Gerd?

[Terch]

Does anyone suffer from gerd? What are you taking for it? Could celiacs be behind a gerd diagnosis?

Thanks

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Hoo boy, lots of us suffer from gerd! As you know from the other thread, I've been on Nexium for a year. Before that it was Prilosec, before that Zantac, before that, tooo many Tums to count! Many celiacs seem to have their gerd resolve after being gluten-free for a while, but I've been gluten-free since January, and I'm very disappointed that I can't seem to get off the Nexium.

I have found that chewing gum seems to help me a lot with the gerd, so maybe I'll try going off the Nexium one more time...

[Guest cassidy]

I was misdiagnosed with gerd and even had surgery for it. When I eat gluten, that is when I get it. It lasts for several weeks after I'm glutened. I have also noticed that msg causes gerd for me as well. I have taken all the prescription meds and I was taking high doses that really didn't help.

I found out that my problem was too little acid. If you have too little acid then the muscle at the top of your stomach doesn't know to close and you have reflux. I now take apple cider vinegar pills with meals after I have been glutened. The burn goes away within 20 minutes and I feel it is much safer than antacids. Because of all the antacids I took over the years I had an amoeba and some bad bacteria that was able to get through my stomach because the acid barrier was so compromised by the antacids. The antibiotics I had to take to get rid of that stuff was horrible. I won't ever take another antacid because I don't want that to ever happen again.

If you have heartburn and you try drinking a couple tablespoons of vinegar and it helps (very gross) then you know you have too little acid.

[key]

Cassidy,

I had tried Prilosec months ago and all the sudden after four days, my stomach would just hurt and I would feel like my food wasn't digesting. Then recently I started having the symptoms again of burning in my throat. So against my better judgement I tried Prilosec again. I again got very sick after four days on it and it didn't work. Also none of the over counter stuff worked. I know I was gluttened and I am pretty sure this is what brought it on again. For me it is like an inflammation or something. I really would love to know what is going on. I do think that dairy and fat make it worse. I also feel like MSG is a trigger for me. I am glad that you brought this whole thing up, because I think I must have too little acid, since the over the counter meds actually seem to make it worse. Yesterday I didn't have it at all. I gave up coffee for a few days, but still had it a bit. I drank some coffee yesterday and didn't have it all day. I wish I knew what was going on.

I have found the Apple cider vinegar works, but it is only for about 30 minutes and it is SO gross. It doesn't relief the problem for long enough.

I think alot of us have heartburn from what I have read here. I haven't been diagnosed with GERD, but guess I could have it.

Monica

[Terch]

I don't really seem to get the heartburn that people talk about, mine is more chest pain and discomfort. Sort of like I am filled with gas and it has nowhere to go! Sometimes I think I am having a heartattack but apparently my heart is fine according to my stress test and ekg. I have been on Nexium for 8 months and I want to get off of it, but it seems that when I miss even one day, I am worse than before I went on the medication. Has anyone had this happen to them? I did have an endoscopy and see my gi next friday for the results. Was anyone diagnosed with gerd via an endoscopy?

Thanks for the replies.

[jerseyangel]

I don't really seem to get the heartburn that people talk about, mine is more chest pain and discomfort. Sort of like I am filled with gas and it has nowhere to go! Sometimes I think I am having a heartattack but apparently my heart is fine according to my stress test and ekg. I have been on Nexium for 8 months and I want to get off of it, but it seems that when I miss even one day, I am worse than before I went on the medication. Has anyone had this happen to them? I did have an endoscopy and see my gi next friday for the results. Was anyone diagnosed with gerd via an endoscopy?

Thanks for the replies.

I had very similar symptoms to yours. I would get pain in my chest right up to the base of my neck. There was also belching, hiccups, and nausea. I also was afraid for a while that it was my heart and had the Holter Monitor and the echo cardiogram, which were fine. For me, this didn't start until I was gluten-free for several months.

My allergist (!) put me on Prevacid because the reflux was causing bronchial spasms. The GI simply told me to take Phayzyme, which didn't help at all.

Mine resolved for the most part when I stopped eating legumes. I was doing an elimination diet, and noticed that when I cut them out completely, not only did my D and cramping improve (the reason I was doing the elim diet), but the reflux was gone.

In my case, it's tied to my food intolerances--in many cases it's not, but I thought I'd share what happened to me

Hope you get yours figured out!

[Guest cassidy]

Cassidy,

I had tried Prilosec months ago and all the sudden after four days, my stomach would just hurt and I would feel like my food wasn't digesting. Then recently I started having the symptoms again of burning in my throat. So against my better judgement I tried Prilosec again. I again got very sick after four days on it and it didn't work. Also none of the over counter stuff worked. I know I was gluttened and I am pretty sure this is what brought it on again. For me it is like an inflammation or something. I really would love to know what is going on. I do think that dairy and fat make it worse. I also feel like MSG is a trigger for me. I am glad that you brought this whole thing up, because I think I must have too little acid, since the over the counter meds actually seem to make it worse. Yesterday I didn't have it at all. I gave up coffee for a few days, but still had it a bit. I drank some coffee yesterday and didn't have it all day. I wish I knew what was going on.

I have found the Apple cider vinegar works, but it is only for about 30 minutes and it is SO gross. It doesn't relief the problem for long enough.

I think alot of us have heartburn from what I have read here. I haven't been diagnosed with GERD, but guess I could have it.

Monica

Are you taking digestive enzymes? I take them with every meal. I also take probiotics or drink kefir daily. I think that takes some of the stress off my system. If the vinegar works for you, try the apple cider vinegar capsules. They smell like vinegar but don't taste bad going down. If I am really bad I take a lot of them. And if you have found trigger foods - other than gluten - if you stay away from those that should help. I have found that if I eat something bad it does take weeks for me to feel 100% better. So, if you eliminate everything you think is bad it may take a while for everything to get better.

[key]

I take alot of digestive enzymes, but haven't been doing it as faithfully as I was. They do seem to help alot. I will try capsules if it happens again. I am hoping it is gone. Two days without it! Yay! It all started with a bad gluttening and I am finding getting over this one was bad. I am hoping this is it. It sucks when nothing that helps other people helps me. Nothing seems to work when i get it. I am definitely staying away from eating out for now and also trying not to eat high fats, processed foods and hardly any dairy. Also MSG.

Thanks for your help.

MOnica

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Juices set me off. Not just obvious ones, like citrus, but any juice, I think because they all have vitamin c added--which is ACID. Also caffeine, and tomato sauce.

[jerseyangel]

Juices set me off. Not just obvious ones, like citrus, but any juice, I think because they all have vitamin c added--which is ACID. Also caffeine, and tomato sauce.

Yes--me too. I don't drink juice at all anymore.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I mix one part juice to about 10 parts water--I actually LIKE it that way now.