Ladies - cystitis with your GERD?

I realize I'm responding to an old post, but here goes: I've been wondering for some time whether IC and GERD are related. I suffer from both, for sure, and I've noticed that the recommended diets for both (with some exceptions, of course) are amazingly similar. I'm thinking particularly of the Koufman low-acid diet. Or maybe it's just that the acid from all the processed foods we consume (including canned food with an acidic preservative) has altered our body chemistry so much that we are generally in an unhealthy state, and prey to all kinds of maladies.

I feel your pain! I too have given up most things I used to love -- wine, peanuts, wheat products, cheese, butter, olive oil, garlic and onions. I do have a small cup of coffee in the morning, with almond milk and a packet of Calci-blend (to buffer the acid) stirred in.  My LPR and GERD symptoms have decreased since doing the two-week low-acid induction diet -- and so have the IC issues....somewhat.

However....recently I bought a jar of miso, which I hadn't used for years. It was so delicious, I had a Eureka! moment.  Since it's low fat, apparently low acid and brimming with digestive enzymes, probiotics, etc., I slapped it on my rice and bread. Unfortunately, it's also high in salt. Today I'm back to urinating every half hour, with lower abdominal pain to boot. I'm hoping my beloved miso is not to blame.

Have you found salt to be a problem with IC?

By the way, I was under the impression that long-term PPIs cause gastritis because of thinning of the protective mucus membrane (atrophic gastritis). That, at least is the opinion of Dr. Leo Galland, an MD who practises integrated medicine in the U.S.

Many people on boards like this one have said their GERD started after a dose of antibiotics. I can't believe the "experts" told you there is no connection between food allergies and GERD. I hope you find the link, if there is one.

I'm getting so that I don't take for granted that anything the "experts" say is correct. After all, they contradict each other all the time. Sometimes we have to work it out on our own.

Take care. Must be a busy household with two small children.

Hi Everyone. I totally agree that there has to be some kind of connection. Does anyone here also suffer from irritable bowel? I believe I do but havent been diagnosed. I have been suffering from IC for a year and a half now and before my IC started I was suffering from some Gerd/Reflux issues. I didnt have the typical reflux where your chest hurts and food comes back up but I was having problems swallowing, esophageal spasms and pain and inflammation in the sternum area. My gastro never diagnosed me with reflux or gerd but when he did the endoscopy he said I was very inflammed in my sternum and lower esophagus area. This was not the first time I have felt inflammation in my body. I was already going to doctors because I could feel what I thought was inflammation in my head, jaws, neck and shoulder. I was sent for a brain mri and they found lesions in the white matter of my brain and said that I  possibly had MS. That would have explained many of the problems I was having but after the neurologist and MS specialist looked at my mri they said they didnt think I had ms and were not sure what I was having. He told me he would give me a referral to mayo clinic but after doing a 20 day juice fast my reflux went away....great I thought...only to be followed by the beginning of interstitial cystitis and irritable bowel. IC is one of the worst things anyone can deal with. I was never on a lot of antibiotics but I did take a lot of ibuprofin because of inflammation. Has anyone else had a brain mri with lesions?? I cant figure it out. I dont know what to eat or drink anymore and everything irritates it. I too was thinking maybe hormones, Im 43 or maybe birth control or something. The only thing Ive found to ease the pain when its unbearable is alcohol. I know its not good for me but when the pain is terrible a few hours of relief is better than none. I wish we could find an answer. thanks for listening!