Acid Reflux and Baking Soda

[IBWino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst It recently occurred to me that the much-mocked "early dinner hour" for old people, which guarantees that all Florida restaurants are packed at 5 p.m., may be a result of the patrons trying to finish eating, three hours before they go to bed!

You may be right. My wife has had acid reflux (due to a hiatal hernia) for many years now, and and so she an I have usually dined between 6:00 and 6:30, which we thought was early (we don't usually go to bed until 10:00). The ENT doctor suggested earlier if possible.

[Winemaker]

Al, if this helps, 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda took 2 ounces of pH 5.0 coffee to a pH of 7.2, provided my ph meter is calibrated correctly.

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker Al, if this helps, 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda took 2 ounces of pH 5.0 coffee to a pH of 7.2, provided my ph meter is calibrated correctly.

Good info. Thanks.

[TromboneAl]

A tip: Although menthol is said to be a trigger, I find that Hall's sugar free cough drops are a fast way to stop the coughing when needed. After sucking on one for a minute, hold it between your teeth and breathe in and out.



You can also wedge it up by your gums while falling asleep.

It may work simply by increasing salivation, but I think the menthol anesthetizes things.

[flyingaway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea I'm stunned that so many people choose to self-diagnose and treat their conditions rather than get the advice of medical professionals. - Is it because folks are afraid of the doctor or the diagnosis? - Do folks simply want to save the cost of a visit? - Do people think they are smarter than medical professionals? From personal experience, I can tell you that this sort of condition is nothing to fool around with. My 87 year old father has inoperable stomach and esophogeal cancer. Although we don't know for sure, persistent acid reflux may well be the cause. I wish he had sought proper treatment. Sadly, it's too late now.

I have seen both stomach and throat doctors for several years and tried many medicines, and no worked. I think they have given up on me and suggested to take medicines to mitigate the symptoms (uncomfortable throat). So here is that I do in my way to alleviate the problem:
(1) Raised pillow, (2) Tums, (3) Avoid eating anything too late.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mdlerth So many wonderful things I enjoy correlate strongly with midnight heartburn: - Breads and pastas - any kind of spiciness (hot peppers, mustard, horseradish) - any more than a few sips of alcoholic beverages - sweets But it disappears entirely if I eat a couple of baby carrots. I have no idea what chemistry is involved, but raw carrot suppresses the gerd like magic.

Most raw veggies are alkaline. Cabbage and broccoli are usually good bets for us for acid stomachs as well. Cabbage juice is an alternative medicine therapy for ulcers.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker My wife just had the LINKS procedure done in September. It's a magnetic mini bracelet that goes around the esophagus just before the stomach; it acts as the original esophagial sphincter that her GED said was damaged by undiagnosed celiac disease. It has been a battle for the past few years. Countless bouts of coughing, stomach unpleasantness, burping and gas, despite using several elimination diets and the use of omeprazole and/or antacids. She even gave up wine for 6 months! Talk about sacrifice. Coughing has ceased. Celiac diet has been continued, wine consumption has returned. Hiccups now occur after going up steps, but better than the cough.

I have pretty much given up wine. It is amazing how severe my GERD attacks are after a small glass of wine even if I have had little GERD issues for weeks. I have been on omeprazole for many years.

[Ian S]

Just a heads up for those taking an OTC ppi like omeprazole for their GERD: it may be cheaper to get a prescription ppi like pantoprazole. With my Medicare Part D drug plan from Aetna (cheapest I could find), my cost for pantoprazole is now zero this year. It was $3 a refill last year.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian S Just a heads up for those taking an OTC ppi like omeprazole for their GERD: it may be cheaper to get a prescription ppi like pantoprazole. With my Medicare Part D drug plan from Aetna (cheapest I could find), my cost for pantoprazole is now zero this year. It was $3 a refill last year.

I get omeprazole as a prescription. It is free to me under my Advantage plan.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl You can also wedge it up by your gums while falling asleep.

Good god no.

Never fall asleep with something in your mouth.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl You can also wedge it up by your gums while falling asleep........

Last winter I had a lingering cough and used these menthol cough drops. I found that if I fell asleep with one in my mouth, it gave me a canker sore. I'm sensitive in that regard.

[Winemaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit I have pretty much given up wine. It is amazing how severe my GERD attacks are after a small glass of wine even if I have had little GERD issues for weeks. I have been on omeprazole for many years.

Wine can have a pH of 2.9 (New York Rieslings) to 3.9 (Washington Syrah)

Cranberry juice 2.5-2.7pH

Coca-cola 2.53pH

Orange juice 3.3-4.4pH

Any issues after drinking any of these?


I would blame the alcohol for relaxing the esophageal spincter, as my wife's physician suggested a small amount during meals after her LINKS procedure. Like I said, so far so good, but we have a good laugh with the temporary hiccups whenever she goes upstairs or downstairs.

[Ian S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker My wife just had the LINKS procedure done in September.

Just curious if your wife considered the Stretta procedure before you decided on LINKS.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker Wine can have a pH of 2.9 (New York Rieslings) to 3.9 (Washington Syrah) Cranberry juice 2.5-2.7pH Coca-cola 2.53pH Orange juice 3.3-4.4pH Any issues after drinking any of these? I would blame the alcohol for relaxing the esophageal spincter, as my wife's physician suggested a small amount during meals after her LINKS procedure. Like I said, so far so good, but we have a good laugh with the temporary hiccups whenever she goes upstairs or downstairs.

I will get a fountain diet cola at Costco on occasion and not had a problem. I think I have had issues with orange juice before but not always. I haven't had enough cranberry juice to tell. I drink either a beer or Angry Orchard hard apple cider with a shot of Fireball whiskey (it's called Angry Balls) most evenings without problems. Dark red wines are the worst (and, of course, my favorite) whites are not as bad, but still bother me.

[TromboneAl]

I seem to find that it's not an acute or immediate thing. I can have a soda at lunch, then have a problem for the next several nights.

There are lots of things I don't understand about this--I'm not sure the docs really understand it either. For example, I'm lying in bed and I burp and actually get some stomach acid up where I can taste it. Shouldn't that send my coughing up through the roof? It does not.

Sometimes, I'll be coughing in bed, I sit up and burp, and it immediately gets a lot better.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl I seem to find that it's not an acute or immediate thing. I can have a soda at lunch, then have a problem for the next several nights. There are lots of things I don't understand about this--I'm not sure the docs really understand it either. For example, I'm lying in bed and I burp and actually get some stomach acid up where I can taste it. Shouldn't that send my coughing up through the roof? It does not. Sometimes, I'll be coughing in bed, I sit up and burp, and it immediately gets a lot better.

I totally agree. There is nothing that I can point to and say for sure how I am going to react. It is frustrating, but I have learned to live with it most of the time. There are some nights that I will cuss myself for eating something that in retrospect, I shouldn't have...

[TromboneAl]

I got my litmus paper today. A Michelob Ultra had a pH of 6*, and a quarter tsp of baking soda brought it to 7. Note, that doesn't mean I have to add BS to the beer, it just shows me how much is needed to neutralize it (could be taken after the beer).

Surprisingly, my Peet's coffee (Major Dickenson's) this morning tested out at pH 7. I tested it a few times.

So, if I assume that drinking acidic beverages makes the problem worse, I now know that .25 tsp BS would counteract the acidity of a beer, and that coffee isn't acidic at all (wha?).

Of course, I'm probably oversimplifying.

*Probably because Michelob Ultra is like making love in a canoe (F&^%(* close to water).

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl I got my litmus paper today. A Michelob Ultra had a pH of 6*, and a quarter tsp of baking soda brought it to 7. Note, that doesn't mean I have to add BS to the beer, it just shows me how much is needed to neutralize it (could be taken after the beer). Surprisingly, my Peet's coffee (Major Dickenson's) this morning tested out at pH 7. I tested it a few times. .

Water can have a pH of 6 to 7, so you might test your water and compare it to the coffee test. Coffee normally has a pH of about 5. Higher roasting temperatures reduces the acidity of the coffee.

Here's one groups test results of roasting temp vs. pH:

https://www.koffeekult.com/blogs/blo...dity-of-coffee

[Winemaker]

My wife and I never heard of the Stretta procedure, as it wasn't offered by doctor. Too late now, we would have tried that first.

Beer is made by fermenting a malt-water solution flavored by a small grain bill. When i make a 5 gallon batch, there is over 4 gallons of water in the wort. Any acidity that would in the beer, I think, would be a mild carbonic acid, created by the dissolved carbon dioxide.

It is also very important to realize that originally all beer is local. Originally made with local water, local grains, local yeasts. As we have become a world wide market and tasted beverages from all over the world, adjustments have to be made. For example, if I want to make a Guiness Stout clone, I have to get a recipe for the malt/grains and the WATER! I have to start with distilled water, then add salts, minerals, and buffers that will make the distilled water the same as they use in Ireland. I'm positively sure that Anheuser Busch, who bought Rolling Rock from Latrobe PA, has to "make" the water to brew RR, or it will not taste the same.

[TromboneAl]

Shasta diet orange soda had a pH of 4. 1/4 tsp of BS in 8 oz of soda brought the pH to 7.

Our water has a pH of about 7.2.