Acid reflux seems to be extremely commom. Does anyone have this problem? What do you take, if anything? What seems to trigger it for you?

Louisa

My whole family has problems with acid reflux. I had severe problems many years ago, had to raise the head of my bed up on bricks, and still have to use several pillows sometimes at night.

Mine was/is stress-related, and once I learned how to manage my stress, not to eat heavy meals too soon before going to bed, and to avoid the biggest triggers, it eventually subsided into a minor nuisance.

I still have to watch those things - stress, no heavy foods before lying down, and avoiding my triggers (like caffeine and heavily acidic foods) - or it comes back.

All three of my brothers have it, one takes prescription medication for it and the other relies on Gaviscon. The third was recently diagnosed with diabetes and Hodgkin's disease and had to alter his diet and that seems to have alleviated his acid reflux symptoms.

I think the two key culprits are stress and lying down too soon after eating.

Acid reflux is something that can cause other problems, much more serious. My unlce had cancer of the esophogus (sp) and his doctor told him all he had to do was take meds for his acid reflux and it would have never developed into cancer. Serious stuff there.

I have it, along with GERD. Certain foods such as Mexican foods, salsa's (which I love) and caffeine, especially chocolates, trigger a bout with AR...and GERD.

Oreo's don't help, either.

I use to take Nexium when I had insurance. Now I take Prilosec. Over the counter stuff. Maalox, Pepto...etc.

Mostly it's triggere by stress and I don't have it as much since I work from home. Go figure!

JJ

When I first had it I took something that I can't remember the name of. It didn't help much. Then the doctor gave me some samples of Nexium which I was afraid to take because I was on digoxin. The cardiologist said it was ok when I asked him and he took me off the digoxin anyway so I took the Nexium. That one helped it. I took it for about a month. Then my doctor got sick and stopped working. I asked the one I switched too if he would prescribe Nexium if I needed it again. He told me the co-pay was very expensive. He said to get Zantac over the counter. That seems to help but I only take it when I need it. Like today! I thought I'd post about it and see what others do.

I think you're right about the stress, JJ. When I go to Disney, I don't have it the whole week. When I get back to work, wham. The worse part is this horrible taste I get. It seems like I can taste anything I've eaten for days. If I burn a piece of toast a little bit, it kills me.

Louisa

This may sound odd but I just read one of my Grandmothers very old (100 years) medical journals, she was a midwife and kind of the village doctor in the small town in Italy she migrated to America from....It said, start your day with a glass of cold water, it gets the metabolism working and always drink a glass of just plain water 'after' each meal. NO liquid with the meal and never eat after 5:00 P.M. but drink a glass of water an hour before retiring....Hey what can it hurt to try? Its free too!!This is suppose to keep heartburn, gerd, bile backup whatever we call it, away...

Hi Ladies,
It all started having food getting caught in my throat.I was not choking. Food like chicken would ball up in my esophagus and it was hard to get it to go down. I told my DR. and she sent me for a test where they put a tube down my throat to see whats going on ( I was asleep). They found because of acid reflux I had a hernia which had narrowed my
esophagus.They duilated my esophagus twice and I am on Prolosec (sp) for the rest of my life and now the food is not getting caught in my throat

I can't believe how many people suffer from this to some degree. Chatty, I can't not eat after 5. I wouldn't get any supper since I work until 4:30 and don't get home until 5. If I don't eat the reflux gets worse. Your grandmother's journal must be very interesting.

I took a Zantac at work about 9:45 this morning before my snack. I took another one before I ate supper tonight. It has helped. Maybe if I take the med twice a day like he told me, it will help more. It's just that I get worry about taking too many meds. I'm on a thyroid med and two heart ones.

Louisa

GERD is really awful. I have been on protonix for over a year. Works like a charm. Also....yoga helps alot. Its great for digestion. If I miss the protonix here and there, I have not had any problems. Protonix is prescription only. The over the counter stuff never did the trick for me...

I just remembered the first med I took for it, Aciphex. It was a prescription one, but it did not help me much at all. The Nexium did and the Zantac (ranitidine) seems to work if I take it like I'm supposed to.

Louisa

I was told by a doc that taking Prilosec would only work if I took it one hour BEFORE I ate, OR two hours after I ate. He was right. At least for me. I also have a hernia. The Nexium I took once a day, first thing in the morning, then I could eat anything I wanted. The Prilosec doesn't work as good and I do have to make sure I follow his instructions or it doesn't work at all. Malox DOES work for instant relief for a little while...but it always comes back and MaryLynn, you are sooooo right about the sympthoms. Mine were identical to yours. Still are.

By the way, WELCOME! Do tell us more about yourself, if you would like to...we're so glad you've joined us!

JJ

I think it's the same way with the Zantac, JJ. Although yesterday I took it about 3 hours after breakfast which was less than two hours before lunch. I had pizza. The I took it right before supper and I did feel better last night. I'm going to try the same thing today. I have to start paying more attention to how I'm taking it and what triggers this horrible thing.

Louisa

I would just about have to eat nothing but oatmeal to NOT have some sort of heartburn/acid reflux, unless I take Prilosec or something of that nature.

Even when I was eating healthier (read no Oreo's), I still had the AR, just not as bad. I think the hernia has a lot to do with it. Course I'm just guessing.

JJ

I have a little bit different story on acid reflux. About 8 months ago I had a very dry mouth. I almost felt like I had burned the inner skin from eating hot pizza (which I didn't). I went first to my regular dentist who sent me to an oral surgeon. He did a biopsy and found nothing but inflammation. He called it "Burning Mouth Syndrome". Some refer to it as BMS. Believe it or not, my cardiologist never heard of it. Anyway, it comes from stress, menopause and blood pressure meds. Of course, I have all three! I then mentioned it to my Gastro doctor while seeing him for a stomach problem. Of course he heard of it! And, he said it is caused by acid reflux. You don't have to have upper GI discomfort. It can bring the acid up to your mouth and cause other problems. So...now I have been on Aciphex for 6 months and the problem is gone! But how long is it safe to take these meds? Forever??

Personally I don't think it's safe to take them forever. But that's just my theory. I have a girlfriend who has BMS, believe it or not. She wrote an article on it but never submitted it. It must be terrible!

JJ

I never heard of that one. Wow. I took Aciphex for a while, but I didn't take it daily. I took it when I had the problem. It didn't help me much. I'm trying to take the Zantac twice a day now to see if it helps. It seems be. But, as you said, how long do you take this stuff? I'm going back to the doctore soon. I'll ask him then. I'm also back to the cardiologist in two weeks. I'll talk to him as well.

Louisa

Yes JJ, BMS is horrible. Your mouth feels like it is on fire - all day long. I got spurts of when it felt better than other times of the day but it was awful. Believe it or not, it happened right after I had my teeth cleaned. The dentist said it had nothing to do with it but I have read that a large percentage of people get it after a dental procedure. In my case, it really did get better after the Aciphex. So...I am guessing that the Gastro Dr. was right and it was acid reflux. They whole thing was very coincidental with the timing I guess. And the stress, menopause and BP meds just added to the confusion of what the cause was. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, a very uncomfortable thing to have.

It seems everyone you talk to either HAS GERD or knows someone that does ---

After being treated for allergies with 3 shots a week for 2 years, my allergist retired and I went to see another doctor. Yes, I had allergies alright -- but the horrible cough and burning throat he felt was due to something else. I went to see a gastro doc, had the upper endoscopy done and sure enough - silent acid reflux - GERD. It was so bad that it had scarred my vocal cords and esophagus.

He put me on protonex 2x a day and 300 mg of zantac at night. It helped for awhile, but I still had to pop rolaids several times a day and night. I can't eat fruit or soft drinks - anything with citric acid and even if I take a drink of water - it seems to churn the acid up and I start coughing terribly.

For the last few weeks my throat has hurt/burned so bad I thought I was coming down with a cold (my colds usually start with a sore throat) but it looks like the GERD is acting up again. Guess it's time to call the doc

That's awful, Lion. I don't have a cough or the burning throat, but it's the terrible taste I get. Doesn't seem to matter what I eat. I'm taking the Zantaz 2 times a day this week and it's helping. I'm going to the doctor next week. I don't want any of that endo stuff done. I know someone who had permanent damage from the test. I am beginnig to find out how many people have this. You're right. It does seem that eveyone you mention it to has it or had it or knows someone who does.

Louisa

My husband has acid reflux and tried everything without relief. Recently he began taking an ounce of wine vinegar after meals and at bedtime.

I know it sounds crazy, but it worked. The theory is that the indigestion is not casued by an over abundance of acid, but by a lack of acid necessary for digestion.

Smile, I am passing this along to everyone I know with this problem. IS it only necessary to take it at the meals when you feel it the most? I wonder if it only bothers you at bedtime, if you could take it directly before going to bed? What do you think? And how soon before lying down?

I ran into a friend the other day and she is getting a degree in alternative medicine. I can't wait to pick her brain when she graduates. I'm thinking of having her do a teleseminar for NABBW. I think boomers are more interested in natural remedies than prescriptions like our parents' generation.

CORRECTION:
I just checked with my husband and it's apple cider vinegar, not wine vinegar that he takes for acid reflux. I bought it, but I forgot what kind it was.

He says he takes it at no specific time, just whenever he feels the acid coming up in his throat. He says sometimes it kind of burns his throat at first, but within five or ten minutes, the problem is completely gone.

Got it. Thanks. And it helps to know he takes it when he begins to feel badly.

My MIL has taken herself to the ER twice, thinking she's having 'the big one' only to find out that it is acid reflux. A slight case of dimentia has not helped with following her doctors orders - plus the fact that she changes doctors quite often.

An article (Sept/Prevention) "Beat hearburn in three easy steps" says that the most effective remedies for chronic heartburn (gastroespohageal reflux) are losing weight, elevating your head at night, and sleeping on your left side.

"Dropping an average of 27 pounds cut symptoms by 40% in one study - probably because weight loss eases pressure on the stomach, decreasing the output of acids. Sleeping with a 'wedge' pillow also reduced eipsodes. And people who slept on their left side and only half the reflux of those who slumbered on their right. .....right side sleep appears to relax a crucial muscle at the top of the stomach, allowing acids to reach the esophagus."

I'd show this article to MIL, but I'm sure she wouldn't remember a word of it by bedtime ;-)

browser, I've never heard of sleeping on your left side. Interesting. Maybe if all the suffereres sleep on their left sides, put their headboards on bricks, lose weight, and take an ounce of apple cider vinegar as needed they will be cured. All sounds simple except the losing weight part!

Browser, Glad your MIL was just reflux, but often those symptoms mimic a heart attack. I can see why she was concerned. I belong to Womenheart.org and you would be surprised how many women are and were mis-diagnosed with reflux when they were having heart attacks and had major blockages. Women present very differently than men and many male doctors don't believe us.

That's interesting Pam. I do know women present differently than men, but hadn't thought about male doctors not believing us. I'll have to check out that website.

My doctor told me today that, yes, I am supposed to be taking the Zantac regularly. No wonder if wasn't helping much. He said it's to prevent it, not to help it when I'm having a problem. He should have explained it better when he told me about it.

Louisa

Pam, is that website free? Do you get a lot of email? what are the advantages of registering on it? It looks interesting.

Louisa

Theres a great article about this topic in the September issue of Prevention magazine...

Thanks Chatty.
Louisa

Yes Louisa, the Womenheart.org site is free. It has helped me alot. I browse through and also respond to some message boards. I will admit that sometimes it scares me a bit too. I asked my cardiologist about it and he likes it too. It's just another helping tool I use to learn as much as I can about heart disease, but mostly about women and heart disease.

Funny that this topic is still alive, but thank goodness it is. It is one I can really relate to. Mine has gone into overdrive it seems. Now at night when I lay down to sleep, I wake up about an hour or so afterwards, coughing and choking with burning in my throat and the feeling that I am going to "pit up" as the kids say. It is bad enough that the choking wakes me up and I have to sit up straight, otherwise, I can't quit coughing. Obviously, the over the counter stuff isn't working.

I'm attributing all of this to late night eating. So I'm going to try not eating anything after 5:00 p.m. and see if this helps. If it doesn't, I'll be on HERE late into the night. Like I need this? Even Queens need their sleep....(I didn't say beauty sleep)

JJ

JJ -It may be from eating late at night. I think you need to be up for a few hours after dinner. I can't stand that I can taste things for hours after I eat. Even smells bother me. (normal ones) Dick bought me some of those beautiful orchids (I think that's what they are). They are out on the deck and the other morning it was raining. I opened the slider a crack. I swore I could smell something different but didn't know what it was. I could still smell it and almost taste it when I was at work. I didn't figure out it was the flowers until the next day. I'm not sure that has to do with the reflux or not. But it's awful.

Louisa

JJ - have you tried a bed wedge? This may have been posted before - but they reallllllly work.

The one I got is a 7.5" bed wedge and not only has it helped tremendously with the acid reflux at night - it's also helped my bad back a little. Hubby got one for him because he didn't like not being able to cuddle and it not only stopped his sleep apnea it also stopped his snoring !!!! The neighbors don't call me in the middle of the night and ask me to roll him over anymore

Also make sure you're not eating/drinking anything with citrus acid in it -- which pretty well rules out any fruit or soda - oh and I know you don't want to hear this but (chocolate) can also cause acid reflux

Oh and also I was told by my doc that laying on your right side causes pressure on your stomach and it can cause the acid to "rise" --

Great. I'm a right sided sleeper. Can only sleep on my left side when I'm on the couch watching TV at night. I can taste things long after I eat them. Is that part of reflux or something else? I'm beginning to wonder as if I smell something, like heavy perfume, I can taste it and it stays with me for hours. It's horrible. That's not someting I'm eating, so how can that be from acid reflux?

Louisa