Help Please! Stress and acid reflux?

[strickland03]

I am male, 37 years old, non smoker, 3 drinks a week drinker, no dip, play Basketball 3 times a week for 1 1/2 hours,pretty healthy diet but not the best, I own a construction company and all blood work is squeaky clean.

About 8 months ago I was 1/2 way in a large commercial project and getting a heavy dose of stress. I normally operate on stress, so much so that 5 years ago I went through bankruptcy and had plenty of stress, but never physically hurting from it.

I started feeling a pain/burn in my sternum to my throat. For a month or so I did nothing and lived with, but as is stayed strong I took .25 MG of Xanex from my friend, and it seamed to ease the tension. This pain doesn't seem to be associated with food, but more associated with thoughts. When I think of a stressful thought, I feel a burst of adrenaline in my stomach, which then goes to my sternum. Sometimes a random thought will come, and it's not a stress thought, but my mind treats it as such, and I feel the adrenaline in my stomach. I have been to my general doctor several times and they cant seem to tie stress to Acid Reflux, but they think that is what it is, Acid Reflux. I have been on Prilosec OTC for a few months now, and it has not appeared to help much. I have taken 20MG a day, and even bumped it up to 40MG per day. I take Ambien to sleep (as I have never been a good sleeper, my mind will not shut off), Xanex .50MG at night, and ibuprofen on occasion for general pains.

At night, aside from generally not sleeping well, my chest does not bother me at all. When I am playing basketball, or engrossed in something like mowing the yard, or pretty much any activity where I am not thinking, I am 100% fine. When I slow down, sit down, and start any activity involved in thought (Work) my chest starts hurting.

Please let me know ANY of your thoughts, sorry for the book, but it's important.

[birdie0907]

Lots of sites say what I posted, that there is a relation between bland and reflux reduction, so here is one link example. That is why I went on the diet.  Less digestion issues = less reflux.

http://www.webmd.com/ahrq/treating-acid-reflux-disease-with-diet-lifestyle-changes

If you have a contradictory info link. please post.

[nursegirl6572]

There is definitely a strong correlation between GERD (actually diagnosed) and GERD-like symptoms and anxiety.  Both exacerbate one another and there are even some theories that GERD can cause severe anxiety, leading to chronic anxiety.  There have been countless people who report a dramatic improvement in anxiety once their GERD is controlled.

Paxiled made some great suggestions.  I'm a big fan of Prilosec, but like Paxiled said, there can be a rebound effect if it is used too long.  It's most effective when used for short periods of time, typically 10 days or less with breaks in between...so there are definitely some considerations to keep in mind there.

I would recommend looking into some of the remedies Paxiled mentioned along with some diet modifications and take it from there.  If you can get it under control that way versus getting into the GERD medications, that would be optimal.

[Paxiled]

From a natural medicine perspective, a bland diet has nothing to do with reflux.  It's a digestion problem.  Some of the better treatments for digestive problems are hot herbs, so bland isn't really the problem unless they cause a problem in a particular person.  The problem is incomplete digestion for whatever reason.  Prilosec causes a rebound problem, because when you suppress acid production the stomach must make more whenever it needs to digest protein, as that requires an acidic environment.  Wheat is problematic because most people are allergic or intolerant to it, as it's a human-invented food, not a natural food.  Dairy is also a big problem, since no adult mammal uses dairy and no animal uses dairy or a different animal.  Some humans have evolved an ability to digest dairy and wheat, but most haven't.  White flour is made of wheat, by the way, just without any nutrients.  As for whether this particular is reflux or not, hard to tell.  Sounds like it in some ways but not in others, but say it is caused by stress -- Xanex taken regularly is using an addictive anvil to smash an ant.  Before going there you might try DGL and/or aloe vera juice or other natural remedies, and a nutritionist might take you through an elimination diet to discover what truly is bothering you assuming it is digestive in nature.  And also remember, just because something is a symptom of anxiety doesn't make it go away -- digestive problems are a lot easier to treat gently than anxiety is to treat in any way.  You might also look into the probiotic bifidus -- if you were on antibiotics, you might have had a die-off, and this is essential to proper digestion.  

[birdie0907]

Also, sipping water all day is a nice low tech solution because it dilutes the stomach acid.

[birdie0907]

Cinnamon is another no-no along with all forms of pepper such as your peppercorn turkey.
Chicken and fish on the stomach are easier than beef.
No coke. My neighobur was a Coco-cola addict - 4 or so a day and eventually ended up with an esophagus operation. I remember him complaining about the pain he was in eating steak and coke during his recovery period after the operation when he was supposed to avoid these things. He apparently couldn't give up either just to avoid pain and gastric damage, but I sure can.
That jelly is a concentrated sugar and is to be avoided too. All tomato, especially ketchup with its concentrated sugar + tomato are problems.

So I am not sure the thinking about it is making it build in you, as I am thinking your choices are making it build and of course you will be thinking and worrying more about it. That is what I was doing when I went on the Celexa in error, thinking I neeed to give my mind a break, when it was the stomach that was being tortured. Not sure the bland diet will solve your issues, but it is a start.

[birdie0907]

The wheat will cause gas, so truly bland diet involves white bread substituted.

[birdie0907]

Peppercorn sounds hot. Is it?
Avoid fats as they are hard to digest so the cheese has to go. Peanut butter is one of the recommended fats to go with.
Milk is controversial as it affects people differently. Some say it makes their stomach feel fine, but hours later it is a problem.
Long term use of the prazole family, of which your med is in, has been linked to bone issues, so when I heard that I got serious about a bland diet.
Do you take your med first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for 30 - 60 minutes? If not food can destroy it.
How long is there between your last meal/snack and bedtime each night?

[strickland03]

Thank you for your response! I guess it could be diet, but the symptoms more often come several hours after meals. Like this morning, I ate 3 scrambled eggs, in one tablespoon of butter, little cheese and peppercorn turkey, a wheat toast with jelly and a cup of skim milk. I am leaving to go skiing tomorrow so today is full of last minute work stuff, and I can feel it building now. THe more I think about it, the more it builds.

[birdie0907]

I had acid reflux so bad last winter that I thought it was anxiety and went back on an SSRI, Celexa for a few months. Eventually I figured out that the stress from the gastric upsets was freaking me out every time it hit and causing my anxiety levels to rise. I didn't really have an anxiety problem so went off the celexa once I figured that simple thing out.
I had been on prilosec for 2 years prior, but didn't pay much attention to my diet as the pain was mainly under control. The only way I got rid of the pain last winter though, was switching to a bland diet, so that is my first question to you. Are you eating any of these:
chocolate, alcohol, spicy, raw fruit (other than peeled apples and bananas) or raw vegetables?