Anybody have GERD? What do YOU eat?

I didn't mean to vote down my own question.....

OK, i just voted it up for you. Happy now?

Somethin' screwy goin' on . . . i vote it up, the vote disappears. I knew there was a good reason why i never use that goofy fuction.

OP - please get a colonoscopy too.

search the GERD tag -- there are a couple of pertinent threads on the subject...

Going Vegetarian or Vegan might seem fashionable but is it healthy? Many so called vegetarians or Vegans have stomach or digestive problems. Sugar is from a vegetable source (Sugar cane).

The following is from my experience.

Most creatures that hunt have their eyes to the front; Creatures that graze (eating mainly vegetable matter) and are hunted have their eye’s forward and to the side. Thus if you look at us humans (eyes in the front) we are omnivorous as our tooth structure clearly shows. We are designed to eat a diet of Meat, fish and vegetables to stay healthy.

As with regards to sugar...

In my own case or personal experience. For the last 20 years I have suffered from reflux or upset stomach. Many doctors have prescribed reflux medication, some helped but nothing fixed the problem. So after cleaning a drain with Bi Carb (Baking Soda) I thought I would try it on myself. I took half a small teaspoon of bi carb in about an inch of water in a glass. This instantly fixed the reflux. (Great) and lasted for a week.

Note: If you suffer chest pains, as the above take half a small teaspoon of bi carb in about an inch of water in a glass. If you only have Reflux or indigestion it will instantly neutralise the acid causing reflux and related pain. If however the pain persists after 5 minutes it could be angina or heart related.

However over the years the daily dosage needed to keep the reflux in check rose to 5 teaspoons of bi-carb each day. Finally in desperation I looked through the Internet. The cause of the reflux I had been having all those years was caused by sugar. 8 to 10 cups of coffee and tea each day with 2 spoons of sugar in each cup, also several glasses of soft drinks. That’s about 8000 yes eight thousand spoonfuls a year. So I simply cut out sugar and soft drinks (No artificial sweeteners or chocolate) Since that day I have never had reflux or needed to take anything to combat it.

I also had a problem over many years with painful mouth ulcers. Constantly reoccurring. I cut out using tomato sauce and this problem also went away (could be the high levels of sugar and acids).

Everyone who eats sugar suffers from an upset stomach in varying degrees. It does not worry some people. The human body makes a natural antacid to balance this. However it uses the calcium in your body to produce this natural antacid. So if you consume large amounts of sugars in your diet you could have to take calcium supplements.

Regards

Peter B.

I've had gerd for many (around 55) years. It seems to ebb and wane with slight flucuations in weight (not with stress). Recently it has taken the form of a chronic cough from excess mucous in the esophagous. It has resulted in Barret's esophagous which may result in cancer of the esophagous (that killed an uncle, and my father had it when he died--but it did not kill him at the age of 93). But my gastroenterologist assures me--bless him--that I'll probably die of old age from other causes. To control the excessive acidity of Gerd, I take a couple of spoonfuls of Gaviscon at night, and Nexium OR Omepraezole first thing in the morning. I also have ulcerative colitis which is controlled very well with Apriso. Just a normal guy.

http://able2know.org/forum/gerd/

since my initial posting, I have been living on Cream of Wheat, bananas, chicken breast and a few veggies. I have lost 25 pounds. Had to cancel the first endoscopy because of snow; have it rescheduled for Tuesday. Head of bed is four inches elevated. Hope I wil have some answers soon.

You're still a handsome devil with wit and some dollops of wisdom.
(hope you can control that cough stuff)

Thanks, I needed that. Actually, I understated the severity of my cough. It started early June (about 7 months ago), and the diagnosis is that it is related to my gerd, to its effect on my esophagous (acid erosion) which renders it very sensitive to the mucous (phlegm?) related to allergic rhinitis. What I don't understand is why now? I've had allergies and gerd for more than 59 years without cough. Maybe age alone is a factor. In Mexico phlegm- expelling coughs (gargajos) are associated in common knowledge with old men. Gasp! I hate to think I've come to that.

I had moderate-severe GERD until I had surgery for it.
I used to have heart burn almost all the time. It was partially controlled with Prilosec (predecessor to Nexium). Then I had a couple of disturbing episodes of waking up in the middle of the night with re-gurgitated stomach contents in my throat.
Some time before, my PCP had told me that if meds didn't handle the problem there was a surgical option.
Anyway, independent of that, I developed a gall bladder problem and was referred to a surgeon to have it removed atheroscopically. While there, I mentioned my GERD and that my doctor had once mentioned a surgical solution.
The surgeon said, "oh sure, I do that! It's called a 'Nissen Procedure' I've done about two hundred of them. We could do it at the same time as your gall bladder. we'd just make one more insertion hole."
Well, I had it done and it has worked out PERFECTLY.
Now, about eleven or twelve years later, I eat ANYTHING I want (including very spicy stuff) ANY TIME I want (even before going to bed) and I am totally SYMPTOM-FREE.
The key: finding a competent surgeon who has done the procedure numerous times. AND your insurance company has to approve.
( which they should do, if medication is not effective.)

P.S. @JL NOBODY

I had a cough too. No more!

Oops!
I forgot to paste this link about the Nissen procedure!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissen_fundoplication

Thanks, Jjorge; that's helpful.

Good. I'm glad the info is helpful.

Good luck!

I'm surprised that you still drink apple juice.

Why?

Do you take something for your cough?