Help?? Not sure if have acid reflux

Hello Kelly, as well as the pills it is wise to make some changes to how and what you eat. It is possible reflux is your problem, where the stomach fluid is reaching higher up your oesophagus. Your doctor and other professionals would find that out for sure. But still have a look at the measures below which might give you some improvement in time. Best wishes.

Several small/medium meals per day (I have seven medium, one every two hours or so), rather than fewer bigger ones, so you don't overfill your stomach. Eat relaxed, chew well. Sit upright for and after meals, so you don't squash your stomach and press its contents upwards.

Fried foods, high-fat foods/meats, dairy, high-salt foods, spicy-hot foods, tomatoes, onions, carbonated drinks, caffeine, alcohol and chocolate can all impact on stomach and reflux troubles for some people, so personal experimentation is key. Minty foods relax the lower oesophageal muscle, as do some of the above foods and drinks, which can let acid up easier, so they are bad. I use a fruity toothpaste, and strawberry gaviscon tablets for the now only occasional acid burn.

Wholewheat bread, cereals, bananas, eggs are a few of the foods that suit me, but there are pulses, rice, various beans (not kidney beans apparently) and many other things to try. Chicken is one of the best meats due to its lower fat content. Trial and error will reveal which foods make your problem worse.

Stress, excercise and bending activity that pressure and squeeze the stomach are also to be avoided. Be as calm and stress-free as you can.

Having your last meal a few hours before bed can prevent or lessen reflux at night, but I found waiting to be too empty caused hunger discomfort, assorted spasms and kept me awake. I lie down about an hour and a half to two hours after last meal,.raised a bit on three pillows, on my right side, though the left side is usually recommended and there were test results to support this. Other people raise the bed-head itself about 6 to 8 inches or use a wedge affair..

Another thing that helps me is to not burp after ten minutes after eating, as this can bring acid up and cause heartburn. I get the swallowed air out gently just after the meal, sittiing a little forward, then don't burp till after the next meal.

Water triggering heartburn is common. It can happen even with non-ill people. I learned that the best way to get my daily requirement is to drink around 140 ml or so with most meals, and a bit more with others, which, in my case, is added to by some sips of a nutrition drink. So generally I don't have to drink between meals, a thing which would slow my digestion a bit anyway and interfere with my set meal times. Each person has to find their best routine.

In tests there was an indication that some people with reflux suffer heartburn through drinking water in several gulps because their lower oesophageal muscle doesn't open and close correctly when doing this with fluid, and so acid can escape upwards. But just adding water to your stomach between meals, when there is still food and fluids in there, will increase its volume and raise it nearer to the top where the muscle is, the pressure of which, if too much water is drunk, can then cause the muscle to open and let stomach fluid up. Cold water can also cause spasms, so sips of usual water is best.

Some say to drink water only between meals at points when the stomach is empty, but that wouldn't be easy in my case, where I need to eat every couple of hours or will lose more weight. I can't have between-meal water slowing things down. So I find that a little drink of water with each bite of food that gets well chewed, then a few more af the end of the meal does the trick. This also makes swallowed food softer on the tissues.

I also have water with two cereal meals, which may sound utterly bland but is fine to me, as I avoid dairy milk and have yet to try my cereals with the likes of oat, rice, almond or soya milk. But they are good milk substitutes for people who don't/can't have dairy, unless a person has issues with them. But we are all different, so, again, personal trial and error is the way.

 

Hi Kelly, I too am on 40mg of Nexium, after 10 years taking Omeprazole I felt my body had gotten too used to them. I find the Nexium good but also have ranitadine and gaviscon for back up when I over do it with food which is all to easy to do, probably the wrong thing to do for the nausea bit I take a Stugeron travel pill which for me works. I too after an endoscopy have been told I have a hiatus hernia, I am currently awaiting an appointment for FUNDIPLICATION, I'm only 45 and have suffered with this all my life and don't want to spend any more time taking medication and watching what I eat.. Good luck, M

I totally relate to what you are feeling Kelly.  We must both try to be positive because otherwise I think it makes our condition worse when we stress about it.  I feel too that this has taken over my life. It's difficult to be positive when you are having symptoms.  I send us both positive healing thoughts and we WILL get better. XX