Can we talk about GERD?

WholeFoods4Lyfe

I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same experience as me or if this is truly a n=1 type of scenerio.

Over the last couple of years I've done variations of low carb / no carb / paleo / primal / keto / gluten free / dairy free / etc.

I've suffered from heartburn/GERD ever since I was pregnant with my oldest 22 years ago. I've always dealt with that and seemingly unrelated gut issues like IBS. I had my gallbladder out in November 2015 and after that, my gut has been completely wrecked. I was diagnosed at Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance so I gave up Gluten a while ago.

After giving up Gluten, my HB/GERD improved but never went away. I took Nexium for years. I decided to wean off of the Nexium last Spring after doing a lot of research and deciding it wasn't for me. I still had heartburn, but would just take Tums or similar as needed.

In April of this year I underwent an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy for my ongoing stomach issues. I was diagnosed with Diverticulosis (not a surprise, shortly before that I suffered my first bout of Diverticulitis) as well as a Hiatal Hernia, Erosive Esophagitis, and Dysphagia as well as inflammation from unknown cause.

After this I eliminated Dairy from my diet and saw even more improvement. Dairy is a known inflammatory, and since I eliminated it I felt better and suffered even less HB.

Lastly, I went Keto again starting 5/31. I feel great! I'm still having a few issues with my swallowing/dysphagia, but there is a marked improvement there, and my HB is virtually non-existent.

So now I've been gluten free / dairy free / keto for the last 10 days.

After I had my scope and colonoscopy my doctor wanted to put me on a PPI and I refused stating that I'd rather work on my diet. I asked him point blank how the PPI would heal me, and he said it wouldn't, it would just eliminate my stomach acid so that my esophagus could heal. When I asked him how am I supposed to digest my food with no stomach acid he had no answer.

Anyway, that turned in to a book. Sorry. I'm just wondering if anyone else has a similar story about dietary changes and gut healing. My doctor did ultimately agree to let me try diet first, though he was clearly skeptical, and to give me another scope in 12 weeks from last appointment, so 8 weeks from now. This healing can't be all in my head, can it? I'd love to hear your stories.

Xerogs

I had consistent heart burn problems for years and its pretty much all gone away except for once in a great while the food I ate just won't settle down. I used to think there was just one solution to my problem and I took acid reducers thinking that would correct the problem but it didn't. I've found there are just foods I can not eat (baked goods, refined sugar, whole milk, pasta, etc.) and LCHF WOE eliminates those foods so it has helped me a great deal in that respect. Losing weight also helped, it seemed with less belly fat I had less problems so I think part of the issue was the visceral fat pushing against my internal organs. When I eat also makes a huge difference, I try to stay away from big dinners and have most of my calories at lunch and with intermittent fasting (IF) I typically don't eat breakfast.

I am not sure I would recommend this since you have erosion in your esophagus but organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) "with the mother in it" pretty much stopped my heart burn in its tracks. There are ACV pills available and I use them on the go but I am not sure if they are as effective as making an ACV drink. Don't drink ACV straight! I typically but two teaspoons in a glass of cool water twice a day and if I am on travel then I use the pills. It just aids with digestion and has some probiotic benefits. Definitely check with you doctor regarding ACV before going down that path since it is acidic. There are lots of other options out there that can help the gut heal and it looks like you are on the right path. Turmeric with Bioperine might help with your unknown inflammation, I take that twice a day as well. It has definitely helped with those growing older aches and pains and minimized the horrible sinus pressure headaches I would get when a storm would roll in.

What I always noticed about acid reducers was that once I stopped using them I would almost get a backlash of stomach acid which would in turn cause me to use them more because the heartburn would return. It's a vicious cycle. Good luck.

TheDevastator

Have you tried betaine? I had acid reflux for years until I started taking betaine and it went away. I can eat mostly anything now without heartburn and if I do have heartburn I just take a few betaine pills.

rnjenny8599

I started cucurmin for arthritis but found it not only fixed my ibs but also my stomach issues. I take the meriva type. Some contains piperine or Ginger to help with absorbing it but that irritated my stomach. I found out about the effect thru a study that was very informative. I will find it and post after while. I'm on my phone ATM.

rnjenny8599

Here it is. Lengthy but informative.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535097/

amybethjack

Sounds similar to me. About 15-20 years ago I was having trouble swallowing and my GP sent me to a specialist who did an endoscopy. The inside of my esophogus was bleeding from the acid erosion. The Dr started me on aciphex, which I took for a few years until my insurance changed and no longer covered the medicine so efficiently. For the last decade I've been taking Prilosec OTC irregularly. I know the medicine isn't the best option but, to be honest, I didn't know who to ask about alternatives. I've tried the ACV but the liquid burns my throat and I can't swallow the pills. I've also tried Betaine HCl with similar issues. I've even been admitted to the ER for emergency endoscopy to remove a piece of pot roast that wouldn't go down. I still have problems swallowing, particularly meats, because of the build-up of scar tissue inside my esphogus and I never eat without a glass of water on hand (warm, no ice) to help push food down when I get careless about my chewing (easy to do when being social in a restaurant). I've been eating keto for a couple months and the occurance of acid reflux (heartburn) seems to be reduced which has reduced my ingestion of prilosec but I have my fingers crossed that there isn't further damage happening to the inside of my esphogus.

On a related note... does anyone know of a keto friendly multivitimen that is not in pill form and does not taste worse than it smells? Gummies all seem to have sugar and the liguid I tried smells so bad it made me gag.

canadjineh

I've tried this liquid 'juice' type multi and it's pretty tasty - they sell it at the local Pharmasave. It comes in a small box bladder with a spout, like box wine, lol. I have no problem with pills though and it's pricier than those so I don't bother to buy it. I just drink it on taste-test days at my local drugstore, (save myself some pills for another day). There is some sugar in it though.... but it is very far down the list of ingredients.

https://alldaynutritionals.ca/

AKTipsyCat

Since I started this WOL, all my GERD issues pretty much went away. Every once in awhile it might flare up again, but I've usually done something to deserve it, usually too much food/wine/cheat related.

cstehansen

Dr Westman found he had several patients report their GERD went away after going on his version of LC diet in his obesity clinic. He ended up writing this review paper on some of the case studies.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ef0c/ffc2dd474d16112647a8ed4c5daeaa2a874e.pdf

Since then, I believe there have been other reports with similar findings. Personally, I used to have severe bouts about every 3-6 months that would last for a couple of weeks. I went LC a little more than 3 years ago and keto a few months later. I have had zero issues since.

I went keto because of T2 diagnosis. Controlling BG will always be my primary reason. The fact that digestive issues cleared up, acne disappeared, joint pain stopped (which had plagued me since my first knee surgery in 1986), etc. is all just icing on the cake.

mmultanen

The only thing that ever got rid of my heart burn was totally eliminating all dairy and grains from my diet. I don't have GERD but my heart burn was no fun. I do consume dairy now, but I have to be mindful of what type, amount, and frequency or the HB comes roaring back.

itzcath

I had issues with serious GERD for 30 years. Turned out it was h-pylori. After intense double antibiotics and drinking pepto bismol several times a day for 2 weeks I was cured. Apparently 80% of us have this bug and don't know it.