Sorry to hear about
your situation. I have been there and done that - No T-shirt - just a well of knowledge and experience.
WARNING!!! Do not confuse Indigestion with the signs of an on-coming Heart Attack!Back in my
'sick puppy' days, I had indigestion really
REALLY[/bi] Bad - like double-over-in-the-middle-of-the-store bad. Like crawl-up-the-sidewalk-to-get-back-into-the-house[i/] bad. It would start out as a sort of discomfort (sometimes an urge to eat - believe it or not!), then it would quickly progress to EXTREME gut and chest pains, bloating and even difficulty breathing. At first the doctors told me to drink a soda the minute I felt the pains coming on - and it worked! Apparently the gas that the soda produced was enough to 're-organize' what my stomach was having trouble digesting. I'd have a few hell-asious (sp?) burps and the pressure would disappear and all would be right with the world again. But as you could probably guess, eventually the 'soda trick' became less and less effective, and not too surprisingly, it started to seem like more and more foods/meals would set the whole situation into high gear.
My doctor put me on ant-acids - hardly made a dent - in that they worked for a while, but not long-term.
I decided to start handling this on my own mainly because I felt like this could get bad enough to kill me. (By this time a session of this would have me trying to pat my own back (or get someone else to do it - when there was someone else around), coughing over the sink to get what was in my gut OUT of my gut before the gas built up so hard that my heart would no longer be able to beat!!!
I learned a few things along the way, and can happily say that I have not suffered from this particular malady now, for over 20 years.
1) CHEW YOUR FOOD - I had just started wearing upper and lower dentures when my digestion problems started. Chewing with dentures takes more time and more effort - but it is definitely worth it.
2) Eat SLOWLY - For your body to be able to handle the digestion of incoming food,that food has to come into contact with sufficient amounts of acids, digestive juices, gut flora, etc. to break down the foods so that they can make their way along the digestive track. As the food is broken down by all these elements, gases are created which are usually expelled with our breath, through our digestive track or as a burp (on the top end) or as flatulence [a fart] on the bottom end. But either way, a lot of gasses ae produced during the digestive process. Piling food layers on top of developing gas can make getting rid of that gas a near-fight -for -your-life situation!
3) Drink only before or after your meal NOT during! Drinking outside fluids - anything that does not ASSIST the body's task of breaking down the foods you have eaten WILL HINDER the process. If what you are eating won't dissolve within 4 hours in a glass of warm water - at a temperature of about 100 degrees - it is NOT going to be helped in the gut to dissolve in your water-diluted digestive juices.
4) Walk after meals! The action of walking helps to 'stir' the contents of your gut, allowing the food to ferment evenly, and thoroughly. Think of it like the auger in the middle of your washing machine. the action is continuously rearranging the contents - allowing the gases that are formed to easily escape without causing discomfort. (When my attacks would start I would walk, wiggle and gyrate my way from room to room, in an effort to get the trapped gas to the top of the pile - and OUT!
5) Ant-Acids are NOT the solution. Stopping / Hindering the development of acids in your gut is not what one needs to do - if anything one might need to have more / stronger acid levels in your gut to breakdown the foods faster, and thus reduce the accumulation pf trapped gas, and the resulting pain and discomfort.
6) Food combining is very helpful here. Knowing what works together and what doesn't can make a HUGE difference in the composition of your gut juices/gases and flora. A little knowledge can go a LONG way. Learn it slow and make changes one at a time. Learning what worked for Me really helped!
7) I Always carried Charcoal Capsules. This really helped - especially in the beginning when I would forget to do things the right way - (for me and my schedule, chewing my food THOROUGHLY and Eating SLOWLY were two of the hardest things I had to learn to do). The good news - charcoal caps can absorb a LOT of gas and help to relieve the pressure of indigestion pretty well. 2 or 3 caps usually did the trick for me - Especially if I took them as soon as I realized I might need them, and started walking at the first signs of discomfort.
8) Learn to 'roll' your tummy! This probably goes along with #4 But I didn't want to leave it out.
9) DON'T PANIC! - I know how scary and unsettling these attacks can be, but panicking can deprive you of the opportunity to lessen the effects of what is happening a lot sooner. Keep a level head and remember that staying calm will help you to end this nightmare faster.
10) Eat Less Processed Foods - Processed foods deplete your body's assets.
Whole, Live foods replenish your body's assets.
There is a reason that junk food is called junk food - because it is JUNK! Unfortunately, there is more Junk in our food than most people realize. On the other hand - there is more GOOD in Real Live foods than most people realize. And what's more - we NEED that goodness to have good health, vitality, energy and a functioning mind/brain.
- A few tips:
- Eat at least one raw vegetable with every meal - and mix it up - don't do the same food all the time - experiment! Live a little! Heck!, LIVE a LOT!!! Working more fresh, raw vegetables into your diet will help increase your gut flora, and improve your digestion - just make sure you CHEW it completely - If you would rather, you can JUICE it!!!
- Eat at least one raw FRUIT before allowing yourself to indulge in that depleted, devoid, DEAD snack! Working more fresh, raw fruits into your diet will help increase your gut flora, and improve your digestion - just make sure you CHEW it completely - If you would rather, you can JUICE it!!!
- IF you HAVE to throw up to get things moving -
* - DON'T do it in the bathroom. Being hunched over the toilet makes your digestive tract harder to negotiate - keeping your upper body in as straight a line as possible will make things easier.
* - NEVER force yourself to throw up with your fingers or by gagging yourself. IF you really do need to evacuate the food matter that is laying heavy in your gut - lean over the sink and COUGH as hard and as long as you need to. Doing this in bouts between walking/gyrating and while being patted on the back (From the bottom to the top) will bring what needs to come out - OUT!
* - WARNING!!!! Do NOT confuse Indigestion with the symptoms of an on-coming Heart Attack. If in doubt - call 911. It is better to be wrong than dead!
In case you missed that, I'm going to say it again; It is better to be wrong than dead!.
Well, that is an overview of my personal experience. I am NOT suggesting that anyone follow my example, I am NOT giving medical advice (I am NOT a medical professional), but I have endured this hell(for almost 15 years!) and come out the other side a little more educated for the trip!
Talk to your health care professional, before proceeding with any new regiment or diet.
Hope this helps, and encourages you to better health. 