Try the Koufman Low Acid (and low fat) Diet Part 1 of 2

Thanks for tip and encouraging words, Faith! I will do that!

No problem =) Let us know how it goes

I've had 3 different ENT's do this procedure and everytime the discomfort was horrible. They'd tell me to make that "EEEEEE" sound and I could barely make any noise at all because I felt like I was going to choke to death. I'm not that much of a coward but this thing really bothered me. I had 4 shots of radioactive dye put into my leg around a melanoma so they could find the sentinel lymph node to remove it and it felt like someone put a Bic lighter to my leg each time but I'd rather have that again than this. I just wonder if my nasal passages are narrower than they should be. No one else seems to have issues with this. IF I ever have this again I will ask about the pediatric scope. Thanks for the info.

No - I just assumed it was normal until I read everyone on here (almost everyone) saying they didn't have any major issues with it. If I ever go back I will ask. I hope I don't have to do that - this is all coming out of my pocket.

OutdoorsGorl, I am glad to hear both the procedure and the results turned out well.

Is the diet continuing to enable your improvement?

I have recently added rooibos and licorice teas to my daily consumption - a cup of each. I was tired of camomile, it doesn't have much flavor. These teas are said by some to ease heartburn. The licorice tea has a nice, naturally sweet taste. I found them both in my local grocery store, licorice was in the health foods section. I'm continuing to do well on 40 mg of Prilosec (instead of Nexium). In another week oir two I will try bumping this down again, to 20 mg.

Sunbeam, I was on the diet for 13 days when I went to see my GI doctor. After talking to him I went off of diet and have been eating whatever I want to eat. I don't know if you saw the post where I talked about my visit with him and what we discussed. But it added up to that he feels my issues are stress related. The ENT agreed since neither one could find anything abnormal and the fact that I didn't seem to have any particular triggers and and no nighttime symptoms. I still have some burning at times but food doesn't seem to make it worse.....not does alcohol. I'm going to try to stay on my normal healthy diet and work on my handling stress better.

I am so glad your test was a piece of cake.....I was hoping it would be. Stress can certainly aggravate this situation. I have had stress for 8 years with neighbor situations and this is what brought my LPR on. I just aggravated it with a bad diet not being aware of LPR and what food could do it.
Sunbeam - I was wondering if rooibos tea is all right. I bought some a couple months ago and I do like it. Chamomile just isn't very good. I was wondering what licorice tea taste like? Licorice?? lol

KaylaJane,
I like the rooibos tea, but I don't know how to describe it except it tastes more like regular tea, but better more complex. It is a dark tea, not tart (acidic) like so many of the herbal teas. The licorice tea is great, naturally sweet but not too sweet. Something like a mild form of licorice candy, I guess, but the candy is artificial.The licorice can give you a looser stool, so I am staying with just one cup per day.

Hi CME,
Your diet sounds great to me. I don't know much about diets for various health conditions, just Koufman and healthy eating. My favorite authors include Michael Pollan, Barbara Rolls, and Brian Wanasink. I was into healthy eating way before I developed GERD/LPR. From a Koufman perspective, you could add more fat. Hers is a low-fat diet, not fat-free. Whole eggs have lots of nutrients, and the cholesterol in them is no longer s source of much concern. Cooked beans are also great. I drink skim milk (we are surrounded by dairy farms), I think the powdered stuff tastes awful, though it is OK for cooking. If you have a craving for something just a little sweet, I keep graham crackers on hand. I have crackers and milk many days around 6:00 pm., to balance out any acid that might have been produced in conjunction with my 5:00 p.m. dinner. I think yogurt or probiotics from another source maybe necessary for a sensitive stomach. I prefer getting nutrients from food, not supplements, though I do take my calcium with vitamin D. I make my (old fashioned) daily oatmeal with milk, not water as the package describes. I could ramble on, I'm grateful for your thoughts and company here.

I think having this diet as my reference point has served me really well. The more typical advice on this site is to identify your triggers, and avoid them. For me, it doesn't seem a black and white issue like that. My digestive issues are cumulative, I can eat small quantities of the "bad" stuff like higher fat foods i.e. cheese. I don't need to avoid them completely, but I am very careful to include only one fat source (max) in a meal, in a limited quantity. That kind of thinking just doesn't emerge when focusing on trigger foods.

I hope you stay around so we can continue this journey together. I am sure I can learn from you, as well.

Thanks everyone!

Faith, I feel the burning mostly in my lower throat.....where the neck and chest join. And sometimes in the upper chest area. If I take a Xanax I don't notice it.

Yes, I had endoscopy. It came back normal. The doctor said I had a little reflux and mild gastritis.

Question please...I have hypertension and cautious about licorice. Is the licorice tea deglycyrrhizinatted?

Thanks!

sunbeam,

thats good news.

do you still have throat symptomps or is it mostly classic heartburn?

did your gi doc say it was okay to lower your dose to 20mg, i remember your mentioned you had barrettes...