Feeling hopeless about acid reflux. What next?

I had heartburn for a while, and the medication did not seem to do anything.

Then I started following an alkaline diet, and all of a sudden I got better very quickly.

I followed the advice from the book of Jamie Koufman "dropping acid: the reflux diet cookbook and cure".

Basically I eat only food with Ph level above 5: melon, watermelon, banana, rice, potatoes, most vegetables except tomatoes and bell peppers, ..., I avoid anything with fat (no beef, just chicken, lean fish or tofu; no nuts, no oil, no butter, no cream), and I avoid all foods that are known triggers: no spices beside salt, no coffee, no chocolate.

In between meals I drink alkaline water Ph 8.8.

I had a lot of heartburn about a year or so ago and was prescribed Omeprazole and also had an endoscopy which found that the muscle at the top of the stomach was open a little way which was causing acid to come through and cause heartburn but this would have been found when you had your endoscopy if you had the same. As I was given the all clear I decided to try ways of avoiding heartburn and one of the things I did was to cut out cows milk, except a small amount in tea, and drinking either almond milk or soya. The bloating and heartburn I had disappeared in a very short time and I only occasionally have heartburn. I believe that when I eat tomatoes or bacon it can cause it but there may be a few other things that aggravate it.

My friend's husband had continuous heartburn and had been taking Gaviscon for months. I read an article about tight belts causing heartburn and when he changed to using braces instead of a belt the heartburn went. Could it be to do with any tight underwear and, if it is, perhaps you could try wearing looser clothes for a couple of weeks to see if the heartburn goes?

Hi, I do the following with good results. Avoid tight clothing around waist. Wearing braces had a dramatic effect. Eat small meals. Don't use ant-acids. They made my problem worse. Stomach acid is required to allow stomach to empty. Take a good quality multi digestive enzyme that has betaine hcl. I take one with a small meal and two with a larger meal. You may have a problem with low stomach acid. I normally only need to use digestive enzymes for about three weeks and it appears to stimulate my bodies own production. When I get a slight burning sensation in my tummy I stop or ease up on the enzymes. Keep a diary of what you eat. Foods in the nightshade family can cause inflammation in the digestive tract. (Nightshade foods include potatoe's, tomato, peppers and more). Check out pepsin during reflux and how alkaline drinks can help. I do all the above and live a normal life. As a temporary measure if I get a sudden attack of gas then I find that Zantac can calm it. Hope you find this usefull.

I've lost a lot of weight recently so nothing is currently tight around my waist lol I've cut out all of the foods that supposedly cause heartburn as well. Betaine HCL is actually on my 'to try' list so I'll probably be ordering some on pay day. Will do some research on pepsin also.

Thanks for your replies and advice everyone.

I have had bad acid reflux since oct and only recently am getting better. none of the medication helped including proton pump inhibitors, antacids etc. the only thing that has helped is following an alkaline diet. i have done similar things as ines6375. as it is difficult to eat so much vegetables, i have them as soups especially boiling some pumpkin or winter squash with carrots (more pumpkin than carrots) and blending it. i drink a plate of soup every few hours.

ines6375 what brand of bottled/mineral water do u use that has a ph of 8.8. i am trying to find something as alkaline as that

thanks

Will be researching alkaline diets today

Vvvv I used a Ph 8.8 bottled water because this is what the Dr Koufman used for her research on disabling pepsin in the esophagus and throat.

I don't know if I am allowed to put brands here but I use Evamor that I buy on amazon.

This is a natural water.

I stay away from waters with a higher Ph level as all the ones I saw have bicarbonate added.

I stay away with waters with a lower Ph (except with my meal when I eat normal tap water) as there is no scientific research about it.

Violet, before I was following loose guidelines about avoiding trigger food etc, but I was not getting better.

I got better when I started being very strict about the diet.

If you buy the book by Dr Koufman on amazon, you will see that she advice to do two weeks very strict, she calls it the inductive diet.

Milk is allowed but I read that the Calcium in it might provoke the production of more stomach acid, and I feel so so with it. It might be worth it to avoid it for a few days to test if it causes problems (and many people have problems with lactose anyway) then try it again.

thanks ines6375, i dont know if i can get that brand of water here. any other suggestions for a quick way to alkalize oneself. i am going for a trip to japan and am afraid i wont be able to find enough suitable foods to alkalize myself easily. i test my urine often with a ph strip and try to keep it above 7 to 7.5. this lets me know if i am eating correctly.

i too was a bit relaxed about the diet initially and only stayed away from foods that were known to trigger acid reflux. that did not work until i ate mostly vegs with very small amounts of fish and chicken for lunch with vegs and mostly vegetarian for dinner. too much bread or grains can also be acidic. i have my animal protein only at lunch. this helps me to sleep better at night.

ines6375 Right at the moment, I'm on a very low income and trying all these remedies is costing my money I don't really have. So laying out for a book and loads of new foods isn't something I can afford. I've already lost a lot of weight when I didn't intend to and I always feel tired.

vvvv That sounds like a very restricted diet. How do you get your energy? I struggle with that as it is.