Anyone out there w/ Acid Reflux?

[Andrea]

For no apparent reason, I've started getting a really painful case of acid reflux.

I went to the doc yesterday, and, of course, he gave me some acid-lowering pill samples. He also wanted to rule out H. Pylori, so he took some blood. If that's the case, the problem should go away with a round of antibiotics. So, for now, I'm taking Aciphex 2x a day, and it takes the edge off.

I'm frustrated, because it doesn't seem to be related to any type or amount of food... or food at all, for that matter. I can drink a glass of room temperature water and it can start hurting.

I told the doc up front that I wouldn't just take pills forever without trying to find out what was causing the problem. He was very understanding with my concerns and said that we'll meet again once the bacteria test is back- either to get on some antibiotics or to discuss what the next step in testing would be. He said that even though I'm not experiencing symptoms of gallbladder problems, he wants to make sure that everything's ok with it.

So- have any of you ever had reflux? Anyone figure out what caused it? Anyone have remedies besides drugs?

[shootingstar]

Hope you get this problem solved...soon.

I've only had it less than 6 times in my life. And each time, it was just once.

[SheFly]

DH has this really badly, and developed it a couple of years ago. Had an endoscopy done, but the test basically came back ok (meaning not cancer). He doesn't have a particular trigger either, and has been on Prilosec for two or three years now. It seems to be the only thing that keeps it at bay. FWIW, he didn't want to go that route either, but he also can't deal with the reflux on a daily basis.

SheFly

[Tuckervill]

My husband has had GERD since he was in his 20s. He's been on Prevacid for about 17 years, I guess. I worry about his liver--they used to test his liver function every year, but they don't do that anymore, I guess because it never changes. He gets scoped every 5 years. He participated in trials for Pepcid back in the day, so he's been tested every way to Sunday. It just *is* in his life, and nothing so far has helped except the Prevacid.

I think it's a stress reaction. When I was going through my divorce I had it bad, too, but I also wasn't eating.

I also think it's hereditary in his case. His dad suffers from it, and our 14 yo son is the only one of my three that has ever experienced more than temporary heartburn, and it follows the same pattern as his dad's. :-( Another reason for them to keep their weight down.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Oh, and it's bad to have the reflux day after day. The esophagus gets worn away and it becomes very painful, and possibly precancerous. So, if this becomes chronic for you, that would be a consideration.

Aren't you a doctor?

Karen

[Pax]

I have GERD and my docs tell me I just produce way too much acid. It's not related to anything in particular, it's just how my body works. I take prilosec every day and it keeps my esophagus from eroding. I'm thrilled that there's a treatment for it cuz it HURTS!

[Andrea]

I may have to talk to the doc about prilosec. I don't feel like the Aciphex is keeping everything under control. I'd be interested to know if my problem is being caused by too much acid or by something that's mechanically wrong with the structures that are supposed to keep acid in the stomach. Can they do any tests to determine that?

[Sheesh]

I was having horrible heartburn, and couldn't narrow it down to any specific trigger. My doctor did the test for h pylori, and that came back negative. She put me on Prilosec for a month and that helped. The heartburn went away and I'm no longer on Prilosec. Occasionally, I'll now get heartburn after eating spicy food or drinking coffee, and I can just take a couple of Tums and it goes away.

Good luck figuring out how to solve your problem!

[Zen]

My husband has had GERD since he was in his 20s. He's been on Prevacid for about 17 years, I guess. I worry about his liver--they used to test his liver function every year, but they don't do that anymore, I guess because it never changes.

I already had liver problems when my Gastro Man put me on Prevacid so I don't think there should be a problem with that. I've been on Prevacid for nine years and would be miserable without it.

[ehirsch83]

I have finally gotten mine under control without medication, but I had to cut out a lot of things I like from my diet(hot sauce, dairy, hot sauce, half the amount of caffeine, hot sauce,etc.) Riding the bike a lot makes it worse because when you are sitting it causes the acid in your stomach to sort of back up. Mine got to the point where I would ahve to pull off of group rides b/c I was burping up acidic materials. I also learned that some of the sports drinks were making mine worse, for i.e. I can't drink cytomax when it is hot out, in the winter i was ok but once the heat came out it caused the acid reflux that I thought was under control to flare back up. Mine as bad, at first I thought I was pregnant b/c I would wake up and feel nauseous all day long and then any time I ate I felt like that again. I did learn that Prilosec OTC worked better for me then the achipex that the dr. prescribed.

[LBTC]

acid reflux was one of the many symptoms I had when I was sick last year. The primary issues were gallbladder and other organs. Doctors were no help at all, but some interesting testing and homeopathic treatments has me healthier than ever.

During that time I read a lot, and found that there is a condition where your stomach does not produce enough acid, or the acid is too weak, and this causes reflux. I guess the valve at the bottom of the stomach, that releases into the small instestine, is triggered by the level of acid in your stomach. If there is not enough acid, it doesn't open, but your stomach may be full, so it pushes the fluids in your stomach up the esophagus. Although the acid level is too low for the stomach, it is still far too high for the esophagus and it burns.

I understand that you can take hydrochloric acid tablets to help increase the amount of acid back to balance. I've read that it's pretty easy to tell if the problem is too much or too little acid if you take one of those tablets for obvious reaasons!

I was finding that if I drank too much water I had lots of heartburn/reflux, so that made me guess this is probably my issue. I've made lots of changes to diet because of the other issues, and reflux happens for me only occasionally now, so I haven't done the test to see if I have too little acid. When I have it now, I drink some mineral water (I prefer san pellegrino) and it usually goes away right away.

Another remedy I tried with quite a bit of success for awhile what De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL), which was inexpensive and available at the health food store.

I hope this is a temporary thing for you and that you get back to normal balance really quickly! If you want more info about the testing and stuff I went through, PM me.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Ironically, I had it a few years ago and I got it to leave, but it showed up after I got the stomach flu or whatever it was 2 months ago. It since has come back and forth.

I had a fluoroscan (can't spell it) done and they found I had a hiatal hernia which will leave the flood gates open for the acid to reflux away all day and night.

I am not sure of your body composition but at the time I had this test done, I was well over 250 lbs (at 5 ft 4). I got down to 200 and the reflux was all but gone.

One thing I did notice is when I drink alot of coffee/espresso it acts up. The best thing I found was to drink soy milk and lay off the coffee for a while. I took Protonix and let me warn you, sometimes when you start taking or stop taking them, you get diarrhea that you don't want to be riding a bike when it shows up! Not sure how the other pills work...

Hmmm...other things: no tight pants, raise the head of your bed 3 to 5 inches (feels weird but works so well to keep acid down where it's supposed to be at night), no soda and no eating 4 hours before bed time. Water water water is good too. Like I said though, I think the biggest thing for me was losing weight. I also stopped eating crap (aka greasy fatty food and packaged stuff) so that probably helped as well.

Hope you find relief soon. I hate that acidy feeling.

[Andrea]

Thanks for the advice, gals.

The doc says it's not bacterial. I'm stopping by the office today to pick up some Pepcid (I've been using it OTC, but he offered some free samples, so hey, why not?), and I'm going to leave a message for him to call me and discuss what the next step will be. I've got a constant aching throat feeling now, even with medication, so I'm really concerned about damage that could be occurring to my esophagus.

I've cut back on my coffee and soda, and I've tried eating smaller, more frequent meals, but it doesn't seem to have changed anything (especially since it seems to be getting a little WORSE). My weight is good- I'm 5'6" and fluctuate around in the 135-140 pound area.

[wellness4you]

I know how horrible that acid reflux is I had it for about 15 years some months were better and some were worse. when I wrote it like My life story this procedure cured my condition, I believe it can help yours. Many times when I took my first bite of food it would not go down and I would have to throw it up.
My family noticed this so much that it made a nervous wreck out of me. I become so self concious. Go to Google and put in My life saving story and click on wellness.

[Tokie]

Andrea, this may sound harsh, but my friends with the most successful treatment of their GERD have cut out the caffeine, alcohol and carbonated beverages - completely. Also, no eating after an early light dinner meal, and not lots of liquids before laying down at night, not even water. Everyone else is still popping the acid blocking pills and wanking about their GERD while still doing coffee, alcohol, late dinners, rich evening meals and catching up on their fluids too close to bedtime. And I would say that over half the women I work with are on meds for GERD. Tokie