Trying to eliminate Acid Reflux naturally

[Katydid]

What helped me a lot was to loose a fair amount of weight. Basically stop being “fat”. That help fix myriad problems.

Also, don’t eat for four hours before bedtime.

I hear you.. I could stand to loose some weight and am working on that plus I no longer have anything past dinnertime.. Thanks! Finger crossed!!

 

[ponyboy]

Stop over eating. I had acid reflux for years, and im skinny. It wasnt acidic foods that did it...it was constantly stuffing food down my feed tube. I stopped over eating, that fixed it. Also, I did cut down on sugar too. Im a glutten, what can I say. Im just lucky that I have a good metabolism.

Basically the only reason I stopped over eating is because I heard how bad acid reflux medicine is for you. Stuff is rough.

 

[Katydid]

Everything suggested helps. Losing weight, avoid alcohol, not eating at least 2 hours before bed, are probably the biggest factors. Lots of resources say "fatty meats" and high fat foods are a culprit, but they show french fries and hamburgers as examples, which are also high in carbohydrates. I found the keto diet with weight loss, avoiding alcohol, and not eating late in the day (usually after 6-8 pm) more helpful than anything else. The specific foods listed by others occasionally cause problems.

Everything makes so much sense!! Thanks!!

 

[Katydid]

I have a hiatal hernia. My Gastro Doc. recommends I take Omeprazole (Generic for Prilosec). I used to have to have a Upper GI procedure every 18 months to expand things, but since taking the acid blocker, my hernia has actually reduced in size as a result, and I have not had to have a procedure for 3 years with no adverse side effects.

It is Zero cost to me under my cheapo Part D plan. Win Win All the way.

Oh good news for you eh? I hope you continue to improve Thanks!

 

[Mark1]

As others have stated, I keep my under control by not eating ~3 hours prior to bedtime. Luckily, I can drink beer pretty much up to bedtime.

 

[Katydid]

Acid reflux is really something that you want to control well. Over time it can cause damage to the esophagus lining that can turn cancerous. Silent reflux is when folks don't have the painful heartburn that lets you know something is wrong; instead the symptoms are more subtle (https://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/laryngopharyngeal-reflux-silent-reflux) but should be taken just as seriously.

Yes, I have read this and other things about the damage it can cause. Believe me, I do not want this to turn into anything worse. I am really trying to do this naturally as it will be a change for life. Thanks

 

[Katydid]

I've had a little acid reflux over the years, but not enough to be very knowledgeable about it.

No snacking before bedtime, which is the most obvious thing, helped me. We also bought an adjustable bed, which makes it simple to keep your head elevated. (but DW is a side-sleeper", so we don't tilt it as much as I'd like)

Something that hasn't been mentioned that I think is often overlooked is taking Probiotics to improve digestion and general "gut health". (Note: the best brands require refrigeration. I have the Jarrow brand & the container says each capsule contains 3.4 billion live bacteria! )

that's my 2 cents,

Thanks!!

 

[Katydid]

Stop over eating. I had acid reflux for years, and im skinny. It wasnt acidic foods that did it...it was constantly stuffing food down my feed tube. I stopped over eating, that fixed it. Also, I did cut down on sugar too. Im a glutten, what can I say. Im just lucky that I have a good metabolism.

Basically the only reason I stopped over eating is because I heard how bad acid reflux medicine is for you. Stuff is rough.

Thanks I know sugar is bad and I have cut back there as well... Small meals is the way to go!!

 

[Crabby Mike]

And sleep on your left side!

 

[Katydid]

As others have stated, I keep my under control by not eating ~3 hours prior to bedtime. Luckily, I can drink beer pretty much up to bedtime.

Ha!! SKOAL!

 

[Katydid]

And sleep on your left side!

Ahh yes, I read that but now I have a wedge pillow so I no longer roll over!!

 

[TrvlBug]

Another sufferer here. Getting worse recently and doc has me on daily Prilosec which I've been taking for a few months and it works wonderfully for me. She also suggested alternating days with Pepcid which I haven't done yet.

I'm normal weight (high end of normal BMI) and am trying to lose weight as suggested by doc but it's hard w/o going on serious diet. Have cut out all alcohol as well as am working my morning coffee habit to all decaf.

Two other items that help that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread are 1. slow down when eating which I need to work on more, and, 2. don't wear tight fitting pants!

 

[TrvlBug]

Ahh yes, I read that but now I have a wedge pillow so I no longer roll over!!

Are you referring to a body pillow? I need to stop rolling over on my back which is my preferred sleep position, however, for another reason. Was wondering if body pillows help?

 

[Jenna]

Intermittent Fasting. Eating in a 6-8 hour window with only black coffee or water the other hours cleaned it all up for me. I also suspect it was the seed/vegi oils too. If you want to learn more-listen to interviews with Tucker Goodrich and/or Dr Cate Shanahan.

 

[Katydid]

Are you referring to a body pillow? I need to stop rolling over on my back which is my preferred sleep position, however, for another reason. Was wondering if body pillows help?

I did not get a body pillow but a wedge pillow and that keeps me at an incline on my back... Do not know about body pillows sorry

 

[Amethyst]

I'm thin, active, and have silent reflux. Was diagnosed with GERD several years ago, and made all the recommended lifestyle changes, other than losing weight, which was not recommended in my case. Dr. did not want me on PPI's long-term. I take an OTC H2-blocker, such as famotidine, from time to time.

 

[iloveyoga]

Giving up Diet Coke has helped me the most.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Losing weight cured my problem.

 

[Bamaman]

My wife suffers with acid reflux. Unfortunately, she hasn't had much luck controlling it. She takes over the counter Omeprezole every day, which seems to help but doesn't eliminate it.

Changing eating or drinking habits can help a little, but it's generally not sustainable for her.

Honestly, most of her acid reflux seems to be caused by stress. When she has time off work or can just relax for a few days, she doesn't seem to be bothered with acid reflux even if she doesn't take the medicine.

This is getting to be a pretty long post, but I didn't take time to read them all. But let me give my take on this subject since I just returned from the hospital after my wife was in for 5 days.

My wife has had acid reflux for maybe 15 years. On 4 occasions, she was in the hospital for aspirational reflux in her sleep--causing pneumonia. Her doctor at the time preached against getting a huge hiatal hernia fixed. But the reflux was eroding her esophagus. She continues to sleep elevated in an adjustable bed, and doesn't overload her stomach.

My wife finally had the surgery 2 years ago, and she's done very well. About 3 weeks ago, she awoke with a bad taste in her mouth. But she didn't spike any high temperature like she always did with pneumonia.

Last Wednesday night, she suddenly fainted and fell. She was running a low grade fever. We put the blood pressure cuff on her, and she was 53 points over death. Hauled her to the emergency room, and they had the crash team in the room. All the while, she was talking and thinking clearly.

Chest X Rays showed nothing. But she was in complete Afib--fluttering heart. And a Cat Scan showed what could have been either pneumonia or cancer. Thankfully it was pneumonia.

Next day, they shocked her heart back into rhythm, and her blood pressure's been fine. She just got home on oxygen a few minutes ago, and she'll be on blood thinners the rest of her life. But she was one breath from death.

Moral of the Story: Don't fool around with reflux, especially if you have a hiatal hernia. Get it fixed. Wait too long, and expect to have cancerous tissue and you're a goner. There's no more frightful thing than waking up in your sleep to have stomach acid going down your wind pipe. Find a good doctor to guide you.

 

[Amethyst]

Bamaman, I don't understand...you said your wife had her hiatal hernia fixed 2 years ago. Did the doctors link her current AFIB to the fixed HH?

This is getting to be a pretty long post, but I didn't take time to read them all. But let me give my take on this subject since I just returned from the hospital after my wife was in for 5 days.

My wife has had acid reflux for maybe 15 years. On 4 occasions, she was in the hospital for aspirational reflux in her sleep--causing pneumonia. Her doctor at the time preached against getting a huge hiatal hernia fixed. But the reflux was eroding her esophagus. She continues to sleep elevated in an adjustable bed, and doesn't overload her stomach.

My wife finally had the surgery 2 years ago, and she's done very well. About 3 weeks ago, she awoke with a bad taste in her mouth. But she didn't spike any high temperature like she always did with pneumonia.

Last Wednesday night, she suddenly fainted and fell. She was running a low grade fever. We put the blood pressure cuff on her, and she was 53 points over death. Hauled her to the emergency room, and they had the crash team in the room. All the while, she was talking and thinking clearly.

Chest X Rays showed nothing. But she was in complete Afib--fluttering heart. And a Cat Scan showed what could have been either pneumonia or cancer. Thankfully it was pneumonia.

Next day, they shocked her heart back into rhythm, and her blood pressure's been fine. She just got home on oxygen a few minutes ago, and she'll be on blood thinners the rest of her life. But she was one breath from death.

Moral of the Story: Don't fool around with reflux, especially if you have a hiatal hernia. Get it fixed. Wait too long, and expect to have cancerous tissue and you're a goner. There's no more frightful thing than waking up in your sleep to have stomach acid going down your wind pipe. Find a good doctor to guide you.

 

[Dalmore]

Seems like a lot of us have GERDS problems.

My solution that I stumbled upon isn't 100%, but it has made it so that I can eat tomatoes, soup and pasta sauce, and Indian food without having horrible heartburn. DW started making homemade Yogurt in March of this year as part of her "Locked-down, I have time to try new things" agenda. What I discovered soon after, is that eating the active-culture yogurt has cured my heartburn 8 out of 10 days, and those two days where I do have some heartburn, it isn't all that bad and a chewable solves it quickly. I used to count the days until I could start another Prilosec treatment, and now, I have no need for it. Since March, I have been eating about 1/2 cup of yogurt with berries and granola for breakfast and my GERDS issues are pretty much whipped.

I should add that I haven't changed my diet. I drink wine with dinner, and occasionally have a wee-dram or some ice-cream before going to bed. The only thing I changed is the active-culture yogurt. I think that it has changed (don't know if it is long term or not) the flora in my gut and now most days I don't have reflux.

 

[Jenna]

Just read this- Thyroid hormone is needed to make hydrochloric acid (stomach acid).
That means without it you can’t break down food to get all the nutrients you need to heal your hypothyroidism. This is why heartburn can be a symptom of hypothyroidism. There are truly a lot of ways thyroid disease can affect the gut.

 

[GreenEggs]

Seems like a lot of us have GERDS problems.

My solution that I stumbled upon isn't 100%, but it has made it so that I can eat tomatoes, soup and pasta sauce, and Indian food without having horrible heartburn. DW started making homemade Yogurt in March of this year as part of her "Locked-down, I have time to try new things" agenda. What I discovered soon after, is that eating the active-culture yogurt has cured my heartburn 8 out of 10 days, and those two days where I do have some heartburn, it isn't all that bad and a chewable solves it quickly. I used to count the days until I could start another Prilosec treatment, and now, I have no need for it. Since March, I have been eating about 1/2 cup of yogurt with berries and granola for breakfast and my GERDS issues are pretty much whipped.

I should add that I haven't changed my diet. I drink wine with dinner, and occasionally have a wee-dram or some ice-cream before going to bed. The only thing I changed is the active-culture yogurt. I think that it has changed (don't know if it is long term or not) the flora in my gut and now most days I don't have reflux.

Glad to hear that the active culture has helped you. I'd mentioned earlier that I had the feeling that Probiotics might help, which is a concentrated form of the same type of bacteria in a capsule form. Btw, I've found that it can help with constipation too, which is also, obviously, a gut issue.

 

[Kwirk]

CPAP is known to be potentially helpful if you have significant nocturnal reflux with obstructive sleep apnea. https://aasm.org/study-finds-that-cpap-therapy-reduces-acid-reflux-in-people-with-sleep-apnea/

Obstructive sleep apnea substantially increases the negative intrathoracic pressure required for breathing, possibly contributing to gastric contents being "sucked" up into the chest via the esophagus. (Snoring may have a similar effect.) Effective CPAP improves intrathoracic pressure during inspiration and actually increases it during expiration.

Good luck with finding something that works for you!

 

[Bamaman]

Bamaman, I don't understand...you said your wife had her hiatal hernia fixed 2 years ago. Did the doctors link her current AFIB to the fixed HH?

The aspirational pneumonia that had been lying essentially dormant for 3 weeks came to life and threw her into a complete medical tailspin. Also brought her asthma on that seldom bothers her too. Had she not had a Cat Scan in the E-Room, they wouldn't have known about the pneumonia that didn't show up on a chest x-ray.

Fortunately, this was the only time since surgery she's had GERD. Her hernia was so large that they were not able to fully "wrap" it, and it remains very large after the surgery. Hopefully with a major change of diet she can lose weight and not have any more GERD issues. She still is glad she had the hernia surgery, and continues to see a gastroenterologist regularly.