Barretts gone!

Wow, you look disciplined as hell with all those things you do. I personally have never noticed any difference in my symptoms with any of them, but hats off to you for using them all to get better. Congratulations. And, thanks for sharing this.

I am pretty happy b/c I have almost the same diet as you, except eat more fish than poultry. Where do you get your blackberries? I have tried to find some but never do...I just find black rasberries which I have read, aren't blackberries even though they look it...

Also, just curious...how did you decide to try spirulina? and when do you take aloe vera gel?

Thanks for any info, and again congrats and thanks for sharing. I am very happy for your good news and how you feel about it.

DOGGBONES

Awesome sharing and thank you for joining and taking the time to post your experience with all of us.  I admire that you have taken the time to work out a plan that works for you and you have great discipline.  Your lifestyle changes are sound and it is good to read they are helping you. 

I noted you sleep on your right side - I have read materials that promote sleeping on the left side.  Did you just find from experimenting that your right side works best for you ?  I sleep on my right side and when I do reflux I try to remain on my left but it feels so unatural to me. 

I hope you keep on talking with us here in the forum.  HealingWell is a great place to exchange tips, coping strategies, and opinions.

Kindly,

Kitt

George's Aloe Vera Juice tastes like water. They stripped the aloe of all the things that are not necessary so all that is left is the healing part. I take 4 oz. a day.

Doggbones-

Thank you so much for your post. Can you tell me, what is your daily routine, meaning how often do you take the spirulina, manuka honey, aloe, carafate, dexilant, dgl (what do you take and what do you mean by not timing the carafate). My Dr. just wrote me a prescription for 60 mg dexilant once a daye (Prilosec wasn't working) and carafate. Where do you buy the spirulina, honey aloe, and dgl? I am desperate to get this heartburn under control. Dr told me the next step would be nissen surgery and I really, really do not want to go that route (I'm only 33 yrs old with 2 small children, so surgery isn't something I want to do). Did apple cider vinegar ever work for you? I tried that a while back it helped some.

Thank you so much! I can't express how much I appreciate your help.

Doggbones-

Thank you so very much! I'm going to head over to Whole Foods this weekend to see what I can find. I'll also try the Lakewood brand of Aloe vera juice- I had been taking the Whole Foods brand, but it has citric acid and tastes awful! I'll have to ask my Dr about taking Zantac in the evenings, since that is when the burning is the worst.

Diet change has been hard, but I've done it- my favorite foods are (were) coffee, diet mt. dew, anything with marinara sauce, chocolate, and I chewed mint gum a lot. I've completely cut out everything but the occasional chocolate and have added more low acidic fruits and veggies to my diet. I even tried gluten free for a while (my son has celiac disease) but I didn't notice any changes in my heartburn.

I'm just curious- what are your GERD symptoms? I have a mild burning in my chest about 50% of the day, every single day. This has been going on for about 8 months. Before that I never had heartburn in my life. My endoscopy showed a hiatial hernia, some short segmented Barretts and intestinal metaplasia, but my Dr didn't seem too worried at this point. Surgery was thrown out there b/c the symptoms aren't being controlled. I worry that surgery would just be trading one problem for another (or I could end up worse off).

Thanks again and I'm so happy that you have found relief and that your barretts is gone!

GoCats

Doggbones,

I'm a constant gum chewer now too and have switched to juicy fruit instead of mint. Luckily I don't like mint that much anyway! I'm a lightweight too- 5'6, 114 lbs, so I really don't need to be losing any weight. Eating food actually helps with the symptoms, so I find myself eating just so the burning will stop. I hate reading that heartburn is caused by being overweight (or smoking) when I don't do either- it just doesn't seem fair!

I searched all over town for the Lakewood brand Aloe Vera juice (or gel), but couldn't find any, so I guess I'll buy some online. This acid reflux is really starting to get expensive, but it's worth it for the relief. I did order some Manuka Honey and Dgl tablets from drugstore.com and am hoping they come in the mail any day. I'm at a loss of what to drink in the mornings- I want a hot drink, but coffee, hot chocolate and hot apple cider are out (and I hate tea), so I'm going to try the honey and hot water. This weekend I tried the Gaviscon at nights and that gave me some relief.

The gluten free diet is very difficult, especially when you know what you are missing! Luckily my son was dx at age 1, so he doesn't know what he's missing in good bread, pizza, pasta, desserts, etc. Needless to say, dinnertime is huge chore at our house b/c I'm cooking different meals for the regular eaters and then for us with the "ailments"!

You are right, being able to talk about this is very helpful and makes me feel a lot better. The whole order is draining and makes me agitated some days. Praying for better days ahead.

Take care as well,

GoCats

GoCats,
I know what you mean - there's no explanation for the GERD in some of us: I have normal BMI, never smoked, not on any other medication, had very minimal alcohol intake, already dairy free and almost gluten free, negative for Helicobacter, and my hernia is so small I wasn't offered surgery. I had GERD several years ago which cleared up quick and stayed away for 3 years - then came back when I gave up tea and coffee to help with a bladder problem! Makes no sense and you could just cry when you read "lose weight, avoid citrus tomatoes, alcohol and coffee . . . "

MMM

Doggbones, thanks for sharing your story. I love reading about those who have had success with natural remedies and improved. Well one.

@DOGGBONES

Thanks for the write up. Does manuka honey or carafate help my sore throat? I am on prevacid for past 2 months but my throat does not heal.

Hello: I was DX with Barrett's about 18 months prior. Here is my story:

1st Test Result: Squamocolumnar junctional type mucosa with focal intestinal metaplasia and minmal acute and mild chronic inflammation; negative for dysplasia.

What's strange is that I never really felt like I had GERD, and only added an endoscopy because I was due for my first colonoscopy when I turned 50. Flash forward to present, I had my 2nd endoscopy and NO BARRETTS was found.

2nd Test Result: - Squamocolumnar junctional type mucosa with no diagnostic abnormality
- No intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, or malignancy

I understand that sometimes a biopsy will miss the Barretts. However, here is what I've done to alleviate GERD and heal my esophagus. As it turns out regarding symptoms, my GERD presented, not as a burning in the throat, but as tightness in the chest and back between shoulder blades, fluttering feeling in the chest, and sometimes a radiating numbness to my hands.

Meds
1. Started PPIs 1x daily (but discontinued after about one month as I didn't like what I was reading about them for long term use and issues with malabsorption)
2. Switched to Zantac, but only when I had symptoms

Lifestyle
1. Elevated bed about 6 inches (didn't seem to help, so I discontinued after about 9 months)
2. Started sleeping on left side
3. No food 2 hours prior to bedtime

Nutrition
1. Gave up gluten (mostly due to a simultaneous diagnosis of hypothyroidism)
2. Lost 20 lbs (lost it quick when I got my thyroid under control)
3. Follow a modified paleo diet.

Supplements
I had very low ferritin levels (18 - now 80!) and low vitamin D (20 - now 40).
Chelated Iron 87mg with minerals
Vitamin A 10,000 iu
Vitamin B complex
Vitamin C 1000mg
Vitamin D 5000 iu
Vitamin E 400 iu
Vitamin K2 complex with mk4 1000 mcg and mk7 200 mcg combo
Selenium 200 mcg
Methyl Folate 400 mcg
Calcium 1000mg

For healing the esophagus and balancing under production of stomach acid

2 DGL licorice 15 minutes before each meal
Betaine with pepsin after protein heavy meals (I take 2 to 3 600 mg tablets)
George's aloe vera juice between meals (about 2 oz. each-tastes just like water!)

I researched GERD and Barrett's and truly believe, that at least for me, PPIs were definitely not the answer, and in fact made me more afraid. Instead, I believe the culprit was low stomach acid which was delaying my digestion and causing the reflux. The Betaine works for me and I continue to use it daily, along with the DGL. I used the aloe vera juice for at least the first six months for healing. For occasional heartburn, I take Zantac.

I know all this seems like a lot, but I did this in stages - starting one new supplement or treatment at a time to check for side effects - very important to make changes slowly. A lot of the supplementation was for my hypothyroidism, so many of these will not relate to helping with Barrett's - certainly the anti-inflammatory properties of Vitamin C, D and E will though.

Long story short, My MD says I can return for a follow-up endoscopy in three years. I plan to continue my regimen indefinitely.

Lots of information out there on low stomach acid and GERD; one in particular was Refluxdefense.com (which I had to pay for, but was really comprehensive.) I also trust the research of Chris Kresser (chriskresser.com). Every situation is different, and you certainly don't want to make poor decisions. Research for yourself and discuss with your MD or Naturopath to come up with a plan that works for you.

I was diagnosed with Barrett's in 2012 during an EGD for stomach aches. The stomach looked fine, but an ultra short segment 1cm Barrett's was found. I had this throat-clearing thing for at least 10 years prior for which my docs could not pinpoint a cause so I guess in retrospect I was having GERD the whole time but no other GERD symptoms. After trying different PPI's I chose Nexium because of the reading I had done which reported slightly better results and doc said there's not much difference between them and to pick the lowest cost. My insurance copay for Nexium was high but I continued to use it and now so glad it's OTC.

After my 2nd EGD in 2013 12 months after the 1st he said I could wait 3 years for the next. I was afraid to wait so I had another 12 months later in 2014. Now I just had my 4th last week. I've been worried that it would progress to Dysplasia so I researched and found a GI doc in my area that does RFA just in case. Surprise, surprise, my GI called with results from last week and said no Barretts in any of the biopsies. Could be the biopsies missed it, or it could be gone, he said. He recommended another EGD in 3 years, but I will have another in 18 months. If it's still gone, he thought we could stop periodic EGD's.

Keep the faith.

I have had Gerd for a year now, and tried the Manuka honey after a flight medical doctor suggested it. I am now completely off Nexium.

The key to Manuka honey is a rating called the "UMF factor". Avoid anything that says Manuka that does not have this rating. There was a UK government statistic I saw that said more fake Manuka is sold every year than has ever been produced in history.

The brand I am using right now is "comvita", however, I have an order in for a bulk batch of honey from ebay which is made by "Mossops".

The active ingredients in Manuka honey give a slight tingle going down the throat which I do not feel with regular honey.

Dr suggested a dosage of UMF 15 or higher three times a day (anything over UMF 18 means it has undergone a man made process to concentrate the active ingredients)

I have had good results with only UMF 10+ honey. Although, to be fair, I probably take it 5-6 times a day

Hope that helps.

If anyone knows of other, non pharma GERD treatments please let me know. I suffered badly from the nexium and Gaviscon side effects