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Severe chronic heartburn

I've heard the same thing but the thought of ingesting vinegar makes my esophagus want to commit suicide. Seems like a completely counterintuitive idea... but maybe that's the point?

Have any of you with SEVERE reflux tried it? I'm way too scared to. I feel like that would kill me.
 
Wow, I'm so happy I happened across this thread! I've noticed I've had reflux and indigestion pretty regularly over the past few months. It's worst when I eat straight before lying down and after I've eaten tomatoes - also certain alcohol has triggered it as well. I've been taking some ant-acids from the supermarket when it gets particularly bad and have been far more aware of my diet and possible triggers I may be injesting.

I'm keeping tabs on everything as I'm scared of developing GORD and other possible repercussions. If it gets any worse I will definitely be seeking medical advice. I don't want to take any risks. :\
 
From what I remember, people said that ingesting the vinegar surprisingly was much more pleasant than they thought. My recommendation is to dilute one shot of ACV in water, chug after meal, and rinse mouth out with water to prevent losing enamel.
 
Interestingly, my heartburn has almost completely subsided since I STOPPED taking acid reducers. I haven't taken any acid reducers yet in 2012, and I have only had one very very mild case of heartburn so far. I quit drinking coffee. (duh) I quit eating the foods I knew made it worse. I knew all of these things before, but chose to give in to temptation and dealt with the consequences with many sleepless nights and overuse of acid reducers. I guess it's a no brainer, but I had to again learn the lesson that diet changes are more effective than medication!
 
euphoria said:
Interestingly, my heartburn has almost completely subsided since I STOPPED taking acid reducers. I haven't taken any acid reducers yet in 2012, and I have only had one very very mild case of heartburn so far. I quit drinking coffee. (duh) I quit eating the foods I knew made it worse. I knew all of these things before, but chose to give in to temptation and dealt with the consequences with many sleepless nights and overuse of acid reducers. I guess it's a no brainer, but I had to again learn the lesson that diet changes are more effective than medication!
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BINGO! :D When i stopped eating sugar, drinking more than 1 coffee per day and eating things like museli, pizza, and other food i know trigger it, the heartburn stopped (without the aid of acid-reducers). When i caved over christmas, it flared up. It really is just about being disciplined with dietary choices. For me though, the pain can get so bad that 99% of the time it's a no-brainer; I also know that if it flares up, regardless of what I eat, i'll be in pain. I don't want to be in pain whenever I eat, so I have to make sure I don't eat trigger foods.
 
I had a pretty serious bout of chronic heartburn a few years ago. Stopped eating glutenous grains completely for a while, problem resolved in a week or two, went back to eating glutenous grains and never had a problem since. Pretty hard to get away from bread in Poland, but if you can try eating nothing but veggies and protein for a few days it might do the trick. Ahh, also, if you must have cheese, eat goat cheese. It's a lot more alkaline than dairy!
 
Didnt read all of the thread just the OPs post.

I used to have gastritus/a stomach ulcer (never sent a probe in there so not sure which one). One of the symptoms is heartburn, along with stomach pain etc.

Anyway, you will need to avoid certain things. the big ones being alcohol, coffee and cigarettes. cigarettes and alcohol are the worst of these. you can take caffine tablets instead if you like coffee.

my problems actually went away when I started travelling in latin america. in my native Australia, and also the US, there are alot of fatty, oily, dense foods. i found these to contribute to the problems. After I started eating more lean meat, whole grains, fruit and vegetables. the problems lessened greatly. spicey foods can also cause problems, but not so much for me.

nexium can be quite good at relieving symptoms too.
 
psytaco said:
Didnt read all of the thread just the OPs post.

I used to have gastritus/a stomach ulcer (never sent a probe in there so not sure which one). One of the symptoms is heartburn, along with stomach pain etc.

Anyway, you will need to avoid certain things. the big ones being alcohol, coffee and cigarettes. cigarettes and alcohol are the worst of these. you can take caffine tablets instead if you like coffee.

my problems actually went away when I started travelling in latin america. in my native Australia, and also the US, there are alot of fatty, oily, dense foods. i found these to contribute to the problems. After I started eating more lean meat, whole grains, fruit and vegetables. the problems lessened greatly. spicey foods can also cause problems, but not so much for me.

nexium can be quite good at relieving symptoms too.
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If you don't want to take the caffeine pills and have to give up the coffee, try green tea. It's much more natural and won't make your stomach jump out of homeostasis.
 
^Green tea has about a third of the caffeine as a cup of coffee does - but yes you're right, it can be 'softer' on the body and has numerous health benefits. :)
 
When I have green tea, I get horrific heartburn, so it really depends on the individual. Interestingly, i can have a cup of black tea (i drink French Earl Grey) with no issue. Otherwise, i stick to non-caffeinated herbal/floral tea.

I can have one cup of coffee in the morning (i have a flat white that i make at home with an espresso machine) and that is OK on my stomach. Instant coffee gives me instant reflux. :\
 
Wow! I don't drink any kind of tea regularly anymore so I can't comment on the reflux stuff.

Interestingly though, on my recent holiday I noticed I didn't have a single incident of heartburn the entire trip! The only things I didn't eat that I usually do were UpNGo (a liquid protein drink I usually have first thing in the morning) and muesli or nut bars..

I'm not sure which thing is to blame, but I will be doing some tests to narrow it down. :)
 
2 of those things have historically been major culprits for flare ups in my heartburn (nut/museli bars) - it's the sugar content and amount of processing that occurs in food that sets it off for me - I used to love nut bars, museli bars etc as a snack, but steer well clear of them now, due to the above reasons. I've never really been able to stomach up'n'go - whenever i've had one, my stomach turns, i get reflux and i immediately feel my upper respiratory tract turn thick and claggy :\. I've found that if i have something home-made (one of my work friends brought in date/nut slice that she made - low in sugar and no preservatives/processed crap) i'm OK, but as soon as i have anything processed, there goes my stomach. :(

The only things that don't give me heartburn any more, that i drink consistently are herbal teas (with no tannin) and water (still or carbonated). I still do drink other things, but i know that if i drink anything more than 1 glass, i'll pay for it. Juice is terrible for my stomach, so I tend to water things like that down.

It'll be interesting to see how you go; whether introducing those things back into your diet causes digestive issues.
 
I'm interested in what your experience has been with cutting out sugar and reduced reflux Samadhi.

While my actual heartburn episodes have almost completely subsided over the past four weeks, now I am dealing with constant bloating and pressure. I'm talking bloating that just straight up hurts. My stomach gets so huge and full of gas/acid churning that it looks like I'm six months pregnant. The waistline of my pants then cuts into my stomach and hurts so bad. Forget about wearing tights or any kind of waist-hugging clothing. I'm just so uncomfortable I want to cry! Then the next morning, my stomach is back to normal size. It's unreal. It starts usually right after breakfast and then just gets worse and worse throughout the day, and by the end of the day I'm miserable.

I also get these weird burp-type things where I feel like I'm 'choking on air' for lack of a better term. This often results in a horrible painful case of hiccups. My stomach is a real mess. I am going to see a doctor about it for real now. I cancelled my appointment before, because the reflux had subsided. I don't know which is worse. I honestly think I'd be a lot thinner if it weren't for this damn reflux/bloating/gas pressure bullshit.

Is this similar to what you experienced with the sugar Samadhi? I realize that I probably need to tweak my diet even more than I have. Currently I have cut out 99% of all foods/drinks that trigger my reflux. I still allow myself to have one cup of coffee on Saturday and one on Sunday. During the week days I have Earl Grey with truvia. I do eat a fair amount of carbs, fruits, and vegetables, but I wonder if that's really what's to blame. Is there a week or two week long exclusion diet you'd recommend Samadhi? Halp!
 
^ I'm not Samadhi, but I would highly suggest talking with your doctor, or a registered dietetic professional. Gas that makes you bloat that bad is not a good sign and could be from numerous causes.

If I were you, the first thing I would do is quit eating whatever I have been for breakfast, and start with plain foods like plain white rice (no butter, salt, pepper, or anything else added) for breakfast. See if you bloat. If not, try some plain white rice with one vegetable for lunch. No bloating? Well, white rice is probably okay! It's like when you're introducing foods to babies to watch for allergies: You introduce one new food per week in small amounts, and see if there are issues--But you probably don't want to limit yourself to only one plain food item a week, is why I suggested per day. But yeah, that's just what I would do. *Shrug* Best of luck.
 
euphoria said:
I'm interested in what your experience has been with cutting out sugar and reduced reflux Samadhi.

While my actual heartburn episodes have almost completely subsided over the past four weeks, now I am dealing with constant bloating and pressure. I'm talking bloating that just straight up hurts. My stomach gets so huge and full of gas/acid churning that it looks like I'm six months pregnant. The waistline of my pants then cuts into my stomach and hurts so bad. Forget about wearing tights or any kind of waist-hugging clothing. I'm just so uncomfortable I want to cry! Then the next morning, my stomach is back to normal size. It's unreal. It starts usually right after breakfast and then just gets worse and worse throughout the day, and by the end of the day I'm miserable.

I also get these weird burp-type things where I feel like I'm 'choking on air' for lack of a better term. This often results in a horrible painful case of hiccups. My stomach is a real mess. I am going to see a doctor about it for real now. I cancelled my appointment before, because the reflux had subsided. I don't know which is worse. I honestly think I'd be a lot thinner if it weren't for this damn reflux/bloating/gas pressure bullshit.

Is this similar to what you experienced with the sugar Samadhi? I realize that I probably need to tweak my diet even more than I have. Currently I have cut out 99% of all foods/drinks that trigger my reflux. I still allow myself to have one cup of coffee on Saturday and one on Sunday. During the week days I have Earl Grey with truvia. I do eat a fair amount of carbs, fruits, and vegetables, but I wonder if that's really what's to blame. Is there a week or two week long exclusion diet you'd recommend Samadhi? Halp!
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So what foods did you substitute after switching out the foods that give you acid reflux? Eating too many carbs can have that effect on me, the bloating and gassy feeling. I suggest learning to incorporate more proteins and fats into your diet again. Moreover, I have to +1 on addi's advice. I don't know you well enough to judge what you're eating. I think what might help is going back to the 50/20/30 rule of carbs/fat/protein.
 
Thanks for your advice, guys. I am definitely going to a doctor this week to start figuring out what the hell's really going on in there. AddiP, totes mcgotes on that kind of diet. I realllllly don't want to go through all the effort and starvation of doing that, but honestly I have no other choice at this point and it's basically what I'm going to have to do if I ever want to figure out a way to fix this permanently. And that's what I want. Right now I'm just shooting in the dark as to what makes me feel better/worse and how to treat it. It'd be a huge benefit to know exactly why this is happening so I can actually take real steps to reverse it.


S_L.... So my diet mainly consists of:

breakfast is one of three options usually:
two pieces of whole grain toast with one egg and a slice of cheese, or
a bowl of raisin and almond oatmeal (the kind that comes in the packet), or
two slices of whole grain toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk

midmorning snack is usually either a banana or a chobani 0% fat yogurt or a clif bar
2-3 cups of earl grey tea with truvia

lunch:
typically a sandwich with lean meat, cheese, veggies, no dressing
a piece of fruit

afternoon snack:
typically a few whole grain crackers and a piece of cheese

dinner:
typically pasta with homemade pesto and some veggies, or
some kind of homemade soup and bread, or
baked salmon, quinoa, edamame/green beans



I don't have coffee on weekdays. I don't have onions or acidic fruits or anything like that. I don't think I overdo it on the carbs, but maybe I do? Maybe it's really just the truvia. I am definitely consulting a doctor this week, but Id like to just get started on a very very plain, basic diet somewhat like what AddiP suggested so that I can start to get some kind of relief.
 
^ I see a LOT of dairy in your diet, esp. in the morning hours when you said the bloating starts. If I were you, the first thing I'd nix would be the dairy. And the oatmeal that's in the packets. Get your own almonds and raisins, and add them to rolled ("old fashioned") oats. If the cooking time of old fashioned oats is too long (it's only ten minutes), put them in a grinder/blender, and that will drastically cut down on the cooking time. ;)

Though it could also be the artificial sweetener, like you mentioned. I don't know enough about them to say one way or the other--I just know I avoid them.

Glad to hear you're going to see a doctor to get to the bottom of things. :) Keep us updated!
 
Shit, I know, now that I look back at that all listed out, yes I do eat a lot of dairy. I friggin love dairy, what can I say ;P

Yeah, while I'm waiting to get an appointment with GP I will be cutting out dairy and truvia at least for a few days to a week and see what happens.

The oatmeal thing: I have been planning to switch over to plain oats with my own fruit/nut additives but for some reason I bought this box of it on sale and I'm just finishing it up. D'oh, that should obviously be a culprit with the high sugar content.
 
Euphoria - does your stomach look pregnant when it flares up? Mine does - i also get the gassy burpy things you're talking about and other kinds of gas too :\ It's horrible. I also get crazy waves of nausea after the bad attack of heartburn. It's like i can feel whatever it is moving around in my gut. :( AP and S_L have covered most of what i did - my stomach is playing up again today because i blew out on the weekend.

I would definitely simplify your diet for a couple of weeks - plain quinoa, steamed veges (NOT raw - steamed can retain the goodness but are easier for your body to digest), I was able to have small amounts of natural pot-set yoghurt. For me, rice is boating, but quinoa is fine. Cut out all alcohol, sugar, tinned food, dairy, gluten and wheat, and meat (for 1 week) - you can introduce chicken in the second week.

My breakfast consists of scrambled egg with vegetables - I then aim to have protein of some kind with every meal. Try having pure protein for breakfast and see how you go.

Also consider how you eat hon - are you a fast eater? do you chew your food to a paste? The first step to digestion is our mouth - chewing our food to a paste enables the rest of our body to digest better. As my nutritionist pointed out, our stomach doesn't have teeth =D I found that chewing my food and slooowing down my meals has been a huge help.

As an aside, I think it's a good idea to give the pre-mix oatmeal a miss - i loved the honey and cinnamon one myself but my stomach blows up like a balloon if i have it. I actually find plain porridge (oatmeal) gives me reflux too.

I'd speak to your doctor though, the bloating and gas could meant a number of things - i have exactly the same symptoms as you when i flare up, and i've been diagnosed with a flourish of candida in my gut (which has lead to GORD) - which feeds on sugars. There are specific diets to starve candida, the above ideas I mentioned are included, but the actual diet is HARDCORE. It really is eliminating a heap of things.
 
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