Reversing GERD symptoms
Posted , 6 users are following.
I've been doing a lot of research and reading about different ways to try and reduce the symptoms of GERD without medication, I have looked on different websites ranging from changing our eating habits to such as the Paleo diet (Cave Man diet) where we eat similarly what cavemen used to eat back in the day, chicken, fish, beef, etc and cutting out processed foods such as honey buns, pop tarts, soup, frozen dinners and have been eating foods such as salmon, chicken, salads. Even cut back on eating oatmeal even though I love it. Where I am going with this is from what I have read and even watched on youtube about ways to reverse GERD symptoms, with acid reflux its not that we have more acid in our system but less and because we have less acid in our stomach, it allows the bad bacteria to build up and we belch often because of the gases that the bacteria creates eating up the carbohydrates that we eat. Taking PPI pills or any meds for that matter will worsen the affects to our bodies. The fact that we have acid reflux / GERD is meant to tell us that something is wrong, taking meds pacifies the symptoms but to effective deal with it we have to do something different. I don't mean eating more acidic foods to try and balance the stomach out, but eating more than foods that are just gentle on the stomach. You want to get your stomach acid back up. With less stomach acid, it creates more problems. I would recommend going on youtube and typing in "ways to cure gerd" and check out the many different videos they may have posted on it. I also ordered some probiotics which are good for the stomach. I'm waiting on them to arrive but I can say that I have gone from feeling aweful and having to deal with constant acid reflux and throat issues to not feeling it so much anymore. I've even tested myself and did eat a honey bun, I felt some indigestion from it so I ate some baked chicken and I felt better instead of reaching for tums or any meds. I then tried eating some cookies, my stomach didn't like it too much, I grabbed an apple after that and ate it and felt better. It's kinda weird but so far I haven't had any problems with my throat or stomach and feel like I could be on the path of recovery. But I would recommend doing research on ways to deal with this and listen to the videos on youtube.
1 like, 8 replies
frederick_01293 omega2020
Posted
Omega, iv also read and Googled everything I can relating to GERD. I also am on the low stomach acid train, my experience is after a few days of no PPI meds you get physcologicaly withdrawn, I'm heading towards a week now, just had a veggie breakfast, eggs, beans, toast, veg sausages, mushrooms, the most important thing iv noticed is mouth not sore, throat still bit sore, I never did get wind, indegestion etc, have you got digestion Enzyme supplements from the health shop?
omega2020 frederick_01293
Posted
Very good. I started doing this a few days back, I feel like it could be working, however I am still waiting for the probiotics to come, I should also get digestion Enzyme. Let's see, the probiotics I ordered were called Acidophilus. It's full of millions or billions of bacteria, the good bacteria. You take them to help push out some of the bad ones and make room for the good ones. It sounds a little iffy to me but I decided I will give it a shot to see if it helps or not. I can understand how you feel about cutting off PPI cold turkey, I was taking pantoprazle 20mg, when I stopped taking them and had issues with my throat like tightness or even some reflux I would reach for my tums instead of picking back up with the PPI's. Its not easy getting off of it, but like cigerattes you gotta slowly weed your way out of it so you can build that independence again. I still get sore throat, but not frequent like I was say 2 weeks ago where it was constant. I haven't felt tightness in my throat for the past 2 days, I had indigestion yestarday after eating a honey bun and again after eating some cookies but I didn't reach for anything other than healthy foods to cope with it. I still think its a process to recovery, we just gotta be strong enough to go thru with it.
suzired omega2020
Posted
Very interesting to read your ideas - I suffered with terrible acid reflux for months - I have a hernia in my stomach and the lid to the stomach doesn't close properly - so I was constantly burning from my stomach to my eyes - couldn't drive for a month and ended up having to even get driving glasses (HyloComod eye drops from the German company Ursapharm can be purchased online in Europe and on Amazon in the U.S. They have hyaleron and are very soothing for burning eyes, believe me!; lump in throat, mouth, esophagus and stomach were raw until I couldn't eat; such chest pain that I thought I was having heart attacks daily and had trouble being able to breath at all...panic attacks. Burning Mouth Syndrome where my tongue was double as thick and my gums, lips and teeth were literally on fire. German doctors put me on 40 mg Pantoprazole daily and this almost killed me. 2 ENTs over 6 weeks also did nothing to relieve my pain and suffering.
Like you, after thinking I was going to die (and losing LOTS of weight from not eating, I went online to try to find some remedies...first thing I learned was that I also had LOW stomach acid - so I immediately quit taking the PPIs. Within 5 days my throat and breathing became better - all of the damage to my throat, nose and eyes has improved, but I doubt if it will ever completely heal! Of course, the Germans do not believe in LOW stomach acid so I still got absolutely NO help from the doctors here.
I tried Betaine Hcl capsules to raise my acid levels, but was never able to figure out the correct dosage. Diet is what has helped me most: no sugar in any form, no deep-fried foods, no citrus fruits - no tomatoes or tomato sauce of any kind! Careful with fruit juices - they are packed with sugar! Bananas, green apples, avocadoes and melons work for me as well as dried fruit, no caffeine, no chocolate, ice cream or candies, no soft drinks and no carbonated drinks at all (causes more burping) - I stick with mineral water and herbal teas...green tea is healthy and chamomile is relaxing to sore throats, but don't over do it. Avoid all spicy foods! Lots of green vegetables, carrots, salads, but no mayonnaise! Raw turnips work for me and eggs offer 93 calories and have 13 gr of protein. Also yogurts that have probiotics are good. Kefir and fermented foods are very good for us with acid reflux.I don't over eat potatoes or pasta and stick to whole grain toast instead of plain white. Sweet potatoes baked with some margarine are good for you and healthier than other carbohydrates. A handful of cashews, almonds, pecans or even peanuts and peanut butter are very healthy...avoid processed meat (ham, canned meats and lunchmeats) are not good for you, but I try to eat lots of chicken, fish, shrimp, with less red meat because it is harder to digest. It's hard to get your calories set with enough protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates...
Many say to raise the head of your bed to sleep - to keep the acid from raising in your throat, but I had acid no matter what---laying down, standing or sitting! Was just a nightmare. Try whatever works for you!
I constantly have to watch what I eat and I notice right away if I eat a cookie or doughnut ...but I am on NO FORMAL MEDICATION for reflux and no Gaviscon, Tums or Rennies. If I could just find a way to gain all of my weight back, I would be grateful.
Didn't mean to write a book here, but maybe my story will help someone else. Be healthy and avoid as many of the prescription medications as possible - they are really terrible for your body!
frederick_01293 suzired
Posted
Hello, interesting story, or history trip, I'm not as bad as your condition is indicating! I've reached my 5th day without PPI's, But starting to feel very ill, stomach, chest, throat all hurting, absolutely knackered, been in bed most of the day, its really getting me down, iv been preaching the low acid story passed the low acid test with baking soda, undigested food in the stomach due to low acid wouldn't give all the symptoms you've got, and the symptoms iv got! Giving off gas yes, but acid burns, not gas or wind.
Big_baby suzired
Posted
I am so happy to read your story. I have been going through the same thing. My chest,back,throat,eyes all have been hurting. Some days I do good others are bad. I can't sleep at night in fear of having a heart attack. I thank God for you and your story it help me see things better. If you would keep in touch with me to help me out I really would appreciate.
frederick_01293 Big_baby
Posted
Nothing to be ashamed of!!!!!!! I'm afraid of nothing! But in the middle of the night, dark and insecure! Doubts creep in, come the morning I'm knackered, I'm totally bamboozled by my symptoms!!!!! The latest is chronic pain and cramps and spasms all over my body. Be 💪.
suzired frederick_01293
Posted
Have you tried Betain HCL? It is supposed to help those of us with LOW stomach acid after getting off of the PPIs! (I just couldn't get my dosage figured out and had even more reflux.) Might be worth a try or D-Limonene?
Big_baby frederick_01293
Posted
Thank you for answering. I continue to be strong I had a stress test Wed waiting on results. If you come up with anything that will help let me know and I'll do the same.