Acid reflux, Gerd, Barrett's esophagus.

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24

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  • andrewscott455
    andrewscott455 Posts: 21 Member
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    I quit coffee cold turkey. Didn't help. No acidic foods, no alcohol, bland diet, lost weight. I don't eat 3 hours before I go to bed. Bland diet. I tried everything. Was going to ask about surgery.
  • andrewscott455
    andrewscott455 Posts: 21 Member
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    Have Barrett's esophagus which is really bad. Meds have bad side effects also.
  • tde1961
    tde1961 Posts: 9 Member
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    Mine went away the last time I lost my huge belly...another reason to lose it again.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    i still have it even though i'm close to average weight. i don't need to take anything any more unless i eat barbeque, or high sugar
  • kabrina30
    kabrina30 Posts: 94 Member
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    I had horrible GERD when I was overweight and took meds for years. For me it's all but gone now that I've lost weight. Personally: soda, garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, or overeating pretty much anything, were triggers for me.

    And the best advice I ever got was to lay on your left side when it gets bad. Sounds simple but I swear it was a life saver for me many, many nights.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    kathydavis6 wrote: »
    What foods did you avoid when you had acid reflux

    Spicy peppers, and curry. Which are both delicious to me.

    Drinking a glass of whole milk helped. I told my doctor about it and he gave me a prescription for fomatidine, you can buy it over the counter too, but it always worked for me, and it's less calories than a glass of milk.
  • tde1961
    tde1961 Posts: 9 Member
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    I have learned to avoid foods that are high in histamines, like red wine. This was a strange discovery but has really helped me to avoid reflux. See this https://www.healthline.com/health/low-histamine-diet#foods-to-avoid
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited October 2018
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    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    My husband has GERD, apparently it runs in his family as his mom and his uncle have it too. My husband is a normal weight and has always been and the GERD has never gone away... his uncle is also pretty skinny. It’s horrible, he wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes choking 🙁. He will never change his diet since he loves spicy foods, it’s just not worth it to him. He has never been an over eater since the consequences suck. Would love to find out if there’s anything else we could try... right now he takes omeprazole once a day and tums at night time.

    Since a lot of symptoms are exacerbated by lying down, maybe he could try taking the omeprazole at bedtime, instead? Couldn't hurt to try.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
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    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    My husband has GERD, apparently it runs in his family as his mom and his uncle have it too. My husband is a normal weight and has always been and the GERD has never gone away... his uncle is also pretty skinny. It’s horrible, he wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes choking 🙁. He will never change his diet since he loves spicy foods, it’s just not worth it to him. He has never been an over eater since the consequences suck. Would love to find out if there’s anything else we could try... right now he takes omeprazole once a day and tums at night time.

    Since a lot of symptoms are exacerbated by lying down, maybe he could try taking the omeprazole at bedtime, instead? Couldn't hurt to try.

    Thats a good idea, I don't think he has ever tried that! Hes got extra pillows which seem to have helped a bit, but I worry it is going to mess up his neck sleeping like that.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    My husband has GERD, apparently it runs in his family as his mom and his uncle have it too. My husband is a normal weight and has always been and the GERD has never gone away... his uncle is also pretty skinny. It’s horrible, he wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes choking 🙁. He will never change his diet since he loves spicy foods, it’s just not worth it to him. He has never been an over eater since the consequences suck. Would love to find out if there’s anything else we could try... right now he takes omeprazole once a day and tums at night time.

    Since a lot of symptoms are exacerbated by lying down, maybe he could try taking the omeprazole at bedtime, instead? Couldn't hurt to try.

    Thats a good idea, I don't think he has ever tried that! Hes got extra pillows which seem to have helped a bit, but I worry it is going to mess up his neck sleeping like that.

    How is he placing those pillows? I was trying to find a picture of how I place them, but everything I'm seeing is for products. If you are interested, I will take a series of pictures and post for you, but I'm not going to waste the time, if you aren't interested (whether you try it or not is a different story). I was a massage therapist some time ago (20 years), and pillow positioning for injuries was one of the things we learned, and something I still use.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
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    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    My husband has GERD, apparently it runs in his family as his mom and his uncle have it too. My husband is a normal weight and has always been and the GERD has never gone away... his uncle is also pretty skinny. It’s horrible, he wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes choking 🙁. He will never change his diet since he loves spicy foods, it’s just not worth it to him. He has never been an over eater since the consequences suck. Would love to find out if there’s anything else we could try... right now he takes omeprazole once a day and tums at night time.

    Since a lot of symptoms are exacerbated by lying down, maybe he could try taking the omeprazole at bedtime, instead? Couldn't hurt to try.

    Thats a good idea, I don't think he has ever tried that! Hes got extra pillows which seem to have helped a bit, but I worry it is going to mess up his neck sleeping like that.

    How is he placing those pillows? I was trying to find a picture of how I place them, but everything I'm seeing is for products. If you are interested, I will take a series of pictures and post for you, but I'm not going to waste the time, if you aren't interested (whether you try it or not is a different story). I was a massage therapist some time ago (20 years), and pillow positioning for injuries was one of the things we learned, and something I still use.

    He just stacks a bunch of pillows and props his neck up on them, they aren't special pillows or anything just normal bed pillows and a throw. I'd be curious to see some different ways he could stack them if it might help, but his condition is so severe i'm not sure how much the pillows are really helping.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    FL_Hiker wrote: »
    My husband has GERD, apparently it runs in his family as his mom and his uncle have it too. My husband is a normal weight and has always been and the GERD has never gone away... his uncle is also pretty skinny. It’s horrible, he wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes choking 🙁. He will never change his diet since he loves spicy foods, it’s just not worth it to him. He has never been an over eater since the consequences suck. Would love to find out if there’s anything else we could try... right now he takes omeprazole once a day and tums at night time.

    Since a lot of symptoms are exacerbated by lying down, maybe he could try taking the omeprazole at bedtime, instead? Couldn't hurt to try.

    Thats a good idea, I don't think he has ever tried that! Hes got extra pillows which seem to have helped a bit, but I worry it is going to mess up his neck sleeping like that.

    How is he placing those pillows? I was trying to find a picture of how I place them, but everything I'm seeing is for products. If you are interested, I will take a series of pictures and post for you, but I'm not going to waste the time, if you aren't interested (whether you try it or not is a different story). I was a massage therapist some time ago (20 years), and pillow positioning for injuries was one of the things we learned, and something I still use.

    He just stacks a bunch of pillows and props his neck up on them, they aren't special pillows or anything just normal bed pillows and a throw. I'd be curious to see some different ways he could stack them if it might help, but his condition is so severe i'm not sure how much the pillows are really helping.

    It's really only one specific way I am thinking, and it helps the whole upper body keep a gentle slope, I've found that I can even lay on my side with them stacked this way, with my arm tucked into the middle. Maybe if he tried that while lying on his left side. I'll post it sometime today. Worst thing is that it won't work. Hopefully, changing the medication time can help too.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    Lower carb was the answer for my husband. I only mention it because not once was he advised to cut back on grains, starches or sugar at all - it was fatty, spicy and acidic foods he was told to avoid and when that didn't work daily medication was prescribed which helped but didn't eliminate it.
  • Xerogs
    Xerogs Posts: 328 Member
    edited October 2018
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    I used to have acid reflux really bad after I gained quite a bit of weight a few years ago. Losing weight helped but changing the foods I ate, drinking green tea regularly, and moving to a ACV regime (two teaspoons in a glass of water or in pill form twice a day) helped a great deal. It's rare that I have an attack these days and if I do its usually because I overate before bedtime. The biggest food culprits in the past for me were baked goods(especially blueberry muffins which are my favorite), sweetened cereal with dairy, pancakes with maple syrup, spicy foods were hit and miss, whole wheat anything causes some major issues so I just avoid it as much as possible, aside from a few others I just need to be aware how much I am eating and when I am eating it. Coffee doesn't bother me like it does others but I don't drink it after lunch time. A low carb lifestyle seems to have helped as well since it omits many of the foods that used to exacerbate my acid reflux.

    I noticed when I had a flare up recently that the acid reducers would help overnight but once I stopped I had to bear through one day before things normalized. It's like my system rebounded after taking an acid reducer so I try not to take them as much if it can be helped. These days watching what I eat, losing a few lbs, and finding other methods to settle my stomach have been much more effective than long stretches of taking acid reducers.
  • andrewscott455
    andrewscott455 Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies. Amazon has some good wedge pillows.
  • andrewscott455
    andrewscott455 Posts: 21 Member
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    I can't believe it's not better after losing 50 pounds. Didn't have much belly fat before, maybe that's the reason. People are say I lost to much weight.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    andrewscott455 wrote: »
    I can't believe it's not better after losing 50 pounds. Didn't have much belly fat before, maybe that's the reason. People are say I lost to much weight.

    That shouldn't cause this to continue being a problem if it's weight related. It may be time to ask your doc to refer you to a surgeon. They will likely want to do some tests first.
  • noranda82
    noranda82 Posts: 23 Member
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    I've had GERD since I was 8 years old. It runs in my family. About 10 years ago I had an upper endoscopy and found I have a hiatal hernia (stomach extends above the diaphragm) and Barretts Esophagus (a precancerous condition where your esophagus cells are compromised by your stomach cells). I am losing weight because the number one cause of these symptoms besides acidic diets is excess stomach weight. Lose the weight and the symptoms should get better. I've done a lot of research and trial and error over the years and these are a few tips I've learned:
    • Since the 1970s, food companies started adding dietary acid to everything processed. Coincidentally, since the 1970s, occurrences of esophagus cancer has skyrocketed, becoming the fastest growing cancer, soon to become the 2nd most common cancer in the U.S. Avoid processed foods with added dietary acid at all costs.
    • If you take Omeprazole (I do) or another PPI, it works best if you take it 30m to an hour before eating either lunch or dinner. It "activates" when you eat, reducing the amount of acid your stomach produces. This also increases the time it takes to digest your food, so don't overeat, and stay away from any foods that take a long time to digest (high fat). A 20mg pill will only last for about 16 hours though, so it keep that in mind.
    • Stay away from NSAID painkillers (Advil, Motrin, etc.). This has been the trigger of most of my gastritis flare ups. Just don't take them. Take Tylenol instead.
    • If you have a flare up, either raise the head of your bed, or use a GERD wedge pillow for a few nights. They are uncomfortable (at least to me), but are the only way I can sleep when it gets bad. Invest in a good one that lets you tuck your arm when you rest on your side (never rest on your right side as the position of your stomach will allow acid into your esophagus).
    • General foods to stay away from: citrus fruits, tomatoes, coffee, mint, chocolate, high fat foods, anything processed (check the label, if it saids "acid", it's got added dietary acid), spicy foods, garlic, onions, soda, alcohol
    • Never eat 3 hours before you lay down to go to sleep. It takes 2-3 hours for your dinner to digest.
    • Exercise helps, even just light to moderate exercise. Walk for 30 minutes a day after a meal to help with digestion.
    • If you've experienced GERD symptoms for more than a few weeks and you've never seen a doctor about it, do it! Many people have only occasional symptoms and never see a doctor, but without a scope to see what's going on, you could be doing irreparable damage to your esophagus. Everyone experiences symptoms differently. Are you coughing a lot for no reason? Feel like there's a lump in your throat sometimes? You may not feel the burn, but that doesn't mean it's not burning.

    Hope these tips help.

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