LPR-X-CON said...
Mook
My reflux was being caused by the presence of a hiatal hernia, where the lower esophageal sphincter rides above the diaphragm causing it to relax not shut off properly after ingestion of food . See your enterologist about that possibiltiy. Like you i am soooo anti-drug so for me i opted for the radical solution of surgery since there was something "out of place" . im only a week out so too soon to assess outcome of the operation.
As for natural here are just a few tips. These speed digestion:-
*Ginger tea it has helped a bit with me . i took 2-3 cups daily
*parsley tea (just steep a few sprigs of parsley in boiled water (dont boil) for 10 min
* Digestive enzymes tablets available at drugstores . some are combined with Betain Hcl which increases the potency of you stomach acid helping it digest food with more efficacy and not sleep on the job which in turn prevents food from sitting in you stomach and backing up into you esophagus.
I don't have an enterologist just a GP sadly. surgery seems very risky too but I will try the natural cures.
Gord-on said...
Hi Mooky!
The bad news first: GERD can be a lifelong illness that takes careful management. The good news? There are lots and lots of treatments available and with perseverance you will find a way through. GERD may indeed be symptomatic of other disease. An example of this is that I'm currently experimenting with a gluten-free diet, I'm sure that I'm not coeliac but I could have a gluten intolerance that exacerbates reflux so it's worthy of investigation. Most people on this board who have GERD will have adopted any number of approaches to management. My real problem is a weak LES valve - there's probably nothing more to it than that. Rather than being concerned that GERD is symptomatic of a deadly disease I'm far more concerned about GERD induced health issues.
What I do know is that there is a strong correlation between reflux and stress. I don't pretend to understand the mechanics of it but I suspect that stress increases gastric acid and/or causes the individual to contract abdominal muscles which then increases reflux which causes stress which increased reflux... So the more worried you are about this, the worse you'll be!
For the most part I respond to medicine but I'm limited now to how much I can physically take or wish to take due to vitamin/mineral deficiency. I take whatever medicine I can tolerate in order to get through the day, that's it. All medicine (and herbal supplements) will have some side-effects but the alternative of constant acid reflux is a far more sinister prospect. My advice: don't muck about, take the tried, tested and approved drugs, get the GERD under control and then start to experiment with diet, supplements and lifestyle changes. Above all, knock the hypochondria on the head (not easy when you're feeling lousy, I know) and go and do things to improve your feelings.
Mmm changing my diet. I mean I'm not a binge eater but I know that life is short so it's a pretty weird realization for me to accept that I can no longer eat what I want. I can be a picky eater too. It seems like I can't eat anything I like.
I tried drinking probiotic goat milk and that seemed ok but I got tired of it quickly. Also I'm especially wondering about
vacation. I was planning to take a vacation this month and I know I'm gonna wanna try new things while I'm there. I mean it's part of the experience but I also know it's probly going to hurt me later.
I try not to get stressed out but sometimes I think a lot about
how I need to do more with my life and the apartment is pretty messy so that doesn't help either.
I really don't understand it because I have always had a great immune system which was very used to stress. The only problem before this I have had was regular headaches.
Post Edited (Mookydreamer) : 3/5/2014 2:15:40 PM (GMT-7)