Hello, Joe1619,
I see that you are a regular member and have no doubt posted other
threads regarding your problem with depression and acid reflux disease.
You've listed a number of medications which you take, and you may be suffering not only from reactions to the medications, but you may have also foods in your diet that are contributing to making acid reflux worse.
It's helpful to go online and search acid reflux disease to learn
what provokes attacks and see if there is anything that you are taking
that can cause this and what home remedies are available to help
ease the symptoms.
Personally, Alkaseltzer works for me. Do you know about
which foods
are acid-reacting upon digestion? If not, please see a website called acid-reacting foods.com; see if any of those are part of your diet on a daily basis. While you can't erase, perhaps, the effects of medications, you may be able to reduce the acidity of acid reflux by changing your diet mildly to lower the level of acid-producing foods in your diet.
I've said this so many times: the body has a threshold of sensitivity to certain foods, but once we pass that threshold, we're going to have adverse reactions. For example, sugar is notorious for producing acidic reactions. All milk products are highly acid in reactivity. (It's the sulfur-like content called thiols which create the problem for some.) In fact, there is a website called "foods high in thiols.com" which gives you a list of those . Check it to see if you use these foods in your diet frequently. Then, please check an opposing website called "Alkaline foods.com" to see which ones will give you a better digestive event. Strangely enough, one philosopher said that foods which we eat that taste bitter are digested as sweet, and foods that we eat that are sweet are digested as sour or bitter. An example is the lemon: while it tastes sour, it is digested as one of the most alkaline foods that a diet may contain. It's extremely calming and good for the body.
That's the kind of thing that works for some of us. In addition, it is
best not to drink or eat anything that has caffeine in it. Caffeine is highly acidic upon ingestion. I would add that the artificial sweeteners are also very acidic. The only one to date which has been shown not to be harmful is Stevia. Ask yourself if you use many diet drinks or
alcohol in your diet. If so, it is best to remove them for your health.
Finally, it is best for you to turn off your t.v. and computer at least
one hour before going to bed because the light emitted from the screens may virtually stop the production of melatonin (a chemical that induces sleep). If you are an older person, the production of melatonin is reduced, anyway, and adding melatonin will work for about three
months only, so you need to provide other ways to get to bed without
light interfering with you body's ability to help you go to sleep. Some
people use 5htp tryptophan as an adjunct to helping get to sleep.
(There is a very rare but possibly dangerous illness called "the Serotonin Syndrome" in some people who are taking SSRIs for depression, so check with your doctor on that one--if you are sensitive, however, to 5htp tryptophan and are one of the rare people who have a reaction if you are taking SSRIs, all you need to do is drop the 5htp
from your schedule and the illness will dissipate within 24 hours. )
I'm not a doctor and can describe only that which has worked for me or others. You should discuss this with your general practitioner to get his opinion regarding your diet.
Good wishes,
It's Genetic
Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 1/9/2011 3:31:40 PM (GMT-7)