Manuka honey or Raw honey for GERD

Some people claim that manuka honey (not regular honey) helps if someone has tested positive for an abundance of h. pylori bacteria. Aside from that, I haven't seen any credible evidence that either types of honey helps with GERD.

Though I personally enjoy putting a little organic honey on my peeled apple slices, aside from that I haven't really noticed honey helping me with any of my GERD symptoms. I have tested both types of honey without altering the rest of my diet and haven't noticed any noticeable improvements.

Making my own applesauce has been way more beneficial, as well as making home made vegetable and chicken vegetable soups, than any form of honey.

Well, I'm basically back at square one again (well, almost). Last weekend I had a glass of red wine after dinner. The rest of the evening I felt fine. Then I woke up around 3:00 am with chest pain and had trouble breathing. So my one-glass-wine-experiment was successful, in that now I know I can't even have one glass of wine, yet.  I'm going to try again on New Year's Eve, depending on how I feel of course.

That was 5 days ago and I'm still having pain originating from my esophagus. Lesson learned.

However, here is the silver lining. I am still feeling much better today than I did when I went to the ER back in June (that's my benchmark). And the fact that pain I feel isn't as bad as it was a few months ago leads me to believe that I'm getting better, albeit very slowly.  

I've been eating mostly one banana a day (I eat a half for breakfast and I don't exceed one banana per day because it is high in natural sugar), organic applesauce, lots of green salad (in small chunks at a time though), and my all time favorite: home made chicken vegetable soup. I now add bean sprouts and mushrooms with a couple of avocado slices on top of the soup (after I heat it in a pan) and I squeeze half a lime into it and it tastes phenomenal.

I'm going to be eating chicken vegetable soup everyday for a long time. It's one of the few foods that my stomach tolerates well and it packs a nutritious punch. Of course, I chew my food thoroughly until it is almost liquefied before I swallow it. That makes a big difference as well.

I've also switched to drinking Alkaline Water (PH 8.8) and buy the Evamor brand and that appears to also be helping.  

Lastly, I no longer buy organic baby food from the store because most brands add lactic acid or something else and this messes up the PH balance of the stomach.  So I make my own applesauce and my own baby food now.   I've noticed a difference already.  

 

I have had Gerd for a year now, and tried the Manuka honey after a flight medical doctor suggested it. I am now completely off Nexium.

The key to Manuka honey is a rating called the "UMF factor". Avoid anything that says Manuka that does not have this rating. There was a UK government statistic I saw that said more fake Manuka is sold every year than has ever been produced in history.

The brand I am using right now is "comvita", however, I have an order in for a bulk batch of honey from ebay which is made by "Mossops".

Dr suggested a dosage of UMF 15 or higher three times a day (anything over UMF 18 means it has undergone a man made process to concentrate the active ingredients)

I have had good results with only UMF 10+ honey. Although, to be fair, I probably take it 5-6 times a day

You reference making home made apple sauce as a GERD relief, is this a low acid food? I have gone from considering surgery, to managing my symptoms in only 3 weeks of proper diet and exercise and I am keen to learn how to beat this.

If anyone knows of other, non pharma GERD treatments please let me know. I suffered badly from the nexium and Gaviscon side effects

Hi Tu Wang

I have seen your posts in a few forums and am inspired to try weaning off ppi. I am in the process of weaning and afraid that I rush things too fast. It has been a bit of time since you posted and I am wondering if you are still around. Could you lend me a few advices? My situation started as follows:

+ 6/18 Started antibiotic + Advil for 30 days. Two antibiotics and two Advil per day for prostatitis.
+ 7/25 Done with 30-day antibiotic. No improvement on prostatitis. Rediagnose as BPH.
+ 8/4 Vomited due to dizziness. Next 2 days were fine.
+ 8/6 First reflux experienced in the morning. Body was normal afterward all day.
+ 8/7 Took pantoprazole 40mg + 2 150 mg Zantag per doctor. Big mistake. Same doctor that prescribed antibiotic.
+ 8/14 Quit ppi cold turkey. Thought it was just anyother regular med. Experienced extreme heartburn at night.
+ 8/19 Went back to ppi + Zantag.
+ 8/27 Endoscopy. Doctor found nothing wrong with esophagus, stomach... Diagnosed dysphagia. Stuck throat feeling to me
+ 8/31 Went to different GI. Prescribed omeprazole 20mg morning + 300 mg ranitidine before bed for 1 month to heal UES.
+ 9/10 Tried to wean off ppi with nothing in the morning and 300mg Zantag bedtime. Lot of gas burping.
+ 9/15 Went back to 10mg ppi in the morning and 300 mg Zantag bedtime. Lot of gas burping. Irritated the throat some more. Throat sticking feeling more profound.
+ 9/18 Took nothing for entire day. Slight chest warming on few occasions day time and night time.
+ 9/24 Went back to 150 mg Zantag for the day. Planning to take 150 mg Zantag at night. May be keep this regime for 1 wks?
I
* l took all the vit. D3+K2, B12, mastic gum, magnesium citrate, DLG, Zinc-L, melatonin 2mg... for 3 wks so far.
* Diet just vegetable soup with salmon X3/day. Banana and alkaline water as much as I can.
* Took live coconut and almond yogurt live probiotics daily for 3 wks so far. Helped with constipation.
* So far I experienced dry gas burping mainly. The throat is irritated from the gas. Throat stuck feeling.

I think that I rushed a bit too fast with the weaning. I went back to only Zantag 150mg X2 per day. Could tell me your experience during the weaning period. Did you have something getting stuck in the throat feeling? I am a bit scare of the throat and that if the condition will be permanent.

Thank you.

Post Edited (Vdang2k) : 9/24/2018 10:44:52 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Tu Wang,
Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate you hanging around helping people like me to get off this horrible drug. I have read all your posts here and at inspire to get some clues to wean off.

At the moment my throat has been hit with occasional gas burpings and is irritated. I do have lumb in the throat feeling and the throat does feel raw. When I try to swallow only saliva the muscles next to the throat feel strained. I can't tell between globus sensation and dysphagia. I have not yet feel pain when swallowing foods. If I drink turmeric powder mixed with warm water I could feel the some powder sticking on the throat and cough.

In the past few days I heard bubble sounds from my throat (probably trapped air in the throat) after drinking liquid. I got a bit scared and took Zantag 150 mg X4 per day to lessen the irritation. Even with taking Zantag 30 mins. before meal I could feel a little bit of the acid fume rushing up after eating the meal for 1 hour.

I am contemplating whether or not I should abandon the weaning process and go back to ppi to heal the throat. I feel I rush thing too quickly. My throat was still a bit raw when I started the weaning process. I am a bit scared to go continue.

May I ask if you had an irritated throat or lumb in the throat feeling during tapering off ppi period? One of my friend, who was pregnant at the time, told me she went through the same raw throat and growling noise due to constant throwing up episodes. She just plowed through without medications and her throat got better in 4 months, totally healed in 6 months.

Thank you

Post Edited (Vdang2k) : 9/29/2018 5:18:56 PM (GMT-6)

Hello, I am new on here. The doctor prescribed Omeprazole, an attack came on from last week due to stress and anxiety. I have been taking it 2x a day, once in the morning and then again at night. Not feeling much of a relief as before. Now I am having the lump in the throat feeling. Has any one taken Organic Apple Cider vinegar and has it helped them?

I need some relief without pushing all this man made medicine down my throat.

Help and God Bless!!!

Hi Tu Wang

My situation was quite similar to you. I was put on a 30-day antibiotic + Advil, total 4 pills a day. One week after I was done with the antibiotic treatment I had my first reflux. 60 pills of Advil at my age probably did me in. I made a big mistake of my life by taking ppi even though I did not have relux after that first incident a day later.

I lost 30 pounds in two months, not being able to eat due to a bloated stomach caused by ppi (did the baking soda test first thing in the morning). I was too weak to go to work and took time off for about 6 weeks now. I probably will lose my job come Nov. if I don't recover quick enough. At this point health is more important than $.

I just chickened out and went back to ppi today already due to the lumb in the throat getting a lot worse (when swallowing saliva or drink water I heard the throat making the bubbling sounds and the lumb feeling was more profound than before) for the past week. All the efforts in the past 3 weeks are down the tube. I think I should heal the throat first then restart with the weaning again.

When I started the with the weaning my throat wasn't in the best of shape already. The constant acid fume leaking up and the gas burpings irritated the throat to the point I felt like there was a ball in it. Acid rebound is horrible. Taking Gaviscon Advance and drinking pH8 water did help alleviate the lumb in the throat feeling. I feel if I continue I would choke on foods one day.

I could not drink water mixed with lemon due to the throat being irritated already. I took one pill of digestive enzyme prior to meal but it seemed to help a little. I took live probiotics (the coconut brand, $25 per 10 oz jar with 400 billions bacteria) daily figuring that the antibiotic treatment killed most of the good gut flora. The constipation went away.

I have read quite a bit of Cagu and your posts for guidance. You guys have more guts than I do. What I would like to know is how severe the lumb in the throat feeling was for people that got off ppi successfully. In my case the lumb in the throat was quite severe at the H2 blockers stage. I was on Zantag for 2.5 wks. I quit the weaning process today. I don't feel hungry now that I retook 20mg omeprazole early today. I am depressed! May be if anyone with similar severe lumb in the throat situation give me a courage to continue.

Thank you

Hi Tu Wang

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I am terrified of ppi but more with the severe lumb in the throat. I don't know how long it will take to heal the throat. I was too rush to wean off ppi and did not prepare well.

I know the ppi is bad but in order to heal the throat I need it. The lumb is still profound but I could feel it's getting a little better one day after I went back to ppi. I will keep drinking pH8 water and use Gaviscon Advance UK.

I have been sleeping on raised bed for 2 months now and try to sleep early at night. I can only put 5 to 6 hours of sleep a day. My diet is only consisted of vegetable soup with shreaded chicken and salmon blended like baby food, X3 a day. I have a banana and papaya for fruit.

At the moment I am fighting with GERD and enlarged prostate at the same time. The enlarged prostate is kinda made me home bound as i cannot go far due to frequent urination.The anxiety is extreme. I found myself shaking and my heart beating really fast when I wake up at 4.00 am in the morning. I can't tell my head to stop thinking. Only deep breathing calmed myself down a little. With the failed attempt to wean off the depression level increases.

The only outlet for me now is God. I cried out to Him when I was at the bottom. I believe that he will heal me in time. That is the only thing that keeps me going. The encouragement from the forum members is also important. Thank you again

Hi Tu Wang

Thank you for the encouragement. I am really down at this moment. I went back to ppi to nurse the throat back. I am back to 40 mg Protonix and 150 mg Zantag X2. I felt more silent refluxes when taking ppi as there might be gas in the stomach pushing contents up to the esophagus. My throat is still irritated but not as much. I am scheduled for a consultation with a ENT specialist next week to look into the voice box and the esophagus.

My stomach produced more acid during the weaning off period. Even when I took 20 mg of omeprazole the other day I could still feel the fume hitting my throat. I have to increase the ppi to 40mg lessen the fume effect. The down side is I have chest pain as a result of reflux caused by ppi. I hope in a few days the acid rebound will settle down with ppi then the throat will have a chance to heal. I will have to walk after meals to get rid of bloating and indigestion. I really hate ppi but right now have no choice. I pray to God everyday to help me through this difficult time and heal me in time.

Thank you for your support Tu Wang

Hi TooBlessed,

Yes Sharon is right, sometimes apple cider would not work, it will be dependent on your condition. My experience was, I was only able to have apple cider as mixture of my food. My gut was so raw during the early stage of the GERD, that it hurts to have apple cider. But after few months, I was able to take it as a juice form with honey.

I did had 100% Aloe Vera juice(Organic). I took a shot of glass 3x a day with food or before my meal. This had helped my gut flora to recover.


All the best.

Hi Vdang2k,
The test I did during my weaning period...
I did have a cat scan and went to my ENT specialist to do a scope inside my nose to the throat area. With that my doctor had seen my throat. The cat scan was for my whole stomach area. My throat was red during that time but it went away after few weeks.

I did not want to do any other test. I am a cancer survivor so some test I refuse to do. With God's grace I am completely healed. Praise God.

But if you have that opportunity to do the test, it is better to have it.

Hi Tu Wang

Have you ever felt acid fume coming up irritating the chest after meal when you were on ppi and/or during the weaning period? For me after quitting the weaning I often felt acid fume going up after meal for a short period. I don't know if I should tell the doctor about it or tough it out? For sure he will put me on an even higher dose and it will make things worse.

Sharon: I have postponed the test for another week to give the throat a little more time to heal and for me to prepare mentally.

I don't know if I should go to a naturalpath or nutritionist about getting advice to stop the weight loss. I added whole grain bread + almond butter for breakfast and snack a couple of days ago. I am not sure if the bread and butter are a good idea since they are hard for the stomach to digest especially now that I am back on ppi. I have been on vegetable soup with boneless chicken and salmon for awhile plus boiled green vegetables only. I feel I don't have enough calories to sustain my body and steadily lose weight as a result. Any advice is appreciated.

Regards,
Vu