Acid Reflux- any success stories?

[LittleBirdy]

Hi everybody,

I was just wondering if anybody has been able to cure his/her acid reflux (or GERD)? And how? 

I am struggling with severe symptoms and have tried a lot over the years but feel really stuck right now. I have tried various medications, undergo a big lifestyle change and I can't notice much of a difference. Any success stories would be much appreciated. 🙂 ❤️ Birdy

[Jeffn1990]

All my life I never suffered from heartburn/acid reflux until age 24. 

Age 7-21 I was always skinny like twig.

Age 21 I was 145 pounds 5ft 11

From age 22-23 I gained 55 pounds.

At age 22 I went to truck driving school.

I hit the road from 22-23 years old.

I gained 55 pounds and was 200 pounds. Stopped smoking and Started having heart burn problems and I knew right away it was cause I was over weight from truck driving lack of exercise.. Yet... I had heartburn every day weeks on and It wouldn't go away.

Went on a PPI a oval small yellow pill. It didn't work at all for me. Then I got placed on nexium and the heartburn stopped. Every time I stopped taking the PPI the heart burn would come back. After about 20 times , I realize it's never going to go away. 

In 2014-2015 I was 212 pounds. I've gained 12 pounds in 1 year.

In 2016 I dropped down to 190 and my heartburn stopped for about 2 months. My ex wife divorced me, I was sick and depressed to no eat and started smoking again. PI... Completely gone. Once I gained weight back to 200+ pounds my heart burn came back.

2017 I never weighed my self.

2018 I weighed in at 227 pounds in December.

I signed up at a gym and started working out dropping down from 227 to 220 pounds and my heart burn was still present..

I know one thing about heart burn that is a major factor.

When you think of food... Your stomach makes hydrochloric acid and gives me heartburn. I can be 100% fine... But if I thinking about snacking on something.. instantly I come down with heartburn.

Your stomach produces hydrochloric acid for first stage of digestion. Stomach acid breaks up food proteins amino acids and minerals. 

For a lot of people that have heartburn problems, they stimulate the hydrochloric acid by thought of food. 

Were you ever about to eat something spicy or sour like a lemon and your mouth created saliva instantly? Have you ever thought of food in major stomach growl? You could very well be creating your own problem with cravings and thoughts of food. 

If you have a high appetite and you're the type of person that eats fast... Then this could be a problem for you.

I have noticed since I've been exercising i've had less cravings. I've also took note that carbohydrates and gooey food like peanut butter, bananas, Oatmeal, Bread, cookies, cakes...ect... Gives me brutal heartburn. I think because these foods are harder to break down with hydrochloric acid... Your body continues to pump more hydrochloric acid to break these Foods down and the result of heartburn.

I think to get rid of heartburn you have to get cravings and addictions out.

This is a very very interesting factor I figure it out. 

When I quit smoking cigarettes, is exact timing when I developed the heartburn problems. Also quitting smoking only made me eat more too.

I did not have heartburn at all want to start smoking again. 

1- your food cravings

2-carbohydrates/Sugar Grams I

3- amount of food you eat

4- lack of exercise, you need cardio.

5- get coffee out of your life.

If anyone's ever smoke cigarettes, you know nothing goes better with a cigarette than a cup of coffee or a soda or beer. 

Coffee and sodas has a super powerful impact on your hydrochloric acid stimulation. Your hydrochloric acid and insulin work side-by-side.

It's the food and drinks that impacts your HCA levels. 

Imagine eating a penut butter, pizza, Coffee banana or oatmeal... 

I think your Cravings as a big big factor for getting rid of heartburn.

No midnight snacks, no munchies, no sodas or morning coffee. Skip the oats and do more fasting than eating.

[danielle_2500]

How are you feeling littlebirdy? Is your acid reflux better? what did it work?

[Jeffn1990]

I do not have heart burn anymore. This is my diet meal plan

-Got rid of All Bad Carbs, Sugars, Trans Fats, High Fructose and Processed foods out diet 100%

-Limited my Saturated Fats to 4 Grams max a day

-Limited My Carbohydrates "Good Carbs" to 25-50 Grams a day for Fasted Weight loss. 100-200 Grams of carbs for those with a good diet but,Not in a  fasted state.

-Eat Protein and Fats or Eat Protein and Carbs.....Do not eat any food where Carbs and trans or saturated Fats combined or the insulin will open the blood cell to let Fats proteins and sugar inside. This is how people get fat!

-Eat allot of Protein about 40-60 Grams per day

-Get your Carbs from Fruits and Veggies only... Oatmeal is good but only 1 Cup !

- Do not Mix Carbs unless you can stay under your daily carb instake.

- Drink only Water, No flavor water because it will Spike Insulin even if its 0 Calories, 0 Sweeteners....Flavors can trigger a insulin response.

-Intermittent fast 16 Hours Minimum for beginners,18 Hours for Experience, 20 Hour Fast for Champs.

Break your fast with Easy Carbs like, Oatmeal, or A Banana. Don't mix carbs because you will exceed ... Unless you can keep it at 10 Grams. 

- After your 16 hour fast you have 8 hour eating window

-Break your fast with a Banana.... If you eat any more carbs more than a Banana you will gain weight and ruin your Fast Diet. 2 Bananas will Spike insulin too high and you will just gain weight and store fat after the fast. remember 25 Grams of carbs or less a day if your a fat person. If your Skinny then eat 2 Bananas. Break your fast with 1 Banana. Then at the last hour of your 8 hour eating window eat the other Banana with allot of meat and veggies. You will then fast for 16-20 hours. 16 Hours is for the weak links. Its rerecorded to eat 50-150 Grams of Carbs a day if your over weight. If your Trying to do the minimum 

I start my fast at 8 pm and break my fast at 2Pm. Thats 18 hours of fasting. Then I break the fast with 1 Banana. I will not eat no more carbs other than 1 Banana a day. I consume my daily calories with Fats and proteins. 

At 10 PM, I eat Lean meats and veggies, then i sleep and fast till 2Pm next day. Then i break fast with 1 Banana Then i wont eat again till last hour at 10 pm, But at 7Pm within my fast i do Cardio and Weights.

At dinner i eat my 2nd Banana with veggies and meats.

This is how i lost weight and Got rid of my heart burn.

I also remember best remedy was Winter Fresh Gum. faster working with better results compared to Baking soda or apple cider vinegar.

I know i said that Bananas gave me heart burn...  My heart burn was the fact of being over weight and eating fats and carbs together.

Eating bad carbs, and bad Trans fats, eating too much and too frequent. Since i got Sugar, "Bad Fats" and "Bad Carbs" out diet and started intermingling fasting....no longer suffer from heart burn. 

No Sugar at all!

No Sodas or Teas

No processed foods

No fried foods....Cholesterol and trans-fats are bad!

Drink only water, Black tea, black coffie...no sweetners or creamers

Dont belch.... 8 hour window to eat... Eat only 800-1200 calories, 46-60 grams protein, 25-100 Grams of Carbs at the highest!

Exersize... do CARDIO... less Weights

-Stop thinking of food too much

When stomach growls drink swallow of water.

eat good fats like coconut or avocado or nuts and cheeses

[danielle_2500]

Thank you, can you please post one of your day's meal example.

For example is it ok to eat sweet baked potato and turkey ham together, or I should not combine any carbs with protein?

[SunsetRunner]

I used to suffer reflux and heartburns for many years. I've been eating medications for it as if they were candies. If I remember correct, it started at the time when I went to the university. Eating lot, unhealthy and not avoiding alcohol took its toll. It's been like that for 16 years. Each year it was getting worse. At some point ( 7-8 years ago ) I started having stomach pains such as I couldn't catch my breath. Really bad to the point my wife called for an ambulance once.  I connect these episodes to overusing energy drinks. Back then, I've been drinking litres of that. I could have 5-6 cans a day and add several cups of black coffee on top of that. Looking back, I've been really torturing my stomach. It's a miracle I haven't developed any ulcers. Obesity, bad food, lots of alcohol, energy drinks and lots of stress ( back then, I worked for the video games industry, I don't recommend, stress levels go out of the roof ) - it all contributed to the AR and heartburns.

Then, about 2 years ago I went on diet, lost a significant amount of weight ( 36% of my total 'obese' weight ) and implemented healthy eating and exercise into daily life. It sounds like nothing but my gastric problems disappeared ( together with my asthma ). I still have some medicines at home as there are occurrences when I get mild heartburn ( very rare, usually during long flights etc. ).

Major changes I implemented were:

- losing weight ( 36% of the body weight ) - I believe this may be a huge contributor

- no processed food ( with rarely minor exceptions, I'm not a slave to my daily diet 😉 )

- mostly plant-based diet ( meat very rarely, if so, I pick the best possible quality from local farms, the same about cheese, eggs )

- almost no alcohol ( "almost" means a pint of ale or glass of wine in a month ), if it happens, stop on one

- lots of veggies, really lots! I can just snack on them.

- no energy drinks

- almost no fizzy drinks ( sometimes diet coke, very rarely, not too much )

- no greasy food - healthy fats or not, greasy food may be a bit too much for stomach

- less stress at work ( changed my job )

- reduced sugar, salt ( but still I want to taste my food 🙂 )

- exercise ( not sure if it contributes but for sure won't do a harm ).

I was lucky enough and haven't done any permanent damage to my stomach so I could recover from such problems without any medical help.

[Jeffn1990]

I want to add one more thing about acid reflux.

Carbonated drinks... Destroys your esophagus valve. I'd almost like the say this is the number one cause that leads to acid reflux disease. Stay away from carbonated drinks of all sources including alcohol. lot of people don't want to believe it but carbonated drinks will destroy your esophagus valve. 

[danielle_2500]

Thank you, I'm not having any carbonated drinks. I'm on bland dies, my only guilt is 1-2 slices of bread per day, as I feel I'm looking too much weight, lost 20 pounds in 1 1/2 months 😞

[Tomq]

Hi Little Birdy,

I've had acid reflux for several years and was constantly waking myself up at night from the regurgitation. From all of my research the thing that works the best for me is eating an apple before I go to bed. There is a long-term cure that takes a more holistic approach. Here are a couple of resources that have helped me. Hopefully, they can steer you in the right direction as well.

https://contrarianreviews.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/stop-the-vurps/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/heartburn-acid-reflux-remedies

[alissamae99]

i used to be the worlds worst for having acid reflux... even as a baby i would; excuse the grotesque image you about to receive; projectile vomit everything that i ate. I've also struggled with IBS and other gastrointestinal things. About a year ago i went in for an upper gastrointestinal exam and a colonoscopy. The only thing that they found was that i was a very acidic person and retained a lot of gas in my stomach. They recommended i try the Mediterranean.. That worked a little bit but nothing like i thought it should.... After another trip to the doctor they recommended i switched from cows milk to almond milk... As a milk lover i wasn't to thrilled about this change but let me tell you it has made a world of difference... I can now eat what i want when i want without any heartburn or acid reflux. 

[Willow1962]

Hi. I have suffered with acid reflux for about 7 years. I have had two endoscopys and was told I  had an inflammed esophagus  and Gord/Gerd. I take omeprazole  and ranitidine.  It really is affecting  my quality of life  of late . Cant  even  walk and I get burning sensation in my chest mouth fills with water. Then whoosh I am sick. Twice in one week. I quit smoking 25 days now and I'm.using a  vape. So I don't know if that has caused the flare up. My gp uped my dose of omeprazole.  They seem to like throwing meds at you. But have been referred for the OP. Has anyone had this done. Any help much appreciated.

[Willow1962]

I totally agree. I too now have osteoarthritis.  I think the long time use of omeprazole was a culprit. I now have gord/herd and inflammed esophagus . And awaiting to see consultant about having g the OP. I use to do a lot of sit ups and one day I remember it clearly.  Has I did the sit up I felt a crunch in my  upper abdomen.  The consultant said I had a less sphincter.

[Willow1962]

Hi. I know exactly how  you feel I have gerd and an inflammed esophagus.  I only have to walk some days,I will get that dreaded burning in my chest. My mouth fills with water and whoosh I'm sick. It really affects your quality of life. Hope you get it sorted

[Robina8716]

stoping smoking is the best thing you can do especially for acid reflux. i know your on vape's but they are not much better. i know being an ex smoker. i stopped for 7 years and went back on them and now im 6 and a half years off them again. smoking actually produces acid in the stomach. please keep going and try and not take the vape for too long. those are just as addictive as the cigarettes. i often get cravings for the nicotine i was on, not the cigarette but those tiny little sweet things. im sure your going to start to feel much better in lots of ways. i hope so. keep us updated. im wishing you all the very best. well dont on stopping smoking, i just wanted to add that  now your off the ciggies your body will react in any way it can as it will be missing the smoking and do anything to get you back on them. good luck. 

[Robina8716]

the reall thing with acid reflux is working out if its bile thats doing the damage or acid in the stomach. If its bile there is an operation that can solve this by attaching the bile duct to the lower intestine. its stops the bile coming up into the oesphagus and it passes through the bowel. try to find out if its acid or bile thats causing this problem. its a big operation and they dont like to tell people about it unless its the very last straw and if its definately bile and not acid causing the problem. many people are not aware of the difference between the two. 

[Willow1962]

Thanks for that. I will definitely look into it. Much appreciated.

[Dave1055]

Hi All,

I suffered from heartburn from the age of 15. I always had antacid tablets with me until I developed full-on GERD at age 30. Then my doctor put me on H2 Blockers. I suffered from that until I was 55. At 56 I decided enough was enough and started researching the causes and a solution.

I know it's not going to be popular on here and I'm opening myself to a lot of criticism but this is what I discovered. And just to preface, I have not had heartburn or acid reflux or GERD since. I am now just a few weeks away from 64 years old. I have limited medical knowledge - I was a paramedic for 18 years, but I am a fanatical researcher.

For the sake of space, I will refer to heartburn, acid reflux and GERD as just GERD from here on.

The main cause of GERD is not having enough stomach acid. As we age our stomachs produce less and less stomach acid. The lack of stomach acid reduces our ability to digest food quickly. The food stays in our stomach so long that it starts to ferment, creating gas, which forces food and stomach acid back up our oesophagus causing GERD. After eating our stomachs increase the production of stomach acid. Stomach acid causes our LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) to close tightly after eating and to stop anything from going back up into our oesophagus. It also controls the sphincter at the other end allowing the digested food to move into the large intestine. If you have insufficient stomach acid, neither of these can occur efficiently. Taking PPI's, H2 Blockers, and antacid tablets cause your stomach to produce even less stomach acid making this even worse. 

Taking these medications do help in the short term because they neutralize the acid that is regurgitated into your throat but makes it worse over time. You are just treating the symptoms of low stomach acid with the wrong medication. 

But, do not stop taking these medications cold turkey or you will experience the worst heartburn ever. You must wean yourself off the medication, especially PPI's and H2 Blockers because you will experience a rebound effect. Your stomach acid production has been suppressed for a long period and when the medication is stopped your stomach will produce an extreme excess of stomach acid. Ask your doctor to guide you through this.

Once you have weened off the medication you should increase your stomach acid naturally. You can use Apple Cider Vinegar but the best is Betaine Hcl. This will take some trial and error to determine how much you need and you will be able to reduce this over time. I was able to stop taking this regularly after a few months and now only take it occasionally if I have a large high protein meal.

Check out this website for more details. There is also an article about testing your stomach acid to determine if you do have low or high stomach acid. This might seem like this is simple to determine but the symptoms for excess stomach acid and low stomach acid are the same. This simple test you can do yourself, at home.

Here is the website: TheAcidRefluxSolution.com

Don't worry, they do not try you sell you anything- there is nothing to purchase or click there.

Big question: Did your doctor test your stomach acid prior to prescribing you PPI's and H2 Blockers? I'll bet the majority did not. And as a result, have misdiagnosed most people. Only 2-3 % of people have excess stomach acid.

I hope this helps someone here.

[Willow1962]

I agree I have been prescribed omeprazole and ranitidine. Both twice daily. I have a les sphincter. Which needs to be tightened. They are just masking the situation.  Neutralising the acid which will still cause prob because of lax sphincter. I'm going around in circles 

[PALMS1124]

How is the Fast Track diet working for you?

[Willow1962]

Same with me affecting my quality of life badly. The burning in the chest horrendous. I suffer with angina also so spending time in A&E thinking it cud be an attack and it's my gerd  seeing gp today so hopefully  get OP that's needed

[Tomq]

Hello,

Thanks for the information. Not being a milk drinker myself, I was unaware
that almond milk was helpful. I did kinow that dairy in general is very
acidic and can exacerbate reflux symptoms. Hopefully those reading this can
benefit from your info.

Tom...