Ive never had any major problems with acid reflux before.... i've never even had heartburn before in my life so it took me a while to discover that was what it was.
I dont have many past health issues although I am lactose intolerant and i have a birth defect that gives me a concave chest. The latter has never given me much issues other then i'll never be a track star. I lose my breath quicker then usual when running is all.
Ok heres the story...
I wanna say it started when i choked on my hot coffee one morning....
after that i could feel it when i swallowed anything... like a light burning sensation behind my sternum. A few days later it turned into a more deep burning sensation. So i went to the doctor. She said that i may have irritated my esophogus and that acid is coming up continuing to irritate it... making it impossible to heal. Made sense to me. So she told me to take Prilosec for about a week and a half and avoid spicy or acidic foods.... including ofcourse my pride and joy ... Coffee! I've been taking that for a week now and trying to eat as bland as a diet as i can... but its verrryyy difficult. Giving up coffee gave me some good migraines for a few days but its eased up now. I can still feel it but its nothing like it was before i went on prilosec. Also if i cheat and have a bite of a fattening type food... like a french fry... I could instantly feel it as i swallowed. That sufficiently scared me half to death because there is no way on this planet i could stick to an acid reflux diet for the rest of my life. As it is i can't have dairy.... trust me thats hard enough. I'm still burping a lot. I tasted acid in my mouth once before i went to doctor but thats it. Other then that... i don't feel it when i'm sleeping, it comes immediately after or while i'm swallowing and sometimes sticks around for a bit.
I have no idea what to eat... i don't generally eat horrible. but i don't exactly eat very healthy either. i drink 2 cups of coffee a day and advil usually is consumed a few days a week for some type of headache or muscle ache. I am more likely to eat fattening foods then anything. Spaghetti is my favorite food so tomato sauce is a normal ingredient. I don't take vitamins although i prolly should... and i don't eat many vegetables. I only really like broccolli and thats only if its got some good seasonings or sauce on it. so i dont eat a lot of it. Or corn but apparently that doesn't really count as a "vegetable".
What could be causing my sudden acid reflux issues. I just want to be able to eat spaghetti and and drink my coffee again.
I started eating a banana a day and trying to eat more broccoli but other then that i dnt know what else to do.
Does this sound like something thats gonna stay with me forever?
I would bet the farm on an H-Pylori infection. I had this once and had the same symptoms.
I think that the Stomach tries to defend itself, the only way it can, by producing more acid to kill the infection. Using acid blockers or Tums just allows it to increase.
You can try drinking some Aloe Vera Juice several times a day, It will soothe the espohagus and help with the heartburn/acid. A small amount of aluminum-free baking soda (Bob's Red Mill), around 1/4 teaspoon dissolved in a little bit of tepid water will help immediately when you feel the symptoms come on, it will neutralize the acid, just don't overdo as it affects the blood pH. I'd avoid taking the Prilosec if I could.
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I was tested for H-Pylori actually... but it came back negative.
I stopped taking the Prilosec... I've started taking probiotics and some Papaya Enzymes as I heard that would help. I still have to watch what i eat.. i can't eat tomato sauce or anything spicy because that will bother me. I've had a few small cups of coffee... It bothered me but I ate a banana afterwards and that seemed to help. Last night I had heartburn after trying to eat spaghetti... I drank a glass of milk afterward which seemed to help it supside.
Any other way to prevent these symptoms altogether rather then just treating them everytime they come up.
I heard Calcium might help if you take it in powder form.
I agree with Dan. and on top of it all there may be a different bacteria giving you problems that they don't know how to detect other than H-pylori. It took them many years to figure out H-pylori and in all those years they accused people of being over stressed and all the guilt that went with that.. other microbes could exist and cause problems that they have not yet learned how to detect.
Also, 15 percent of the population will develop a weak sphincter as they move towards middle age.. they are actually born with the predisposition. With the concave chest it makes me wonder?
I would do a home treatment for H-pylori and see what happens. I recommend ozonated water 3 to 4 times a day. an Enlay ozonator will do the trick. They are about $50. If that does not work I would assume that the problem is other than a bacterial problem and may be structural.
In a structural problem some people resort to surgery. You have to weigh the benefits to risks on this one. You cant have that acid coming up all the time as the health consequences are serious in the long term. Surgery is not always successful. In Europe they preform a esophageal sphincter tightening to keep fluids from coming up. This procedure in the USA is called a Nissen but they don't routinely do it on adults in the US. The down side is that you can no longer vomit if for any reason you should need to.
eventually this tightening loosens and does not work anymore but should be good for a number of years... but come to think of it, that loosening I know about through pediatrics, so it may be longer lasting for adults.. look into that.
I think it would be pretty prudent to make sure you are absolutely sure that there is no bacterial issue before taking on any other protocol. Stay away from all things that aggravate the conditon. Stay on your prilosec until the infection is gone. With ozone water you should be feeling improvement within a week. Do it for 3 weeks. When reflex pain is gone you can stop the prilosec but continue with treatment for the full 3 weeks.
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are you over weight or how over weight are you? Did you gain weight recently and noticed this issue? Is your pants tight when you put it on?
About a year ago I had a similar issue and I wasn't what I would have considered over weight, because I felt I was thinner than most Americans, which isn't saying a lot, but comparing to everybody else I thought I was average or in better shape. I was getting heartburn from drinking coffee as well and beer would do it to me as well.
I made some adjustments to my diet and lost 40 pounds, which I never thought I could have lost that many pounds to be honest. I thought my rib cage would be showing if I lost 40 pounds, but since I lost the weight I've never had heart burn again. My sister who I thought was really thin gets heartburn she told me from just gaining 10 or so pounds, which seems like it's in our genetic makeup.
As far as coffee, about a year ago this message board actually had me convinced to switch from coffee to green tea and I'm so glad I did. Just like coffee, you have to find really good quality tea that taste great. I used to drink my coffee black, but my wife would put sugar and milk in her coffee and now that she's drinking green tea in the morning instead she has lost weight as well. Most true tea drinkers don't add sugar or anything else to the tea, while most coffee drinkers add milk and or sugar, so no doubt you'll get less calories. I used to get a jolt of energy with coffee and then crash, now I have energy throughout the day and no quick jitters and I sleep better. I do drink 3-4 cup of matcha and sencha green tea in the morning though.
My sister used to drink some mint tea when she had a reflux issue.
No I'm not overweight... I'm actually fairly skinny. I mean I'm no model but I don't think I could lose more then 10 pounds without being unhealthy especially considering i'm 5'11''. I don't get much exercise at all so I'm not in shape. But I'm still thin.. probably because i eat very little junk food.
I don't smoke either.
Only thing I could think is that my body isn't too happy with my food intake because after having to limit my diet... I realized that was the only stuff I ate. 2 cups of coffee a day, soda, and my favorite food is italian which means lots of tomato sauce. I'm not sure but thats the only thing I can figure. That and since i'm lactose intolerant... i'm sure my digestive system is far from normal.
I just ordered some d limonene because I saw a bunch of reviews on iherb about how well it works so i'm gonna give it a shot. I'm also taking probiotics now and plan on taking calcium supplements as well (which i should have done a long time ago anyway)
crazyKate05 some people have relief from acid reflux by eating a piece of red apple with skin on befor and after a meal, I know it may sound strange but I have found pickled chilli pieces help me if I eat some with a meal.
Are you very stressed? Different people react differently to certain food. You could start a journal, writing down what and when you eat and if any symptoms of acid reflux occured afterwards. By doing this you should be able to identify the food which causes acid reflux. You could also look fo a GERD diet!
Ok it went away for 2 months and now it came back. Although not as bad. I cant feel it in my throat... just my chest. And its once again no matter what I eat. Is that normal? You'd think people with heartburn would atleast be able to eat toast.
I started taking the D-limonene again a few days ago since that may have been what helped it go away last time. I'm hoping it will this time.
Let us know how it goes.. Its a good sign that it went away for a while.. so likely not a bacterial issue. It could be just the result from poor digestion or a structural irregularity or possilby a combo of both.
Some people alleviate acid reflux and digestive issues by taking coconut oil, about a tablespoon a day... or perhaps 3 teaspoons divided through the day.
As odd as it may sound some people don't produce enough hydrochloric acid in their stomach. By taking hydrochloric acid tablets with meals it should clear up the problem if it's caused by low hydrochloric acid. If the hydrochloric acid is low the stomach will overcompensate by creating too much and people develop GERD/acid reflux (same thing).
The amount of HCL in our stomach decreases as we age.
recent acid reflux problems...
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