I’m a funny case dude, I do get reflux and burning but really my digestive system is all kinds of messed up with lots of random symptoms. I’ve tried various stints on Omeprazole and Esomeprazole since creating this topic but in terms of my whole body, I feel I manage it better without. It still controls quite a bit of my life but low sugar, low fodmap, not too much gluten, psyllium husk supplement, and a magnesium supplement all help a little. I still get really bad days that are hard to figure out why though.
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I hear you and it sucks big time. I’m a unique case myself, but I get straight chest pain 10/10 which wrecks me so bad I can’t focus, work, read, eat or drink water most of the time. Also been battling it a long time. How old are you and are you on any type of TRT or medication? No PPis work for me FWIW. Tried all the dosages to no bueno. I’ve read that 100% of smokers get it once they quit. Don’t have the actual data by hand so can’t trust this statement as I never trust what I read without doing my own research. I’ve smoked for close to 30 years, drank, took a lot of drugs and lived in high stress environment which has fucked up my gut really good. Also do you know the origin of your acid reflux, like was it H Pylori or something else?
p.s. I hold a blog at ExcelMale if you want to read with a lot of data points and what I found over the years. I’m the opposite of what they all say and preach- sugar goes good for me can eat jam as much as I want with gluten-free toast, pancakes, etc, also higher-fat meat seems to work like venison deer. Chicken full of toxins from the shop stopped working after 20 years of eating massive amounts everyday and training like a beast. Also no eggs. FML lol
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Edit post please refresh.
I’m 34, but it’s been the bane of my existence since my early twenties. In spite of that I spent the best part of 15 years being a heavy drinker and smoker (out in the bars usually 5 nights a week). For the most part I no longer drink, and quit smoking around 6-7years ago. I’m not on TRT and have never been on any medication for a long period of time except for asthma inhalers when very young.
It’s hard to really pinpoint a trigger of when it came on. My best friend died when I was 23 which knocked me for six and could have been a possible contributor, I’m not overly convinced though. I know stress can compound everything in the body but I have never seen a correlation between how bad my symptoms are and how stressed I am.
It’s crazy how we’re all different. Sugar is 100% the worst thing for me, spicy food and perhaps onions and garlic too. BUT, there have been times where I have overindulged in these things and random get the best day symptom-wise I’ve had in months. Discovering a real pattern seems impossible.
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Exactly the same for me. I’m 40. Started drinking, smoking and enjoying recreational drugs at 13. Now I’ve also had asthma when was a lil kid and took those inhalers and all the other stuff to make me feel alive. So i’ve read that those who had asthma usually tend to get harsh fucking gastro esophagal problems later on in life. Don’t remember where and also not sure if thats true but here we have exact same similarities and we both struggle.
My condolences regarding your best friend. Sadly, the good die young as Pac said… Same here, when I had biggest problems in my life I didn’t have this shit but then again I was smoking weed and it masks the symptoms. As soon as I stop- they flare up. Even if I get pain, can smoke a joint and it goes away for a day or two. It’s wild. I havent smoked 6 months, had 4 weeks relapse and now coming into 2nd week of not smoking but dealing with pain, again. Theres your “healthy lifestyle” smh
Absolutely agree. We all are so different and unique. I love spicy food but have stayed away from it a long time BUT actually I might go ahead and give it a try, cuz even the best looking on paper foods fuck me up real good. Yes discovering a pattern seems impossible but I ain’t giving up cuz I ain’t got a choice TBF just to fix myself up. Funny how this works. One day you eating some foods and it feels amazing. Next day try to mimic the same and boom, fucking dieing lol
Have you done any endoscopies to see if you might have H Pylori and when?
100%. I’ve had times where the day before I’ve had a big takeaway full of apparent things that are poison for reflux symptoms, paired with 5 beers and led down straight after going to bed on a full stomach… but I wake up 60-70% better than the day before.
And in contrast, I’ve had situations where I avoid all apparent food sensitivities for weeks at a time and wake up in agony.
I’ve had two endoscopies, first one came with very slight inflammation of my duodenum but was still considered “clear”. The second one was fully clear and I couldn’t get a follow-up about it. H Pylori was never discovered with me but back in around 2014 I went on some triple-threat medication to get rid of it just in case. Made no difference.
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Basically need to test again cuz its very easy to get reinfected and also you need to do dental cleaning when starting treatment as a lot of it lives there and if not you have a high chance to get reinfected once again. It’s a clever mofo. I have one as well and took 2 rounds of antibiotics. Felt good after first treatment but months passed came back so possibly I got reinfected or not eradicated it. Now did the second round in February which made no difference at all pain wise. Last week GP did a stool test so we will see what result comes in. But I don’t trust this test as they said last time I was cured, but I’ve done private endoscopy afterwards and they found the sucker alive and active. Reflux is not a dissease its a symptom so you need to find the root cause of it. I doubt any diet modifications will ever make you feel good again till you get down to what the real issue causing it is. Sorry but with my experience that ain’t happening any time soon.
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I’ve had stool tests too that have always come back clear. The gut microbiome science it’s still in it’s infancy so hopefully more comes out.
I’ve spent so long trying to solve this myself reading studies, blogs, listening to gut health expect podcasts etc. Because of that, speaking to a GP always feels like a bit of a lost cause. I usually just get recommended higher doses of PPI or told to it’s in my head. There are some good resources around but it’s a massive puzzle trying to figure this stuff out. I do get good days now and again which gives me hope, and one day I will figure out where they come from.
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So my suggestion would be to do endoscopy biopsy to be sure there is no HP active. Also I’d say get a proper GI map test even though they are expensive but very worthy. I haven’t done one as spent fortunes on my other issues incl back and neck pain I have from traumas in the past but I’m going into that direction and most likely will order myself one and then get in touch with a good expert likely from the USA to help me read and interpret it. I’m sure we will figure it out but it needs different measures and going balls deep into the issue. Hang in there and hope you feel better soon!
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A friend of mine was having srrious gi problems for like 10 years, just a mess top to bottom.
Turns out it was his appendix. It was inflamed and would leak and contaminate his whole gi. So it finally burst and was removed, which was a pretty messy process in its own right, but he has been much better since. That was about 8 mos. ago.
This is probably going to sound as silly as it did when I read it, but has anyone who suffers from reflux often tried diaphragmatic breathing when the reflux starts? Deep breaths into the belly and out seem to get everything to close up and move down - stops my symptoms within a minute.
Besides that, the biggest cure-all for my reflux has been quitting alcohol. Second biggest is avoiding tomatoes.
But seriously - the belly breathing is pretty miraculous. I have no idea whether it will work with anyone else the way it did with me - but I hope so, because it’s a big relief to not have to deal with an hour + of serious pain.
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That does make sense. Relaxes the chest, esophagus, and calms everything down.
If I’m too tense I can’t even drink water without my esophagus slamming shut.
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Yup, all studies I’ve read basically say “It looks promising, it seems to work in our experiments, but more information is needed”, which, if you suffer from reflux like I was, was MORE than enough for me to at least try it. I had been taking PPI’s for far longer than the recommended time, and I was beginning to feel dependent on them to the point that I’d get seriously anxious about what was to come if I forgot to take one in the morning before work.
And then that just aggravates it.
Ive had intermittent bouts of reflux over the years, but more recently it has gotten worse. Its wierd, but one capsule of prilosec seems to last 2-3 days.
Its a tough one because there are a ton of things going on there. An anti-angina medication I was taking for a while helped a lot.
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I take cetirizine or loratidine most days. One of my biggest symptoms is excessive mucus in my throat, mouth and chest. I don’t feel they really help me but at least I feel like I’m doing something. Sometimes I even take both on the same day.
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Funnily enough, I always felt that h2 blockers did more for me than PPIs so it’s definitely some sort of immune system thing. It’s hard to really measure though as back when I was taking h2 blockers I wasn’t looking after myself or attentive enough to really be in tune with the difference. Hard to know if you feel shit because you drank and smoke a ton or if one med isn’t working as well as another. ahem
I’d like to try Ranitidine again, I used to get them for cheap from the local bargain basement type shop but they were taken off the market for some potential carcinogenic property (despite people taking them for probably 40years+). I know in the US that Famotidine is highly available but never really see that in the UK.
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I eat a lot of spicy food, and unfortunately as I’ve gotten older it has started to cause issues.
I find if I eat something like a banana or some avocado first, I’m usually ok. Greens powders seem to work as well to keep calories down. Especially the powders designed for an alkalizing effect.
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It took me years to realize this, but it’s all the Solanum plants for me: tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. There’s very little information about Solanum as an allergy/intolerance, but it is actually a thing.
Nicotine/tobacco also. Not because of the “normal” nicotine CNS reactions (stimulant/depressant), but because it’s tingly and I’m actually reactive to it in the allergy sense. I had an amazing tobacco washed whiskey old-fashioned once. It was memorable because it was one of the best old-fashioned variations I’ve ever had, and one of the worst reactions I’ve ever had to any food or drink.
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I avoid tomatoes even though I’m unsure of a 100% reaction to them. They are such a problem for so many people that I just chose to keep them off the list. My brains kinda rewired to not even see them as an ingredient anymore.
Potatoes though? Interesting. Sweet Potatoes mess me right up but I’ve always considered good old regular potatoes a safe food.
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They’re part of that nightshade family! Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and peppers - they can all be problems if you have a nightshade intolerance!
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