Oatmeal?

[chrislind2]

I have been eating nothing but oatmeal for lunch at work for about 3 months now and my acid reflux is about 75% better. It is not gone, but if I watch what I eat and how late I eat, it is much better than it was before the oatmeal. I still cannot say 100% that the oatmeal is what helps, but nothing else has changed in my diet. I will not even stop the oatmeal for testing purposes, if it seems to works I will stick with it. I just wanted to reduce my food intake at work. A heavy lunch was killing my comfort level while working. Then I found this side benefit.
Can oatmeal really help this much?

[desertjedi]

I was surprised to hear that you're on Nexxium and having acid problems. That's a powerful PPI. I take a small Prevacid and have zero problems. I'm trying to get off these pills so my new wife from Russia boils groats (the entire oat) for 45 minutes and then presses the oat liquid from them yielding a very THICK oat liquid. I drink this 30 minutes before every meal and it seems to be working. I forget to take my pill one day and had no problems. That's a miracle for me. According to Russian "tradition", you need to follow this regimen for a long time before it takes effect. So I believe there is a significant benefit to acid reflux from oatmeal. But it may involve oats that are boiled down to their essence.

[selmaS]

   If u want to get off the meds u have to step off slowly as they can cause rebound effect...the meds stop ur body from producing acids, and when u stop taking the meds ur body goes back to making the acids and sometimes over does it and u r right back at square 1...u have to know u may be  having some symptoms ...avoid the trigger foods and after a while u should be ok...but do step off slowly.

ANd always talk to ur Dr when stopping meds.

[chrislind2]

I may have come to the point of low acid. I'm not sure. The Oatmeal is helping I'm sure, the Nexium doesn't seem to be causing too many side effects. I have been avoiding any other medication for GERD for now and even the diahrea is getting less. I have skipped a dose of Nexium in the past and was sorry I did, so I will think about trying it again though.

[Red_Star]

The FDA gave a warning to only take nexium and other PPI's for up to 14 days, 3 times a years. Good warning too if a bit late! You need stomach acid to absorb nutrients, kill off bacteria, fungi and parasites. My mother was on nexium for 5 years. 5 years too long and the side effects were numerous (some life threatening). She no longer suffers GERD or LPR by stopping all acid blocking drugs and taking digestive enzyme supplements and betaine HCI with pepsin supplements (helps increase stomach acid). Low and high acid have the same symptoms however low acid is by far the most common problem.

[tiredjazzman]

DE supplements, Betaine HCL Yeaa

[chrislind2]

I forgot to mention I take Nexium. I have been for about 3+ years. As my acid reflux got worse I would take more Tums and things like that. Then I finally stopped eating after 6 pm, but that is not always possible. I was eating a sandwich everyday at work for lunch, plus chips and dessert. By 2-3 in the afternoon I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I had to eat less at work. The first thing I tried was Oatmeal, easy to make, not expensive and I like it. Soon I discovered that I was not buying Tums much at all. I still watch how late and what I ate at night, but I almost never had to slept in my recliner in the living room. Something I would normally do about twice a week, often more. I believe all this improvement was the Oatmeal. I have noticed that when I don't eat any Oatmeal over the weekend I get slightly worse, so I have started eating at least one bowl on the weekend. I had someone say Apples helped them. I tried that with no success, so what works for one person might not for another.
The only other problem is diarrhea, which is a possible side affect of Nexium. That comes and goes. Still have to deal with that as long as I take Nexium I guess.

[Flycaster305]

If it works, stick with it!  That being said, I'd certainly have your system checked out.  I also developed Barrett's Esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition.  I no longer have to take any medication.  After reading your post, I think I'll start mixing in oatmeal in my diet again!  Where you live, I'll bet you are familiar with Red Mill Steel Cut Oats, a great product.  As a younger man working on my commercial fishing boat, I found I worked longer and harder after a big oatmeal breakfast.  Thanks for the post!

[Winikor]

It is definitely supposed to help quite a bit.  However, you should still have the acid reflux checked.  I have Barrett's Esophagus where I must take meds every day (I take Nexxium).  With Barrett's, I'm told the Nexxium is a must.  An endoscopy will help determine exactly what it is if you haven't had one as of yet.  Good luck and glad that the oatmeal is helping!

[Red_Star]

I never have reflux as i chew my food very well. How well i didn't know until i counted lol. I usually chew over 100 per bite but have gone up to 180.  So my food is the consistancy of oatmeal before swallowing lol. You could try taking digestive enzyme supplements which are great for acid reflux as they are the "extra chews" so you don't overtax your stomach.