dramatic changes after I stopped taking PPI

Hi all,

I've been silent for almost a month now.  I decided to stop taking PPI after almost 2 months of being on it.  The reason is that the side effects are so sickening! 

I started by going on a half dose for two days then I was taking Tums after every meal and taking Motillium 30 minutes before my last meal of the day.  I painstakingly have to take my dinner before 7 or earlier which is better.  I still continue on bland diet and mostly on fish and veggies and fruits.  I was taking Aloe Vera juice by Forever living before breakfast and before going to bed.  I am also taking Pure Honey by Forever Living and using it as spread on my plain biscuits.

My insomnia is not as acute as before now that I am not taking PPI.  My jolly self is back and my appetite has even increased although I am still watchful that I would not gain weight.  I even had to put my wedge pillow in a corner since i can now sleep using the normal pillow.  I still continue Mindful Meditation from time to time which really helped me alot.

Its been a month now since my last dose of PPI.  I dont take Tums that often anymore.  The sinusitis is still there, the scratchy throat still persists but i dont mind those.  GERD has to be managed - it doesnt go away.  The most difficult phase is the first two weeks wherein you wouldnot know what to do.  GERD causes anxiety too and vice versa. 

I just became a grandma and my new granddaughter really brought me back to my old self. 

I will be buying another bottle again of Aloe Vera juice because the healing effects are really dramatic.  I am also taking Ph 9 drinking water.

There is really hope for us.  We just have to find ways on how to manage it.

Thank you.

Pie

 

Hi Migz, Oo, it sure is helping me a lot.. about 30 ml before breakfast and another 30 ml before going to bed. I am also taking Fiber supplement of Forever Living.

Stopping acid production in your stomach would just cause a lot of negative effects in your body. You need to control your diet also and have a positive outlook in life. The mind is very powerful and synthetic drugs bring a lot of side effects.

I can give you a link on Sitting Meditation so that you would be guided accordingly. My doctor (not my gastro) also tapered my anti hypertensive medicine. My blood pressure is very controlled now that I am conscious of my food intake. Like I said, the throat irritation is still there but I dont get panic about it anymore. Post nasal drip still bothers me but I am not so conscious about it anymore. We need to be busy with other things so that we will not always think of our sickness. I woke up last night because of the feeling that I was gasping for breath. I noticed that I was lying flat on my back and not sideways. It advisable that we lie on the left side. You see, I am not using my wedge pillow anymore but might get back to using it tonight.

I have eaten kimchi the other night and also at lunch earlier. Although not as much as i used to consume but bit by bit, ive introduced some of those no no foods to my body especially during the holidays. Bacon, ham, spicy foods, foods prepared with vinegar, fruits with cream - but in small quantity. Took a sip of coffee and two sips of red wine also.

If I would join a party, I would take Motillium 30 minutes before eating and would also take Gaviscon liquid after.

So how are you doing now? last that ive heard from you is that you will undergo Barium something.

Keep me posted.

Happy New Year!
Pie

Yes, Migz, im taking the one in yellow container - that is pure aloe vera juice..Forever Living has other preparations to suit the taste of the consumers like aloe and cranberry.

Are you still taking PPI?

The pressure in my neck and throat is still there too. My sinusitis is forever troubling me. Just take pH 9 water - when you're back in the Philippines, Nature's Spring has the pH 9 water. Limit also your meat intake but if you cant help eating make sure it is not friend or preparared with sauce like tomato sauce.

True Migz, mental health has a great impact on the management of GERD. Being far from your family might have also caused some kind of anxiety for you.

God bless.
Pie

thanks for the quick educational tip.

Isnt that amitryptilyne is also anti-anxiety? if im not mistaken, one of the side effects of anti anxiety drugs is dry mouth/dry throat.

Google.com was my sister during those "dark days". hahaha...the researched side effects made me finally decide to stop taking PPI.

Pie,

So glad everything is improving for you. I've been off PPI's for about 4 months now but still not off medications completely. Still taking 1 pepcid a day and tums as needed. Diet change alone is the biggest thing that has helped me. I hope things continue to improve for you. The more research I do the more it points to eating the right foods is the way to fix a lot of problems. Good luck!

Pie,

My diet follows the Paleo diet very closely. I usually go shopping once a week and spend the majority of the time in the produce section of the store. I only buy fresh fruits and vegetables now and never canned or frozen. The vegetables are used for both cooking and juicing and the fruits are used for snacks and juicing. I also buy fresh meats and rarely eat any meats that have been frozen now. I used to eat a lot of beef but have now went to eating more chicken, turkey, and fish. I still have beef but probably once or twice a week now. I try to eat fish or some sort of seafood 2-3 times a week but always have a day or two in between eating it. The only thing I do that is probably against Paleo is I don't use Paleo approved seasonings as the ones I use contain things that aren't considered Paleo. They don't seem to affect me so I continue to use them though.

As far as the vegetables I usaully stick with, I get zuchinni, squash, mushrooms, green and red peppers, asparagus, onions, cucumbers(juicing), carrots(juicing), lettuce(juicing), and kale(juicing). For fruits I usually get apples(jucing), lemons(jucing), kiwi, oranges(cara cara type, lower acid), and pineapple(jucing). For meat I usually stick to the lean cuts for beef, pork, and turkey(tenderloins) and for fish I usually get salmon. I also eat prawns, shrimp, and scallops for seafood. All I ever drink is water.

I do crave for something sweet or just want something but don't know what sometimes and what I have been doing lately is frying up a Gala apple (I've tried other apples but I like Gala's the most for this) in some unsalted butter and then adding some cinnimon sugar to that. According to the Fast Track Diet you would think the sugar in that would cause some heartburn but it doesn't give me any problems. Every once and a while if I end up in a restaurant for lunch I'll order a hamburger and I always get heartburn from that. It could be a combination of the fat and bread. But the heartburn doesn't start until about an hour after I eat and 1 extra strength tums is enough to make it go away for good. It used to be that even 4 extra strength tums didn't do anything. Almost any type of candy/candy bar will give me heartburn within 5-10 minutes of eating it. I try to stay away from that stuff now.

Pie,

I agree with you in that what works for one person may not work for another. I have recently read the 'Fast Tract Digestion Heartburn: Clinically Proven Diet Solution to Treat and Prevent Acid Reflux and GERD without Drugs' book and it explains different possibilities to how you get heartburn. I believe there may be other reasons that are not included in this book, but for the most part, a lot of it has to do with the overall ecosystem of your digestive tract. It's a good read if you ever get a chance. I don't think I'll follow the specific diet that is outlined though as Paleo in a way is more strict than the Fast Tract diet but yet there are a few things you should avoid with Paleo if you want to follow Fast Tract. The way I mostly eat would probably fall within each diet though and it has been working so I am just going to stick with that. But being able to read about research and explanations is nice and helps me understand what the underlying problem may be.

Anyways, back to my first sentence, the main reason for bringing it up with the reference to the book is that they point out that each person may experience different results with different foods depending on their body's resistance to those foods. Therefore you encounter the issues where something may work for one person but not for another. But it is nice for people to let others know what is working for them because it may work for others as well. The population of people with GERD is too big for each person to have a unique 'cure' that will only work for them.

Pie,

Yes, there is an ebook available for the Kindle. If you don't have a Kindle you can always use the amazon cloud reader through the browser.