Barrett’s esophagus-friendly diet

Posted by riflemanz64 @riflemanz64, Aug 5, 2019

Let's put together a Barrett's esophagus friendly diet we could download or print off this site. It sure would be nice! Thanks

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

@mamacita

Hi,@graceandpeace, I am relatively new to all of this. I have been prescribed Prilosec. I am not a very good patient in the sense that I hate taking pills when I think there might be side effects.

I keep hearing that Prilosec should be taken in certain circumstances, to prevent BE. And then I see where people are struggling to get off Prilosec.

So, I am on the fence. I would be interested in hearing all of your experiences. I would like to take of of your situations into consideration.

I will read with anticipation all of the posts regarding this.

Thank you!

Mamacita Jane

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Hi @mamasita! Thank you for connecting! Sorry for the delay in replying; was in church all day and yesterday held a meeting at our home. Anyway, so have you been diagnosed with BE, or have you been told to take Prilosec by your dr bc he thinks you're heading that way (being diagnosed with it)? After my diagnosis from my GI (as a result from enodscopy), he told me to take prilosec at first bc he said my BE wasn't too alarming as of yet. However, I simply stopped taking it bc it was too expensive, to be honest; plus, like you, I hated to have to take just one more medicine in my long list of health problems. However, I started having a lot of acid reflux again and was taking the TUMS around the clock; so after calling my GI, he prescribed me the Omeprazol 20 mg, twice a day. I only took that one for two to three days bc it was aggravating my IBS-C. It was only shortly after that, that I changed my diet over night. I've also been diagnosed with IC (Interstitial Cystitis), so after painful bladder spasms due to too much acid in my diet, I started following the IC Network's ICN Food List, which is basically a Low/No Acid Diet. As I've mentioned bf in this thread, due to the rigid restrictions on especially fruits, I started taking a special Low Acid Mutivitamin that I buy off of the IC Network. I also eat a TON of blueberries as they are in the bladder/acid friendly category, but also bc they are anti-inflammitory, which my body desperately battles every day with other diagnosis' that I have of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, and Fibromyalgia (which feed off of chronic inflammation). So, I'm afraid that I probably wasn't able to answer your question about the Prilosec, simply bc I did not take it long enough; only a box's worth. And, again, I'm curious as to if you've been diagnosed with BE/GERD, or anything like that.

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@graceandpeace

Hi @maxsproudmom! I am sorry that I wasn't able to reply sooner, but things have been busy over here! Anyhow, I'm sorry to hear about your anxiety over BE; you did the right thing in trying to connect with others like ourselves, so that hopefully together we can help one another in different little ways. Plus, it's so important that you not feel like you are alone in this because you are not. I shared before that my BE is not really a problem for me ever since I started the IC Diet (you can find it if you Google ICN Food List) off of the IC Network. It's basically a Low/No Acid diet with 3 different categories of food that say "Foods to Avoid", "Foods that are Worth Trying" and "Foods that Are Friendly". Because of the extreme restrictions, especially in regards to fruits, I am also taking a special Low Acid Multivitamin that I also purchase from the IC Network. This diet restriction alone, I believe, has knocked out most (if not all) of my acid issues with BE. I also have been diagnosed with IBS (both C and D), so I am also on the Low FODMAP diet. You were asking before about safe foods with carbs - I don't know if you have other health issues or not, but I pretty much live off of Mrs Baird's White bread toast in the mornings with a little bit of Land o Lakes tub butter With Canola Oil, and sometimes sprinkle Organic Cinnamon on it, and maybe a pinch of Swerve (a healthier sugar replacement that's also safe for my IBS). Then I sometimes have a sandwich with a bit of mayo, Deli Ham that does not contain HFS and is Gluten Free, and one slice of White American Cheese (also fresh from the deli) with either 2 cups of popcorn (Homemade, or Oville Redenbaucher's Natural Lightly Salted, No butter), or a small amount of plain potato chips or corn chips, and then for dinner I have a baked potato with a few safe cooked veggies, or I'll have fish and homemade rice, or chicken and homemade rice. For dessert I have 2 small squares of dark chocolate. I do this just about every day. So, pretty much everything I eat is carbs. My dr wanted me to either gain weight too or not lose anymore. I weighed 92 pounds, but now weigh 95. Also, you mentioned watermelon making you throw up; I wonder if it has anything to do with the high amount of fructose that it contains? But, if so, maybe your body cannot process/digest high amounts of fructose - I don't know. And, one last thing I was going to mention to you about the acid, is you can always try the 28-day book that I mentioned earlier in this thread to @riflemanz64. I know the hoarseness can definitely be caused by BE, however, I think maybe it was you that also mentioned the possibility of allergies. Also, that can be thyroid related as well; have you had your thyroid checked? Sorry, I know this was a lot; maybe more than you cared to know, but I hope it can be helpful even if in a very small way.

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Hi grace and peace, I got my book and love it. I'm only on page 92 but I've already started to correct my diet. Very informative and I wish I would of bought this book when first diagnosed with BE! Great book for those with gerd and BE. Thanks!

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@graceandpeace

That's wonderful @riflemanz64 !! I hope it can really prove beneficial for you like it's been for my Mom! Did you ever try that Fig Newton?

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What’s the name of the book?

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The acid watcher diet, i bought off amazon $14.31 w tax.

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@riflemanz64

Hi grace and peace, I got my book and love it. I'm only on page 92 but I've already started to correct my diet. Very informative and I wish I would of bought this book when first diagnosed with BE! Great book for those with gerd and BE. Thanks!

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That's so good to hear! And, wow, already on pg 92?! That's wonderful! I'm truly glad that it is already proving to be informative, and hope that it'll be just as beneficial. Thanks for letting me know @riflemanz64

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I’m going to tell my GI doc that he should recommend this to his patients instead of just saying look on the internet.

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@graceandpeace

Hi @maxsproudmom! I am sorry that I wasn't able to reply sooner, but things have been busy over here! Anyhow, I'm sorry to hear about your anxiety over BE; you did the right thing in trying to connect with others like ourselves, so that hopefully together we can help one another in different little ways. Plus, it's so important that you not feel like you are alone in this because you are not. I shared before that my BE is not really a problem for me ever since I started the IC Diet (you can find it if you Google ICN Food List) off of the IC Network. It's basically a Low/No Acid diet with 3 different categories of food that say "Foods to Avoid", "Foods that are Worth Trying" and "Foods that Are Friendly". Because of the extreme restrictions, especially in regards to fruits, I am also taking a special Low Acid Multivitamin that I also purchase from the IC Network. This diet restriction alone, I believe, has knocked out most (if not all) of my acid issues with BE. I also have been diagnosed with IBS (both C and D), so I am also on the Low FODMAP diet. You were asking before about safe foods with carbs - I don't know if you have other health issues or not, but I pretty much live off of Mrs Baird's White bread toast in the mornings with a little bit of Land o Lakes tub butter With Canola Oil, and sometimes sprinkle Organic Cinnamon on it, and maybe a pinch of Swerve (a healthier sugar replacement that's also safe for my IBS). Then I sometimes have a sandwich with a bit of mayo, Deli Ham that does not contain HFS and is Gluten Free, and one slice of White American Cheese (also fresh from the deli) with either 2 cups of popcorn (Homemade, or Oville Redenbaucher's Natural Lightly Salted, No butter), or a small amount of plain potato chips or corn chips, and then for dinner I have a baked potato with a few safe cooked veggies, or I'll have fish and homemade rice, or chicken and homemade rice. For dessert I have 2 small squares of dark chocolate. I do this just about every day. So, pretty much everything I eat is carbs. My dr wanted me to either gain weight too or not lose anymore. I weighed 92 pounds, but now weigh 95. Also, you mentioned watermelon making you throw up; I wonder if it has anything to do with the high amount of fructose that it contains? But, if so, maybe your body cannot process/digest high amounts of fructose - I don't know. And, one last thing I was going to mention to you about the acid, is you can always try the 28-day book that I mentioned earlier in this thread to @riflemanz64. I know the hoarseness can definitely be caused by BE, however, I think maybe it was you that also mentioned the possibility of allergies. Also, that can be thyroid related as well; have you had your thyroid checked? Sorry, I know this was a lot; maybe more than you cared to know, but I hope it can be helpful even if in a very small way.

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I appreciate the information. I was tested for so many things back when I started losing even more weight. One of them was my thyroid. My anxiety may have played a part but no matter what I ate I kept losing. Now I think I am maintaining but our scale broke a couple of weeks ago. I was also having issues with other things so I had a CT of most of my major organs and they just found kidney stones. I also had some kind of test where they checked my bladder with a scope because I kept dehydrating.

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@maxsproudmom

I appreciate the information. I was tested for so many things back when I started losing even more weight. One of them was my thyroid. My anxiety may have played a part but no matter what I ate I kept losing. Now I think I am maintaining but our scale broke a couple of weeks ago. I was also having issues with other things so I had a CT of most of my major organs and they just found kidney stones. I also had some kind of test where they checked my bladder with a scope because I kept dehydrating.

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Yes, if you are hyperthyroid then there should normally be weight loss. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer 6 years ago, and that's when I first found out that one of the symptoms was hoarseness and sore throats. But, since obviously there can be so many different causes of both those symptoms, not to mention how common they are, I always thought it was allergies as well. (I suffer from them year-round). When was the last time you had your thyroid checked; not just with a physical examination, but with a lab draw?

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@maxsproudmom

I appreciate the information. I was tested for so many things back when I started losing even more weight. One of them was my thyroid. My anxiety may have played a part but no matter what I ate I kept losing. Now I think I am maintaining but our scale broke a couple of weeks ago. I was also having issues with other things so I had a CT of most of my major organs and they just found kidney stones. I also had some kind of test where they checked my bladder with a scope because I kept dehydrating.

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Oh, and also, do you know if it was a cystoscopy that they did on your bladder, and was it done by a Urologist or a Urogynocologist? Did the scope find anything?

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@riflemanz64

I’m going to tell my GI doc that he should recommend this to his patients instead of just saying look on the internet.

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I think that's a wonderful idea and a very wise plan! I think I will do the same with my GI - good thinking!

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