GERD issues

I am a relatively healthy 69 year old male who has had bouts of gerd (acid reflex) in my life. I've had several endoscopy"s done, most recently January of 2022 diagnosis of Gastritis. I don't smoke and drink in moderation socially (not a lot). Recently I developed my worst symptoms ever, not sleeping very good ( I have elevated bed),very bad pressure in chest which creates tremendous anxiety making it had to breathe and catch my breath, floor pacing...terrible stress on body. Oddly enough it's been worse every other morning when I wake up. I take Protonix and Pepcid, Mylanta and I just got some new stuff called Nutrasec, a tablet like Tums only better that you take after eating that helps a little. I was cruising right along until 10 days ago the it hit me like a tank. I gave up coffee and changed my diet drastically and am trying to schedule another endoscopy. I'm hoping maybe my esophagus needs stretched or I'm a candidate for esophagus sphincter surgery. I feel beat and it sucks trying to sleep on my left side all night. Anybody out there having similar problems?

I am a relatively healthy 69 year old male who has had bouts of gerd (acid reflex) in my life. I've had several endoscopy"s done, most recently January of 2022 diagnosis of Gastritis. I don't smoke and drink in moderation socially (not a lot). Recently I developed my worst symptoms ever, not sleeping very good ( I have elevated bed),very bad pressure in chest which creates tremendous anxiety making it had to breathe and catch my breath, floor pacing...terrible stress on body. Oddly enough it's been worse every other morning when I wake up. I take Protonix and Pepcid, Mylanta and I just got some new stuff called Nutrasec, a tablet like Tums only better that you take after eating that helps a little. I was cruising right along until 10 days ago the it hit me like a tank. I gave up coffee and changed my diet drastically and am trying to schedule another endoscopy. I'm hoping maybe my esophagus needs stretched or I'm a candidate for esophagus sphincter surgery. I feel beat and it sucks trying to sleep on my left side all night. Anybody out there having similar problems?

Hello group, I am a coffee drinker, I just love it. I do limit myself to 3 cups a day and sometimes just 2 cups. I realize that the acid in coffee is probably not helping my acid reflux and Gerd. Do any of you have alternative hot drinks other than coffee? I am not as fond of hot tea but will drink it but not sure if it would be any better than the coffee regarding the acid reflux.

I am a relatively healthy 69 year old male who has had bouts of gerd (acid reflex) in my life. I've had several endoscopy"s done, most recently January of 2022 diagnosis of Gastritis. I don't smoke and drink in moderation socially (not a lot). Recently I developed my worst symptoms ever, not sleeping very good ( I have elevated bed),very bad pressure in chest which creates tremendous anxiety making it had to breathe and catch my breath, floor pacing...terrible stress on body. Oddly enough it's been worse every other morning when I wake up. I take Protonix and Pepcid, Mylanta and I just got some new stuff called Nutrasec, a tablet like Tums only better that you take after eating that helps a little. I was cruising right along until 10 days ago the it hit me like a tank. I gave up coffee and changed my diet drastically and am trying to schedule another endoscopy. I'm hoping maybe my esophagus needs stretched or I'm a candidate for esophagus sphincter surgery. I feel beat and it sucks trying to sleep on my left side all night. Anybody out there having similar problems?

It sounds like you need to heal you gastritis first. My gastroenterologist put me a pantaprozole for that. BUT do not stay on it beyond the short term 2-4 weeks max. Then you have to heal your digestion. What I found worked for me was:

1. Digestive bitters before a meal;

2. Betain HCI Pepsin at beginning a a meal (250 mg-1,500mg max...go up a pill day, then back up if start to feel that Gerd feeling and stay at that level then if no "reflux."

3. If you digest you food better, you should not get gastritis again.

4. You will avoid the dreadful havoc being on a Proton Pump Inhibitor continuously. Never meant or intended for that.

5. Eat earlier last meal, before sundown preferably and at least 4 hours before bedtime.

6. Avoid alcohol.

7. Avoid any added sugars ever.

8. Avoid processed foods. To many poisons. How many of the ingredients do you recognize the names of?

9. If des[erate a teaspoon of Bicarbonate of soda (if possible aluminum free) if a glass of water. Good luck.

I am a relatively healthy 69 year old male who has had bouts of gerd (acid reflex) in my life. I've had several endoscopy"s done, most recently January of 2022 diagnosis of Gastritis. I don't smoke and drink in moderation socially (not a lot). Recently I developed my worst symptoms ever, not sleeping very good ( I have elevated bed),very bad pressure in chest which creates tremendous anxiety making it had to breathe and catch my breath, floor pacing...terrible stress on body. Oddly enough it's been worse every other morning when I wake up. I take Protonix and Pepcid, Mylanta and I just got some new stuff called Nutrasec, a tablet like Tums only better that you take after eating that helps a little. I was cruising right along until 10 days ago the it hit me like a tank. I gave up coffee and changed my diet drastically and am trying to schedule another endoscopy. I'm hoping maybe my esophagus needs stretched or I'm a candidate for esophagus sphincter surgery. I feel beat and it sucks trying to sleep on my left side all night. Anybody out there having similar problems?

ese, can you elaborate on the digestive bitters? Never heard of this. Also, the Bestaine HCL Pepsin. Is this supplement approved by your doctor? I was on Esomeprazole 40 for a year and half. I recently stopped it because I developed severe constipation and constipation can be one of the side effects. I've been through the ringer with the constipation. My doctor had me on a high dosage of Miralax everyday and I could not tolerate it. Now I am taking a magnesium supplement and doing much better. I have adjusted my diet regarding the Gerd and I am managing fairly well without taking anything for it, but I can feel the reflux in my throat at night and know that could cause cancer long term.

Digest bitters. I take them from a company called Gaia.

Betain HCL Pepsin gets put out by many companies. I like Pure and take it the way I said.

You need to help your microbiome recover from years of PPIs which destroy them. How? Zinc carnosine (for gut lining). Bone Broth, preferably home made. I posted a simple recipe. They are easy to make and excellent for healing the gut and microbiome. Bio Gaia Gastrus for Optimal Gut Health.

NO Sugars! NO Artificial sweeteners-- all of them, even Stevia, mess up you microbiome. You can't cure GERD with a messed up microbiome.

No alcohol, until you fix the GERD.

Try to have you last meal of the day before 6 pm.

Try to loose weight. It makes GERD far worse. How? DO NOT COUNT calories. Instead go long periods during a day without eating. Try a schedule of 8 hours a day only eating and AT LEAST 16 hours without eating. You can have teas...herbal, ginger...even green. I now often eat only once a day, with kefir + flaxseed +chia + hemp hearts+chlorella or Spirulina for breakfast or as my first meal of the day at 12 or later. Have your last meal and eat to satiety.
I lost 40 lbs that way and it was a breeze.

Stay away from all processed foods, pre-prepared emulsifiers (they kill the bacteria in the the gut). Avoid simple carbs (pasta, rice, breads...I still eat potatoes for the potassium and love them roasted with olive oil of duck fat).

Stay away from all seed oils like canola, safflower, corm, peanut. They are "manufactured with chemicals and not cold pressed. Use olive oil, butter, duck fat, even lard believe it or not is better for you than seed oils.

Eat things like sauerkraut (no sugar added!) kimchi, kefir (plain no sugar, sweeteners etc which destroys all the benefit, Greek yogurt...NOT no or low fat or any sugars or fruits added.

I have NO confidence in most practicing Western physicians. Most know little and care less. The guideline on most things treat symptoms badly, make money for pharmaceuticals, often make things worse and never ever cure anything. Why kill the goose the lays the golden eggs? If I were a warrior shot up in battle, modern Western medicine would come as close as I could get to live to fight another day. Chronic anything. Fugggethabouit. So no, it would not occur to me to ask or care what my doctor thinks about any of the things I do to take care of my health. I just like to watch their amazement as my markers keep getting better and I keep getting older. The thought of having any doctor "approve" of what I take (other than my oncologist) makes me laugh. They come to me for advice on aliments they have no clue how to handle. i.e. magnesium from coconut water for night leg cramps. Most have had a few hours of nutrition in med school at best and have been taught that a calorie is a colorize is a calorie and it doesn't occur to them to say: Wait a minute. If you eat the same number of calories from donuts as salad or steak it has the same effect on body and metabolism you say ????? Some are beginning to wake up...but still too few.

Please do not do surgery until you try this instead.

1. Get off all PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor) meds like omprezole, pantaprozole, Zantac etc. BUT you must do so gradually because of the rebound effect. Namely, your body, desperately trying to make sufficient acid to metabolize your food, particularly break down proteins, keeps making acid pumps, which the PPIs keep silencing. If you go cold turkey it will be holy hell. I know I have been there. The reason you have to get off PPIs is that they wreck havoc with your capacity to absorb nutrients because they deacidify your stock. Again I have been there. DREADFUL anemia that had to be treated with iron infusions to get me back to just being able to walk a block!

2. The basic "cause" of GERD is NOT excess acid, but insufficient acids for adequate digestion, most particularly protein breakdown into amino acids. Try this "test". Take 2 TBS of apple cider vinegar in half a glass of water after eating. Do you feel better or worse? I bet you will feel better which means, too little acid. SO take digestive bitters (by Gaia (2 dropperfuls in water) before meal. Experiment with Betain HCL Pepsin (Pure puts out qualify product) try 2 before meals, up dose it not kickback) to up to 6 before meal. I generally stopped at 6...still take them before a big meal.

3. Heal your gut lining. Zinc carnosine helped me. And black raspberry powder in water or yogurt for my Barrett's syndrome after years of GERDS.

4. Eat earlier. Most older people's digestion stops naturally earlier. Thus try to eat before 6 pm. If you go to bed early (10 pm) try to make that 5 pm. Lay off all alcohol for now. It makes GERD must worse.

5. If you must take something to relieve pressure, heartburn, try bicarbonate of soda in water. Try to get an aluminum free product.

It worked for me. My father suffered from GERD and hiatal hernia. I thought..hey it's my generic destiny. In my mid-40s...I started vomiting after meals! Hey my mother did that! So again genetic destiny. I started my regime of PPIs under doctor's orders and it never "cured" me and caused all sorts of knock off effects (probably even my breast cancer as a contributory cause)...and most decidedly all sorts of nutritive deficiencies. At 85 I have never felt better. No more GERD even at night. Weeks ago I had a late but light enough (Poke Bowl) meal at 8 pm preceded by 2 Cosmopolitans. Oh may God! The Demon GERD was back. I haven't felt that bad in years. I had to resort to the carb of soda, which worked.

So good luck. It can be done. The underlying problem, generally speaking, is NOT excess acid but inadequate acid to do the job of digestion. I don't know if Western trained docs are just oblivious or what. But their armatarium of PPIs sure don't work. And surgery is way too invasive and irreversible. Let me know if it works.

I drink 2 cups of low acid coffee in the morning. I buy healthwise brand off of Amazon. I also drink green tea decaf in the afternoon.