Thread: Acid reflux symptoms??

I was just told that I have GERD after having an upper endoscopy last week. There were red patchy areas that the dr said could be from GERD for from bile? She said the biopsies were negative for H PYlori and Celiacs. The dr also said that if I had Celiacs the crackers I eat to soothe my stomach would make things worse.

So my question is, can acid reflux bother you even if you eat nothing greasy, fattening, or spicy? I eat healthy all the time anyway and my stomach will hurt and be queezy off and on all day long. I don't get the burning feeling or burping like some people get. I do get bloated and gassy a lot for no reason either.

YES! I have logged everything I eat and sometimes I find no patterns. I do know that sugary things, including some fruit, will bother me. I eat quite healthy and still have GERD---and often without the classic burning. Likewise, sometimes I will just take a break, like on a special occasion, and eaet things I shouldn't, and nothing happens! What i have found is that I can get reflux a day or two after eating some "irritants"--it's not always right away. Stress can cause it too!

Thanks so much for responding. That makes me feel a little bit more confident that this might be my problem. Can I ask what medicine you take to control this? What else do you do if you're already eating healthy in the first place?

I eat chocolate (what woman doesn't?) and I drink 2 cups of half caffeinated coffe every day. I also like a glass of wine or a beer once in a while. I know that all of those things can make acid reflux worse but those are my only splurges and I absolutely hate to give them up forever.

I take nexium (more recently 40 mg twice a day) and also ranitidine at night. I also take acidophilus daily, a spoonful of unpasteurized honey at bedtime, other vitamins, and I drink my "green drink" every morning--it's the equivalent of 6 servings of fruit and vegetables and supposedly very alkalizing to your body.

Unfortunately, I do find that chocolate bothers me, so I have gradually curtailed it and you get used to not having it after a while. As I mentioned, that's not to say I don't have it, I just need to be ready for the possible symptoms I may get after! I used to have these "alkalizing" tablets from the naturopath that I was to take when I wanted to "splurge" and they worked but I can't get them where I live now. SOmetimes I take DGL (licore tablets) before a spicy meal as they are supposed to protect the stomach. I generally drink a lot of herbal tea and have cut back on my regular tea as I do wonder about that.....and I am drinking more red wine (that is supposedly the better choice) when I do want a drink. I have a friend with GERD (on nexium) who agrees with me that "Blush" white wine (Zinfandel) seems to not bother us!

I think the bottom line is really trying to figure out what does bother you--it may take some careful tracking and keeping in mind that sometimes the sypmtoms may not be instant--eg. if you drink wine at night, you may notice reflux more the next day, not that night! Then when you find the irritants--you make a choice--either cut them out entirely, or, try other protective means when you do have them---experiment--take a tums along with the irritant, or the DGL tablets, or something else alkalizing. It's a fine line between enjoying life and then perhaps suffering after. Everyone is different but there can be irritants for you that others don't have, and vice versa.

THe naturopath I saw told me that tea/coffee without sugar and milk (or at least skim milk) are better for you (less acid forming).

There are some books out there on the subject, and, as I mentioned, the company that makes my "green drinks" has a website and I got a table of "acid/alkaline fooRAB" from my health food store that I have found to be very helpful. I think that is on the website as well. Remeraber that sometimes fooRAB we think are acidic are really not when they get into the stomach. Fresh lemon is an example. I have read in many places that drinking water with FRESH lemon juice is alkalizing IN the stomach (as well as a very good liver cleanse) but most people would think that lemon juice is ACIDIC. Yes, if you suck on a piece and you have irritation in the mouth, throat or esophagus, it may burn a bit, but in water, it is supposedly alkalizing in the stomach. Same with fruit---fresh but not too ripe fruit is okay, but not canned or fruit that is too ripe. I find I can eat a greenish banana no problem, but if it is too sugary (so very yellow and definitely not with ANY brown spots), it bothers me. If I buy a fresh pineapple, I can eat it the first day I cut it, but not after that.

I also use pure maple syrup on anything like oatmeal, pancakes, etc and in general have cut back on my sugar that I use in baking (that really benefits the whole family). SUGAR in general is bad and I know it bothers me in relation to my GERD symptoms. Peanut butter also bothers me. I have grown accustomed to ALMOND BUTTER and it is another example of a food that is not only alkalizing but very good for you. Really, the whole optimal diet of alkalziing fooRAB is a very healthy one. That is not to say I follow it all the time but again, it's a personal decision to figure out what is worth the pain/gain. To me, I liken it to people trying to lose weight. We all know what we need to do and not do and it's up to you to follow the plan or pay for the consequences. But again, you have to live and find that happy place of enjoying life but staying healthy, and there's a price for everything. Good luck!

Your response has been very helpful and educational. I'm kind of new to this and am learning a lot about what's going on. I have the problem that because I'm almost afraid to eat a lot of fooRAB, I have lost a lot of weight. I really need to gain 5-10lbs but it's hard since I'm limited on food choices.

I wonder if it's OK to use Splenda instead of sugar? What about non-dairy creamers instead of milk? I will only drink my coffee with French Vanilla Coffeemate (Fat Free for my hubby).

I'm not sure about SPLENDA but I think I read somewhere that artificial sweeteners can bother "some" people. Dairy is supposedly bothersome because anything with calcium triggers the body to make more acid. That's a catch 22 as we all need calcium, esp. women! My last blood tests showed I was low in calcium--another confirmation that my body is acidic--that is how the body copes--it pulls calcium from the bones. There is a correlation b/w the North American diet and osteoporosis and one hypothesis is that we eat a highly acid-forming diet, so therefore the body copes with that by pulling calcium from the bones! Makes sense! Anyhow, my dr. said just to take a tums once a day but I also try to get calcium from other non-dairy sources like almond milk, broccoli, etc.

I too have lost some weight since this GERD--the only borderline good thing about it--and not on purpose. I am 5' 3" and about 118 so certainly normal but people ask me all the time if I have lost weight (like it's a bad thing). I like to think it's b/c I am eating better but my appetite is not what it used to be. I also think I don't digest my food as well as I probably should--I forgot to mention that I do take digestive enzymes sometimes to help with the digestion of a high protein meal.

Thanks. I never knew that about calcium. I take calcium plus Vit D supplements every day, along with my multi-vitamin, 2 iron supplements, and 1 digestive enzyme. I stopped taking the extra Vit B12 and Fish oil just because it was too much to take. Oh, and I take Superdophilis and my Nexium first thing, on an empty stomach.

I guess a non-dairy creamer that is fat-free and gluten free is OK?

My normal (non-baby-weight) was around 118-120. I'm 5'3 as well and I'm down to 107lbs. I'm smaller after 4 kiRAB then I was in Junior High School. So people were really beginning to worry about me. They even asked my husband if I was anorexic. I'm trying to gain a little bit of weight and firm up some things but between the anemia really wiping me out and the stomach issues making me not want to eat, it's a neverending cycle.