The All-Natural Regimen That Has Helped My Reflux Problem

[EllJay]

Nyer, ok. Thank you. My Dr. Told me to eat small more frequent meals. Like every 3 hours. Also on other posts on this board people were eating very bland, so I thought that was what we are supposed to do. I'm just not sure what is a small more frequent meal. I just don't want to do the wrong thing and hinder any progress. It's been tough trying to care for my 5 mnth old as well. My mother in law has come out to help me. Do I not eat small more frequent meals? There is so much info.out there and it is confusing. Thank you.

[NYer]

Well there is no harm in eating smaller meals more often. That's actually a good thing on many levels - everyone should actually always eat that way. But NOT THAT small. And And they don't have to be bland. Just not spicy or acidic. And you have to get nutrition, girl. You need protein and a full range of vitamins and minerals. Especially if you're nursing!!!
Like I said, please read this whole thread. When I say this "thread" I'm talking about specifically the one you are looking at right now "The All-Natural Regimen That Has Helped My Reflux Problem." I'm not talking about other threads on this web site. Lots of people have lots of perspectives on what works for them. THIS thread is MY perspective. And it works for me. But you're going to have to read the whole thing and do everything that's suggested. I, unfortunately, don't have the time to go back through everything I've written here and repeat it in one post.

[EllJay]

Yes, you are eating too little and that's why you're losing weight. I don't know what you read that made you think you need to eat tiny amounts of food. Nor do you need to eat "bland" food. But I'm actually surprised that you need to ask if that's why you're losing weight. Read what you wrote. That's less food than most extreme diets allow. Of course that's why you're losing weight.

Bland isn't necessary. You don't want to eat spicy or acidic food. But you can certainly eat all sorts of seasonings including salt. And you don't want to eat heavy fatty foods (like fatty red meat). But you should be eating normal amounts of food - just don't eat to the point where you're FULL. You should feel satisfied but your belly should not be distended. You're not eating enough protein either. You can eat eggs. You can eat protein shakes (whey protein powder is a good choice, as well as some others that have been discussed in this thread). You can have fish at lunch (salmon/tuna are easy to make). Most cooked vegs are fine. Stay away from onions and garlic. Don't drink coffee. Not even decaf.

In my case, I lost a lot of weight because I COULDN'T eat. I felt too bloated and sick every time I went to put food in my mouth. Once I started taking the digestive enzymes, I was able to eat full meals again.
Oh, and take FOUR Absorbaids with each meal. Not two. I know it says two on the bottle but it also suggests that you take more if you have some digestive problem. Which, YOU DO.

And I have no idea why you think the Cal/Mag liquid might cause you problems. It's very helpful.

Please read through this whole thread. There is a lot of helpful info here that will answer your questions.

Thank you Nyer-
In regards to the 4 enzymes. I took one right before eating and will take the 3 remaining after eating. Should I be opening up the capsules, or can I just take the capsules normally? I would prefer taking them normally, but I thought I would ask you to be sure. Also, since I am eating more frequent meals (every 3 hours), is it okay/healthy to eat 4 enzymes with each meal?? This has been the worst. I woke up twice last night, once at 1:30 with heartburn (took 4 open capsules) and then again at 4:30 with heartburn (took Gaviscon extra strength). Eating my breakfast now, bowl of oatmeal and a little honey and started having heartburn before I started eating. And this all started from taking the Protonix. Never experienced heartburn in my life, now it's several times a day with left arm and face tingling. I have been off Protonix for 6 days today, this is like torture. I can't believe how much my health has spiraled from the original LPR symptoms of lump in throat, ear pressure and throat pain. I feel so lost, my husband is getting irritated with me because I'm not doing what the Dr. said in regards to trying the Zantac, but I don't want to go backwards now. I just want my system to get back to what it was before Sept. 13. Normal digestion, no heartburn, no pain.

[NYer]

As I said just said just three posts ago, in reply to your first post in this thread...

You can't overdose on it. When you're having bad symptoms, the best thing to do is put a teaspoon of the powder into some room temperature water and drink it all down. If you get it in capsule-form, that's four capsules. Just open them up and empty the powder into the water. The reason I recommend doing it that way is that it starts working before it even hits your throat so it's soothing all the way down. Normally, I just take them in capsule form and they go to work in the stomach.
(There are other brands of digestive enzymes, I tried one at one point that was useless. Sorry I can't remember the name of that one right now. Some of them also contain pancreatin and HCL and some other things that may be helpful and are certainly not bad for you but YOU CAN TAKE TOO MUCH of them. That's not an issue with the Absorbaid.) (When you're searching for it, some sites spell it as one word (Absorbaid) and some as two words (Absorb Aid)).

You have yourself so stressed out that you aren't actually paying attention to what you're reading here.
I will tell you again, READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD. It answers all of your questions.

Yes, you should take the digestive enzymes with EVERY meal. It doesn't matter if you take it in the capsule or powdered form. The advantage to the powdered form, I explained in the quote above.
The way you're taking the capsules is good - one at the beginning and 3 after the meal. But no harm will come of taking it any other way. And if you haven't eaten in a few hours but you're feeling bloated, you can still take it at that time, too. It doesn't have to be WITH food.
And one more time: You cannot overdose on this stuff. What your body doesn't need will just come out when you go to the bathroom.

[leonk]

Other treatments (melatonin)

All,

I am new to this site and have been suffering with both GERD and silent re flux. I have tried everything, including conventional drugs. Never got it under total control. I have been doing tons of research and came across several studies with Melatonin. According to the studies, Melatonin works directly on the heart of the problem, the LES, with very high success rate. All studies show that 6 mg dose for 40 days increases the LES pressure and increases PH above the LES to neutral. Not sure if anyone else tried this. I have just started and am on my third day. At this stage, I have nothing to lose. We will see how it goes.

LeonK

[NYer]

Hi Leon,
Welcome!
That's very interesting. I've never tried it. I do remember someone else on another thread on here tried Melatonin. He said it seemed to help his GERD but he had some negative side effects. Here is a link to his thread:

http://forums.heartburn-help.com/showthread.php?8645-Melatonin-Warning-To-All&highlight=melatonin

I think that was what turned me off to the idea of trying it.
That said, though, if you only do it for 40 days, maybe it wouldn't be a problem. He was on it much longer than that.
I'd suggest that you see a naturopath (or a good holistic doctor) and discuss it and have him/her oversee your use of it (since it is a hormone).
Please do keep us updated on your results. I'd be very interested to know if it works.
Good Luck!
-NYer

[NYer]

Good DGL

Hi All,
I've tried a new product that I'm happy with so I want to recommend it.

As you know, I take DGL before every meal. For years, I've been taking the Enzymatic Therapy sugar-free/fructose-free DGL. I even learned to kind of like the taste of black licorice in the process. About a month ago, I inadvertently bought their "Ultra DGL". I didn't notice that it was different till I got home (it's also sugar-free/fructose-free and the bottle looks pretty much the same except for the word "Ultra").
What I DID notice in the store was that this was the "German Chocolate" flavor. I knew they made a chocolate flavor but I also knew that chocolate might be a trigger for GERD so I never tried it. However after these many years, I have tried eating some chocolate from time to time and I never had a problem from it (other than getting fat). So I thought about this and decided that it's such a small amount of chocolate flavoring the DGL that I'd give it a try.

OK...it's AWESOME!
Maybe because I hardly ever eat chocolate anymore so it seems better than it really is...but I've actually been excited to take my DGL's now because I feel like I'm eating a snack!

And as far as the "Ultra" part, after staring at the ingredients for a while, I realized that the Ultra DGL is more potent than the regular. The regular contains Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice Root Extract at a ratio of 3:1 but the "Ultra" contains a ratio of 10:1. The regular recommends chewing 2 tablets at a time and the "Ultra" recommends chewing 1 tablet at a time. I hadn't paid attention and was chewing 2 of the Ultras. It really isn't an issue because it's safe anyway. I called them to make sure and they said that if I wasn't having any problems with it then it's fine.

I always found the regular one to be fine, but I like the Ultra better now. And what brought this to mind to write this was...
about two hours ago, I noticed a tiny bit of heartburn creeping up on me. So I chewed 2 of the Ultra Chocolate DGLs and it helped! I feel fine now.
Now I'm not saying that when you're having a bad episode this will make such a quick difference but what I am saying is that in the past, I didn't find that it actually helped much after I was already having heartburn - it was more of a preventative by soothing my gut before eating.

So I'm impressed. I like it AND it helps.
The brand is Enzymatic Therapy. The product is DGL Ultra - Fructose-Free/Sugarless.
And the flavor is German Chocolate. And I just noticed that they also have a "caramel creme" flavor. And if you like licorice, get the regular flavor.
They actually put out the same product under a few different brand names, so if you get it from a healthcare practitioner, it might have another brand name. But Enzymatic Therapy is the more popular retail brand. They carry it in Whole Foods and Vitamin Shop (and other health food stores) and you can find it online on Amazon and Vitacost and lots of other sites. Check around, you can find good prices.

OK, I hope you're all doing well. I'm outa here.

-NYer

[NYer]

Nice Hot Drink

Hey All!
I tried a new hot beverage that I like. It's called "Pero". Since we cannot drink coffee or decaf coffee, this is a nice option. I drink herbal tea every day but sometimes I want something with the consistency of coffee - thicker than tea. Pero tastes sort of like instant coffee. If you are looking for something just like fresh-brewed Starbucks coffee, this ain't it! But it reminds me of when I was a teenager and my Mom kept instant coffee in the house and that's what everyone drank back then. I like the taste of this. I put 2 heaping teaspoons into my big coffee mug, pour in the hot water, and I mix in some half and half. I never sweetened my coffee but you could certainly drink this the same way you would have had your coffee - with or without sweetener and/or milk.
Pero is made from Barley, Malted Barley, Chicory, and Rye. It's all grains. It only has one gram of carbs, so that's really a non-issue.
It comes in "Original" and "Extra Dark Roast". I had the original flavor the other day and right now I'm drinking the Extra Dark Roast. I'm not sure that I can tell the difference. I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison! Either way, though, I like them both.
Ultimately, the point is that this is a non-acidic hot beverage. So now I have something else, besides tea, that I can drink. And if you're sad about not being able to drink coffee anymore, this might make you happy. It's de-caf, of course.
Hope you're all staying warm!
-NYer

[NYer]

Something nice during this freezing weather:
Chocolate is a trigger for a lot of people here. I've noticed that a few drops of liquid chocolate stevia isn't a problem for me. So I've been adding liquid chocolate stevia (like 6 drops) to my cup of Pero and a little half and half. It's not quite hot cocoa - more like a hot mocha - and I find it pretty delicious. (If you can eat sugar, add a few mini-marshmallows!)
Enjoy!
NYer

[NYer]

Stomach acid. Ouch.

Hi All!
It's been a while since I've posted. I see that this thread has had 116,613 hits since I started it. Wow! Obviously there are a LOT of people who need help with their reflux issues and the standard drugs that too many doctors prescribe simply do NOT work. I hope this thread has helped you.

The reason I haven't posted in a while is because I feel GREAT. I am fine and only very occasionally get a little heartburn or related symptoms. And when I say "a little"...I mean, on a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the worst, when I started coming to this web site, I was on a pretty constant level of TWELVE out of 10. Now, on the rare occasion that I have an issue, it's a TWO. And I have to reiterate that you have to keep doing everything I've described in this thread. Just because you feel better doesn't mean you can go back to your old habits. You can't. If I sleep without wedges for more than one day, I start getting some reflux. Some dietary things I've noticed (happily) that I can handle again are: cooked onions (NOT RAW)...so it's easier to eat soup that has onions in the stock, which is most of them. Mint gum doesn't bother me (but, as usual, some people are bothered by mint, others not), and bananas don't seem to be a problem for me anymore.

But what prompted me to write a post today was this...(and sorry if it's a little gross):
A few days ago, I had food poisoning. I threw up for the first time in 18 years. And as much as I hate being nauseous and/or throwing up, the worst part of it was right afterwards. The stomach acid that came up with the food was intense and felt like it burnt my throat and vocal chords out of my body. I immediately lost my voice for a few hours. Surprisingly, my voice came back the next day, but for two days afterward, I had chest pressure and esophageal spasms that are totally typical of GERD. And, of course, that makes sense because that was sort of like GERD to its most extreme, having ALL of my stomach acid roar through my esophagus. I took lots of digestive enzymes (AbsorbAid) in the form of powder mixed with water, drank it slowly so that it would touch every part of my throat, esophagus, and stomach. Then chewed DGL's a few times. And then, finally, I took some Pepto Bismol. All of that helped. The next day I had a fever but the gastric stuff was over. And then the next day, I was FINE. (And thank God, because I was having visions of having to start all over again with all the horrible GERD symptoms.)

So, it was just a scary reminder of what I went through when my GERD was at its worst. But the good news is that after doing all the right things for all this time, I've obviously made my esophagus more resilient and it was able to get better faster.

It's 82° in NY so I'm outa here!
Best to all,
NYer

[Thistle]

Great news, NYer. Thanks for letting us know. The "episode" is gross, yes. But if it helped you assess how far you've progressed, I guess it's a good thing too. I'm glad you recovered. I can imagine how awful re-starting your healing would have been.

It in the high 60s where I am, and I'm freezing.

[Mita]

Please help - my 13 year old diagonised with LPR

I just wanted to log in and say thanks for all the information you posted. It's so rare to hear good news about LPR in forums, but maybe people just write when things are bad for the most part and they are seeking answers.

I was diagnosed last spring with LPR, I was sure it was something in my sinuses after a couple years of recurring bronchitis and a bad case of sinusitis. The outcome was always the same - a prescription for antibiotics which I do not tolerate well and hate taking. After my sinusitis resolved, I still had a burning feeling in my nose and need to constantly clear my throat. When the ENT said it was LPR I was completely taken off guard. I had never heard of it. He quickly explained it, gave me a page of foods to avoid, told me to elevate my head and mentioned he could give me something for it, but try the suggestions on the page. I was a little stressed at first, and made some changes. The symptoms would come and go, and I eventually got a prescription from my MD for a PPI 1x/day for flare ups. I would take them here and there, my flare ups usually coincided with illness (cold and flu), but never more than a week. I couldn't really tell if they were working anyway. I also had manuka honey and DGL, and took them occasionally. But for the most part I think I was in denial and just went on with life, spicy food, wine, coffee etc. I came down with a cold at Christmas, and my sore throat never resolved. A red patch on the left side of the back of my throat and a few red dots never went away. Went to my doc and he suggested antibiotics for a throat infection, took them for 2 days and said enough of this. I think it is related to LPR - anyone else have this? I came down with another cold/sinus infection early this year and did my usual ritual of raw garlic and spicy food - no antibiotics this time, I soldiered it out! But heartburn ensued. Took a couple PPIs, got a bit better (I think?), then came back when I gorged on spicy food again. Oh - and I love wine. I easily have 2 glasses a night, while in bed with a book (so stupid, but I did switch from red to white after my diagnosis). I never really had heartburn as a symptom before...just occasional nose burning, sore throat, and need to clear my throat. Had the occasional persistent cough following a cold or flu, but not all the time. And I sleep OK, it kicks in when I am upright. The heartburn concerned me so I decided I better start reading up.

Holy Crap.

I became absolutely terrified and convinced I was going to die from cancer! From what others wrote and scientific journals it seemed nothing would help, not diet, not pills...I was screwed. And terrified. I freaked out for 4 days, plus I have GAD and I am sure my stress just made it worse.

But then I found this thread and it gave me hope. I am on day 4 of no coffee, no alcohol, restricted diet. Taking DGL and Slippery elm, manuka honey, probiotics. I am going to pick up some digestive enzymes today. There is a really good pharmacist who works with NDs in our city and he has been so helpful with natural remedies. I am also going to talk to my doctor so I can better understand the results of my ENT visit. I had a barium swallow, and it came back "nothing outside of the normal limits". I need to understand just how bad it is, and if I can get follow up to make sure it is not getting worse. Especially since it is "silent" reflux. My throat feels a little better today, but it is always more sore by the end of the day. And I still have some burning in my upper chest, but for the most part I function pretty normal and have for the last year. Sometimes I think it is worse when I think about it. Plus, last year was pretty much the most stressful year of my life, and I wonder how that fits in with it all.

I have an appt with my MD in a week. I am hoping I will be able to tell him things have improved a little. Most info says you need to take the PPIs to allow the throat to heal, and I just don't want to go there. I need to get better. I have a 4 year old son, and I will not let this control my life. Sometimes I think about the changes to diet etc and it seems overwhelming, and I do worry that maybe even this natural approach won't work. But from what I can tell PPIs don't help, they don't treat the cause, and the long term effects scare me.

SO - again I will say thanks to NYer for all this info and encouragement. I try to talk to my husband about it, but I don't think he gets just how serious this disease is.

I'll try to keep you posted with my progress.

Hi Nyer,

I have a 13 year old daughter on my hand with LPR, life is tough, woudl like to talk to you if possible to see what kind of regimen we can do to help her.
Also if there are any naturopaths I can contact. She is not abe to take any PPIs. Please help me.

She has lost a lot of weight in 2-3 months (180 pounds to 150 pounds), but still suffer from throat issues.

Thanks,
Mita




Nutraceutical Probiotic 15-35.

[Mita]

Did the Melatonin help you with the LES pressure ?

All,

I am new to this site and have been suffering with both GERD and silent re flux. I have tried everything, including conventional drugs. Never got it under total control. I have been doing tons of research and came across several studies with Melatonin. According to the studies, Melatonin works directly on the heart of the problem, the LES, with very high success rate. All studies show that 6 mg dose for 40 days increases the LES pressure and increases PH above the LES to neutral. Not sure if anyone else tried this. I have just started and am on my third day. At this stage, I have nothing to lose. We will see how it goes.

LeonK

Hi Leonk,

Struggling with 13 year old daughter with LPR, does the Melatonin help with LES pressure ?

What was your expreience ? You can write to me at [email protected]

Thanks, Mita

[NYer]

Hi Mita,


Please read through this entire thread from the beginning and you will find ALL of my recommendations. The main things I recommend (in addition to avoiding the foods that may be triggers) are Digestive Enzymes with every meal (my favorite is AbsorbAid) and chewing DGL tablets before each meal (my favorite is Enzymatic Therapy sugar free German Chocolate). Also, sleeping every night with the upper body elevated is really important.

I do NOT recommend Melatonin, especially for a 13-year-old. It is a hormone, and you do not want to introduce that into a pre-teen's body without specific direction from a doctor. Also, some adults on this site have had side effects from Melatonin.

New York is limited in what it allows Naturopaths to do. I don't know what state you live in, but you need to do a Google search to find a Naturopath in your area. If you're in the NorthEast, I know that Connecticut is a good state for allowing them to do what they do.

If your daughter is not diabetic or lactose intolerant, a good choice for helping her gain some weight back, believe it or not, is vanilla ice cream! It's very soothing when you have heartburn (temporarily), it tastes good, and it will help with weight gain, obviously. (I'm sure she'll love me for suggesting that, to!)....HOWEVER....that said...

...If she is 13 and she weighed 180 lbs., she was VERY overweight. And having too much fat in the belly/chest area exacerbates reflux. It makes for less space in the stomach and when you bend over or sit, everything gets pushed back into the esophagus. And if she is carrying that extra body fat, she may also have a fatty liver or gall bladder issues. Those can contribute to digestive issues.
I'm not saying that being thin means you don't get reflux. But having too much body fat is a contributing factor for sure.

I wish you and your daughter the best and I hope she feels better soon.
(((Hugs)))
NYer

[Mita]

Hi Mita,


Please read through this entire thread from the beginning and you will find ALL of my recommendations. The main things I recommend (in addition to avoiding the foods that may be triggers) are Digestive Enzymes with every meal (my favorite is AbsorbAid) and chewing DGL tablets before each meal (my favorite is Enzymatic Therapy sugar free German Chocolate). Also, sleeping every night with the upper body elevated is really important.

I do NOT recommend Melatonin, especially for a 13-year-old. It is a hormone, and you do not want to introduce that into a pre-teen's body without specific direction from a doctor. Also, some adults on this site have had side effects from Melatonin.

New York is limited in what it allows Naturopaths to do. I don't know what state you live in, but you need to do a Google search to find a Naturopath in your area. If you're in the NorthEast, I know that Connecticut is a good state for allowing them to do what they do.

If your daughter is not diabetic or lactose intolerant, a good choice for helping her gain some weight back, believe it or not, is vanilla ice cream! It's very soothing when you have heartburn (temporarily), it tastes good, and it will help with weight gain, obviously. (I'm sure she'll love me for suggesting that, to!)....HOWEVER....that said...

...If she is 13 and she weighed 180 lbs., she was VERY overweight. And having too much fat in the belly/chest area exacerbates reflux. It makes for less space in the stomach and when you bend over or sit, everything gets pushed back into the esophagus. And if she is carrying that extra body fat, she may also have a fatty liver or gall bladder issues. Those can contribute to digestive issues.
I'm not saying that being thin means you don't get reflux. But having too much body fat is a contributing factor for sure.

I wish you and your daughter the best and I hope she feels better soon.
(((Hugs)))
NYer

Hi NYer,

Thanks for your suggestions, appreciate it. Yes, she was overweight and you are correct, she had lot of fat in her belly area as well...and has it even now and that might have been why she got this in the first place.
Anyways, thats the past and I cannot do anything about it I guess....except feeling bad. I am trying to introduce as much as alkaline food into her diet as possible.

Yes, she is taking DGL licorice from Enzymatic Therapy and Georges Aloe vera juice as well.

I am planning to introduce as much as alkaline juices as well, feel that might help her. I will look up some naturopath in CT. We live in Columbus Ohio.

We are mainly struggling with diet I think....but reading some recipes now to see what can help....she is 13 after all and its painful for me to see shes not able to eat.

We have cut her milk back to Lactaid milk, though I dont think shes is lactose intolerant....

Thanks again for being in touch and for your good wishes...and for writing in to this troubled mom...

Best Regards,
Mita