I have acid reflux and for years water has given me heartburn. I was wondering if this happens to anyone else or if it sounds more severe. I am on Omeperezole for acid reflux and sometimes take 2 a day for my heartburn. I do drink soda and eat foods that give me heart burn. I eat a grape or strawberry and heartburn comes on immediately. I can't stop eating good food. How can you expect a girl to give up tacos or spaghetti? My hubby is afraid that there is a hole being eaten in my esophogus since that happened to someone he knows. I go back to my Dr in June and I will check with him then and see if I need a scope down my throat. I hate that sort of thing-yuck! What do you think?
Kellie thanks for the advice. I have to sleep with my head elevated no matter what. I have 2 pillows and a back rest behind them. I cannot even try to lay flat. What kind of an acid reducer should I try with this medication? I am so glad you took away my fear of getting the scope down my throat. Just laying backwards at the dentist with my mouth open makes me very uncomfortable. I was just reading about what you said you have and I am not a smoker. I will look for the juice too. Anything to help I will try!
I would suggest that you take digestive enzymes. Look for then at the health food store and read up about them on the internet. they can really help. also stop drinking pop.
good luck!
i had barrett's esophogus for 4 years. and i corrected it myself. i don't drink soda with caffine. and i watch the spices. best to get to the dr and have the scope done. it doesn't hurt and you wake up feeling the same as you did. there is no pain with the scope. in fact of all the things that i have had done i don't mind the scope!! start keeping a food journal s to see what triggers the heart burn. try sleeping alittle more elevated at night. start taking an acid reducer along with the omperezole(i take the acid reducer at night). and if you smoke quit!!!! good luck and if you need more advice pm me!!!
I have acid problems too, and after a while omeperazole didn't help for me either. See a gastroenterologist and don't wait til June. They deal with this stuff all the time, and will give you something stronger. He/She may want to do a scope, or may just wait and see. I've had the scope, and it's really not bad. I wasn't awake for any of it, and didn't feel a thing, so don't let fear of that keep you from seeing one.
Your husband is right. The acid could burn a hole in your esophagus or your stomach. You don't want to go there. That's waaay worse than a little scope. Acid can also lead to esophageal cancer.
Be gentle on your stomach until you get the damage done by the acid healed. Then, you'll be able to eat some of the foods you love again :)
Wish you the best :)
Look into pure aloe vera juice instead of taking meds., which you'll probably never be able to get off of. Aloe vera juice is all natural & can be found in a health food store. It's good for digestive problems.
I recommend cleansing your body and seeing what is really going on.
I suffered with severe acid reflux for years - I went to the emergency room at the age of 20 - I felt like I was having a heart attack - I found out that the pain was caused by the acid backing up (reflux). I was on every medicaiton they came out with - I had to keep switching what I took because they all stopped working for me after a time. I had to sleep with my head elevated, I had to watch what I ate and when I ate it. Not fun stuff - I can totally relate to what you are going through. I didn't know until after the fact that this is very harmful to your esophagus and can even lead to cancer in some cases. I found some supplements that calmed, soothed and healed my tummy and I do not have ANY reflux any more. I do not even have acid control medicaiton in my house!! It feels great and best part is I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want and still no issues. Feel free to contact me if you want more info - good luck - I KNOW what this feels like!
Please be very aware and very careful with your diet. ELIMINATE all soda. Even the non-calorie kind with or without caffeine has lots of acid. Tomato causes me problems, so no spaghetti sauce. White pizza works for me. Eat nothing after, say, 6 pm. SKIP any foods that you know cause you problems. I take two omeperazole daily and if I violate "my" diet, I pay a huge price, including vomiting and pain. Definitely see your doc, as soon as possible!
Go see a homeopath! A good classic homeopath can get this straightened out for you and you will not need to take any further reflux medication.
I have severe GI issues and with that come acid refulx. First of all has some doctor gave you a script instructing you to take two a day? Omeprazole can cause major liver problems and I've always been told one is my max by I can't count how many GI doctors. I also can take Rantidine (h2 blockers in general but no other PPI's) and tums to help but no more omeprazole (prilosec). Also, make sure you follow the directions on how to take it. You are suppose to take it then 30 mins later eat something like a banana. That is how it is most effective. Otherwise my docs said I get a small portion of the help it can give.
And yeah even water can give me heartburn. It sucks. Make sure you eat several, I usually do 5 or 6 small meals, over the usual 3. That makes sure your stomach is far less empty and it's less likely for the sphincter to get stuck open so to speak. Also, don't drink with meals. Drink in between meals or at least 30 mins before or after. The water is pry giving you heartburn when your stomach is full and it isn't nec the water just the volume.
Another thing. You could have GERD. Have you talked to your GI doc about that or even seen one? If it has gotten severe enough that water is causing issues might be something to think about. They might give you Reglan which I'm not a fan of because it's a bad long term drug in my opinion due to the side effects but some do great on it. It's a motility agent not a PPI or H2 blocker. It's also amazing when you have the flu. hehe
Also, you can always go look at the list of foods to avoid but you can't always I especially know that. BUT if I'm having an especially bad day, week etc I try and avoid them. Pop is the worse half the time for me. Caffeine free helps a bit more but the carbonation isn't my friend.
Anyways I'm only 30 years old and been battling GI issues for over 10 years so if you need any more suggestion send me a note. I could go on for hours. I've had every test in the book and taken so many drugs. So I could write a book.
I have reflux, too. One thing I read is that plain sparkling water from a glass bottle (don't ask me why) is alkaline and I find that it does actually mitigate things if I am feeling a little acidy. If you eat acidic foods like strawberry, maybe eat something else first so that the acid doesn't just hit your stomach. Chocolate and soda are the worst offenders for me. If you can go off of soda that will probably go a long way toward helping. I went off of soda entirely when I was pregnant--I never thought I would like plain sparkling water but now I find it much more refreshing than soda! Chocolate I can eat if something else is already in my stomach. LIke someone else said, if I can let my body recover by not eating acid-producing foods for a few days it will get better. And when I take probiotics that helps, as well. Good luck.
The bad thing about acid reducers is that they have side effects. The worst side effect is that they take away the stomach's normal and natural ability to digest food (the stomach does need hydrochloric acid to properly digest). That's why when you start out with only one or two foods that don't like you, the "offending" list of the foods that make you have heartburn/acid reflux keeps rising as new "offenders" join the list.
A naturopathic doctor can help you get OFF any and all acid reducers (to include Tums or other OTC meds--they're just as bad for you as the pharma drugs). I would highly recommend finding a good one who can help you.
Also, the poster who suggested digestive enzymes was good. I take them--my body has difficulty digesting/metabolizing food because of a liver mutation. I used to have mild acid reflux--but never took anything for it--and since I've been taking digestive enzymes, I have absolutely no problems. However, they won't work for you as well until you GET OFF the pharma drugs.
Your body is trying to tell you to start eating healthier and stop putting junk/processed foods into your body. It's up to you to listen.
