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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Jun-06-21, 11:54
dan_rose dan_rose is offline
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Posts: 187
 
Plan: None, limit carbs, Omega6
Stats: 161/140/140 Male 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Loughborough, UK
Default GERD (Acid reflux)

Just starting my research on this and couldn't find a recent thread.

I've recently started jolting awake in the night like I've just been resuscitated with a burning sensation in my throat, coughing and feeling that I've not breathed for a while. The burn is like crackling fire embers and is different to the dull pain from heartburn. I think it is GERD.

I finish eating at 7.30pm, go bed at 10pm and typically get it between 12 and 2am. It sometimes returns after a few hours. To avoid a second attack (and the anxiety of it happening), I've started moving to an almost seated position on the sofa but it is difficult sleeping and puts pressure on the butt. Laying on my left side and using a raised pillow didn't work for me.

I've come across some of the 'natural' ideas out there (ACV, ginger etc) but has anyone successfully treated GERD without meds, or can you recommend a good book/blogger?
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Jun-06-21, 14:26
Kristine's Avatar
Kristine Kristine is offline
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Posts: 25,581
 
Plan: Primal/P:E
Stats: 171/146/150 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 119%
Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
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Hi Dan. Many folks have resolved or at least improved their GERD/reflux by eliminating grains completely, particularly wheat. Have you tried that? If you’re already eating low carb, you’re most of the way there, but you have to read labels like crazy and be careful of cross-contamination if you’re cooking with others in the house.

I’m familiar with that trying-to-sleep-upright discomfort and it’s one of my consequences for glutening myself.

I haven’t read “Wheat Belly” by Dr Davis, as I was already eating gluten-free when it came out, but I think he goes into more detail about it. Someone else might chime in here with a better explanation.
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Jun-06-21, 18:58
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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I find that dairy is giving me GERD now. If I have dairy I try not to have it too close to bed time. Also, there are some pills I take that just don't seem to fall down my chowder chute into my stomach very quickly. If I take it right before bed, I will wake up with it stuck in my esophagus (aka chowder chute) and it hurts like you can't believe.
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Jun-06-21, 19:06
Zuleikaa Zuleikaa is offline
Finding the Pieces
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Plan: Mishmash
Stats: 365/308.0/185 Female 66
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Location: Maryland, US
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https://www.healthline.com/health/d...ice-acid-reflux

Some suggestions:

-Drink 3 oz. on an empty stomach morning and before bed.
-Complete any eating at least 3 hours before bed to allow time for food to completely digest.
-Drink 1 tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar in 3 ounces of water before each meal.
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Jun-07-21, 10:07
HappyLC HappyLC is offline
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Plan: Generic low carb
Stats: 212/167/135 Female 66.75
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Progress: 58%
Location: Long Island, NY
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Eliminating grains didn't help me. Apple cider vinegar made my reflux much worse. What has worked the best for me is....and it's an expensive option, I know....buying a Sleep Number adjustable bed. I guess it doesn't have to be sleep number, just any bed where you can raise the head. It has been wonderful! I no longer wake up choking and suffocating.

Hope you find relief soon.
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Jun-07-21, 20:10
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is online now
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Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
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Location: Massachusetts
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Acv......helps my mother's symptoms
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Jun-08-21, 09:01
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Ambulo Ambulo is offline
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Plan: LerC, TRE, IF
Stats: 150/120/120 Female 64 inches
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Location: the North, England
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyLC
Eliminating grains didn't help me. Apple cider vinegar made my reflux much worse. What has worked the best for me is....and it's an expensive option, I know....buying a Sleep Number adjustable bed. I guess it doesn't have to be sleep number, just any bed where you can raise the head. It has been wonderful! I no longer wake up choking and suffocating.

Hope you find relief soon.


I don't have GERD, but I bought a wedge pillow to raise my head in hopes of stopping my snoring. It is a lot cheaper than an adjustable bed. Might it achieve the same thing?
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  #8   ^
Old Sat, Jun-12-21, 09:39
Bangle Bangle is offline
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Plan: Atkins, Dr. Westman
Stats: 267/167/145 Female 5'4"
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I would recommend that you keep a log of what you eat to see what triggers your gerd or acid reflux. For me it is mixed. For me.....as far as dairy goes, cheese is ok, yogurt is ok, but ice cream or sorbet is instant reflux.

I also find black coffee can set mine off as can citrus fruits or juice. I take a Prevacid at night before I go to bed and try not to eat anything several hours before I lay down.

I have begun reading about acid reflux to see what foods trigger it and have found several useful books on the subject by Jamie Koufman, MD. One is called Dropping Acid, The Reflux Diet, and another is called the Acid Reflux Diet.

The acid reflux diet can fit with a low carb diet with some work. The main thing i would suggest is to find what triggers it for you....as it varies from person to person. For example, supposedly one cup of coffee is OK but it sometimes sets me off. ....I still drink it in moderation.

Also, if you have any medical issues, like copd, bronchitis or other ailments that make you cough, that can trigger it.

I would also recommend that you discuss it with you doctor as gerd or acid reflux can cause problems if left untreated.

Think about how you feel after you eat. That can tell you alot. Most people on keto or low carb say it helps them with gerd, but some people are more affected by fat and dairy. Keep that log and find out what foods make you feel great and which ones give you gerd. It will help guide you.

Good luck!
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  #9   ^
Old Sun, Jun-13-21, 11:23
dan_rose dan_rose is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 187
 
Plan: None, limit carbs, Omega6
Stats: 161/140/140 Male 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Loughborough, UK
Default

Thanks for the replies.

Kristine, the only grains I consume are in ale – cutting that out will be the last step!

Nancy, I’ve been having a gulp of full fat milk after an attack and it seems to avoid a repeat (if I raise myself slightly until it has gone down).

Zuleikaa, drinking water before bed made it come on almost straight away. It also happened on my fast day (no calories after lunch).

Here’s a sensible video on ACV from SeriousKeto: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OflqRgk8N4

I did the morning bicarb test and didn’t burp at all, suggesting my stomach acid is low (hypochlorhydria) so I’m trialling ACV. I’m not clear on when and how much to take per day. I've been having a diluted tbsp after my evening dinner. No real improvement yet (but no worse) but early days.

Most of the web and meds are geared towards high stomach acid so I need to track down what causes low stomach acid (apart from age) and if there are any other remedies other than ACV. Anecdotally, I had a curry Friday and had a better night. It's also hard to see a mechanism for ACV - as it's a different acid to and less acidic than the stomach, will it not just pass straight through?.

Bangle, do the Koufman books have anything on low acid? (I'll go to the docs eventually if needed but I'm sure they'll put me on meds straight off. It would be nice to rule out an hiatal hernia though).

The video above also mentions LPR (silent reflux) which sort of ties in as I don’t get heartburn and strangely do not have a sore oesophagus in the morning.
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  #10   ^
Old Sun, Jun-13-21, 19:48
Zuleikaa Zuleikaa is offline
Finding the Pieces
Posts: 17,049
 
Plan: Mishmash
Stats: 365/308.0/185 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Maryland, US
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Quote:
Zuleikaa, drinking water before bed made it come on almost straight away. It also happened on my fast day (no calories after lunch).

https://www.amazon.com/Georges-Alwa...23634407&sr=8-6
Though Georges Aloe Vera tastes like water it is Aloe Vera juice
Aloe vera juice will coat, protect, and heal the esophagus, intestines, and stomach lining. Water may actually bring on acid reflux because it dilutes stomach acid thus preventing full digestion of food.

Acid reflux is actually caused by too little stomach acid not too much. Too little stomach acid leads to partially digested food which remains in the stomach. When you lay down, the mix of digestive acids and partially digested food seeps back up your throat creating acid reflux. Acid reflux can eat away at your stomach, intestines, throat, and airway causing more health problems including leaky gut and sores in your throat and nostrils.

The apple cider vinegar before meals provides additional acid so that your meals can more fully digest and eliminate from the stomach and intestines.

The no eating less than three hours before bed...no snacks...allows adequate time for full digestion and elimination.

The aloe vera juice, taken on an empty stomach, coats and helps the tissues and linings of the throat, intestines and stomach to heal.

It's not a quick fix; it can take 2-3 months to resolve the problem completely but the episodes will occur less frequently after about a week.

Last edited by Zuleikaa : Sun, Jun-13-21 at 20:04.
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  #11   ^
Old Mon, Jun-14-21, 12:55
HappyLC HappyLC is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,876
 
Plan: Generic low carb
Stats: 212/167/135 Female 66.75
BF:
Progress: 58%
Location: Long Island, NY
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulo
I don't have GERD, but I bought a wedge pillow to raise my head in hopes of stopping my snoring. It is a lot cheaper than an adjustable bed. Might it achieve the same thing?


I tried a wedge pillow but for some reason I would slide down off it, lol. The adjustable bed has been a godsend. There's nothing worse than waking up feeling like you're inhaling fire.
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  #12   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 00:47
s93uv3h's Avatar
s93uv3h s93uv3h is offline
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Plan: Atkins & IF / TRE
Stats: 000/000/000 Male 5' 10"
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Progress: 97%
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I just borrowed this book from the library: Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure by Jamie Koufman, Marc Bauer, Jordan Stern - all except for Bauer are medical doctors, Bauer being a chef.

Have not read it, though I think the gist of it is avoiding low pH / high acid foods... a quote:

Avoiding acid means consuming nothing below pH4. However, if your symptoms are severe, it's well worth considering the even stricter induction phage diet for two weeks, in which you eat nothing below pH5.

The recipes are high in sugar and carbs - so you're not borrowing this for those - but the list of high and low pH foods seems helpful.

Green is good. Red is bad.

https://i.imgur.com/4ELjb7w.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oDtaqDT.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kRLMeoJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1JPQGNb.jpg
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 11:03
dan_rose dan_rose is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 187
 
Plan: None, limit carbs, Omega6
Stats: 161/140/140 Male 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Loughborough, UK
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I've not had an attack all week except for last night when I drank a bit too much late on. I've been having 2 tbsp of ACV after my evening meal. This week, I'm going to try having it before dinner.

Thanks s93, Bangle already mentioned that book but it's not clear if it just considers problems due to too much acid i.e. heartburn or if it also covers insufficient acid (that I have).
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  #14   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 11:42
cotonpal's Avatar
cotonpal cotonpal is online now
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Posts: 5,283
 
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
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Twenty years ago I read the book “Why Stomach Acid is Good for You” by Jonathan Wright. I remember it as very helpful and it does talk about low stomach acid. I believe that’s it’s primary topic(I read it so long ago it’s hard to remember) what I do know is that gerd has not been a problem since then when I started eating very low carb. Before that I had taken either Prilosec or Nexium every day. I could not go a day without them. The book is available on Amazon.
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  #15   ^
Old Sun, Jun-20-21, 20:23
s93uv3h's Avatar
s93uv3h s93uv3h is offline
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Posts: 1,662
 
Plan: Atkins & IF / TRE
Stats: 000/000/000 Male 5' 10"
BF:
Progress: 97%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dan_rose
Thanks s93, Bangle already mentioned that book but it's not clear if it just considers problems due to too much acid i.e. heartburn or if it also covers insufficient acid (that I have).
It's already questionable to me when the cookbook portion is chock full of carbs and sugar and seed oils.

Plus, they recommend against butter and cream - not because of pH - just because. You can put alcohol in that category also.

They do say that low pH / high acid exacerbates your esophagus that has been already affected by acid reflex. So from my skimming through the pages I don't know that anyone knows the cause of GERD and / or acid reflex in the first place.
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