How I cured my acid reflux, naturally.

Sorry to hear you're feeling that bad.  There is definitely a mind body connection.  It's very hard to get well when under alot of stress.  Likely, you do have some underlying health problem that is causing the swollen lymph nodes.  It can be caused by an infection somewhere in the body.  It could be anything from a sinus infection to a parasitic infection.  Often, we who have digestive problems are over reactors.  We tend to hash over things in our mind and come up with worst case senarios. 

I was fortunate, at my worst moment in my health crisis, I was able to retire from work and able to focus on recovery.  It took nearly three years to get to a point where I thought I would actually survive this thing.

You should see your doctor to find the cause of the lymph node issue.  Rebuilding the immune system is critical.  Lost of fruit and vegetables, smoothies are good.  Plenty of sleep.  A few minutes in the sun each day if possible.  I believe you can beat these problems.  Hang in there.  J

Totally agree!

Just been on all inclusive holiday in Turkey and all I drank was soda water not cola etc. I got very weird looks from the staff but that just added to the fun as the joke was on everyone else increasing their sugar levels downing cola Fanta Pepsi etc!!!

Ice and slice of lemon. .. Hmmm. ..

Perfect!

Thanks for your support.  Too many people think that carbonated beverages are the cause of their acid reflux.  I'm often amazed that people are willing to gobble down pills and go under the knife but are afraid of water, carbonated water.  Although, my method is to hold down the burp for a few minutes in order to strengthen that very important esophageal sphincter.

Welcome to this discussion.  I've noticed that the website has removed about 80% of the discussion, which is a geat loss. 

Anyway, I've recently heard that ppi drugs (like dexilant) actually trigger the stomach to make more proton pumps, this then causes the user to become addicted to the drugs.  If they try to stop, then all those new and old pumps cause a constant fire in the stomach.

It took me nearly a year and 4 attempts to finally get off of them, and I feel they had something to do with my new diagnosis of diabetes.   Doctors are still prescribing them, likely because they are not reading their medical journals revealing these dangerous drugs.

Now, to address your question.  The reason I suggested 4 times per day in the beginning is that people like immediate results.  Once per day would take weeks to notice any difference.  Also, I have seen the seriousness of GERD in my own experience. 

I had an episode of reflux asperation one night and woke up not breathing and unable to inhale.  Fortunately, I was able to clear my lungs and start breathing, but this was a warning that this disease needs to be taken seriously.

I am confident this treatment will work for you and I hope you give it a try, because there is not much else out there. 

Of course, some people will suggest changing your diet to a more vegetarian diet, which naturally will reduce the stomachs need to make any acid.  But, some people think donuts and french fries are vegetarian.  So, that may not work very well.  And, a vegetarian diet or acid blockers don't strengthen the esophageal sphincter.

Get some good carbonated water and remember that it loses its fizz pretty quickly.  Get a large bottle for each day.

Let me know your results.  John

Thanks for coming back to me John.

You're night scare experience is insane and terrifying - so happy to hear you pulled through and recovered.

I tried drinking a can of gingerale and holding my burps - so hard!

I will definitely try with soda water as a couple of week's worth of dexilant has left me worse off than ever before.

At only 23 years old (I know lots of early twenties suffer), I don't want to be worrying about everything I eat as I already have quite a large number of allergies -nuts, beans, peas to name a few.

Do you eat whatever you want?

Has your GERD completely gone?

Did you have sore throat, rumbly stomach and dysphagia/globus symtoms?

Thanks so much for your prompt response J, sorry to be a bother but you're advice is life saving (I'm sure it will save mine as soon as I commit).

One last q, how long did it take for your results to kick in and are you off all meds atm?

That's it for now THANKS!

Hi Christina:  I'm happy to anwer your questions. 

First of all I forgot to mention another issue with ppi drugs, when a person swallows one of those capsules or pills, as it disolves in the stomach, it actually chemically burns the stomach lining.  It does not take long before that person also has gastritis which is a basic inflamation of the stomach lining.  It causes a feeling of bloating, nausea, vomitting and sometimes an inability to eat certain foods.  The medicine is causing more problems.

1. Do you eat whatever you want?  Yes.  I can now eat spagetti, bread, chocolate, milk, beef, chicken and many things I used to avoid because of heartburn and nausea.

2. Has your GERD completely gone?  Yes.  I am now able to sleep flat again, no more wedge.  I can take a nap without waking up with heartburn.  I still have the issue of occational stomach burn, especially in the morning.  So, I do take an antacid before bed.  That is likely a symptom from years of taking ppi drugs and still having some remaining gastritis.

3.Did you have sore throat, rumbly stomach and dysphagia/globus symtoms?

I never had the globus symptom, I believe that is caused from acid moving up the esopagus and causing inflamation.  It should resolve eventually when the acid exposure is stopped.

I do get occational rumbly stomach, but it's usually after I eat yogurt or something that causes gas in the intestine.  It is usually caused by decomposing vegetation that releases gas in the small intestine.  If I get into such a situation where it is causing a problem, I take pepto bismol to kill down the bad bacteria and then start eating probiotic yogurt to re-establish good bacteria.

4.how long did it take for your results to kick in and are you off all meds atm?

I started feeling good results in the first week.  It was obvious that this was exactly what my esophageal sphincter needed.  Fortunately my sphincter had not been permanently damaged by the acid.  If you drink the carbonated water and your sphincter allowed the gas to escape then that could mean that there could be an imperfection of the sphincter that should be looked into by your doctor. 

But, it sounds like you don't have that problem since you stated that it is uncomfortable to hold down the burp.  It is at first, because people are used to burping when they drink soda pop.  But, soon you will be able to hold it down and after a few minutes your spincter will do the work without you thinking about it.  Just like it was designed to do.  It is actually an involuntary muscle.  So, drinking the carbonated water, you are just triggering it to operate.  Holding down the burp is voluntary at first, but you are retraining your sphincter to work properly.  It should always clamp down tight unless water or food is passing by it.  

I still keep a supply of carbonated water on hand and do the excercise once every couple of weeks just to keep my spincter strong.  I think there is a connection with vertabrae being out of alignment and pinching nerves that go to the digestive tract.  I know I have sore spots on my vertabrae directly adjacent to the sphincter and stomach.  Chiropractic adjustments could also be helpful.  But, I know they don't fix this issue.

I appreciate your feedback and I'm happy that this may help someone else who is suffering with acid reflux.  J

I missed part of question 3:

Yes, I used to get a sore throat with out any reason, I thought it was an allergy or tonsil problem.  But, I have not had it lately at all.

You're the best - thank you John!

First of all, I am not a doctor so I would suggest further investigation to find the actual cause if it persists.

In some people, acid reflux is caused by a hiatal hernia which is a defect in the diaphram allowing the stomach to protrude above it.  This can also cause some breathing issues, so I do want to be cautious. 

In the old days, people would drink as much water as possible, then jump up and down in the hope that gravity would pull the stomach back down to its proper position below the diaphram.

You did not mention your age, but there are many things out there that can cause acid reflux, gastritis and esophagitis.  Some of them are drugs that are very common like asthma inhalers, birth control pills, nasal alergy sprays, GMO foods like corn and bread and milk products.

Your symptom of nausea sounds like gastritis.  It's very rare that a person has just one issue, usually it's a number of issues that end up causing multiple symptoms.  You could have some food alergies also.

If you have acid reflux and are sleeping on a flat bed, then you could be having reflux aspiration.  Which is when a person is sleeping and acid flows up the esophagus and then is inhaled.  I mentioned this in a previous post above.  It can cause lung damage or even death.  You need to incline your bed at least 8 inches.  And sleep on a big pillow.  A wedge is useful but I found it difficult to stay on it, I would slide down. 

You can try the carbonated water treatment.  It would only benefit you to stengthen your esophageal sphincter.

Also, the latest medical finding on acid blocker drugs is that they cause the stomach to make even more proton pumps.  Which makes it almost impossible to get off of them.  It's better to just take antacids or gaviscon.

I also benefit from chewing real cinnamin gum like dentyne fire.  It seems to calm the stomachs acid making and helps to stabilize the blood sugar.  

Keep me updated on your progress.  John

 

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a lengthy reply!

I am 21, but all my tests have shown up negative of any other illness besides esophagitis.

I do sleep on two pillows, but I'm sure that doesn't really help, so I think you're right in saying that I have reflux aspiration.

For the carbonated water treatment, you first said to hold your burp for 3-5 minutes but as I went through your comments, you suggested 20 and 30 minutes. Which amount of time is best? Also, just to clarify, any flavor and 4 times a day and once at night is good, correct? Does the amount of water matter a lot also? I normally don't drink a lot of water + I am drinking other types of water to help with my health + I hate carbonated water, so I'll definitely have a difficult time doing this... but I'll try anything for my health at this point!

Thanks again!!

Hi Rachel:  I am confident that you can do this and that it can give you long term relief. 

I currently have my bed inclined 8 inches and hardly notice it.  I could easily go to 10 inches.  I am doing this because it is also helping my nasal congestion and snoring problem. 

You can start with 3 to 5 minutes at first.  Some people may have trouble, but if you can do 10 minutes then start there.  You will get faster results.  The esophageal sphincter was designed to clamp down tight all of the time unless we eat or drink.  It is just begging us to help it get back into proper condition.  But, doctors have no answer.  The carbonated water is the only way. 

Some stores have flavored carbonated water or you can add some concentrated grape juice to make it appealing.

I hate to tell people this because I get some flak, but technically you could drink diet soda pop.  I have occationally used diet coke.  Anyway, that is up to you to choose.

If you can only do it 3 times a day, it will still work but just take a little longer.

10 oz really is not that much.  But you need that much to build enough pressure for the exercise.

Its like doing exercise to strengthen the heart, if you do it longer and more often, then heart gets stronger sooner.

John

Thank you for your answer!!

I'll definitely try to do it as often with as much I can possible take.

One more technical question so I do it right.. am I supposed to be "chugging" the drink at once or is it okay to take my time drinking it as long as I don't burp my way through?

Good question.  I would suggest chugging it down all at once if possible.  10 oz is really not that much of a chug. 

Hi Jonathan,

I thought I'd come back with an update!

After doing this for a few days, I've definitely seen some progress...

enough not to do it anymore (but have more symptoms when I don't).

Then I went through some stress and the acid reflux increased so I went back to doing it and after one day, the symptoms died down almost immediately.

I'll definitely be doing this as much as I can.. Thanks a lot!!!! 

Hi Rachel: 

Thanks for the update.  That is very good to hear.  But you need to keep it up.  It will work.  Most of us here have more than one issue.  You may have sore spots in your stomach or your intestinal bacteria may be out of balance.  The digestive system is extremely complex.  We don't really think about it until it goes wrong.  Then it can take over our life.  Some people become completely house bound.  Some people have surgery to try and fix reflux problems.  Many years ago, a friend of mine died after having such corrective surgery. 

I have made a huge recovery.  A few years ago I was nauseated constantly and bloated and had headaches, and vomitting episodes. Now, I eat yogurt every morning and make sure any pills I take are with food.  You can lose a lot of progress if a pill burns the stomach lining.

And I still do the carbonated water treatment every couple of weeks just to maintain my esophageal sphincter.  J

 

Hi Jonathan,

Wow this is all very new, unexpected information!

Thanks so much for this... I'll definitely keep it in mind.

I try to take probiotic pills everyday but didn't realize I should be taking them with food. Thank you!!

Also, very sorry about your friend who passed away... Was it during surgery or a "side-effect"?? Can I ask what specific surgery?

He was elderly, around 73 or so.  He had a completely non functioning esophageal sphincter.  I believe the surgery was fundoplication.  He had a medical directive prohibiting heroic measures like a breathing machine.  After the surgery he was unable to eat and apparently because of the directive, the hospital refused to insert a feeding tube.  He basically starved to death.  S, it was not actually the surgery.  But, it does show how a person can go in for treatment and not survive.  But, this was about 20 years ago.  And I never got all the details.