Heart Burn driving me crazy someone help..

I really need some advice.. Let me start of with saying I am in my mid 20s and about 2 years ago joined the gym I was always about 130LB and after 1 year of lifting weights I become 175-178 (now back to 170) I was eating like crazy as I wanted to build muscle and it worked. Prior to starting working out I noticed any time I drink coke I would get heart burn so i remember taking a tums here and there one time I took prilasac for 14 days and boom problem solved no issues for 6-8 more months. During my workout I stopped drinking all sodas and stuck to only water was eating heavy 3500-4000 calories a day wanted to get to about 190 pounds and then last March I started feeling like my food wants to come back up so i cut back and slowly noticed the late night burgers and fries, rice and egg rolls were giving me reflux. I had no idea about fried foods or certain foods that cause things so i kept eating right before gym and noticed heart burn so i started taking over counter prilasac, zagarid, pepsid for few weeks it worked but then it stopped working so I went to doctor around June and she prescribed me lanzaprazole 30mg one time a day so I took that as she said for 2 months and stopped as soon as I did in 3 days boom heart burn and mucus in my throat my nose always feels stuffy since that march I wake up feeling like im sick and then drink water feel fine.. I fixed my diet not to eat anything spicy cut all "acid reflux" things out of my diet and still have the stuffy nose and heart burn I take tums and I am fine immediately if not I cant even drink water. My heart burn usually comes after lunch and my last meal of the day around 8pm (i go to bed at 12)

I went to second doctor and he gave me 60mg of dexelont I didnt take it as I heard taking these meds its hard to stop because of after effects so far been 2 months without any meds and still have to take tums daily about 2-4 tums a day. Some days I dont need it I will eat green apples and it solves the problem.

My doctor had me do an upper GI scan (pictures ect..) said all looks fine nothing present no hernia ect.. No reflux) I dont really get food coming up anymore but heart burn is there I called doctor he recommended I get on Dexelont or take pepsid..

I dont know could it be allergies? When it gets really cold like in 30s i feel better but as soon as back up to 50s-70s I feel like crap its making it hard to work out and I really dont want to quit the gym I just want to solve this issue.

I tried apple cider vinager 1 time I didnt like it cause it kills my appetite.. I am on digestive enzymes although my doctor said i dont need them.

I dont get any heart burn after tums should I just be on it? But long term will it go away? Am I still just feeling the heart burn because of the after effects of taking lanzaprozole for 3-4 months?

someone please help.. I dont stress I usually stay very calm so no anxiety issues.

javery said...
You say that green apples solves the problem. If this is the case, the problem may be due to your body not producing enough acid for your diet. Most apples are a little acidic. To me it makes sense because you weren't really having any problems until you increased the amount you are eating. What happens is that your food will sit in your stomach longer when you don't produce enough acid. When this happens, it ferments and produces gas that forces the LES to open allowing some acid to go up into your esophagus. If you don't like doing the apple cider vinegar thing, try drinking some lemon/lime water during/after meals. The extra acid from the lemon/lime should help break down the food faster to prevent heartburn.

Thank you so much for your reply.

The other day i squeezed some lemon in to 12 oz of water and drank it first thing in morning got major heart burn after breakfast do you think this will not be case after a large dinner? Eating green apples random time in day not with big meal gives me heart burn too at times. How can I go back to normal the way I was just last year eating whatever I want and not have to worry about this crap?

so i should drink lemon water right after dinner if i still get heart burn what then?

javery said...
I'm not really sure how to answer your questions as I am trying to figure out those same things as well. I believe when we change our diets drastically, our bodies have a much harder time trying to make the changes as well so it somewhat messes things up. I think the best thing to do is to not overload our stomachs with food. If you need more calories, then you should probably eat more frequently instead of upping the amount of food per meal. I would probably try lemon water with large meals but nothing acidic with small meals. This may help balance things out a little. For me personally, the last thing I would want to do is go on any sort of medication as the medications will lower your acid production. When I was on medication, I could feel a large meal sitting in my stomach for many hours. Sometimes I could feel the food in my stomach in the morning from the night before if I ate a large dinner. Since I have been off, my stomach as emptied within a couple hours every time I eat.

I honestly didnt mind the meds until i noticed abdominal pain and diarrhea randomly and also didnt see muscle growth from working out it was almost as if my lifting weights was a wash.. As soon as I got off the meds I started to see increase and growth.. Most of the day I am fine its towards end of day when I seem to have some heart burn or whenever I get a headache few minutes after ill feel indigestion..

Is taking tums bad for me? I take some almost daily..

rayguy-

If the Pepsid helped I would use it. It doesn't have the same side effects as prilosec and such. If you want to continue to take the tums be sure to get the ones that don't have the high calcium unless your body needs extra calcium. My wife has damaged parathyroids and takes chewable ant acids instead of calcium pills.
The extra calcium can cause kidney stones and can cause issues with too much calcium in your blood stream. Her doctor gave it a name, but I can't remember it right now. She takes 2 tablets 3 to 4 times a day depending on her bloodwork.

Take care,
Bill