Acid Reflux (GERD)

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  • vicshawwill
    vicshawwill Posts: 7 Member
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    I had it terribly after my pregnancies. Went to the gastro Dr., got scoped, put on Rx meds, and had to take them faithfully. I was so sick of them and was looking for something else. I know I will probably get flamed for this, but I started taking Digestime (I think that is how you spell it) with every meal for a few weeks. It really worked! I figured I would have to take it forever as bad as my acid reflux had been. Well, I started trying to skip it sometimes, and guess what, still no GERD!! I quit taking it and still have no symptoms. It is like the medicines had kept the acid away, but messed my stomach up in the process. I have tried some natural things before, but never got the results like this. I absolutely was blown away that it works so well. This is what worked for me. Certainly may not for everyone, but it is just stomach enzymes and acid. And what pushed me was a new study about the problems people have after long term use of the acid reflux meds. Freaked me out!!!

    Did losing weight help make the GERD go away or was it other things too? I am down to 20mg of omeprazole but I am worried about lack of bone density, one of the side effects of being on omeprazole long term.

    :smile:
  • adhillman01
    adhillman01 Posts: 206
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    OMG, YES i have GERD. my doctor switch my pain medication to non-asprine based. used to take naproxen, (stuff works great) but now everything is asprine free. no more tomatos, reduced the coffee intake, no more hot foods, forced to chew foods slower-well that is most likely a good thing. i have to make sure i take prilosec x4 aday.

    I really hope you're not taking Prilosec 4X per day. It is meant to be taken once daily, sometimes twice daily if you have resistant GERD. Once in the AM 30 minutes before your breakfast should be plenty. This is coming from someone in working on their doctorate of pharmacy right now (I graduate in 109 days).
  • Hood25
    Hood25 Posts: 208 Member
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    Yes I did...past tense! I had a procedure to see if there was anything else wrong and I had a herniated esophogial sphincter. I treated it with zantac 2x a day (not sure the mg but it was prescription and stronger than over the counter) in order to cut the acid down so I could heal the herniated sphincter and I also lost some weight and I no longer have it. I have even put back on 10-15 pounds and it still hasn't came back. I also know my trigger foods (peanut butter, milk, and lots of fatty food with beer). I think everyone is different. You have to find the right mix that works for you. Prevacid did not work for me or my sister.
  • Hood25
    Hood25 Posts: 208 Member
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    Oh and I almost forgot! Believe it or not stress and anxiety I believe triggered mine too. Weird I know but has anyone else had the same experience? I have learned to breathe to help with stressful moments.
  • silvabelle89
    silvabelle89 Posts: 76
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    I had it.. I found that I mostly had episodes when I over ate. Now I am eating a lot healthier and smaller portions have helped tremendously.
  • CannibalisticVegetarian
    CannibalisticVegetarian Posts: 1,255 Member
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    i used to have reflux..Twas bad stuff, that it was.

    I took Prilosec for it a few times. That helped TONS. Any other time, I'd stay try my darndest to just say no to spicy/greasy foods and whenever acid reflux hit (which was nearly every single night), I'd sit and chew on a handful of TUMS.

    Since losing weight however, I've stopped having the episodes altogether. In fact, I can eat a majority of the stuff that would've made me sick in the past.
  • bcc112986
    bcc112986 Posts: 362 Member
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    Anybody here have acid reflux or GERD related to being overweight? If so, what are you doing to treat it?

    I had acid reflux for many years due to stress and a bad diet. I also drank too much alcohol.

    I tried lots of things like becoming a vegetarian (helped a lot), drank a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar a day (this is a must) and also kept some chewable all-natural antacids (have not used these in years).

    Also, I have heard recently that acid reflux may get worse if you are lactose intolerant but have not been diagnosed or are ignoring your symptoms. I do know now that I am sensitive to dairy.

    Listen to your body. Try altering your diet and get some raw apple cider vinegar.

    :) Brittany
  • newcraft
    newcraft Posts: 11
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    I can only offer my experience - I had gerd severe enough that it caused Barret's Esophagus/stricture - I didn't always feel the reflux, but it happened often enough over a long period of time that the tissue in the esophagus created a blockage of mucus to try to repair the damaged tissue and it made swallowing difficult. My mother had the same condition and actually had to go to the ER and get the stricture dilated. I didn't have an episode where something stuck completely, but it would come back up and was painful.

    Long story short, I had gastric bypass within a year of that starting to be a really bad problem, and the procedure itself cured it. My esophagus has healed because my stomach doesn't produce the same amount of digestive fluid anymore. I'm not suggesting that as a solution, but it really opened my eyes to how bad my problem was and how it was even affecting my asthma.

    My mother's gerd went away when she lost weight, and I know that the weight I've kept off has helped me as well, even with the intervention.

    Pay attention to what you're taking in, what time of day you might have these episodes, keep your head elevated at night with multiple pillows or a wedge if you're not already doing so. There are presciption acid reducers that can be effective if you've made changes and still not getting better. Discuss it with a doctor.

    But don't wait until you've lost "X" number of pounds before you take action - gerd isn't something you want to "live with", you want the acid to stop.

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