never give up chocolate..
    • moonbuggy
      moonbuggy hevski77

      Posted

      I still have yogurt. Chocolate is really bad for reflux (I love it too). Try and cut down gradually. Reflux is horrible but diet is really important in keeping it under control. I just cut down on one thing at a time until I could eliminate it completely.I never thought I could give up coffee and milk but I managed it.
  • mark43974
    mark43974 davidlamb

    Posted

    Hi

    Please find below a post that I have left on a number of related forums but for which I have had very little reponse, which is a shame because it really works!

     

    I keep posting it because I understand only to well the misery that acid reflux causes, hope it might inspire someone to give it a try

    I have suffered from acid reflux/GORD for most of my adult life. I had been on Omeprazole for about 15 years during which time the reflux morphed into acid regurgitation ... awake most of the night belching back acid and undigested food 12 hours after I had eaten it!

     As a result of my research I read and bought into the idea that the problem with reflux is not that you produce too much acid but that you dont produce enough and this puts pressure on the valve at the bottom of the oesphagus. The arguement was that the medical profession just treat the symptoms not the cause (which if you believe this theory it actually makes taking PPI's worse!). 

    Since this time I have been taking HCL (Hydrchloric Acid) with Pepsin tablets (a natural supplement) with each meal (except breakfast) along with Digestive Enzymes. I HAVENT HAD A SINGLE BOUT OF REFLUX OR REGURGITATION SINCE DOING THIS and I put this down to the fact that food is now being properly digested by the HCL

    I still have some discomfort because I believe that my oesophagus has become damaged over the years but it is manageable and nothing like what I was experiencing 

    • frederick_22022
      frederick_22022 mark43974

      Posted

      Hi,

      Thanks for sharing.

      I totally agree with you. I did the same and I'm cured of my acid reflux.

      I too have written something similar in other forums, but it seems people are prone to giving doctors more trust than believing in what we say.

      Acid reflux is due to over eating or sleeping on a full stomach; and indigestion is always due to insufficient stomach acid. This I experienced myself. Patients should always monitor their lifestyle before going to a doctor.

      As I have said in my previous forums, taking PPIs should only be the last resort, and when there's presence of stomach ulcers. PPIs inhibit the secretion of stomach acid, which is why people have indigestion after a heavy or normal meal.

      H Pylori bacteria grow in alkaline stomach condition.

      So we should be weary of our diet. Taking medication is not a good solution.

    • mark43974
      mark43974 frederick_22022

      Posted

      Hi Frederick

      Thanks for your affirmation!

      I hope that more people can have the courage to take the plunge and focus on the cause and not the symptoms ... people should be aware that there is a multi million pound/dollar vested interest pharma industry behind the treatment of GORD, which in the US is reaching epidemic proportions ... is this really because so many people are suddenly producing too much acid!?

       

    • vergil91786
      vergil91786 frederick_22022

      Posted

      Hi Frederick,

      I have stomach and duodenal ulcers (no h pylori) and moderate Oesophagitis (according to the endoscopy) but I never get heartburn I assume its LPR. I have been placed on Protonix 40mg once a day for 3 months for my ulcers to heal and I have no barely any symptoms. I take the PPI knowing I need them for my Ulcers to heal but I cant wait to get off them knowing the long term side effects they have. How do I wane off them coming toward the end of the third month in your experience? According to my doc my stomach pH is 3.5 which should be around 4.5. I have been drinking cabbage juice for the past 3-4 days and it seems to be doing good. 

    • vergil91786
      vergil91786 mark43974

      Posted

      Hi Mark, 

      If you can read my above statement and give me some advice I would appreicate it!

      Thanks!

    • wknight
      wknight vergil91786

      Posted

      One of the problems with the internet is the scare posts that are prevelant. I have been taking PPI's for almost 10 years and they been a wonder drug for me. No side effects so I certainly wouldn't worry about being on them for only 3 months.

      Its a wonder anyone drives a car, they are so dangerous, people are killed using them every day. I think some perspective about the potential risk of taking any drug is neded here.

    • mark43974
      mark43974 wknight

      Posted

      Nobody minds taking a risk with side effects and the long term consequences of taking a drug if it works and addresses the cause not the symptoms.

      You only need to read the many posts on this and other related forums to discover that for most people who have been taking PPI's for a while, they just dont work. The medical profession's response is to prescribe ever more powerful doses which in time also lose their effectiveness (surely by any ones reckoning this cant be good)

      There must be reason why these meds lose their efficacy and the obvious conclusion is that they are not treating the cause (if you believe as I do that the problem is one of low acid, they are probably making it worse)

      I cannot speak for others but the PPI's were definately not working for me after 15 years. In fact the reflux had progressed into the most hideous regurgitation of acid flavoured undigested food hours after eating a big meal. Acid digests food and I clearly wasnt producing enough of it to digeast the food properly.

      As soon as I started taking HCL supplements the change was just about as dramatic as you can imagine, no reflux, no undigested regurgitated food hours after eating.

      I'm sure that everybody is different but you dont need to look far to get a sense that these PPI's just dont work for most people with reflux especially over the course of time

    • mark43974
      mark43974 vergil91786

      Posted

      Hi Vergil

      I'm afraid i'm no medical expert where stomach complications such as ulcers are concerned, I can only relay my own experience with regard to Acid reflux/GORD being virtually eliminated simply by taking HCL supplements.

      There is no reason why you shouldnt try the same if you have bad reflux but I would caution you to run it by your doctor first because of the other conditions that you mention

      Good luck!

      Mark

    • sirivinay1786
      sirivinay1786 mark43974

      Posted

      Hi vergil!

      just wanted to add in..I took HCL tablets and my stomach burned, probably due to gastritis. Although it's good to experiment with it (I also believe in the low acid theory), please be sure to heal your ulcer completely before trying HCL.

    • moonbuggy
      moonbuggy sirivinay1786

      Posted

      Hi Sirivinay/Mark

      There is a simple test you can do at home (not sure how accurate it is but it won't hurt to try). You add a small amount of sodium bicarb to water. Drink it and see how long it takes before you burp. If you burp straight away - the acid is ok, if it takes longer then you have low acid. Makes sense - just google it for exact instructions

    • vergil91786
      vergil91786 moonbuggy

      Posted

      Thanks guys! Yeah im not doing any "experiments" until my ulcers heal. The doctor was giving me info after my endoscopy about my stomach ph and how much acid I have (either too little or too much) but I was still high off the anesthesia so I don't remember. I will call him back to ask again. 
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.