Any Moms with Acid Reflux, LPR or GERD?

For whatever it's worth... Get a good physical. A friend who is a Cardiologist once said, "Do you know how many people that die of heart attacks have antacids in their hand?" Heart disease manifests very differently in women than in men and for that reason is often over-looked. It's better to be safe than sorry.

The challenge of using medications for acid reflux is that they reduce the acid in your stomach which is necessary for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. It also makes the valve lazy (like a weak muscle) and you become dependent on the medicine. However, not controlling it can damage the throat. The stomach has a thick lining and is designed to handle the acid. So here is a natural alternative to drugs... First thing in the morning, fill your empty stomach with 4 to 6 cups of water (work up to higher amounts if unable at the beginning). Next go up on your toes and drop heels hard to floor. Do 15 times. This will re-train your valve to stay down. However, as with all natural alternatives, this will not happen overnight so it is important to resist the natural gratification that drugs promise. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

I agree with Tmutter. I will also suggest a good chiropractor. I work for one and I complained one day about my acid reflux and he said he could help me out. He used the activator on my chest (below my ribcage in the center) and popped me a few times. He said that you have to train your valve to close. Sure enough, it worked for me. However, if you think it could be GERD that is serious, too. So you should still get checked out for other symptoms.

Hi D.,

I am 30 and I've had reflux since my early 20's. The regimen that has helped me the most is taking Prilosec OTC. There are still occassional times that I get acid reflux, but overall no probs. give it time, the nexium should help. Also, you could cut out coffee, or alcohol or I guess pay attention to triggers until you get it under control and then introduce those things back in under moderation.

Good luck!

A.

Hi D.
There is a product by Shaklee called ez-gest that is an all natural enzyme that works wonderfully!! ____@____.com
good luck
S.

There are MANY drugs on the market that can address reflux. If Nexium doesn't work, ask your doctor to call in something else for you. If it's that bad, ask to be referred to a gastroenterologist for something else.
Both my husband and I have sold GERD medications. The Rx only ones are called Proton Pump Inhibitors (Nexium, AcipHex, etc). Prilosec OTC is also a PPI. Zantac and some of the other, older medications are called H2 antagonists and work differently. Not to say one's better than another - your doctor needs to answer that for you.
No medication is going to work for everyone - it is common for ibuprofen to wreak havoc on your stomach.
Please call your doctor to make sure it's not the sign of something more serious. My husband was diagnosed with a hiatle hernia at age 26 - he went through 4 PPIs before he found one that controlled it along with staying away from trigger foods (in his case, spicy).
Usually trigger foods are spicy, caffeinated, peppermint, peppers (even mild green/red), chocolate (because of the caffeine).

I'm in the same boat as you..never had any problems until the last couple of years. I am on Nexium as well, give it time it should work. Also, did your doc talk to you about things to cut out? Caffeine (I can only have my 1-2 cups coffee per day and that's it), chocolate, I have found I can't use sweeteners, have to us Stevia for coffee or anything else. Spicy foods and others like it. And yes over use of ibuprofen will definitely do it, you need to cut that out completely until things have settled down and then try it every once in a while, if you're still using it that would be my guess as to why it's not getting better. Goodluck

I don't think I have much in the way of an answer for you, other than to take your med as prescribed. I do not have the upper stomach muscle (gastroesophageal sphinxster) that keeps food and stomach acid down due to an operation as a child. Since then I have suffered from heartburn. I was never prescribed anything other than to take tumbs/mylanta as needed. As an adult I can honestly say that I may have had heartburn once a month which I would not consider reflux or GERD. I stay away from spicey food and fried foods as well. Drink lots of milk, it neutralizes the acids. Also chewing gum helps to produce siliva which keeps stomach acids "busy" if you will. When I was 24 I went to the doctor with chest pain, three surgeries later, I ended up having my esophagus replaced. Long story short, the acid was eating away and caused "holes" in my esophagus. I was diagnoses as having GERD but suffered no symptoms aside from the occational heartburn. Since the surgery I still have HB about once every six weeks. I have since learned that you can have GERD without symptoms and my case was severe, complicated and uncommon. Take your medicine.

I can only tell you what I found out when dealing with heartburn. I had horrible heartburn in conjuction with pregnancy. Unfortunately, it didn't go away after the kids were born. I found out that a lot of heartburn is caused by eating foods that turn into sugar in the body(carbs) or from eating too much refined sugar(although even natural sugars can cause it). I have switched to eating a diet with my primary source of sugar being fruit, and very little grains (low carb bread and brown rice when I do eat them). I eat a lot of meat and lots of low carb vegetables. Eating like this has virtually gotten rid of my heartburn without medication. (The only time I still have problems is when I eat tomato sauce or have a beer, which I can do without.) The book I got my guidelines from is called The Schwarzbein Principle. The author is an endocrinologist that works with people to improve their diets in order to attain better health. My husband did this same diet (in a less restrictive manner) in order to reduce his cholesterol. It came down 40 points and he lost 15 pounds (I only wish I could lose my weight as easily!). The diet isn't super easy, but I have found that when I do it I feel a lot better all around. I hope this helps and good luck.

I had that years ago after a pregnancy. I was able to get myself off of it two ways. By recognizing the foods that aggravate it, I now avoid it especially around when my period starts. I also take a probiotic daily before breakfast. I buy culturelle from the drug store. This helps with the gut and with any yeast overgrowth which seems to make the gerd symptoms worse. I also started doing a better job of watching what I eat and making sure it is balanced. Exercise is also important. I do a mixture of stretching, weights and walk or bike. I also do yoga for relaxation. It's been years since I have taken any pills and I have had the most stressful 2 years of my life. The most important contribution to my overall health has been my spiritual health. I pray daily and read my Bible and that has been a blessing for me also.

Many of the people that I work with through my company (a food science company that specializes in simple to implement, patented nutrition) notice that their acid reflux goes away. While we do not 'cure' anything, we give the body the nutrients/food that it needs so that it can work the way that it was designed to and thus, heal itself.
Happy to chat more with you if you're interested in this more natural approach vs the medication that doesn't seem to be working for you.

Hi D.,
I also suffer from bad GERD, but in my case is caused be a Hiatal Hernia, so although it can be controled by medicine such as Nexium or Prilosec, it wont go away unless I have surgery (which I wont).
If possible, you should have a medical procedure (forgot the name, but its like a colonoscopy, but by the mouth) to determine if it can be a bacteria causing your problem, in which case you need antibiotics because in the long run, it can cause cancer or if maybe like me, you have a hiatal hernia, and what are your options. The gastroenterologist should be able to better explain your options.
Good luck, because if its bacterial or just irritation, it can go away!

D.,
I use to deal with that alot. I had digestive issues since most of my life, especially since high school. I am been taking Reliv products now for 2-1/2 yrs and the reflux is gone! Which is great!
Visit my web site and I would be happy to answer any questions. I have had so many great results with other issues as well.

www.HopeShared.com

Sincerely,
A.

I've had acid reflux for several years. I had to try several meds to find one that works. Prilosec, over the counter, is amazing. Nexium never worked for me either. I'd be calling your doctor to let him know the meds aren't working. You don't want acid reflux to go untreated because it can lead to asophogeal cancer.

I just went to see my Dr. for the same thing. I had severe heartburn when I was pregnant 5 years ago and took Zantac for it. it went away pretty much. Now for a few weeks it's gotten so bad that the acid is giving a sore throat. They prescribed Zantac 150mg twice a day. They said it could be from taking too much ibuprofen. I don't drink or smoke but I drink too much coffee and have a stressful life-style. A bland diet and cutting back on coffee and night-time eating should help.