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Just diagnosed with GERD and interested in drugless natural solutions

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 6/17/2006 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, I have been diagnosed with GERD yesterday. So I am very new to this forum and hope to be learning and contributing as well.

I finally had an appointment with a specialist who quickly said "GERD". The camera view in my throat showed a lot of irritation and damage. I have had pain and uncomfortable symptoms constantly (and increasingly) for the past 3 months. It has become a real problem and handicap in my life.

My symptoms are: Pain and pressure in the throath, burning sensations in the oesaphagus, feeling of constant fullness. It is genearlly slightly better in the morning and can become excrutiating at night - enough to be impossible to sleep. It is worse if I eat wheat, especially whole wheat. Almonds and other rough foods seem to irritate the lining of the throat. Potatoes, garlic and mint also seem to make it much worse.

At this point I am chewing well (I keep remembering a teacher who had us sing "Chew, chew, chew you food gently down your throath - merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a Dream" ), avoiding all wheat and other grains as well for now. I eat lots of vegetables and some organic animal food - eggs, chicken, fish, buffalo meat. I am using a natural Acid Ease type of tablets, aloe vera drink, and probiotics. I am eating small meals, try to exercise regularly and meditate every day as a way to deal with stress.

The doctor prescribed two pills of Prevacid per day. I am not entirely against it but would prefer to find a natural solution without any side effects. (Although she mentioned that are no side effects with this drug - hard to believe honestly.) I have not taken any medical drugs for the last 20 years and would like to keep it that way.

I will be very interested in discussing and dicovering how others habve been using diet protocols and natural products to help themselves.

Thank you
Posted 6/19/2006 10:37 AM (GMT 0)
try this forum

www.healingwell.com

***Post edited HW does not allow advertising***

Post Edited By Moderator (~Jennifer~) : 6/19/2006 9:16:47 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/19/2006 10:40 AM (GMT 0)
oops... wrong address

www.healingwell.com

Post Edited By Moderator (~Jennifer~) : 6/19/2006 9:22:18 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/19/2006 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
I am also new to this forum, but have had esophagitis for about 4-5 years. It sounds like you've been sensitive to what your body is telling you, monitored your diet, but finally given up and gone to the doctor for the pills, which no one likes to take, and which aren't even effective for some of us.

Would that there were a natural remedy. I am feeling frustrated with reflux/GERD. I feel that there's an epidemic of it; in the staff lounge lately one person mentioned Prevacid and three people chimed in, "I'm on it, too." The cleaning lady has it, my sister-in-law had it, her father has it, my best friend's husband had it... They say it's an age thing but my 80- year old parents do NOT have it.

We all try to monitor our food intake. I had slight success with the low carbohydrate diet, but can't afford to lose any more weight. I have tried a little of this, a little of that.... we are all ready to try anything. A teacher's aide, who also had it, said she was cured with daily intake of that mint-flavored green chlorophyll liquid, a daily aloe pill, and an acidophilis pill. When I tried it, I couldn't get past 4 days on that chlorophyll stuff - it seemed to make my system more acidic. Then the big question, is your reflux due to too much or too little acid? Or maybe it's not the acid at all, but whatever is causing your LES valve - that little sphincter that closes off the opening to your esophagus from your stomach - to misfunction.

Is it really true that everyone's system is different? Or do we just react in different ways to the same stimulus? e.g. maybe the irritation from a fungus is keeping that little LES valve open, maybe from taking too many antibiotics (I have). I'm not even talking about candida right now, but maybe something else that can be addressed with a fungicide like fluconazole? (i'd love to hear from someone who has been on a week long course of this to see if it affected their GERD).

Where is the research? Is this a new disease?
Posted 6/20/2006 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Lonibel and professor, welcome to the boards.

As far as I know, there isn't a natural cure. Some of us have tried to effectively manage GERD with a less drug-dependent, multifaceted approach including diet, lifestyle modifications, and certain supplements that seem to alleviate symptoms. But from what I see here and elsewhere is that most people cannot stay on very strict diets for long. It is depressing and sometimes unhealthy (too much weight loss and/or nutritional imbalances). So once in a while some of us "stray" in big or small ways for the sake of maintaining our mental health. When we do, things like fasting for half a day, aloe vera juice, ginger, etc. do help.

However, there are people for whom medications are the only way out of a crisis. The pain is too strong, they can barely eat anything, they cannot sleep, or they get palpitations. If you are lucky enough to be able to keep your stomach and esophagus healthy and your symptoms tolerable while eating palatable foods without medication, that is a wonderful thing.

I agree it is an epidemic and not enough money is being spent investigating the cause. For example, why are babies being born with it? I think we should keep supporting each other, sharing important information, and voting for any politician who understands the seriousness of this epidemic.

Posted 6/20/2006 7:52 PM (GMT 0)
I'm one of the lucky ones. I adjusted my diet in February and am doing very well. I don't get reflux at all anymore. It's not too hard to stick to. I just had to make the commitment and find alternatives to things I used to eat.
Posted 6/20/2006 8:23 PM (GMT 0)
Tell us more... How did you adjust your diet? What have you stopped eating? What are you eating now? Are you taking herbs or supplements? How long did it take before seeing an improvement?

Thanks
Posted 6/20/2006 9:20 PM (GMT 0)

I read on another forum about magnesium supplements helping with GERD. Our bodies are made of it and that GERD may be partly a magnesium defiency (spelling) in the body.

I am going to the healthfood store after work and giving it a try.

Marsha

Posted 6/21/2006 4:06 PM (GMT 0)

I'm also interested in natural cures. 

It seems I go a few days feeling good, then something I eat I guess makes the GERD flare up again.  I know people say the acidophils in yogurt is good for you, but I had yogurt and the acid reflux came right back.  So I'm afraid to buy the pills and have them make me sicker. 

Let us know Marsha if the magnesium works. It surely can't hurt to try it.

Laurie :-)

Posted 6/22/2006 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
I have been taking magnesium and I don't want to say it worked totally but it certainly does help. What works for me is Gaviscon before bed....about an hour before.......and I haven't been waking up with any of the problems I've been having. Of course my diet has become bland and boring....turkey, chicken, pasta no sauce, and from what I was told at the health food store I go to.....eat a lot of veggies. So I've been doing that and I can say that I've been doing pretty good. Of course I die everytime I pass a pizzeria, longing to have a slice or two, or something "Italian" and yummy, but I know I just cant because the suffering afterwards is something I'm not wanting to have any more. I was just in florida visiting my parents and they couldnt get over how I have changed my eating habits for I was always the one not to care how and what I ate. But my stomach and gerd rules and if I am not strict, I'll be the one to suffer. By the way, I've lost about 4 lbs which is a good thing --- only have 12 more lbs to go to feel better about myself. Hopefully I can pull this off. Oh, by the way, I am also taking liquid acidophilus three times a day I was told this is beneficial to GERD sufferers.
Posted 6/22/2006 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
I have been taking magnesium and I don't want to say it worked totally but it certainly does help. What works for me is Gaviscon before bed....about an hour before.......and I haven't been waking up with any of the problems I've been having. Of course my diet has become bland and boring....turkey, chicken, pasta no sauce, and from what I was told at the health food store I go to.....eat a lot of veggies. So I've been doing that and I can say that I've been doing pretty good. Of course I die everytime I pass a pizzeria, longing to have a slice or two, or something "Italian" and yummy, but I know I just cant because the suffering afterwards is something I'm not wanting to have any more. I was just in florida visiting my parents and they couldnt get over how I have changed my eating habits for I was always the one not to care how and what I ate. But my stomach and gerd rules and if I am not strict, I'll be the one to suffer. By the way, I've lost about 4 lbs which is a good thing --- only have 12 more lbs to go to feel better about myself. Hopefully I can pull this off. Oh, by the way, I am also taking liquid acidophilus three times a day I was told this is beneficial to GERD sufferers.
Posted 6/28/2006 1:51 PM (GMT 0)
I am no longer drinking much caffeine. Am attempting to lose weight. Don't like "fast food". Drink a lot of water. Trying to relax. Feel I'll get there. Slow but sure is the way to go. You know what causes your gerd to act up. Can't drink oj but I can eat oranges. I also lay off the tomato sauce like Hamie, but can eat tomatos. Am trying because I'm scared about the (nexium)=(pneumonia) connection.

sad   sad sad sad

Post Edited (Joan Mack) : 6/28/2006 7:57:02 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/28/2006 2:27 PM (GMT 0)

Professeur Clairembart said...
Tell us more... How did you adjust your diet? What have you stopped eating? What are you eating now? Are you taking herbs or supplements? How long did it take before seeing an improvement?

Thanks

I basically reduced my carbs. I don't know how many I eat exactly, but probably around 50-100 grams per day. I've replaced a lot of the foods I used to eat with other things. For example, instead of a heaping plate of rice, I may have more veggies (with cheese, veggies need cheese :)). I've been very strict with myself because it is working for me and I feel better. I don't avoid spicy food or wine anymore. Whatever was going on with my stomach has healed, but I'll never go back to eating all the carbs I used to eat. I feel better all around and have more energy.
Posted 7/3/2006 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
I attribute much of my recovery to a radical change in diet. This diet is obviously not for everyone, as it requires ironclad discipline, but it has worked very well for me. I no longer have cravings:

  • Never eat alcohol, pizza, milk, fried foods, caffeine, soda, ice cream, fast food, acid foods, sauces or dressings, even in small amounts.
  • Very, very few processed foods if any.
  • I eat shrimp, fish and chicken breast, no red meat or pork or other seafood. 
  • Whole grains (I reduced but did not eliminate starches).
  • No bottled fruit juices, candy, cake, pastries or sugar.
  • 70% raw food in the form of fruits and vegetables, specially leafy greens.
  • Yogurt and papaya daily in the form of a shake that I mix with kale or beets (helps me track the speed of my digestion)
  • I take calcium carbonate, Ester C, folic acid daily and drink lots of water between meals.
  • When visiting restaurants, I restrict myself to grilled meats (salt as the only condiment), and dressing-free salads.

Other lifestile changes:

I exercise frequently and sleep as much as I can. I also quit my VERY stressful job. Now I earn less but have GERD under control.

Posted 7/3/2006 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
Bekster,

Thanks so much for sharing your diet changes. I am doing pretty well right now, and I attribute it to summer vacation and less stress, more sleep (which is sometimes hard to do with that 3 hour gap between eating and sleeping), and I take it easy on the sugar intake also - no bottled juices, cakes, or pastries.

Some questions: 1) your shakes - do you cook the kale or beets before adding them to the shake? 2) your weight and exercising - I have had to give up exercising because I can't afford to lose weight. Do you have any experience with maybe reaching a plateau of weight loss after which maybe you can eat more and stabilize your weight?

God bless - I hope you continue GERD- free.
Posted 7/4/2006 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Lonibel,

I am by no means out of the woods yet, as my GERD is currently managed by those changes and a 20 mg dose of Protonix I take at night. I plan to reduce it to 10 mg, and then eliminate it soon. But yes, I could tell this diet was responsible for the elimination of much of the discomfort I was experiencing.

To answer your questions, I make a shake with a cup of rice milk, a banana, half a cup pof yogurt, a cup of papaya, and three kale leaves (raw), or 1/4 of a cup of raw beets (more will really stimulate your colon). This yields almost two tall glasses, which I then slowly drink.

I haven't reached a weight loss plateau yet, I think. I went from a size ten to almost a size six in four months. I am not doing lots of strenuous cardio, just 20 minutes 4 times a week. I also do some resistance training. On weekends I go for three hour long bike rides, but I prepare by eating more carbs and calories than I normally ingest, 48 hrs before the ride. I've lost 13 pounds in this time period, always under the diet I follow. I think that is not a dramatic loss of weight for me (I'm 5'4"). I think the benefits outweigh the potential problems, unless you are absolutely not being able to eat much and are feeling weak, etc.

Something I've found is that travel and my period conspire to alter my digestive habits. I am still disciplined during those times, but I get gas, bloating, discomfort, and the feeling food has not left my stomach, no matter what I eat.

Posted 7/5/2006 2:28 PM (GMT 0)

Lonibel, you have some very valid points.  In my case the GERD is caused not by too much or too little acid but by Gastritis and a hiatal hernia.  The doctors ruled out H Pylori infection, cancer, and a host of other possible causes.  The endoscope showed no damage to the throat but GERD near the hiatal hernia and Gastritis further below it.  The end result?  Their guess is that much if not most of it is caused by stress.

Marburg

Lonibel said...
I am also new to this forum, but have had esophagitis for about 4-5 years. It sounds like you've been sensitive to what your body is telling you, monitored your diet, but finally given up and gone to the doctor for the pills, which no one likes to take, and which aren't even effective for some of us.

Would that there were a natural remedy. I am feeling frustrated with reflux/GERD. I feel that there's an epidemic of it; in the staff lounge lately one person mentioned Prevacid and three people chimed in, "I'm on it, too." The cleaning lady has it, my sister-in-law had it, her father has it, my best friend's husband had it... They say it's an age thing but my 80- year old parents do NOT have it.

We all try to monitor our food intake. I had slight success with the low carbohydrate diet, but can't afford to lose any more weight. I have tried a little of this, a little of that.... we are all ready to try anything. A teacher's aide, who also had it, said she was cured with daily intake of that mint-flavored green chlorophyll liquid, a daily aloe pill, and an acidophilis pill. When I tried it, I couldn't get past 4 days on that chlorophyll stuff - it seemed to make my system more acidic. Then the big question, is your reflux due to too much or too little acid? Or maybe it's not the acid at all, but whatever is causing your LES valve - that little sphincter that closes off the opening to your esophagus from your stomach - to misfunction.

Is it really true that everyone's system is different? Or do we just react in different ways to the same stimulus? e.g. maybe the irritation from a fungus is keeping that little LES valve open, maybe from taking too many antibiotics (I have). I'm not even talking about candida right now, but maybe something else that can be addressed with a fungicide like fluconazole? (i'd love to hear from someone who has been on a week long course of this to see if it affected their GERD).

Where is the research? Is this a new disease?

Posted 7/6/2006 12:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, everybody...I have yogurt everyday and am drinking less caffeinated coffee.

Am thinking maybe I had the bleeding ulcer and not GERD? I had an ulcer when I was younger...life was EXTREMELY STRESSFUL for me.

Now I think the ulcer acted up because I take the meds such as motrin and alleve for very bad arthritus. I also took aspirins for my monthly when it was very painful...a female dentist turned me on to anapox which is alleve. That is my most successful pain killer.
Posted 7/12/2006 3:56 AM (GMT 0)
I hate PPI's.  I have become a slave to them the last 6 1/2 years adn I don't know how to get off the prilosec now.  I am currently on 20mg twice a day. 

Now, i did have really bad GERD when I started the meds.  However after starting them, I developed burning in my stomach and a whole host of other problems.  GI drs said it had nothing to do with the PPI's and I believed them.

Last year I had another endoscope.  This one showed gastritis.  Now where could that have come from if I was already on 40mg a day of a PPI??

I desperately want to come off the meds.  Every time I do though I get rebound acid like you would not believe.  I have tried diet modifications, aloe vera juice, DGL licorice root, etc and nothing seems to help.

My stomach still hurts.  I just have to believe in my case the PPI's are causing damage.

Nancy

Posted 7/12/2006 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
I committed a GERD SIN and ate late tonight. I will probably have the PPI soon before retiring. I notice I am belching now and the taste is repeating in the belch. I have gone two days without the ppis.

Frankly none of the docs have taken the time to explain the mess to me. This lack of information has me worried. This is my health and my life and I can't just turn it over to somebody who doesn't even want to explain stuff to me.


sad   sad Seriously I am going to sign off now and get ready for bed and take the ppi and pray that I get some help with this mess. sad sad


GOOD VIBRATIONS TO ALL

Post Edited (Joan Mack) : 7/11/2006 10:10:20 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/3/2013 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
I have been suffering with Gerd off and on. Mostly because I don't adhere to a proper diet. I got thinking of how our ancestors never even heard of acid reflux or even yeast infections. The difference I believe is that they didn't have the junk food or additives we have today. They also had natural drinking water like well water or spring water. So, I saw a few sites on ph balance and looked up what ph is. Its a proper balance of alkaline and acid. I've heard that we can have too much of either. I went to my local health store and bough ph strips to see where my ph is at. No surprise I was very low. Then , I saw an alkaline stick and asked what it was about. You put it in your water and it makes your water alkaline. So, I got it and am going to give it a go. Also, I found eating a banana or some canteloupe very soothing on my acidic stomach. Another thing I did was take a teaspoon of raw honey 3 times a day to soothe my sore oesophagus/throat especially the one at bedtime. I'll keep you posted on how this stuff works. I also heard that if you have large doses of alkaline forming foods you can have small amounts of acid forming foods. I hope my sharing this will help anyone. This reflux is the pits.
Posted 3/3/2013 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Lin.

The thread you found is very, very old. You can post your own and probably get more answers. Just hit "post new topic."

As was said there aren't really any natural remedies that will cure GERD. However, you may be able to reduce your symptoms if you find you have specific food triggers. You are right in suspecting additives, not that they necessarily are your problem.

I was able to get rid of most of my reflux by keeping a food journal - natural and free. My allergist got me doing this and later doing some food challenges. I still had a bad lower esophageal sphincter and needed acid reducers to keep the fluid that flowed into my throat at night. I also got rid of my heart arrhythmias that were triggered by my esophagus and stomach not tolerating specific foods. My problem turned out to be sulfites - a common additive but also natural in a few foods like wine and beer. You may not have a similar problem, but it's worthwhile to spend a couple of months writing down everything you ingest to see if it helps. The commonly cited "GERD Diet" didn't do anything for me. I tolerate many foods in it and cannot eat other foods.

Do you have any reflux when you go to bed after eating? The would be an indication of a possible lower esophageal valve not working properly.

In any case, seeing a gastroenterologist is my best advice. We're not doctors here on the forum. We can only tell our own experiences.
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