Acid Reflux/ GERD

Gaviscon tablets, up to 4 at a time give me pretty good relief quickly.

If I find it’s coming on quite often Prilosec works fantastic. 1 poll a day for 2 weeks and it goes away completely and stays away for quite some time. Costco makes a generic version and is available on Amazon and I find it works just as well. With those two meds I didn’t need to alter my diet, which really isn’t bad other than spicy Mexican food...I live n San Diego area and I’m not giving that up

Changing your diet to a Paleo diet is the best thing you can do. It takes probably 20 days to see the full effects but it completely got rid of all acid reflux for me..

Also, look into Doterra essential oils. They have an oil that I use called Digestzen. I put a drop under my tongue every night before I go to sleep and it keeps me from getting acid reflux and wrecking my throat all night when I'm not on a paleo diet. It tastes like black licorice which I don't love but I can tolerate.

When you really read up on medications for stopping acid reflux, you find that they are overall very bad for your health and mask the problem, actually making it worse. However, I totally understand the reason and necessity for them.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice guys. I really want to stay away from prevacid, nexium, prilosec, etc. Longterm use has been known to not be good for the body and I'm trying to get rid of this stuff finally the natural way. I've dealt with it off and on for about 10 years and within the last year it's gotten bad. I've cut out drinking energy drinks and try to stay away from spicy foods. That was my biggest challenge.

I used to have it bad.
Saw a good ear nose and throat doc that did all kinds of tests.
Best advice was no eating 3 hours before sleep.

Oddly i used to have this reflux, sleep apnea as well as snoring.
I had level 2 ACDF and now i have none of the above conditions. Maybe it was because they move your esophagus to get to your spine.

Good luck

I switched from regular coffee to cold brew; really helped.

Also pop a zantac before a meal I know will be brutal.

ohiomotoxer wrote:

I used to have it bad.
Saw a good ear nose and throat doc that did all kinds of tests.
Best advice was no eating 3 hours before sleep.

Oddly i used to have this reflux, sleep apnea as well as snoring.
I had level 2 ACDF and now i have none of the above conditions. Maybe it was because they move your esophagus to get to your spine.

Good luck

Also, don't drink anything within an hour of laying down for bed. Hydrate in advance. It sounds like desperate measures, but it helps.

I have suffered from it for over 15 years. Really sucks. I've sorta learned to just deal with it. Have tried all the medicines with varying degrees of success. Been scoped top to bottom. The acid part has mostly subsided on it's own. Mostly what I deal with now is my first few bites of food getting stuck in my esophagus. This can be pretty painful at times. A few sips of cold water can help get it down usually. The feeling is almost like a clogged toilet and the cold water can help it release the food and it will go down fine. If I can get it to go down on the first few bites with water I'm good. If that doesn't work then within about 30 seconds I will vomit because the water/food has to go somewhere very quickly. After that happens then I am fine actually and can eat my whole meal without a problem.

Sorry for graphic details. Wonder if that happens to anyone else. My sister in law and my nephew suffer from the same symptoms.

If I feel like I have a bit of acid-reflux from too much food, ice cream, beer, etc before I go to bed I will take two tums and it really helps with the acid.

One thing I can very rarely drink is dark or hoppy beers or beers with too much carbonation like a coors light. It somehow interacts with my stomach acids in a bad way and bubbles up and is extremely extremely painful. My whole chest will hurt for a good 20-30 minutes. Sometimes it's not a problem. Sucks cause I love beers, but I pretty much stick to just Corona as this gives me the least amount of problems.

My doc told me to cut out caffeine, alcohol and spicy foods, with a straight face. I have elected to suffer.

TXDirt wrote:

I have suffered from it for over 15 years. Really sucks. I've sorta learned to just deal with it. Have tried all the medicines with varying degrees of success. Been scoped top to bottom. The acid part has mostly subsided on it's own. Mostly what I deal with now is my first few bites of food getting stuck in my esophagus. This can be pretty painful at times. A few sips of cold water can help get it down usually. The feeling is almost like a clogged toilet and the cold water can help it release the food and it will go down fine. If I can get it to go down on the first few bites with water I'm good. If that doesn't work then within about 30 seconds I will vomit because the water/food has to go somewhere very quickly. After that happens then I am fine actually and can eat my whole meal without a problem.

Sorry for graphic details. Wonder if that happens to anyone else. My sister in law and my nephew suffer from the same symptoms.

If I feel like I have a bit of acid-reflux from too much food, ice cream, beer, etc before I go to bed I will take two tums and it really helps with the acid.

One thing I can very rarely drink is dark or hoppy beers or beers with too much carbonation like a coors light. It somehow interacts with my stomach acids in a bad way and bubbles up and is extremely extremely painful. My whole chest will hurt for a good 20-30 minutes. Sometimes it's not a problem. Sucks cause I love beers, but I pretty much stick to just Corona as this gives me the least amount of problems.

I have those issues some times... It feels like so much pressure on the top of your stomach, just behind the bottom of your breast bone. It's the worst pain I ever feel. I too, will go make myself throw up, as it's usually the only (quickest) way to make it go away....

GrapeApe wrote:

My doc told me to cut out caffeine, alcohol and spicy foods, with a straight face. I have elected to suffer.

same here. i take Omeprazole every day.

It happens to me and my chief suspects are coffee and beer. But it hasn't gotten bad enough for me to quit them yet.
Acidic food and eating before bed also do it for me. I have had some rough nights. I am pretty sure diet would fix this problem for most people, but who wants to eat bland food all the time?

GrapeApe wrote:

My doc told me to cut out caffeine, alcohol and spicy foods, with a straight face. I have elected to suffer.

peelout wrote:

same here. i take Omeprazole every day.

I think that is where u can have trouble with the meds. Isn’t that supposed to be a 2 week regimen? That is the generic Prilosec right? It works great for me but I try not to do it for over 2 weeks at a time

Typing this as I’m eating a chili relleno and enchilada

KennyT wrote:

I think that is where u can have trouble with the meds. Isn’t that supposed to be a 2 week regimen? That is the generic Prilosec right? It works great for me but I try not to do it for over 2 weeks at a time

Typing this as I’m eating a chili relleno and enchilada

typically i will be on it for a couple weeks straight then skip a week or two until it starts acting up again. sometimes some Tums or Gaviscon will clear all but the worst cases.

i really like Mexican food, beer, and coffee so yeah

huck wrote:

I have those issues some times... It feels like so much pressure on the top of your stomach, just behind the bottom of your breast bone. It's the worst pain I ever feel. I too, will go make myself throw up, as it's usually the only (quickest) way to make it go away....

I can sympathize. I have it get stuck usually at least one meal a day. Sometimes 2 meals a day. Every now and again I can go a day or two with no issues. But yeah, throwing up those first few bites makes the pain go away and then for some reason you can eat normally after that.

The sipping cold water sometimes helps right when it gets stuck. Sometimes I'll sip cold water right before I eat as I think this helps relax it a bit before eating. That helps sometimes. And you can feel when it's been unplugged as everything will "flow" down finally.

If sipping water doesn't get it down, I'll take a few gulps of water, and if that doesn't do it I have about 10 seconds to go to a toilet or outside because that water is coming up instantaneously. It's gotta go somewhere and it's not going down.

It can be a pain going out to eat with folks or to do team lunches at work because I'm always fearful of it happening around people I work with, etc. I try and be extra careful with what I order, how fast I eat. Sip sip water before and during to try and help control it as best as possible. Lunch isn't too bad usually. I would say breakfast and dinner is where I have most the troubles.

Getting old sucks! lol

Wow I'm glad I'm not the only one with this shit going on. I was starting to worry thinking damn it there must be something seriously wrong with me.

I know a lot of this can be fixed by having a strict diet. I did it in high school when I was cutting weight for wrestling. Beer and spicy foods are just so good though. I am really trying to do it all in moderation. Also with having asthma, I'm more prone to the GERD symptoms and negative effects.

peelout wrote:

same here. i take Omeprazole every day.

KennyT wrote:

I think that is where u can have trouble with the meds. Isn’t that supposed to be a 2 week regimen? That is the generic Prilosec right? It works great for me but I try not to do it for over 2 weeks at a time

Typing this as I’m eating a chili relleno and enchilada

peelout wrote:

typically i will be on it for a couple weeks straight then skip a week or two until it starts acting up again. sometimes some Tums or Gaviscon will clear all but the worst cases.

i really like Mexican food, beer, and coffee so yeah

That's my trifecta, coffee, Mexican food, and beer. Honorable mention to jalapeno pizza. I'm lucky I can usually knock down attacks with a Pepcid Complete chewable, but sometimes it takes two.

peelout wrote:

same here. i take Omeprazole every day.

KennyT wrote:

I think that is where u can have trouble with the meds. Isn’t that supposed to be a 2 week regimen? That is the generic Prilosec right? It works great for me but I try not to do it for over 2 weeks at a time

Typing this as I’m eating a chili relleno and enchilada

peelout wrote:

typically i will be on it for a couple weeks straight then skip a week or two until it starts acting up again. sometimes some Tums or Gaviscon will clear all but the worst cases.

i really like Mexican food, beer, and coffee so yeah

You’re like me. I’m not going to take those things out of my diet when I can manage the symptoms with the Prilosec. I get a longer time between those 2 week doses though....seems like a month or two and then it comes back. My Dr said it’s much better to put out the flame with the meds than to let it burn inside you unattended

Table spoon or two of baking soda in glass of water works great for immediate relief.
My daughter had big problems with this in her early 20s. They told her to take one of those meds and like others said it makes it worse in the long run.
Watch the diet, alcohol, and stress.

I've got gerd but it just causes me to have to clear my throat all the time. Started taking Nexium a couple months ago and it works well for me.

I've had it for a few years now. I started by taking the recommended 2-week dosage of Prilosec, but it came right back after that, so I started taking it daily (for about a year and a half). A few weeks ago, I ran out and forgot to get more, so I said fuck it, let's see what happens, and so far, so good. Haven't had anything more than a minor bout since. If it flares up again, I'll go back to the 2-week program, but I'm done with the daily dose.

TXDirt wrote:

I have suffered from it for over 15 years. Really sucks. I've sorta learned to just deal with it. Have tried all the medicines with varying degrees of success. Been scoped top to bottom. The acid part has mostly subsided on it's own. Mostly what I deal with now is my first few bites of food getting stuck in my esophagus. This can be pretty painful at times. A few sips of cold water can help get it down usually. The feeling is almost like a clogged toilet and the cold water can help it release the food and it will go down fine. If I can get it to go down on the first few bites with water I'm good. If that doesn't work then within about 30 seconds I will vomit because the water/food has to go somewhere very quickly. After that happens then I am fine actually and can eat my whole meal without a problem.

Sorry for graphic details. Wonder if that happens to anyone else. My sister in law and my nephew suffer from the same symptoms.

If I feel like I have a bit of acid-reflux from too much food, ice cream, beer, etc before I go to bed I will take two tums and it really helps with the acid.

One thing I can very rarely drink is dark or hoppy beers or beers with too much carbonation like a coors light. It somehow interacts with my stomach acids in a bad way and bubbles up and is extremely extremely painful. My whole chest will hurt for a good 20-30 minutes. Sometimes it's not a problem. Sucks cause I love beers, but I pretty much stick to just Corona as this gives me the least amount of problems.

huck wrote:

I have those issues some times... It feels like so much pressure on the top of your stomach, just behind the bottom of your breast bone. It's the worst pain I ever feel. I too, will go make myself throw up, as it's usually the only (quickest) way to make it go away....

TXDirt wrote:

I can sympathize. I have it get stuck usually at least one meal a day. Sometimes 2 meals a day. Every now and again I can go a day or two with no issues. But yeah, throwing up those first few bites makes the pain go away and then for some reason you can eat normally after that.

The sipping cold water sometimes helps right when it gets stuck. Sometimes I'll sip cold water right before I eat as I think this helps relax it a bit before eating. That helps sometimes. And you can feel when it's been unplugged as everything will "flow" down finally.

If sipping water doesn't get it down, I'll take a few gulps of water, and if that doesn't do it I have about 10 seconds to go to a toilet or outside because that water is coming up instantaneously. It's gotta go somewhere and it's not going down.

It can be a pain going out to eat with folks or to do team lunches at work because I'm always fearful of it happening around people I work with, etc. I try and be extra careful with what I order, how fast I eat. Sip sip water before and during to try and help control it as best as possible. Lunch isn't too bad usually. I would say breakfast and dinner is where I have most the troubles.

Getting old sucks! lol

What you are describing is a condition called “Barrett’s esophagus”. It’s where the cells in the lining of your esophagus begin to change to cells like the ones that line your stomach. This is from repeated exposure to acid reflux in the esophagus. There seems to be a genetic predisposition, and you typically see several people in the same family with it. There is an in-office procedure where they go in and stretch out the esophageal opening. It will take care of your swallowing problem for a few years and you’ll have to go back for another one. You might want to look into it.. It needs to be checked every few years anyways.

huck wrote:

I have those issues some times... It feels like so much pressure on the top of your stomach, just behind the bottom of your breast bone. It's the worst pain I ever feel. I too, will go make myself throw up, as it's usually the only (quickest) way to make it go away....

TXDirt wrote:

I can sympathize. I have it get stuck usually at least one meal a day. Sometimes 2 meals a day. Every now and again I can go a day or two with no issues. But yeah, throwing up those first few bites makes the pain go away and then for some reason you can eat normally after that.

The sipping cold water sometimes helps right when it gets stuck. Sometimes I'll sip cold water right before I eat as I think this helps relax it a bit before eating. That helps sometimes. And you can feel when it's been unplugged as everything will "flow" down finally.

If sipping water doesn't get it down, I'll take a few gulps of water, and if that doesn't do it I have about 10 seconds to go to a toilet or outside because that water is coming up instantaneously. It's gotta go somewhere and it's not going down.

It can be a pain going out to eat with folks or to do team lunches at work because I'm always fearful of it happening around people I work with, etc. I try and be extra careful with what I order, how fast I eat. Sip sip water before and during to try and help control it as best as possible. Lunch isn't too bad usually. I would say breakfast and dinner is where I have most the troubles.

Getting old sucks! lol

FolkLoar wrote:

What you are describing is a condition called “Barrett’s esophagus”. It’s where the cells in the lining of your esophagus begin to change to cells like the ones that line your stomach. This is from repeated exposure to acid reflux in the esophagus. There seems to be a genetic predisposition, and you typically see several people in the same family with it. There is an in-office procedure where they go in and stretch out the esophageal opening. It will take care of your swallowing problem for a few years and you’ll have to go back for another one. You might want to look into it.. It needs to be checked every few years anyways.

Yeah I had that done. Definitely works for about anywhere from 3-9 months. Kinda depends on your doctor and such.I should have it done again because it helps.

Appreciate you know what I deal with.

I think I will find a new doctor when I decide to go back in.

Is there any resolution to this syndrome? For awhile I thought I had cancer. Still a fear it will turn into that.

TXDirt wrote:

I can sympathize. I have it get stuck usually at least one meal a day. Sometimes 2 meals a day. Every now and again I can go a day or two with no issues. But yeah, throwing up those first few bites makes the pain go away and then for some reason you can eat normally after that.

The sipping cold water sometimes helps right when it gets stuck. Sometimes I'll sip cold water right before I eat as I think this helps relax it a bit before eating. That helps sometimes. And you can feel when it's been unplugged as everything will "flow" down finally.

If sipping water doesn't get it down, I'll take a few gulps of water, and if that doesn't do it I have about 10 seconds to go to a toilet or outside because that water is coming up instantaneously. It's gotta go somewhere and it's not going down.

It can be a pain going out to eat with folks or to do team lunches at work because I'm always fearful of it happening around people I work with, etc. I try and be extra careful with what I order, how fast I eat. Sip sip water before and during to try and help control it as best as possible. Lunch isn't too bad usually. I would say breakfast and dinner is where I have most the troubles.

Getting old sucks! lol

FolkLoar wrote:

What you are describing is a condition called “Barrett’s esophagus”. It’s where the cells in the lining of your esophagus begin to change to cells like the ones that line your stomach. This is from repeated exposure to acid reflux in the esophagus. There seems to be a genetic predisposition, and you typically see several people in the same family with it. There is an in-office procedure where they go in and stretch out the esophageal opening. It will take care of your swallowing problem for a few years and you’ll have to go back for another one. You might want to look into it.. It needs to be checked every few years anyways.

TXDirt wrote:

Yeah I had that done. Definitely works for about anywhere from 3-9 months. Kinda depends on your doctor and such.I should have it done again because it helps.

Appreciate you know what I deal with.

I think I will find a new doctor when I decide to go back in.

Is there any resolution to this syndrome? For awhile I thought I had cancer. Still a fear it will turn into that.

The only way I’ve seen it treated is with diet change and PPIs(Prilosec, nexium, etc). I’ve heard about a surgical procedure to help with the Barrett’s, but I’m not familiar with it. I use nexium for a course or two at a time. My uncle has to get the stretching deal done every year or two. I’m past the age where he started to have swallowing issues, but I still have a lot of reflux. From what I’ve read, it’s considered “precancerous” because it involves morphing cells. Doesn’t mean it will be, but it could later in life if not helped and monitored.

I completely forgot to mention, If you find the right "natural medicines" doctor/chiropractor in your area, there are chiropractic adjustments that they can do to get rid of acid reflux. This is expensive but highly worth it. It changed my wife's life.

It sound like BS. I promise its not. Its actually pretty crazy what those people can do for you.

Nothing at all from the endos? I got scoped and the doctor said I had H pylori. I was given a probiotic and with that my GERD went away. I had that shit that would wake me up gagging with stomach acid in my throat and would have that burned feeling for a couple days. No ulcers or anything else, just H pylori.

Couple years ago I started lifting weights and wanted to bulk up, started eating bigger meals and ended up throwing it back up more often than not, also had trouble swallowing so I decided to get checked out and got the endoscopy and all, turns out I had GERD and also a stomach ulcer and damage to my esophagus. I've cut out most fizzy drinks, acidy foods, spicy foods etc and one interesting natural remedy I've found is mastic gum... worth a try, but really no matter what if I don't take my omeprazole the symptoms always come back to some extent. Shit sucks!

I suffer from diverticulitis and did some research to determine how I could avoid the flare-ups (I also have acid reflux). What I found is essentially the oversecretion of acids that cause acid reflux and in turn diverticulitis when those same acids reach your intestines, is caused by the modern western diet and more specifically food groupings.

There are basically 3 types of food:

1) Leafy greens and greed veggies like lettuce asparagus, broccoli and other non starchy veggies like cauliflower, onions, mushrooms etc.
2) Starchy veggies like potatoes, rice and sugars and grains, bread, pasta etc.
3) Meats, eggs and hard cheeses

You can combine 1 and 2 safely and 1 and 3 safely but 2 and 3 will give you grief. I tried it and no acid reflux and no flare ups. Its all about how your stomach digests these foods and the enzymes and acids that are produced as a result. There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night because you burped up battery acid!

I am now on a Keto (similar to Paleo) diet which also works as basically on a keto diet you eliminate group 2 from your diet.

I would rather eliminate the source of the problem than take a drug/supplement to mask the symptoms.

I hope this works for you.

I'll try and make this short. I've had so many EDG's that I don't even know how many I've had. I forget the name of what I have because it is so long Esopho.......something itis. At its worst I could not eat anything but soft foods and even that would gather up. It was ruining my life. I once chocked on a pill and was lucky enough to have been able to make it to the hospital and have emergency surgery to push it down but not before passing out in PreOp. Scariest, most helpless feeling ever.
Having said all that, and going through 3 or 4 doctors for a few years, the Dr, I was using retired. His PA was a nice Indian women and she took over the practice as a Dr. She said, I went through enough and said she had a combo that would work for me. She gave me a stretch the next day and prescribed me Nexium and Flonaise back when both was only available via prescription and $300-$400 each. My insurance at the time wouldn't pay anything on the Flonaise because it was not being used for its intended purpose. Well lucky for me that both are now over the counter and in the $20 range. I hardly take Nexium, maybe 2 pills a month. But I say this for anyone having choking problems. Try Flonaise, over the counter. A couple squirts in the nose and let it run down the back of your throat.
I was having an EDG every 3 to 4 months for 3 or 4 years. After I started using Flonaise, I haven't had an EDG in almost 4 years now. I still eat slow but I very rarely have problems swallowing. I sometimes go a week or better without Flonaise as well. I have went to the point where I was starting to get tight again and once I started taking Flonaise daily again it went back to where it should be in a few days. Flonaise changed my life... for real! It costs $24 at CVS for a months supply. Try it! It is a hell of a lot easier than having and EDG.

As far as other posts about over the counter Nexium, Prilosec, Zantac ect. not being ment for long term use as compared to the prescription version, the over the counter version has more sodium in it compared to the prescription version. It is not a problem to take it long term if sodium is not a problem for you.

I haven't read through everything, but I know this is a serious post. It hits home because I have acid reflux and my dad died from cancer stemming from his esophagus.
I've been taking nexium for 15 years. I've lost my hair, which may be hereditary, but my mom is visibly thin, and she takes it along with a few other people I know who have experienced hair loss on the purple pill.
Over the past 15 months, my wife and I have completed 4 successful Whole30 months. It's much like Paleo. Look it up.
After 4-5 days of eating clean, I no longer need the Nexium or other acid reflux pill. The biggest take away from doing a program like Whole 30 is that I recognize what turns on the reflux, how sugar and processed grains turn on inflammation, and so on.
Committing to a change of diet ( noun not verb) will show you a lot