d - Limonene , has worked for GERD

Never read about D-Limonene , food grade orange peel extract oil in gel tablet here. It helps and is a natural alternative to PPI's. In my case it has been superior to PPI's. After two years it came back briefly, ate to much great tasting but "bad" GERD food over the holidays and I reached for that trusty orange bottle in the back of the cabinet.

Much of my past GERD was a common symptom of hypo thyroid, but it comes back on occasion and I take Jarrow brand d-Limonene when it happens. This product helped heal my LES, which seemed to have been almost paralyzed open at one point, as I could not lay flat at all.

I know some people laugh at natural products (tunnel visioned people), but this is a good one. Back in the day, PPI's did not work very well for me,  (tried all of them, Zigerid, Nexium, Prilosec, 2 others) and caused constipation and worse digestion problems. I learned about this d - Limonene product, it was a miracle. A few orange burps when you first take it, no other side effects. It works by distributing a coating on top of the acid, neutralizing acid and supposedly soothes the stomach lining too. $10 for 100, 2 day for couple days, then one per day on ween off in one month is usually that is needed.

Hope this helps someone, GERD can be miserable.

[Red_Star]

Good news. :) My mother was taking betaine HCI with pepsin supplements for her insufficient stomach acid but after a year and a half her stomach is now "retrained" to produce enough stomach acid on it's own. She still takes digestive enzymes to help with digestion, especially protein.

"The popular belief is that acid reflux is due to an excessive amount of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. New science has revealed that this is not the case. GERD is most often caused by too little hydrochloric acid being secreted by the stomach.

During digestion the stomach secretes acid to lower its pH to around 1.5-2.5 range. More protein in the meal results in a greater need for stomach acid. Individuals with non-obstructive acid reflux are often not able to get their pH low enough. The LES is known to be a pH sensitive valve that initiates closure when pH drops under 3.0. When the stomach does not have enough acid, the LES remains open and acid can spill into the esophageal region and damage the tissue." - excerpt from "Beat acid reflux naturally" by Dr. David Jockers

I had a look at D-Limonene and it states "provides lasting relief of occasional heartburn for up to six months or more without shutting down the production of stomach acid." Don't shut down the stomach acid production!!  GERD is common with hypothyroidism as the lower metabolism slows down parietal cells from pumping out as much stomach acid.

[LazyMoose]

You read a lot LOL.

Yes GERD can have several reasons, its a symptom of another cause. People with it need to find their cause on there own, treat or eliminate the cause and this product can help speed up the healing during the investigative phase.**** MD's can really only help in more commonly known causes, like H. Pylori, hernia ect; if the cause is not these two things, d-Limonene will most likely work while you treat the cause****

Low or high stomach acid has an actual cause, but its hard to figure out for the common sufferer.

MD's were clearly unsuccessful in finding the cause in my GERD. After PPIs did not work, they said surgery was the answer, with out trying other ideas. Scary.

I found the cause in my case was several reasons. Difficulty in digest meat protein set off an alarm that Drs paid zero attention to. This alone suggested low acid.  Some people with low acid may get relief from apple cider vinegar or HCI, or if they have hypo thyroid, adding T3 hormone raises acid production (I needed it).

Plus, what I have also mentioned on other forums, low acid levels also cause IBS, contipation and slow the digestive tract down so much that Candida can start up in the intestine feeding on slowly processed sugar and gluten, even if someone is not gluten intolerant. Candida can then start a snowball effect on worsening digestive issues and making GERD even worse. Many people that suspect gluten intolerance actually have low acid levels from cause not yet looked at in their situation.

I can see some people possibly really confused by now but this is accurate information they need to be aware of.

I never tried HCI, but did take digestive enzymes while helping my body to retrain and break the GERD cycle. Body systems can get stuck in bad cycles even after the cause is gone. After easting meat, I take natural papaya/bromiline/pineapple enzymes tablets - this is actually an ingredient in meat tenderizing powders too.

I'll see what that book says.

[FurballsMom]

I have read about it, and I have some on hand that I ordered from Swanson Vitamins.  The information I read said something about using D-limonene and seabuckthorn oil for GERD.  In spite of what it sounds like, seabuckthorn is actually a plant or a tree with berries that the pictures remind me of mountain ash or holly berries.  Anyway, the name might throw you off, but it's a plant.

I am glad to hear that someone used this with success, because I won't use PPI's long term ever again.  It's not safe to do so.  I'm so glad a friend warned me before I had any permanent damage from it.  It may even be how I ended up with severe vitamin D deficiency.  Maybe not the whole reason with me, but I'm sure a significant reason nonetheless, because PPI's are known to cause malabsorption.  You'll still have to make your own decision on the whole vitamin D thing, since we've had a discussion before, but PPI's just aren't good to take long term and should be avoided as much as possible.

I'll have to look into the additional suggestions that Red_Star provided.  I have read the same general information that it's not an overproduction of acid--well, except in the minority of rare cases when someone has a specific disorder.  But, it's what the majority of us with GERD are dealing with.  Anything to deal with it naturally, right?

I am very happy to read about your success with the use of D-limonene, because someone else told me something that made me hold back from using it.  Now, I will look into trying what I already have on hand when  I need to.

[LazyMoose]

Long term PPI use - possible pancreatitis. That sounds scary. But what also led me to find answers was that PPIs just didn't work for me, caused different discomforts as stated above.

Now if you take too much d-Limonene, you will burp, you need to find the right amount and when to take it, I like it with dinner. I jacked up my bed again too, and taking digestive enzymes, so hopefully I will get out of the reflux circle and can get off the d-limonene very soon. That holiday / x-mass food was sure tasty, paying for it now LOL.

I take Vit D too, but just OTC , smaller doses.

[FurballsMom]

One other thing that helps some, because some of the reflux seems to be food sensitivities as well is Benadryl.  At night, of course, since it's sedating, and if my other allergies are bothering me as well.  Not as good as all natural solutions, but definitely better than PPI's.  I don't use it too much, though, because one should take breaks from using antihistamines of all sorts or one builds up too much tolerance and they don't work.  

I tried the D limonene.  Yep, it works well.  The burping reminded me of cream-cicles, so at least it doesn't have a horrid after taste.  That was only one of these capsules I have.  Since it's the first time using it, I wasn't aware that they also come in tablets.  Tablets might be helpful if one needs to try using only half of one.  Although, I did end up using a second one and the problem with all the burping stopped.  Not sure why that worked, but it did.

[LazyMoose]

I first used a product 3-4 yrs ago with orange peel extract in it, but it was not called d-Limonene. It was a propriitory blend of peppermint,caraway and ginger with the main being orange peel extract 1005mg in gell cap form, sold as Heart Burn MD at Walmart. It worked. Says to take 2 gel-caps daily ; 1005mg (I kept the box).

Walgreens had it to. The same company made Sleep MD, Point Pain MD, which is pretty common. Heartburn MD was discontinued even though it worked.

I goggled orange peel extract for GERD and came up with the chemical name d-Limonene. This showed several manufactures. One brand I have seen is Heartburn Free by Enzymatic Therapy. Once again, its a 1000mg gel cap of d-Limonene orange peel extract. But this one your supposed to take one every other day. Only get 10 for around $25. Its the most popular and the most expensive.  

The Jarrow brand d-Limonene I'm using is also a gel cap, but each cap is 1000mg, says take once daily, bottle was only $10 two years ago for 60. Good deal. Amazon . c o m has great reviews on it. And most reviewers only needed this for several weeks and the GERD was gone. Last time I did this I slowly tapered off to one every three weeks, then quit. I took a multi-enzyme too, and just started that again today. Feeling a little better already only after one week. Back to eating really boring food for now.

***I goggled Swanson d-Limonene and see its only in 250mg gel caps. Not as strong. Is this what you have?

Where did you see d-Limonene in tablets? Whats the brand?

Benadryl - never though of that.

LM

[LazyMoose]

I see I called it gel tablets in my post. Oops. The three brands I'm familiar with are just a fairly large soft gel, not capsul, nor hard tablet.

[FurballsMom]

Yes, it's the Swanson one you mentioned.  It's affordable, but after you explained what you said about the dosage, I'm not going to worry if I take 2-4 in a day, if it's necessary.  I just need to find one that doesn't have soy oil in it.  I didn't realize these had soy in them 'til I looked closer.  Still, they work, and since I avoid soy over all, it's probably no where near the amount of soy that the average person is getting if the average person is still eating a lot of the processed foods.  I will have to see if there is something without soy the next time I make an order.  It is a good company over all.  And, I love that the majority of their affordable supplements are gluten free.  This is the only one I inadvertently got that has soy in it, because most of their products are also soy free.  So, not too bad, since I don't have a true allergy to soy.  I just prefer to avoid it over all.

[LazyMoose]

Jarrow  has no wheat, gluten, soybeans, dairy, egg, shelfish, peanuts.

Ingredients: besides d-lemonene is gelatin,glycerin,water, caramel and carob.

[LazyMoose]

Well, as you can see, there in another alternative that works for some people. When I changed over from PPI's the first time I tried d-limonene I slowly blended them, decreasing PPI to zero in a couple weeks.

As far as food goes, I just figured out what MY body could tolerate, as we are all different to some extent. I ditched coffee and tried some herbal teas, which really dont have tea in them. Peppermint tea of all things also triggered GERD big time. You never know, it a learning experience.

Now I'm good again, off d-limonine too, and use good probiotics daily. Even walmart sells some decent brands of probiotics.

Stomach PH is confusing. It should go up when food is present, then down later - if were not on drugs reducing it all the time.

[LazyMoose]

Up-date.

Still GERD free. Went off the D-Limonene months ago after taking it a few weeks when GERD acted up early this year.

Many times correcting GERD is really just breaking the "cycle" that our bodies can get stuck in.

I do take 1 probiotic daily with lunch, and papaya enzymes with any red meat to help digestion.

Dont think I ever sleep on a flat bed again though. I'm used to having the whole bed slightly angled on 4 inch blocks at the head.

I do notice a tight throat and bloating feeling if I eat what I should avoid. Coffee , chocolate, too much gluten, too much pasta or potato starches.

Posted this so newbies will see it. There are always several solutions to solving heath issues, ones the Dr's don't even know about.

[Red_Star]

Hey LazyMoose. I do read a lot and i also miss replies on medhelp questions apparently LOL.  Good news you are doing well! I've don't suffer reflux since i chew my food excessively. My record is 262 chews for a piece of chicken with bacon. :)

[LazyMoose]

Good that you dont get refux. I doubt that extensive chewing would help people that can get it though. Cant really excessively  chew coffee or pasta sauce LOL

Chicken is the best meat for relux sufferers. Pork is most likely to upset gerd.

[Red_Star]

Okay well you can't chew everything lol. But no inhaling food please! :)

[nthambi]

Very Interesting!

I have been on Nexiam for 1.5 years and 4 months ago i have really bad attack went for a scope and the picked up chronic gastris and H Phlori.  Took the antibiotics and nexiam.  Now just on nexium and it feels like i haven't anything the heartburn is still there and the lump in my throat that never goes and heavyness on chest.  I believe i have low acid.  I have tried apple cider and i get temp relief.  I want to move from 40mg a day of nexium to a HCI  help any advice