slippery elm and reflux

Slippery elm is suppose to soothe inflammation.

Does the slippery elm work? How much of it do u take and how often?I am brand new to all of this so any advice is so much appreciated......

ARM, you are welcome!

Sam, try an Internet search, or you can even search this site. I have just used the teas. It is pretty quiet here, people are busy with holiday stuff. The people at stores like GNC are also sometimes quite helpful. They would be the long-time staff, maybe not working the next couple of days. Maybe a year I put in an order with Vitacost for several natural remedies to try. I wish you well and hope you are able to find comfort.

As MudMagnetMum once said to me, your health will improve. She posts here often, and knows way more than I do about natural remedies. The docs aren't that helpful, I have learned way more hanging out here. This is a life- impairing but not a life-threatening condition. You will adjust in your own way, but it is hard at the beginning. Just where did my previous life go, where I ate healthy food and could work long hours in my garden? I don't know, but my life is still better than what so many other people have. You are grieving, that is normal.

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 12/23/2012 4:38:40 PM (GMT-7)

Sam1115. 'Heartburn Out' is a spray with cocentrated aloe, slippery elm and marshmallow. It is available in Walgreens and various health food stores. It is easy to use, convenient and has been helpful. May be worth a try. You mentioned seeing a doctor. What did he tell you to do. Did he tell you to raise the head of your bed up to avoid refluxing up into your esophagus. Did he tell you to stop eating three hours befor bed. Did he give you medicine or tell you to lose weight and avoid fat, acid food, coffee, carbonated beverages. Sam, you will get better as you adjust your life. It will allow healing to take place. This forum is very helpful and we feel sad that you feel bad.

Sam,
My special interest here is diets for GERD. The Koufman Diet can be effective for people with LPR (throat symptoms), developed by an ENT specialist. The Fast Track for Heartburn diet is based on digestive science, was developed by a microbiologist, Dr. Norman Robillard. I have threads going on each of these diets here if you want more information, just scroll down until you see the title. They are very different diets.

Thanks all for your insights.. do any of you use the organic apple cider vinegar? And is yogurt ok to eat? And MMM..no I have not had an egd..my doc is referring me to a gastro doc so I am sure that is next on my to do list.

Sam1115. Go to this link on this forum and you will find it loaded with low acid information.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2210975

Hi Sam. I know what you're going through. I tried the Koufman diet for a few weeks, and it did help quite a bit. Thought it didn't get rid of the LPR completely. Maybe if I gave it more time, perhaps months, the LPR might have disappeared. The problem I had is that I just couldn't get enough calories on that low-fat diet. I kept losing weight. I'm 5'9", and I'm now about 140 lbs. I feel much better at around 150 or 155. So, like Sunbeam, I'm going to try the Fast Tract Digestion diet.

Here's my story. I've been eating healthy for the past 7 years. Lots of fruits and veggies. Lots of sweet potatoes and olive oil. And lots of lean meat and seafood. It's a paleo diet. Everything was going great until the winter of 2010-2011. I began struggling with depression (something that I've experience off and on in life). I searched around some paleo diet forums and eventually found this diet called "The Perfect Health Diet". I decided to give it a try. This was in July 2011. It's a very high-fat diet (about 65% of calories from fat, mostly saturated and monounsaturated). But it allows 400 to 600 calories from "safe starches" (white rice, sweet potatoes, etc.). So in addition to the large amounts of olive oil, I added quite a bit of butter and coconut oil. And I continued to eat a large amount of vegetables and fiber (mostly broccoli, carrots and zucchini).

Up until I tried this diet, I never had any problems with LPR ("silent reflux"). And I almost never experienced heartburn on the paleo diet. But after a few days on this really high-fat diet, I noticed a sour stomach. And then a really bitter taste in my mouth. And then, soon after that, I first noticed the sensation of having a lump in my throat. And having to clear my throat often. So I gave up that diet. The reflux mostly went away, but not entirely. The symptoms will get better for a while (though never gone completely), but then come back for a while.

So like I said, I'm going to try the Fast Tract Digestion diet. I bought the book. He recommends a diet that reduces or avoids the following types of carbohydrates: fructose, lactose, fiber, resistant starch, and sugar alcohols (like sorbitol). Obviously, we all need a certain amount of fiber; we just don't want to overdo it. These carbohydrates are not digested quickly, and so may end up feeding harmful bacteria in our intestines, leading to small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Those bacteria belong in the colon, not the small intestine. When the bacteria munch on those difficult-to-digest carbohydrates, they produce lots of gas. This gas exerts pressure on the stomach, causing some of the stomachs contents (acid and such) to be forced up into the esophagus.

Sunbeam created a thread on the Fast Tract Digestion diet. I'm going to post my progress there.

So anyways, I understand what you're going through. I hope you find something that relieves your symptoms. I hope we all do. Hang in there!