Acid reflux, Gerd, Barrett's esophagus.

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.

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.

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.

andrewscott455 wrote: »

Oh and I have a wedge pillow also

andrewscott455 wrote: »

Oh and I have a wedge pillow also

andrewscott455 wrote: »

Oh and I have a wedge pillow also

My reflux is caused by eating/drinking proteins especially with little fat, and eggs in all shapes and forms (especially egg yolk). If I avoid these I'm usually fine. I can't eat more fats as my body doesn't digest them properly. Also learnt last week that my gallbladder is close to useless, which might explain a thing to two. I'm not overweight (only ever have been overweight 5kg or so), don't take antacids other than when really, really necessary and all the other reasons in that article don't suit me either. Everyone is different and everyone has different reasons. If I went keto I would basically starve. If I went higher protein I'd damage my oesophagus big time. Carbs are the way to go for me.

Why do I have gallbladder issues? Bad luck probably. Of all the risk factors only female and fair (very pale and blond/ginger) fits. I'm neither fat, nor runs in family, nor over 40 when it started (30 I'd say), nor had children. Bad luck.

@CMNVA this sounds similar to the history of a 65 year old friend that passed last Christmas with throat cancer that spread to other sites. Check with another MD at least ASAP based on what you just typed.

PPIs have their place, in the short term. They don’t solve the problem. But it does give your body time to heal any sores that your acid may be eroding. Long term It only masks an underlining issue.

There’s a reason the FDA has only approved PPIs use for 4-8 weeks depending on your issues.

I know the fda isn’t the end all be all, but it gives us another reason to avoid long term use.

Im just bringing awareness to a major issue. Hoping maybe some of you will further research this and realize there is another way. If you’ve found peace then great. I just want others to be aware there are alternatives to a multi billion dollar drug that is extremely over prescribed.

liz0269 wrote: »

HookGripDeadlifts wrote: »

PPIs are absolutely horrible for you if taken long term (much higher risk of dementia, increased risk of death among many other things). If you’re using these on a regular basis please do some research on them. Nasty stuff outside of some short term use.

Protein pump inhibitors (PPI) reduce the amount of acid in your stomach. Acid reflux, gerd, contrary to popular belief, is usually the result of too little acid in the stomach as opposed to too much.

PPIs just compound the issues. Gut health is so important and having a lack of acid makes the digestive process much more difficult. As a result, this allows things to happen in the gut that shouldn’t.

I’ve been diagnosed with gerd in the past and dealt with it for years. Finally i took matters into my own hands and educated myself on it and haven’t had any symptoms in over 9 months. Keep in mind this is after feeling symptoms on a daily basis.

Long story short, here’s what I did.

Weened myself off of my doctor prescribed PPi. Don’t cold turkey because your symptoms will be exponentially worse.

Introduced more acid to my stomach (Betaine HCL with pepsin), which was doing the opposite of what I was ignorantly prescribed over and over again (PPI) lowering my already low stomach acid.

Betaine HCL can do wonders for your reflux. It adds additional acid into your stomach that you’re most likely low in. After a week or so I started noticing a positive change. After a couple months of HCL and some probiotics, my gerd was gone and haven’t had a single episode since.

Don’t take my word for it, do the research. It’s worked for me, and for many others.

I hope this information will be helpful to someone out there. It was a game changer for me.

I developed Barrett's esophagus from following this advice. I got scoped and my doctor said it wasn't cancer...yet...but it was bad.

I started taking a PPI immediately. Got scoped again six months and there was some improvement but it was still considered Barrett's. It was another year before I was downgraded from Barrett's to GERD.

PPIs may have side effects but esophageal cancer is worse.

yirara wrote: »

HookGripDeadlifts wrote: »

Also, for anyone who decides to ignorantly “woo” me before doing the research. Explain to me where I’m wrong.

Fact: Long term use of PPIs are very dangerous for many people.

Fact: Gerd is generally caused from too little acid production, not too much.

Please show me a credible source proving me wrong. Because theres plenty of sources proving me right.

The reason I woo'd you is because you promoted a cure for all, which can be dangerous in some cases as demonstrated here by other users. Yes, taking PPIs constantly is not good, but what you're doing is not good either. An individual solution needs to be found for every individual here, not broad general statements.

I brought awareness to the negatives of PPIs and that gerd is typically caused by lack of acid.

I promoted doing research which we should all do. We are going to care about our own body’s more than any doctor will.

I explained what worked for me and why it worked for me. Again, it’s not for everyone but it worked for me and may work for you.

GaleHawkins wrote: »

@CMNVA this sounds similar to the history of a 65 year old friend that passed last Christmas with throat cancer that spread to other sites. Check with another MD at least ASAP based on what you just typed.

I am seeing an doctor for my digestive issues but I'm afraid I don't understand what happened to your friend. Did they have throat cancer as a result of digestive issues?

First of all, let me say I’m sorry you’ve had these issues with your health. My finding peace statement was because I understood it as you know the negatives of ppis but the positives outweighed the negatives in yours and your doctors mind.

Believe me, I’m not some anti medicine all natural guy. I’m grateful for modern day medicine and the benefits it has. My wife is studying to be an RN because she wants to help people. It’s important.

I feel my doctor was very ignorant in prescribing me ppis over and over and having me take the max 80mg a day. Many doctors make this same mistakes. Doctors are human and make mistakes too. Which is why I’ve advocated doing our own research because doctors don’t know everything.

My doctor never informed me of the negatives of long term use of PPIs. He told me I had too much acid which was not the case. I didn’t start feeling better until I got fed up with how I was feeling and did my own research.

Truly I’m just trying to bring awareness and that there are other methods that may work for other individuals.

I know your post wasn't directed at me, but I get what you're saying. Some doctors are very lax about prescribing PPIs without thoroughly investigating the problem. I think they are fine to use short term but if you are going to stay on them for a lifetime, then you should be having a full investigation into the problem.

CMNVA wrote: »

First off, GERD is really caused by a loose or relaxed lower esophageal sphincter which allows stomach contents to reflux up into the esophagus. Whether those contents are high acid or low acid, no matter what amount it is, the esophagus can't handle it. So, too much exposure to digested stomach contents starts to cause changes in the esophagus.

There are some cases of digestive discomfort caused by low stomach acid. But it is not the #1 cause of GERD.

Having the loose LES is as well as possible having a good LES but so much pressure in the abdomen from being over weight (or also hiatal hernia) that pushes contents into the esophagus.

PPIs mitigate the acid load going into your esophagus but they don't stop the stuff going up there. Only surgery will do that.

People with Barrett's absolutely need to be on PPIs for a lifetime. They must balance the risks.

Where I think PPIs get overprescribed is for those that just abuse themselves with food and being overweight. It's easy just to pop that pill to get rid of the discomfort rather than eat sensibly and maintain a healthy weight.

This. My daughter was born with GERD and it was a nightmare. She was constantly in pain and projectile vomited everything within an hour of feeding - breast milk, pureed food, anything. Although she wasn't my 1st baby I was classed as a neurotic mum who didn't know how to deal with a bit of burping. I solved that by feeding her in the car then taking her into the doctors waiting room an hour early for her appointment. Right on cue. Right on cue.

As she was still putting on weight and growing as per the chart, I was told to bring her back if it was still the same in 12 months as babies usually grow out of it. So fast forward to 14 months old and she was finally seen at the hospital. She had a couple of stitches in the LES as it hadn't formed correctly and was too loose. It was an immediate fix.

The hospital consultant had to wait 2 weeks before he could do the small operation but said in the meantime to only lie her on her left side and to use this position as much as possible. I always remembered this so whenever any of us got reflux at night I'd say to lie on the left and it worked. It might be a helpful aid for occasional reflux but doesn't replace having it checked by a doctor.

This is exactly why I started my weight loss journey.
A little over 3 years ago I was having trouble breathing, went to see a pulmonologist and he said I had COPD and gave me inhalers. My breathing became even worse, I kept going back to the doc with no results, he said I'd just have to deal with it. Shortly after this I started having trouble eating, I'd cut my foood up into pea sized bites and it would STILL get stuck in my throat.
One night about 6 to 8 months later I laid down to sleep and a huge whoosh of liquid (felt huge anyway) came up of stomach acid, I started gasping for air. I was excited though, now I knew WHY I was having trouble breathing; stomach acid! I made an appointment with a GI doc and tests were run, my diagnosis was a bad H Pylori infection, it was making it so the stomach valve (sphincter actually) was staying open and acid was getting into my lungs. I had a triple course of antibiotics, acid reducers, and was put on a specialized diet. At night I had to sleep on 8 pillows and a bed wedge just so I could rest without gasping for air!
My doctor said weight loss would help, ever since that day I have been researching, counting calories, and working out. I am down 86 pounds with 40 to 45 left to lose. I am still sleeping at an angle, but now with a bed wedge and 2 pillows instead of 8, no acid meds, and very rare trouble breathing. I drink no carbonated beverages, eat lots of veggies and some melon, and cook everything myself. Coffee was the only thing I refused to give up, but everything else went out the window.
I'd say diet modification along with the weight loss has helped greatly! The meds never really did work for me at all. If in the end I am still stuck with acid coming up after all my efforts I may get the Fundipication surgery, but since I am making progress (very slow, but progress) I'd like to not have to. Also I don't eat after 7pm (dinner is at 5:30-6, I go to bed at 1am) so I've been sort of on intermittent pasting without meaning to be. Altogether my efforts are working, slowly but it's working.