Anyone here suffer badly with acid reflux?

[Faythe]

Just wondering if anyone else here suffers badly with acid reflux and if so have you found any natural remedies that help?

 

[LuSmith]

I do but unfortunately I have to take medication for it which mostly helps except when I have a bad IBS flare up! I hope you find something that works for you. I don't like particularly taking medication but it seems to do the job 95% of the time!

 

[Jary]

Mine used to be awful but now its not so bad. I did have to take meds (omeprazole) and i still do from time to time.

It might sound odd because it shouldnt work, but my acid reflux settles down when I lie flat :\ maybe when i lie down the stomach sphincter closes on itself but all i know is that i get relief!

Other than that, sipping cold water and rubbing tummy in clockwise direction was the only other solutions that seemed to work.

 

[Lina]

Omeprazole and other gas suppressing meds are counter-productive. I suffer badly from this and these are short term solutions causing bigger issues in the long term. I feel pregnancy has exacerbated this existing problem for me where it now significantly affects my quality of life. What helps is cutting down significantly on starch, other triggers for me are tea, coffee and chocolates which I have read is really common.

 

[Jary]

Yes coffee sets mine off. Also too much dairy as it slows down the function of the stomach sphincter.

I've heard long term use of omeprazole can affect the kidneys. Either way, I'm glad I don't need to use it everyday anymore. It used to be that when I went for a night out, the alcohol set it off and I was in so much pain and discomfort it was ridiculous. So my nights ended early

My GP told me I would eventually not need them everyday and I'm so pleased he was actually right!

 

[rachael22]

i do mostly after anything i eat and especially tea i can burp all day long the feeling of pressure on my chest is awful and relieved when burping i have a gallbladder that doesnt work and refuses to have it out i suffer with anxiety as it is, and is to scared to have the op- as some1 stated lying falt relieves the pain and pressure try omerprazole doctor gave me them before being diagnosed with a non-functioning gallbladder ,also pepto bismal is good but not cheap hope u feel better soon! Xx

 

[alaskagrown]

Since I was in preschool! My mom used to make me chug milk when I was little to get rid of it. Now I pop two Tums in every night after dinner. I also avoid chocolate, coffee, and wine in the evening!

I used to take Prevacid for it but I hate taking meds. My dad still takes his Prevacid religiously. Otherwise he'll be up cursing at my mom all night for "poisoning him" with the tacos she cooked for dinner....

 

[MaskedKitteh]

Don't laugh. Bur I found that apples really really help!

 

[julietz]

Hi Fay, i also have suffered with this and am taking omeprazole for it, iv had no problems since on this med, beofre i had this i use to just use the gaviscon fluid which only helped for a short time, i heard manuka honey, peppermint tea, pure liqurice, and ofc avoiding certain foods that cause it, can help may be worth looking it up.

 

[ninjababy]

I have it so bad that I have a hiatal hernia! Everyday I suffer! I believe eating low carbs and plain food helps- such as vegetables and meats!

 

[parisa]

I have the worst case of acid reflux, but the only thing that does make it feel better is homo milk.....for me it works!

 

[Torsornin]

I used to have EPIC GERD - then I went gluten free/egg free and 90% of my problems went away.
I was 19 when it started went to countless drs and non could figure it out - I was 24 when I figured it out myself ... never looked back. I feel much better. Now I only get it if I accidentally get glutened - or if I eat something spicy - or over eat

While your issue may not be gluten - look into food allergies etc I wish I had known years prior

you can also take the occasional small amount of baking soda for indigestion - have to watch it and not over do it though

 

[LuSmith]

I'm going through a miserable bout of acid reflux atm due to the antibiotics I'm on upsetting my stomach lining! It's awful!!

 

[MindUtopia]

I'd also love to know if anyone has found any natural remedies to help. Mine started up about 4 months ago suddenly and it's been relentless and horrible. I have reflux, occasional sharp pain in the same spot in my lower chest area, bloating and feeling full after just a few bites of food. I never have a day when I am symptom free. My GP has put me on lansoprazole (which I can't take anyway once I am pregnant), but it hasn't helped at all. The only thing that somewhat reduces my symptoms is taking Gaviscon Advance 4 times a day and eating only very small amounts of food (not really enough to keep a normal human being alive, but a few days here and there is okay). There is a chance I could have a hiatus hernia (I had severe pneumonia about a year and a half ago, was in hospital, etc. and had a bad cough for months, which could have helped to cause it). From what I understand, treatment is pretty much the same for both.

I really don't want to be on any meds once I'm pregnant and I don't want this to delay us TTC (I'll be 32 this year, so waiting any longer really isn't an option if we hope to have a second child after this first one). I'm going back to my GP tomorrow and she said she may send me for an endoscopy or barium x-ray (anyone had these?). But I would love to find other ways of dealing with it, so that I don't have to be on medicine. I've heard chiropractic can be helpful (the vagus nerve is involved in stomach contractions and if it gets compressed, you can make too much acid and not empty your stomach as quickly as you should). Anyone tried this?

 

[Lina]

I'd also love to know if anyone has found any natural remedies to help. Mine started up about 4 months ago suddenly and it's been relentless and horrible. I have reflux, occasional sharp pain in the same spot in my lower chest area, bloating and feeling full after just a few bites of food. I never have a day when I am symptom free. My GP has put me on lansoprazole (which I can't take anyway once I am pregnant), but it hasn't helped at all. The only thing that somewhat reduces my symptoms is taking Gaviscon Advance 4 times a day and eating only very small amounts of food (not really enough to keep a normal human being alive, but a few days here and there is okay). There is a chance I could have a hiatus hernia (I had severe pneumonia about a year and a half ago, was in hospital, etc. and had a bad cough for months, which could have helped to cause it). From what I understand, treatment is pretty much the same for both.

I really don't want to be on any meds once I'm pregnant and I don't want this to delay us TTC (I'll be 32 this year, so waiting any longer really isn't an option if we hope to have a second child after this first one). I'm going back to my GP tomorrow and she said she may send me for an endoscopy or barium x-ray (anyone had these?). But I would love to find other ways of dealing with it, so that I don't have to be on medicine. I've heard chiropractic can be helpful (the vagus nerve is involved in stomach contractions and if it gets compressed, you can make too much acid and not empty your stomach as quickly as you should). Anyone tried this?

A natural remedy I found that worked perfectly was honey (also added to cereals instead of sugar) when I get the pain and attacks. Take a tablespoon the minute you get the pain.

I have also found that certain foods trigger the pain for me such as, beans, onions, tea, coffee, fizzy drinks, chocolate,pasta, bread & aspirin. I read that these are all common foods particularly starch. I have had gas attacks pretty much all my life but pregnancy for me aggravated the condition and at 26 weeks I was hospitalised as I struggled to breath due to the acid build up and was put on ranitidine for the remainder of the pregnancy. Post partum the symptoms temporarily ceased and then returned.

I have taken countless number of omeprazole/ranitidine but have now stopped taking any medications and I am controlling the pain with just diet and it is working. My body definitely lets me know when I have taken what I shouldn't. You can start by cutting out all the known trigger foods and look out for others which cause issues. The doctor said that the next step would be a tube down my throat without sedation, this is incredibly unpleasant and one I wish to avoid.

 

[julietz]

Cheese, pastry and white breads or pasta are the foods that kick me off, i have to avoid these.

 

[MindUtopia]

Just wanted to report back in case this is helpful for anyone: To recap, I've had horrible, miserable acid reflux and stomach pain for the past 4 months or so. I'd tried everything - all kinds of OTC and prescription medicines, eating smaller meals, no tea/coffee, no alcohol, eating alkaline foods, etc. - and hadn't had much relief. But I did find an article that said one of the main things (even above and beyond taking medicine) that gave people relief was losing weight, so I've been trying to eat better and exercise considerably more (probably 1-2 hours a day). I don't own a scale, but my clothes are fitting a bit better even after 2 weeks of not really trying that hard to lose weight. I've also started taking 1 tablespoon of aloe vera juice 2-3 times a day (usually in the morning before breakfast and in the late afternoon). Lastly, I went to see my chiropractor and she adjusted my back and found several areas on my diaphragm (the muscle between your chest and stomach that works to keep the acid down) that were really tight and tense, and did some massage to work out the tightness.

I started to feel much better after I began with the aloe vera (and I'm sure the extra working out helped too), and I continued to feel better after the chiropractic. It's not 100% gone, but it's much more manageable and I feel more like my old self than I have in months. Just wanted to share in case this helps anyone else.

 

[TattyHead]

I chew lots & lots of chewing gum. Helps to produce excess saliva which in turn seems to help the excess acid. I also take Omeprazole, & every so often when its at it's worse & I'm in agony I reduce my fat intake, & only eat foods with less than 1g of fat (Well, I try my best! )....So hard to do!! Lots of white meat, veg & not alot else, but it really helps.
Low GI diet is supposed to help aswell.

Oh, the chewing gum is sugar free....

 

[Silverlilly]

Like the OP said, I find that apples help, too! And melon - watermelon or cantaloupe. I'll eat melon plus cooked oatmeal for supper when it gets really bad, and it really does help!

 

[majored]

I'd also love to know if anyone has found any natural remedies to help. Mine started up about 4 months ago suddenly and it's been relentless and horrible. I have reflux, occasional sharp pain in the same spot in my lower chest area, bloating and feeling full after just a few bites of food. I never have a day when I am symptom free. My GP has put me on lansoprazole (which I can't take anyway once I am pregnant), but it hasn't helped at all. The only thing that somewhat reduces my symptoms is taking Gaviscon Advance 4 times a day and eating only very small amounts of food (not really enough to keep a normal human being alive, but a few days here and there is okay). There is a chance I could have a hiatus hernia (I had severe pneumonia about a year and a half ago, was in hospital, etc. and had a bad cough for months, which could have helped to cause it). From what I understand, treatment is pretty much the same for both.

I really don't want to be on any meds once I'm pregnant and I don't want this to delay us TTC (I'll be 32 this year, so waiting any longer really isn't an option if we hope to have a second child after this first one). I'm going back to my GP tomorrow and she said she may send me for an endoscopy or barium x-ray (anyone had these?). But I would love to find other ways of dealing with it, so that I don't have to be on medicine. I've heard chiropractic can be helpful (the vagus nerve is involved in stomach contractions and if it gets compressed, you can make too much acid and not empty your stomach as quickly as you should). Anyone tried this?

Hi, I know this is an old post but I was wondering if I could join in. .....Its a long one sorry!.

I found out I was expecting late 2011 which was a big shock as my OH and I thought we would have to try IVF for anything to happen. When I was about 16 weeks I started to have a pain under my right rib and I felt very bloated all the way through the pregnancy. I was worried and thought it could be my gallbladder.

In the Dec I ended up loosing my baby due to my waters breaking as the cord was around the babies neck . I then in turn became very stressed out and the drs gave me some antibiotics just in case of an infection. Every time I took one I would have stomach ache. Then my knee was a little swollen so I took some anti inflammatory tablets. The stomach aches would come and go and I would stress more and more. Within a little time I noticed a lump under my right rib. Well not so much a lump but a swelling about 1.5 inches long . It doesn't move nor hurt if I touch it. I wasn't sure if this had be caused by the pregnancy but the lump was where I had the pain in the Nov.

After visiting the drs weeks and weeks in a row, I was becoming depressed. Also very worried about this swelling and the pain under the rib. I was also too worried to go to the hospital. Then the heart burn started one doctor said I had a hiatus hernia and to take gaviscon to ease things. The constipation then became a real problem as I then had piles. So I started to take senokot but after a few weeks told to come off this as this makes the bowel contract but not soften the food. Then I was taking lactulose solution but a few weeks of taking this told to come off as this can make the bowel lazy. So I was given fybergel and that's what im on at the moment, it helps 85% of the time and I can live with that. My stomach swells up and down but the lump does really stick out. One dr states ive got IBS, and he thinks the lump is just the muscle wall. I took one omeprazole but I felt very funny taking it so I was given Ranitidine which I found to be ok.

During all of this the doctors have been trying to get me to have a endoscopy , I couldn't do it so many things have been happening to me and I just couldn't cope. So they first tried an ultra sound scan, well they checked the lump and all organs they could see and everything was ok. They said the lump wasn't a herna in the muscle wall. I then had a blood test to see if I had celiacs disease which was clear. Then a stool sample to test for helicobacter which was clear. I was still having pain around my Gallbladder so a blood test was done for liver etc and that was clear.

So now fast forward to 2013, ive been worrying myself sick with my problems and I just cant take any more. Suffering with depression , stress and worry. New year and new start I went to the doctors and asked them to book me in for a endoscopy I don't want any more of this. Bloating under the right ribs that just come and go ,which moves around sometimes in my back. The lump about 2 inches under my right rib hasn't changed. Heart burn on and off........

Tomorrow im having my endoscopy and iam real scared I mean REAL SCARED, Crying, shaking and feeling sick with worry. More worried about what they will find not so much the camera itself. I know they will want to do more tests after I just know it. Ive also had to stop all medication 2 weeks before the camera but have managed to cope with taking gaviscon on and off.

It taken nearly a year to get me to this point and ive worked out brown bread, choc, tomato sauce and mayo start the bloating off under the ribs. I do get gassy but not all the time. Stomach cramps about 3-5 times a month. Bloating under the ribs everyday.


I hope everyone else has managed to sort out their stomach issues.

Take care xx