How I cured my acid reflux, naturally.

There could be a number of causes for bloating.  One is bad bacteria ratio to good bacteria.  The easiest way to combat the bad bacteria is to kill off all the gut bacteria and start over.  The way I have done this is using pepto bismol.  The tablets are most effective but the liquid also works fine.  Take 3 doses, 2 tablespoons,  about 2 hours apart.  Then eat 1/2 to 1 cup of probiotic organic plain yogurt every four hours the first day.  Then you can just have 1/2 to 1 cup first thing every morning.  And 1 tablespoon every four hours.  Some people have to do this forever because gut bacteria is programmed at birth and is difficult to permanently change.  There is some evidence that bad bacteria in the gut in babies could be a cause of some forms of autism.  Our digestive systems are very complex and we usually don't think of it until it goes bad.  Also, start my carbonated water treatment mentioned above.  A weak esophageal sphincter allows any gas buildup to push acid above the sphincter.  Sleeping on the left side is best because of the shape of the stomach it allows one to burp out air rather than liquid in the stomach.  Let me know how this works for you.  John

Hi Johnnie:

I'm so glad you have had relief from your digestive disorder.  Thank you for trying my carbonated water treatment.  As you found out, blocking stomach acid with drugs is just a bandaid approach with no true relief.  We need that stomach acid to have any level of health.  Keep up the good work, keep doing the carbonated water treatment, hopefully your HH will heal in time.  I found out that some of my problems were caused by a abdominal hernia, but using the carbonated water, yogurt, vitamins and mineral, my hernia seems to have healed without surgery.  So hang in there.  John

Hi Keisha:

Sorry to hear about you suffering with these digestive issues.  But, you can overcome them and get well, so hang in there.  When I was at my sickest point I decided to just work on one issue at a time, I had at least 5 issues.  The acid reflux was one of the worst so after doing a lot of research on how the esophageal sphincter worked, I came up with my carbonated water treatment.  I noticed an improvement in the first week.  That muscle gets weak for some reason but it responds quickly to being retrained.  Acid reflux can make life miserable.  There are many causes, but prescription medication side effects are a common cause.  They can cause gastritis, over active acid production, bloating and nausea.  Acid reflux can cause a sore throat, dental decay, nasal and ear infections, and can even be inhaled while sleeping and cause breathing to stop.  So this is a serious condition.  Likely, you have serious acid damage to your esophagus.  Like any burned tissue, it swells with fluids and becomes tender and prevents it from functioning properly.

I would recommend that you start my carbonated water treatment right away.  You can buy flavored and sweetened brands that may be easier for you to deal with.  Start with a small amount, 2oz.  The idea is to build up pressure in the stomach and to consciously hold down the burp.  Start with 5 minute sessions and work up slowly over 30 days to 20 minute sessions and 8oz of carbonated water.  You must focus when doing this. So don't try to do other things during the treatment.  I recommend you buy some low acid organic olive oil.  This will help reduce stomach burning and help heal the tissue.  It also helps the sphincter to make a seal.  Also, natural vitamin E helps to heal, so I would recommend 4, 200 unit gel caps per day for 10 days, then 1 per day.  Break the capsule with your teeth and swallow slowly letting it coat all the way down.

Also, buy a large supple of organic probiotic yogurt.  Eat 1/2 cup 4 times a day.  The good bacteria helps reduce gas buildup in the intestines.

Keep me posted as to your results.  I care and want you to feel better.  Regards, John

Hi Joseph:  That is a very alarming episode.  I don't see how it could be related to the carbonated water treatment.  But, regardless, it would be good to go very slow and work up to only 10 minutes sessions.  I would suggest a full medical workup as you could have an underlying medical condition.  It sounds like a blood circulation problem.  Perhaps even a digestive perforation.  Most of us here have multiple issues that finally culminate into life changing conditions.  When I had 3 issues I was able to work full time, but when I got up to 5 issues, it knocked me down and I could no longer go to work.  Fortunately, I was able to retire. 

Carbonated drinks have been around for over 100 years, and carbonated water can occur naturally.  There are many home remedies for nausea that involve drinking 7up or diet coke to 'settle' the stomach.  Also, in our area, there are what we call monster size sodas available in convenience stores.  In the summer it is common to see young people gulping down large amounts of soda pop without any issues.  There is another way to strengthen the esophageal sphincter but it involves drinking 12 oz of regular water and then slowly turning upside down to put pressure on the sphincter.  But, I found it more uncomfortable.  You may want to try that out.  It may be more tolerable for you.  Technically, we should be able to be upside down and drink water through a straw.  Astronauts have to be able to keep liquids down without the assistance of gravity.  It is part of their training.  Keep me posted as to your progress.  John

Thanks John, I'll be sure to update you with my progress in regard to GERD. I also have esophagitis and gastritis so I'm hoping to fix those alongside it, or at least after I knock out the biggest problem.

I know this thread isn't about this issue, but since you seem to know at least a little on the topic, what do you suggest I do to look into the weird episode I had? I visited a neurologist and everything came back fine (they even did a brain MRI and EEG to check for any issues there). I was thinking of getting blood work done just to check up in general and see if anything is wrong, but I'm not sure if that's what you mean by a "full medical workup" or if you mean more than that.

Thanks again, I really appreciate talking to someone about this.

Hi John,

I've been diagnosed with GERD two years ago, although I rarely have the heartburn - most of my symptoms are bloating, feeling full even after a small meal, and stomach pain. I've been diagnosed by two different doctors and tests, I've been prescribed PPI. I went to a nutricionist and he put me on an easily diagestible diet. Your mineral water treatment seems interesting, but I have many questions about it:

1. I've been told that GERD is treatable, but not curable. How can you be sure you are cured completely?

2. Do you eat everything? Coffe, alcohol, raw and stodgy food? I want to get better, but the doctors say I'll be OK as long as I'll stay away from regular food, coffee, beer, etc and I really don't want to do this. Of course I'm not talking about drinking myself to death every night and eating nothing but garbage, but I'm only 25 and i don't want to be on a strict diet till the end of my life.

3. GERD is cause by the damage in the LES, often cause by too much pressure. Doctors tell you to avoid soda and things that can build up pressure, and you are suggesting the exact opposite. On one hand, your method seem reasonable, on the other it seems like it's the best way to cause more damage to your LES. How can you be sure it's safe?

4. I've read the discussion and it looks like you have a very little feedback from people whom it helped, and there are some people who say it just caused pain and didn't help at all.

5. Once again, are you sure this is the thing that helped with your GERD? You enumarate lots of other things you do: taking vitamins, olive oil, marshmallow tea, maybe they are the things that helped you and that water treatment had no effect at all?

6. Has anybody who tried it consulted it with a doctor? Have you checked yourself and the doctors told you you are healthy and free of GERD?

7. You tell people to eat a lot of raw vegetables and that's another thing that doctors tell you not to do since raw vegetables are hard to diagest and irrate the stomach - most doctors say you should boil them first.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want criticize you. I would like to try your method. GERD had a big impact on my life and since I'm still young, I would really like to be able to enjoy life, go at the party, or travel to a different country for vacation and eat local food without the fear of heartburn or pain. But I don't want to get worse and damage my esophagus even more, so I would like to learn more if its safe. Once again, I hope you won't get mad ad me for my doubts and I really want to get better, because I've been living in a constant pain and fear for the last two years of my life. I don't want to go on a strict diet for the next 50 years, I want to enjoy my meals and my life. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Also, when you feel the need to burp isn't the gas already in your esophagus?

Hi Tom,

I thought I could give u my opinion (even though you directed the question to John) since your symptoms are quite similar to mine - hope you and  John do not mind.

I believe the carbonated water treatment is a separate issue to your bloating and stomach issue. Strengthening the valve will only prevent acid from entering the oesophagus.

Several years ago I started to suffer from similar stomach issues to yourself , bloating , burping after drinking water , loss of appetite , and feeling full after eating a small portion of food. I now believe for me it was due to a poor diet , I ate everything I wanted , frequently overeating and eating fatty sugary foods.

I changed my diet , and stopped the stomach issues by:

1. Reducing portion sizes , increasing no of meals 

2. Reducing sugar, bread and processed foods

3. Eating yoghurt 

The stomach pain ( I’m guessing it’s lower abdominal pain ?) could be caused by gas build up in the lower intestine due to bad bacteria which feed off sugar . By eating better and taking in good bacteria , the gas issue and pain could be resolved. It worked for me , I used to suffer from abdominal pain for years.

You mentioned that you don’t want to stick to a rigid diet for the rest of your life. I don’t believe you would need to - if you firstly resolve the issues by changing your diet, you can experiment by introducing foods back in to see the effect. For me , I still eat the occasional dessert and fatty food , but I know my limits because I can feel the bloating and acidity coming back when I overeat and eat poorly over many days. So you need to find the right balance.

Best of luck Johnnie

Thank you for your reply, Johnnie.

It's funny, but before my problems started, my diet was quite healthy - a lot of raw vegetables, chicken, rice, etc, I ate  things like pizza or drunk beer only occassionaly, once a week or even less often (and I used to eat fat and unhealthy things once in a month tops, unless there was an occasion - you know, if you are on your vacation you can go for a barbecue or a party  more often then during the rest of the year, so those were occasions, on which I used to eat unheathly for a couple of days in a row. It's similar when you go to a different country and try to eat local food for a week straight - but now it sounds like a suicide to me). I want to be able to decide how often and what I eat, not to mention that the doctor's told me I shouldn't eat raw vegetables, salads, raw fruit, lemons, oranges etc, which are in general healthy, but can iritate the stomach.

I am not sure if my symptopms are typical for GERD, which happens when your esophagus is damaged, but my doctors claimed that I suffer from this condition and the acid goes back to my esophagus (although as I said, I don't feel the burning very often, and most of the time when I do, it's bearable. I only had one episode which lasted a couple of weeks, when it was killing me and it sometimes comes after a really big and unhealhty meal, which I'm trying to avoid right now. Usually when I can feel the burn, it's not that bad - maybe because the PPI affected the acid, so it doesn't burn so much).

Right now I'm on a quite rigid diet - no alcohol, week coffe, almost no suge, no wholegrain food, no raw vegetables, no citrus fruit - I mostly eat things based on milk, banas, oats, cereals, and for dinner I have some meat with rice or pasta and boiled vegetables. I've been on this diet for two weeks, but with little effect for now.

Anyway, I thought that after sticking for several weeks to a rigid diet allowing my stomach to heal, I could try to strengthen my LES, since doctos and all publications claim that this is the root problem of GERD and acid reflux. But I don't know if it's safe and if it would give me a bigger liberty with my diet. Some doctors told me that GERD is treatable, but not curable and my nutricionist told me, that I can regenerate from it, but if I would go to a "regular person's diet", it will probably come back - I hope that the treatment with mineral water would reduce this risk, but as I mentioned, I'm afraid that building more pressure could cause more damage to LES.

Thanks, Tom

Hi Tom:

First of all, no person has a deficiency of PPI drugs.  These drugs have likely done more harm than good to many people.  Read the side effects; bone loss; heart and muscle damage, hair loss, worse acid production,dementia, etc. It is a bit funny that you said that doctors say that raw vegetables are hard to digest.  It's funny because we were designed to eat raw vegetables and fruit.  In fact, raw fruit and vegetables are the only means to get natural vitamins and minerals.  You won't find any significant nutrition in your doctor recommended diet.  Perhaps they are ignorant or perhaps they just want to keep us on a tight leash.  Doctors make their money on surgery and prescribing drugs not on just telling you how to help yourself.

Yes, I do recommend a healthy diet, how else could a person heal.  I want people to get over their PPi drug dependence, their reflux, their bloating, their constipation and diarrhea.  All without drugs or surgery.

Yes, I can now eat a normal diet.  In fact I was able to do major repairs to two homes over the past year.  I was even able to often stop at a fast food outfit and get a hamburger fries and diet coke.  No problems at all.  Yes I cheat on occasion.  I also like to have a bowl of ice cream 4 or 5 times a week.  I put milk in my coffee, yes real coffee.  I sleep flat on my bed for 8 or more hours a night.  I also eat some chocolate if I want to.  But, I make sure I have a huge salad every day.  I add 2 chopped apples, tomatoes, onions, carrots, salad, all organic, 8 tablespoons of olive oil and 5 table spoons of Balsamic vinegar. 

Every morning I have a tall glass of warmed water, then a tall yogurt smoothie (more fruit and vegetables), then my coffee.  I also occasionally take a probiotic capsule or chewable tablet. 

You must have a good bacterial supply in the intestines to properly digest fruit, vegetables and fiber.  Otherwise, they will produce gas and bloat you up like a balloon.  Knowledge is power.  I have studies all the organs involved in digestion.  Digestion is so complex that we will never fully understand how it all works. All we can do is try to support it with nutrition.  For a number of years I was unable to take any vitamins or minerals.  My stomach was too sore and I was constantly nauseated.  Now that is just a bad memory.  If I did not cure myself I would have ended up in the emergency room and having surgery to remove miscellaneous organs and other parts.  Yes, I have been in the hospital before, by ambulance from my workplace.  But, that was 2011 and now I'm better and sharing what I used to improve my health.  

Actually, the esophageal sphincter is not a true valve like a heart valve.  It is a series of strong muscles at the base of the esophagus, just above the stomach.  The job of the sphincter is to remain tightly closed all of the time, 24/7, unless food or drink is passing by, or gas is passing upward.  It is both involuntary and voluntary.  This is why some people can gulp air and then burp.  What I am trying to do is get the involuntary part to work better and stronger. The carbonated water treatment is just a method to exercise this muscle, just like strengthening your arms or heart by doing exercise.  Air pressure alone does not damage the sphincter, it is stomach acid that causes the damage.  This string is now about 5 pages long, you will find testimony from people who found benefit from this treatment.  But, there are many issues that people may have like ulcers, hiatal hernias, H pylori, perforations, cancer, Barret's esophagus, parasites and more.  My treatment won't help all of these issues.  You will know in a week or so if this will benefit you or if you may have some other issue.

I hope this sounds logical.  John 

One more thing that help is to elevate your bed 8 to 12 inches.  As high as you can without sliding down.  Don't use a wedge or pile up pillows, they just cause back soreness and you just end up falling off the pillows.  Use gravity to help you heal and keep the acid down.  And try to sleep on your left side as much as possible.  The shape of the stomach is like a teapot, sleeping on the left side keeps the spout upward. I bet you doctor did not tell you this.  John

Thanks for replying so quickly, John.

Actually he did tell me to sleep on my left side, he said it's a "natural anti-gerd position" due to the shape of the stomach, he also gave me some brochure suggesting sleeping with the upper part of the body elevated. He also presribed me PPI, but he said I should be on them as short as possible. But he said that after healing the biggest damage I should stay on a diet to prevent GERD for coming back.

It is good to know you can eat anything you want - as I said, the thing that I'm most afraid of is being dependent on the diet - I can do it for now, but I don't want to decline every party or barbecue invitation for the next 50 years. Not to mention other things that are not unhealthy, but not allowed for the people with GERD. And yes, we are evolutionary designed to eat raw food, but if you are ill or have a condition, you can't do all the things that the evolution intented for us, right? We are evolutionary shaped to be the perfect runners, but not all people can run due to back or joints injuries. I don't think it's illogical to say that raw vegetables are harder to digest then the boiled ones, since the latter are softer and "pre-digested" by cooking. And of course, I don't want to be on a diet consisting only of fast food or alcohol, on the contrary, I used to eat a lot of vegetable salads (raw vegetables with chicken - I love it!) and fruits - raw apples, oranges lemons, bananas. But I think the problem was not what I ate, but how I ate - I never ate breakfasts and often skipped other meals, so I ate very little during the day (usually I ate one big meal a day and maybe some apples or sandwiches. I think that the lack of food combined with a lot of stress was the main cause - my problems started during the period that I consider to be the most stressful point of my life, just before my final exams at university and during other problems in my family and personal life). Of course now I eat breakfasts and other meals regularly and I will continue it after the treatment, but I would like to be able to grab a pizza or drink a couple of beers with friends on a Friday evening, go to the cinema and buy popcorn, or go with a girlfriend to an exotic food festival and try new dishes without many hours of pain afterwards.

I've read the entire string, but I could count only a few people that decided to try your method and most of them described how they felt after a week, or several months at best. The thing about your treatment that concerns me is that fact, that long term effect on the esophagus is difficult to determine, since none of the people who are posting in this thread described how they feel after several years after the treatment or what their tests result say. Doctors claim that damage to LES is irreversable and  I'm also afraid of other complications - e.g. GERD can cause narrowing of LES, making swallowing difficult - what happens if your LES will react that way to holding burps?

Once again, I hope I don't come off as impolite, and I know there are things that doctors don't even take into consideration, yet they work (I don’t believe that they want to harm their patients, I just think some of them are lousy or reluctant to try something that’s not written in their old textbook from which their learned 30 years earlier at university). But as with all alternative and clinically untested treatment, I'm just afraid of the negative or the long term effects - you've yourself said you started it a couple of years ago and it works in your case, but none of us can now what happens in the next ten.

I am willing to try it and surely I will describe the results. If it will be effective, I'll probably post regulary every few months to let everybody know if anything's changing.

Thanks again, Tom.

Hi Tom,

Your situation sounds very similar to mine - I have always had stomach issues from young and the problem escalated when I started a stressful  job with irregular meals. Frequent gastric pains worried the doctor enough to send me for a gastroscope which revealed no damage but a small hiatal hernia.

Yes I agree we are all designed differently , I learned that I had to take regular meals ,bring  small snacks with me everywhere I went  . I used to envy people who could skip meals without any issue . I have not had any  issues with gastric pain for some time as I don’t think I have skipped a meal or gone hungry in years. However although I never went hungry , my diet was quite poor and has only changed for the better in recent months. As I mentioned the bloating issue and reflux problems have only recently been resolved by a change in diet.

I believe that if a health problem has occurred over several years of neglect , then it can only be resolved over a long period of time - any quick fixes such as drugs can only hide the problem. So any change in diet will take time to see the results, maybe months.

I used PPI( reducing dosage over 2 months to prevent reflux damage to oesophagus), Johns carbonated water treatment ( thanks John!), and change in diet to finally resolve my bloating and reflux.

I still use John’s carbonated water treatment ( couple times a week) , I personally believe it has helped me since I found a noticeable increase in ability to hold my burps . I do not believe there could be long term issues since over a lifetime , a person would definitely be drinking fizzy drinks and having a build up of gas. Interestingly , I can only remember having long burps when I was a teenager; in my thirties and forties I have had only very shallow short burps ( weakened  LES valve maybe ?) - now I can burp as I used to when I was younger.

Finally , the change in my diet had very little effect for me over the first few weeks - very frustrating - try to stick with it I’m sure you will results soon. Johnnie.

Hi Johnnie,

it's funny, because fora very long time I had no problems after skipping a meal or even two. But when the stress factor came in, combined with almost no sleep and physical excercises, I think it was just too much. If I didn't have some problems at that time, I think I could go on with my lifestyle for the next couple of years, But my body just gave up, so the only thing I can do now is to try as hard as I can to fix it and never neglect myself that way again.

What you say is very comforting. I'm gonna stick to my diet and I'll try the carbonated water treatment and share the results. I hope this will works and I'll be able to enjoy my life and my food again.

Thanks for the kind words, Tom.

John, one more question: are you sure that during your excercises it is the LES what is actually involved and not the diaphiagrm? The latter is involved in breathing, singing but also in such involountary movements like a hiccup, so I don't know if there's a point in strengthening it.

The carbonated water treatment definitely targets the LES.  I was reading over your original question and it is possible that you may have damaged your stomach from skipping meals and recurring stress.  That combination can cause the stomach to lose its protective barrier.  This is not quite an ulcer but is the beginning stage.  This is also one of the issues I had, and was the last to go away.  Also, while I sleep, my dreams can cause my stomach to make acid.  PPi drugs did initially help this symptom, because they prevented the night time acid.  But, when I tried to wean off, it was in my stomach that I felt the acid, because I had strengthened my sphincter.  So, I not longer had the GERD symptom.  Because the stomach is damaged, it has difficulty in producing the 4 main chemicals used in digestion,  hydrochloric acid, two enzymes, and bicarbonate.  The lack of these chemicals can cause improper digestion, excess gas, and pain.  In the old days, people would just take antacids to relieve the pain.  Antacids don't cause acid revenge like PPi drug do.  So, to deal with this last issue I had, I used only antacids when I needed relief.  Malox is a good liquid antacid that also makes a protective barrier. It also comes in a tablet.  Beeno is a mild enzyme product that helps digest high fiber foods and prevents gas. I also drank marshmallow tea often because it also helps rebuild the stomach lining.  It can take a year or more to fully rebuild the stomach lining.

What do you think?  Does this sound more like your problem?

Its definitely sounds like mine . i have everytime i try  to stop the meed i can feel my stomach is full of acid . I don't have a less problem as i never got heartburn or esophageal problem but its the high stomach acid that makes it difficult to quit the medicine. i am on half dose now 20mg of pantoprazole . my last endoscopy also showed few errosion in stomach fundus. you seems to have a lot of knowledge about how to quit ppi. any help will be highly appreciated . also is it the right time to quit the medicine as i have those erosions ? but i thing for sure that ppi caused me a lot of  stomach acid which i dont have before using panoprazole.

Hi Susan:  It can take 6 to 8 weeks to wean off the PPi drugs.  If you quit too fast you can get acid revenge where they stomach gushes out way more acid than normal.  I weaned off by opening the capsules and pouring out smaller doses each week until you are down to nothing.  See my suggestions for Tom above and let me know how you are doing.  John

Well, I had an endoscopy a month after my problems began and I was diagnosed with GERD and they found a small but deep erosion on the lining of my stomach or esophagus. I had another exam after a year of PPI treatment and the erosion was gone, but I still had the GERD symptoms. It's funny, but when it all began I had almost no heartburn at all (mostly stomach pain, bloating, etc), but the longer it all lasts, the more often I feel a mild burning in my throat.

You seem to be pretty sure about the fact that the treatment targets the LES. Could you tell me once again how I should do it? I mean, you said that building pressure is safe as long as there is no acid involved, so I wonder how lond before or after a meal should I do it to make sure it's safe.

I'll try to rebuild the barrier in my stomach, definetly will try the tea. Taking all those factors into consideration, do you think it's curable, or maybe as most doctors would agree, those are the damages beyond repair and the best I can do is to stick to the diet and to try not making it worse?

hi jonathan

one more thing i want to ask you . my last endoscopy 2 and hafl months ago showed few erosions in fundus (stomach) doc said for excessive acid caused those erosions . gave me 40 mg of pantoprazole . can you tell me how long it takes to heal those? and one more thing i was taking ppi 20mg rebeprazole from the begining 1.5 years approx but still those erosion happened . aren't ppi suppose to cure them ? how did i got those even after being on ppi for so long . i am confused actually

There is a secret that doctors choose to not tell their patients or plain are unaware of, and that is the fact that PPI drugs can literally cause a chemical burn to your stomach lining.  Every time you swallow a capsule, it can dissolve near the stomach lining and cause a chemical burn.  So these burn spot will add up and cause more severe symptoms.  There was a study done where researchers gave PPI drugs to perfectly healthy volunteers.  After 30 days they abruptly had them all stop.  Afterward most of the volunteers complained that they now had new heartburn symptoms.

The drugs actually caused the disease of GERD.  That is why I recommend that everyone start weaning off the PPI drugs.  Unfortunately it can take months or years for the stomach to fully recover and heal.  John

I would suggest you start with a small amount of carbonated water, like 4 oz, hold the burp down for 5 minutes and see if it causes too much discomfort. Then burp it out.  If you feel okay, then you could add 1 oz each week up to 8 oz and add 5 minutes each week to each session.  This should be done 4 or 5 times a day to get results,-work up slowly to 20 minute sessions.

Let me know how it goes. John

Also, see my reply to Susan below.

Thanks for replying. Is it better to do it on an empty stomach, right after a meal, or just before it?

I don't think there is any problem either way.  It's not that much carbonated water.  There are millions of people that drink a soda with a meal and then burp naturally.  No harm done.

hi jonathan

last thing, i am pretty sure i can not stop it right now cause if i reduce the dose from 40mg to 20 mg i am getting horrible stomach burns 24x7 so its definitely not the time . but would i be able to stop it in future . i am worried paniced actually , not able to sleep throughout the night ,typing this at 4o clock night. i wish i wouldn't have started it at beginning but i can't do anything about it now . is there any chance of giving up this horrible medicine in future . i feel like i am gona die being on them 😥 .

I’m sorry you’re suffering so much with this. There is hope. I know you can do this. 

The first step is to change how you take the medication. Some doctors recommend taking this medication in an empty stomach. That is bad advice. And it leads to stomach burns. So, I recommend you take it after your evening meal. Open the capsule and pour them in your hand and take them with a full glass water.  If it is a pill, don’t crush it. This will give you the best night time protection. Most damage occurs while we sleep. Elevate the head of your bed as much as you can handle with out sliding down. 12 inches if possible. Keep me posted. John. 

I've been doing some research on the subject recently...

I found some videos on youtube and articles that described some excercising to strengthen LES, however a lot of comments and other articles claimed, that it is impossible for them to work (I believed that it may have something to do with the problem described by Mac). However, some of the comments said that the breathing excercises that can strengthen the diaphgram will help a bit anyways.

Yesterday, I had an endoscopy and it turns out, that there is nothing wrong with my LES. When I asked my doctor about it, he said that the weak LES is a result and the reason of GERD. he said that in my case the biggest problem is the gallbladder - it produces too much gall. He said that the things have improoved since my last endoscopy and he decreased the dose of my meds.

However, I don't feel very well - for the last week, I had a number of different problems: for two days I had a really bad heartburn, the next day I felt great and the next day I had really bad stomach pain and it lasted for a couple of days. It's changing from day to day and I haven't eating anything stodgy recently. I eat as usual.

I'm wondering what my specific problem means. Is it possible that I can get rid of it for good? Is it possible that I'll be able to eat regular food, or will I have to say goodbye to a lot of things? My doctor doesn't say much, when I asked him about it he said that I'll be able to gradully eat more of normal food, even after taking meds off, but he said that I'll still have to avoid fried food and chocolate. When I asked him if he means for life, or a certain period, he said something along the lines "at least for a year, but I want to see you in May". It gives me hope, but to be honest, it is very hard to get from him any information and he often tells me self-contradictory things.

Did you guys ever meet with a similar problem (gall distribution) and have any tips for me?

Thanks in advance, Tom.

Also, I think all the time about physical excercises... They say that you can't lift weights with GERD, so I wonder if that's permanent and in what other ways one can build muscles and what other activities I won't be able to do.

Its very interesting you said gallbladder because i was telling someone my symptoms today and they were assuring me it was my gallbladder. I guess they had the same problems. Got theirs out and they are fine now. Im terrified of getting mine out. Im doing a low acid diet and alkaline water and my symptoms are getting better.

I have not had gallbladder issues so I am not able to give much advice on that.  Perhaps your doctor was just suggesting a gallbladder issue but not confirmed.  If you have your gallbladder removed, you may have to give up fatty foods forever.  I would suggest you consider the lifelong issues that can happen if a doctor unknowingly removes a perfectly fine gallbladder.  You may have all your current issues plus more. 

I would suggest you start my carbonated water treatment right away.  It can lead you back to a normal life.  You may also have sores in your stomach lining from taking ppi drugs.

The first step is to change how you take the medication. Some doctors recommend taking this medication on an empty stomach. That is bad advice. And it leads to stomach burns. So, I recommend you take it after your evening meal. Open the capsule and pour them in your hand and take them with a full glass water.  If it is a pill, don’t crush it. This will give you the best night time protection. Most damage occurs while we sleep. Elevate the head of your bed as much as you can handle with out sliding down. 12 inches if possible. Keep me posted. John. 

I don't know if there is a point trying the carbonated water treatment, if my LES is ok... But I don't think it can do any harm either. I tried it before, but I'm not sure how to do it - when I'm holding my burps, I can feel them in my chest, so I believe they already are in my esophagus -am I doing something wrong?

Also, I went to a second doctor for another opinion. What is interesting is the fact, that he used to be a student of the doctor, who told me that I'm on a good way to my health. He fundamentally disagreed with everything that the first doctor said, he gave a completely different set od meds and he said, that things are not looking good and that you can never treat GERD fully, because it always comes back and that the best you can hope for are several month or years long periods of normal life. I feel pretty hopeless and I have no idea which doctor should I trust, since they proposed completely different treatmens.

When you do the carbonated water treatment, you should not feel any pressure in the chest.  That is way above the stomach.  Measure 12 inches down from your jaw is where your LES is at.  You could have what is called a sliding hiatal hernia.  That can cause issues with GERD because it interferes with how the esophagus works. I think that the carbonated water treatment will eventually moved things back into their proper position and allow it to heal.  I would recommend that you keep it up.  Start out slowly with small amounts of carbonated water and work up more each week.  Keep me posted.