I have heartburn at night but plan won't pay for nexium, am diabetic

[gina388]

CAN YOU USE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES  IN PLACE OF NEXIUM. I AM ON METFORMIN...

[gymdandee]

One study found a 290 percent increase in C. difficile in people taking proton-pump inhibitors such as Nexium. The same study found a 200 percent increase in C. difficile infection in those taking H-2 blockers such as Zantac, Pepcid, or Axid.
The acid in the stomach not only serves the purpose of digesting food and absorbing minerals, but helps to kill bacteria, yeast, and parasites that we might ingest.
low protein is associated with many degenerative disorders, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, cancer, and arthritic disorders.
The first step to improving health is to eat right!
Refined foods like salt, sugar, flour, and oil. These items have all
the basic nutrients removed to prolong  shelf life.
if you're obese you need to go on a diet, drink adequate amounts of water
In a dehydrated state, the stomach won't be able to make the mucous lining that protects the stomach. Adequate water intake will help nearly any condition, including GERD, ulcers,
and other gastrointestinal problems. Take your weight in pounds, divide that by two, and that number is the amount of water in ounces you should drink daily.(If you have kidney problems, check with your doctor first before increasing your water intake.)
Next is food allergies. Food allergies are a common cause of problems.
An acupressure technique (NAET) is very helpful in the diagnosis and
treatment of food and environmental allergies. go to naet on the internet
you understand add www and the ******* (med/help doesn't permit web links) you can also try taking  marshmallow root. you can buy at any health food store take 3 to 5 g of the Nature’s Way product, two to three times a day. Other good demulcents include aloe vera gel and deglycyrrhizinated licorice.

[FurballsMom]

Something that can make you a little more comfortable at night is approximately 1/4 t of ALUMINUM FREE baking soda in a large glass of water, which would be approximately 12-16 oz of drinking water.  These are estimates.  Never use more than 1/4 teaspoon.  I must emphasize that the baking soda needs to be ALUMINUM FREE.  It is easy to tell.  If the box doesn't say that it is aluminum free, that means it has aluminum in it.  So, the inexpensive brands you see in the baking aisle all have aluminum in them, if they're not labeled.  Including the famous brand that you normally think of when you think of baking soda.

See if the store carries Bob's Red Mill and check to see if they carry that brand of ALUMINUM FREE baking soda.  If your store has baking soda in bulk, ask them to check to see if the brand they're selling is ALUMINUM FREE.

By the way, I do agree with everything that Red_Star is saying.  I also know how uncomfortable GERD is.

IF YOU ARE ON A SODIUM RESTRICTED DIET, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE BAKING SODA IN THIS MANNER.

While some might not agree with the baking soda tip, it's still an important post, because a lot of people are still unaware that there is aluminum in their baking soda.

[Red_Star]

Yes indeed! :)

A few excerpts from a couple of informative articles...

"Believe it or not, stomach acid isn’t there just to punish you for eating Indian food. Acid is in the stomach because it’s supposed to be there. It is found in all vertebrates. And while it isn’t necessary for life, it is certainly required for health.

Most people have no idea how many vital roles stomach acid plays in our bodies. Such misunderstanding is perpetuated by drug companies who continue to insist that stomach acid is not essential. Meanwhile, millions of people around the world are taking acid suppressing drugs that not only fail to address the underlying causes of heartburn and GERD, but put them at risk of serious (and even life-threatening) conditions.

There are four primary consequences of acid stopping drugs:

Increased bacterial overgrowth
Impaired nutrient absorption
Decreased resistance to infection
Increased risk of cancer and other diseases"

Excerpt from "How your antacid drug is making you sick" by Chris Kresser

***

"Just as studies show acid secretion declines with age, it is also well established in the scientific literature that the risk of GERD increases with age.

If heartburn were caused by too much stomach acid, we’d have a bunch of teenagers popping Rolaids instead of elderly folks. But of course that’s the opposite of what we see.

In fact, according to Jonathan Wright, MD of the Tahoma Clinic in Washington state, when stomach acid is measured in people suffering from heartburn and GERD it is almost always low, not high. In his book Why Stomach Acid is Good For You, Wright explains:

When we carefully test people over age forty who’re having heartburn, indigestion and gas, over 90 percent of the time we find inadequate acid production by the stomach.

In Wright’s 25 years of conducting these tests, he found very few people with excess stomach acid. Excess stomach acid is only found in a few rare conditions like Zollinger-Ellison syndrome), and GERD is hardly ever associated with too much stomach acid.

What’s more, Wright and other clinicians have found that giving hydrochloric acid supplements to patients with heartburn and GERD often cures their problem."

Excerpt from "What Everybody Ought To Know (But Doesn’t) About Heartburn & GERD" by Chris Kresser.

***

"When people are consuming large amounts of food products that have been highly processed, the digestive enzymes in that food have been destroyed by heat (anything over 118 degrees F.).  The body normally uses the enzymes in the food you eat to help break it (the food you consume) down.

So, without those enzymes normally present in your food, the burden falls entirely on the body to make sure it produces enough to meet the needs of your digestive system. This can and many times does result in indigestion, reflux, heartburn, constipation and bloating."

Excerpt from "Digestive Enzymes - King of Indigestion, Bloating and Acid Reflux Remedies" By Lorn Allison Doctoral Candidate, L.M.T.