Dani0011 said...
I was diagnosed via endoscopy with grade a oesophagitis and gastritis. I have just started Aciphex 20mg a day.
My question is - does this mean I have to stay on a PPI for life? Can I withdraw after some time once things settle and heal?
I really don't like the idea of being on these meds.
Any advice/feedback would be appreciated.
With a grade A esophagitis and gastritis it is very unlikely that you'll need PPIs for the rest of your life. I have a grade B level of erosive esophagitis and chronic gastritis (it's my second time with this). It took me 6 months to beat it the first time and it will probably take me about the same time to beat it again.
Granted, that everyone heals at a different rate and there are also many other variables such as how you sleep, when and how much you eat, what you drink, stress levels, if you're a smoker or not, etc.
Once your body heals itself you should be able to wean yourself off the PPIs.
Since I'm very familiar with what you have, because I have it as well, it is incredibly important to make sure you're on healthy, all natural diet. Some GI doctors play down the significance of the foods we eat, mostly because they don't know any better and are not nutrition experts, but what we eat plays a huge part on either triggering or alleviating our symptoms; most importantly, eating the right nutrient-dense foods gives our bodies the nutrients we need to heal ourselves. I've had some classic debates with both my GP and my first two GI doctors, but I digress......
I usually steer people to Dr. Jamie Koufman's book called DROPPING ACID. I also steer people to Dr. Daniel Twogood's ebook on Amazon called CHRONIC PAIN GONE IN 90 DAYS. The reason why Dr. Twogood's book ties in so well with GERD sufferers is because many of the foods he lists in his book causes inflammation, which leads to a lot of digestive distress in people.
This is the primary reason why I stay away from all foods with MSG, aspartame (actually all artificial sweetners), chocolate, gluten, and dairy because they can cause inflammation, and if you suffer from GERD, it can only exacerbate the problem. Now the gluten and dairy I stay away from for 90 days to give my body a chance to heal from the inflammation, then slowly introduce dairy and gluten foods back into my diet to see how my body responds.
Please note, that in Dr. Koufman's book, she has an introduction diet that can last anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. I found that with my severe symptoms I needed to apply an even stricter diet for a longer period of time. I'm entering into my 2nd month and I'm finally starting to feel some relief.
Good luck to you.