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Abdominal Pains, GERD, The Cure, part 2!!

It all started going wrong with the first wrong diagnosis" Heartburn and abdominal pain", i was given acid blockers without even testing my stomach acid levels, my acid levels were too low, not too high, this causes "delayed gastric emptying" and this condition allows food to back flow up into the esophagus, after years of suffering from this condition, damage is done to the esophageal sphincter and it weakens and the condition gets noticeably worse, the doctors prescribe acid blockers purely to stop the stomach acids damaging and burning the esophagus, but what actually is happening is the condition is getting worse, "gastric emptying" is getting worse allowing more back flow,but we feel a bit better because it is not hurting as much when it does back flow into the esophagus, so we feel that we need them from then on and so your ready for bringing on the next stage of the illness.
What we need to realise is our Ph in the stomach ideally should be Ph2, very acidic, this is a perfect Ph level for breaking down the food, the Ph in your esophagus ideally should be 7 neutral, so just because you get acid burning your esophagus does not mean you should neutralize the acid, it only means you need to sort out the back flow issue. Imagine your acid level in your stomach was Ph4, this would still be acidic enough to damage the esophagus, but yet it is too alkaline to digest food properly, poor digestion causes "delayed gastric emptying" which as we know causes reflux, so with most people the problem is not too much acid but not enough, so if you increased your acid levels, the food would get digested properly and the reflux would not occur. Most of the other stomach ache symptoms most people describe is coming from not digesting food properly and "delayed gastric emptying". Acid blockers make this problem worse over time and so reflux becomes more frequent although not as painful, this causes the valves between the stomach and small intestines to get even more lax due to high pressure destruction and dilation, so here you are well on your way to fundoplication surgery.
Please do not think this covers all cases, a lot of people have severe "lower esophageal impedence" and do require this surgery, but i just want to point out that a lot of cases may be cured without surgery.
So i am now in a place where i am not digesting food properly, causing bloating, and nutrient deficiencies, and stomach gurgling scenes like something out of the film "Alien". Stomach acid is crucial for good health and should not be getting blocked or neutralized.

So the next step was "domperidone" an antagonist, to speed up gastric emptying, causing strong contractions throughout the esophagus, stomach and intestines, these really do work, but as with all western medicines, it has side effects, the powerful contractions can cause pains long term, in the esophagus and intestines, as my symptoms described above, the food is getting pushed through the system faster before acid has had a chance to break it down properly, the malnutrition problem gets worse when linked to acid blockers you end up with no energy and feeling unwell in general, you then start getting stressed about feeling so unwell all the time, and your health continues to spiral down.

So next the doctors try me on a muscle relaxant"antispasmodic" to reverse the side effects of the "domperidone", this causes the valves between the esophaugus, stomach and small intestines top relax also, which allows more reflux and backflow of stomach contents, now the stomach is not emptying properly again and backflow becomes worse, because the sphincter is now hardly working at all, even off the shelf drugs like "Buscopan" are well known to cause lax function of the stomach valves, so now we get "bile" also joining the party back flowing into the stomach, "delayed gastric emptying" mixed with "bile" causes a gaseous build up, the stomach wall is aggrevated and reflux becomes worse than ever, but now you have "bile" attacking you esophagus and the pain really starts, think about it, if acid blockers only give partial relief, then the pain can not be caused by acid, the acid has been neutralized, so what is aggrevating the esophagus? "BILE", a big first give away that your pain is "bile " related is exactly that" Acid blockers will only provide partial relief" other symptoms are as follows " pale stools", "high white blood cell count", "severe esophageal pains without heartburn", "burning sensation in the upper abdomen with muscle weakness and inflammation", "attacks mainly at night", "attacks brought on by fatty foods", "pain upper abdomen spreading to shoulders" but remember that esophageal spasms/pains brought on by reflux even when acid is neutralized, must eliminate acid as the cause!

So armed with all my research i demanded a PH test, and guess what, I did not have high acid levels in my esophagus but high alkaline levels, so they put doctors admitted it looks like "bile reflux" not "acid reflux", that's nice isn't it after 5 years of being on the wrong medication, 5 years of medication actually making the problem worse, i had research this myself and fought all the way otherwise i could still be getting batted back and forth with wrong medications.

Now remember back to when i spent 3 days in hospital with no medication and no food, and i felt great after, i was not eating, the bile was not being produced, the stomach was back to normal function after 3 days off the medication, funny that the cure was staring at me all along, stop all medication to get gastric emptying and acid levels back to normal and do not eat foods which promote the production of stomach bile and "fundoplication was not required", i now have the option of "bile diversion surgery" where the bile gets dumped further down the small intestines, to stop it entering the stomach, if you do not fight to find the underlying cause only "YOU" will suffer long term, "Esophageal cancer" "Stomach Cancer" is where it is ultimately heading with not much quality of life leading up.
I just hope that upon reading this, it may help some long term sufferers like myself and you can get diagnosed properly before its too late.

I have opted to not take the route of surgery for now, i am controlling my stomach bile by healthy eating, i am controlling reflux by eating small amounts regular and sleeping elevated, I am not taking any medication and gastric emptying has improved ten fold, my stomach valves are getting stronger and i am going to build on that, think about it, Q:How can bile get into your esophagus if your stomach is emptying properly? A: it can't!!

Remember where it all starts, maybe you used to over eat, maybe you just need to stop smoking, it can be a little problem that starts this whole thing, don't jump on the medication band wagon, i went to the doctors with a stomach discomfort and heartburn and ended up with a serious illness and in hospital several times, i was terrified at the thought of coming off acid blockers, i thought i would be in agony after 12 hours, the 1st day was very uncomfortable, but i did not get the "upper abdominal pain" i just ate dry toast every two hours and took sips of water in between, i could literally feel my stomach starting to digest food properly again, so there was no reflux, after sleeping elevated the next day, my stomach and body felt on the road to recovery this is just 24 hours and my body had almost returned to normal like somebody had turned the clock back 5 years.

Why are these cases increasing in number every year, 126million cases of GERD.
Acid blockers and indigestion remedies are the best selling drugs in the world, you really need to start reading about how the stomach acid works and what causes GERD before reaching for Acid blockers or Acid neutralizers ever again and doctors need to stop "putting a lid" on conditions with these medications. Good luck!
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Avatar universal
Hi, Thanks for your comments it is really wort while if the advice is appreciated and hopefully it will help someone.

Food allergies can just appear one day out of the blue, it seems you have spotted early on that you are not digesting certain foods properly, the pain in the stomach which is often mistaken for being acid related is most prabably hiatal hernia and/or mild gastritis, the gastritis is most probably caused by backflow of bile into the stomach, this happens when the digestive system shuts down, anxiety can play havoc with digestion, your body goes into fight or flight mode, yiour heart rate increases, you get palputaions and the smooth wave motion of your stomach muscles and esophagus are disrupted and can closely follow the rythm of your heart, making what feels like a throbbing sensation through your upper body, but i truly believe that the anxiety is brought on by something else which is what the doctors seem to miss, when you get a nervous stomach you get horrible rising feelings sometimes what feels like a pulse or electric shock going up into your chest and can trigger the anxiety, can be a mild spasm, in the stomach, bowels or esophagus but it feels horrible, i explained to my doctors that the anxiety was being triggered by my stomach but they kept on seeing it the other way round.
I think your digestive system has been disrupted, i had similar thing to what you described, my entire system backed up, my bowels were not moving properly and my stomach was not emptying properly leading to all the symptoms you described, i still do not know exactly what the trigger was but something definately threw my entire body out of whack, thats where all my troubles started, unlike you though i foolishly listened to the doctors and took medication for many years until i developed a serious illness due to long term use of medication, even when i was on the medication my problems were gradually getting worse, i should have spotted it earlier but hind sight is a wonderful thing.

Firstly you have to get tests to make sure that you do not have anything that the doctors can help you with, i.e gall stones, ulcers, H pylori, please be aware though if you do have ulcers you will have to use acid blockers until they heal and the antibiotics to kill the H pylori will make your digestion a lot worse before it starts to get better.
If like many others the doctors can not find any medical explanation for your symptoms then i am pretty sure that you can be cured naturally with a bit of experimentation with food and lifstyle.
I always have to advise people to go through the proper process as painstaking as it can be, as last thing i would want is for a real illness to get missed, saying that though you would have to be puking blood before the doctors even take you seriously which we can read something into that which is comforting, i.e. doctors do not consider anything sinsiter to be going on unless blood is involved.

That out of the way i am pretty sure that your symptoms are caused by something very minor, you have to try and contriol your anxiety, to do this you have to realise that there is nothing sinsiter going on, it is just a muscle spasm from you stomach, esophagus/bowels which cause though horrible feelings, so get control the anxiety and realise nothing horrible is going to happen, as everytime you let the anxiety take hold your digestive system literally shuts down, making your problem worse.
I had the same weakness in the stomach/lower back, probably caused by the gastritis mixed with post viral fatigue syndrome and your body has most probably been attacking itself due to undigested food particles entering the blood through the intestinal wall which are seen as alien bodies, this is known as leaky gut syndrome, the body can also get confused and attack the stomach wall, so your body is constantly fighting itself, this is all linked to my non medical term of the "digestive system being out of whack" the list of symptoms are endless and is sometimes why doctors send us to see a neurologist, as we can get musle tremors and neurons misfiring, think of yourself as a car that is not burning fuel properly and as you will appreciate getting good combustion is what makes a car run.
Your night time symptoms are also closely linked and part of the same condition, this is most definately bile related, due to backflow, caused by poor digestion, to combat this you need to sleep elevated or on your right hand side, the stomach empties to the right so whenyou lay on your right then gravity makes it virtually impossible for bile to enter the stomach, slepping elevated in the same way makes it difficult for stomach contents to aggrevated the esophageal valve and also combats hiatal hernia, where discomfort is caused by the stomach trying to push up through the diaphragm into the chest cavity. I sleep slightly elevated from the waste up and on the right hand side, this alone will eliminate all of your night time symptoms, but you need to remember to go to bed on an empty stomach also and due to delayed gastric emptying i would not eat anything substantial at least 6 hours before you go to bed.
You are doing the right thing by watching what you eat, but not sure exactly what you personally would consider bland food, i.e. some people may consider pasta as bland food but this is one thing that is very difficult to digest, i would try and find out exactly what foods you are allergic to with allergy tests and blood type and find out what foods you have trouble digesting with colinic irrigation, they will see what partially digested foods come out and at the same time it will help jump start your digestive motility, get things moving again, you may also find once your pipes are cleaned your food allergies will disappear!!

To combat gastritis you have to watch what you eat and drink also, coffee, alcohol, smoking are all a big No No until the gastritis clears up, same with pasta and many other types of food, look up what to avoid by looking up gastritis on your search engine, but you will find things like bran flakes and whole grain foods help it heal quickly, eating a royal gala apple has an almost instant soothing effect on the stomach.

Plenty of excercise helps motility and makes you feel well generally, plenty of relaxation (reading a good book helped me relax alot and combat anxiety), no laying flat on the sofa after eating, no sugary foods, no spicy foods including onions,stay away fro white bread, try to eat granary instead, drink plenty of water but not all at once and no gulping as this makes you swallow air, you should sip regularly so as not to overdilute stomach acids which again leads to poor digestion, do not overeat, no fatty foods, try and stay away from meats and dairy products(everything is ok in moderation), i.e. skimmed miled with cereal, try not to eat too much meat they are very difficult to digest and our bodies still have not evolved properly from when we were all veggies, i.e. before we became hunter gatherers and keeping cattle.


Digestive enzymes will help you a lot, especially with the foods you have trouble digesting, the problem with modern day diets is we eat too many manufactured and cooked foods, digestive enzymes are naturally found in raw food, digestive enzymes are completely herbal and natural, i only take them if i know i am going to eat something which i know will cause trouble with digestion.

Finding undigested seeds etc.. is normal, i would not think these would be the problem, seeds, whole grains normally help keep good digestion.

I could go on forever, so many things with lifestyle/change and eating habits can help you, i hope some of the information is useful and i sincerely hope you get better soon :)
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Avatar universal
I really do feel for you, there is a hell of a lot going on there for you to contend with, but it sounds like you are aware of what is contributing to the problems.
The PH test is only to measure the acidity levels in the esophagus, in preparation for Fundoplication surgery,but for me it does not address the underlying problem, the issue is whether you have low acidity levels in your stomach. that i where i began to realize that the trick is to stop stomach acids entering the esophagus, and there is a much easier way than fundoplication, and that is to get your acidity levels back to normal so that the stomach empties quickly and food is broken down properly so that nutrients can be absorbed, domperidone promotes stomach emptying and reduces reflux greatly but the side effects are too great and long term causes more damage to the natural running of your digestive system.
To summarize the PH test is only an avenue for you to seriously consider if you are suffering from severe esophageal cramps and spasms due to reflux.
I think you are one person i would definately put into my category, where you can self heal through lifestyle changes, eating, sleeping, smoking and stopping medication. The IBS is what is causing most of your flatulence and the runs, I would strongly suggest to find out what foods to avoid by allergy test and colonic irrigation.
The belching is linked in the same way and is due to poor digestion, low stomach acidity levels and bile backflow which creates excess gas in the stomach. I used to have a constant build up of gas and could not eat without belching for hours after, this has completely gone now, i virtually do not get any gaseous build up from either end which is purely down to good digestion and i can still get away with eating chocs and sweets in moderation.
I found out what was causing my problems with digestion that first made me go to the doctor all those years ago, mushrooms, pork products, fatty dairy products, pastry and onion, and too much sugar.
I also developed a lactose intolerance when i was in the depth of my illness, i also suffered from terrible IBS and had the runs all the time, but all these parts of the illness have disappeared since my digestion started running like clockwork again.

When you really look into how the digestive system works, you will see it is all linked, one problem causes another, your stomach acid is the first line of defence against bacteria, when your acid levels are low, these bacteria can enter the intestines and play havoc, when linked to partially digested food and poor motility and food allergies, it is easy to see why we end up with IBS and all the related problems, like leaky gut syndrome.

It really is all down to poor digestion, this is the key, you will find most of your complaints will disappear once you get your digestive system back on track, it is all out of whack at the moment and you just need to get it running like clockwork again.
Doctors can not help you, all they can do is keep on giving you medication which will give short term relief but will inevitably throw your system more out of whack in the long run.
The only thing i can not help you with is the asthma, but i am certain all your digestive problems can be cured fully and naturally if you take the correct course of action, all of those conditions you are suffering from are linked more cloesly that you would ever believe possible.
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Avatar universal
that was for me the most helpful information i've ever read on this forum. you had just made a summary of my symptoms. i am on nexium for 2 years, domperidone, muscle relaxants.....the band wagon of  medicines u mentioned, but only provides relief but not solving my issues. done 2 EGD's found inflamaions. abdominal ultrasound does not show anything unusual.i had been to different drs. (internist and gi's) all they come up with is gastritis..thanks for the info and hope to hear more from you soon...
by the way aside from ph test what other test do you suggest to confirm bile reflux and what medication did your drs. gave you?
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Avatar universal
Just bumping the thread, i wonder if anybody has even read this :)
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1 Comments
There is no money in a diagnosis  of low stomach acid. There are several supplements to change that. Great write-up. I love it when people do extensive research before they post. You are a great help to all. Thanks.
11746284 tn?1449567413
What you must have been through!  I appreciate your reassureance and for describing all the abdomen and muscular problems.  I will get rid of being a horrible wimp and get this stress in side. I have kept declining the PPI's but everyone I know just believes that I am being persistent. Going to keep powerful on that one two! Beneficial, Beneficial, Beneficial. Massage and probiotics to begin.
Thanks so much
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Avatar universal
I want to thank u for posting this....I am sufferring the same in 3months already...Been for taking omeprazole but after taking them im back with acid reflux....I will try what you did..BTW how are you feeling now?Hope to hear from you...
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Avatar universal
I have come across your posting with regard to reflux several times and I was very impressed that the dry toast helped you on the road to getting better.

I have done a lot of things to get rid of my stomach ailment which started as a result of my gallbladder being removed last May.  Two weeks after the surgery I started to develop terrible pain in my upper abdomen and acid reflux that lasts almost all day.  They have checked me for colitis, celiac, h pylori, crohns disease .  I got into this state because I had been very stressed the year before all this began.  I take digestive enzymes, probiotics, slippery elm, DGL, aloe vera, L glutamine, apples, HCL and many other things to get the digestive system moving.  I also sleep elevated, but do not sleep on my right side and I will try that.  I have been eating toast off and on but I notice I still get a bit of reflux even though I eat the toast.  I have a small hiatal hernia but the Dr. feels that it should not give me all that much of a problem.  Through all this I have not taken anything orthodox except for Carrafate and usually 1/2 of one.  With all this, I am still having reflux and a terrible itching in my back which is worse at night.  

I am kind of at a loss because this is not totally getting back to normal and the itching is driving me nuts.  I eat mostly veggies, apples, pears, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat and herbal teas like Chamomile and Fennel. I also get a massage once a week and acupuncture.  I am quite a nervous person and need to work on my nerves, but I am still having major issues.  I can only eat certain things or my stomach goes into a tail spin.

My question is, when you did the toast did you start feeling better the day thereafter and if you had inflammation what did you do to make it go away?

I do not want to take PPI's and I am very thin 95lbs.  It is extremely hard for me to gain weight.  I do not tolerate whey either.  Any suggestions would be wonderful.
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for taking control of your own well being and for taking the time to share it with the rest of us.  Your wealth of knowledge is impressive as is your human compassion.  I'm working through my own digestive problems, and I'm fortunate enough to have the help of an extraordinary acupuncturist and an amazing ortho-bionomy instructor/practitioner.  Both have echoed many of your comments.  I have a niece with Crohn's disease, and I am wondering if you know how Crohn's fits with this discussion as so many of the issues/symptoms (and prescribed treatments) are so similar.
Thanks for all your help -- it's clear you've made a huge difference in the lives of so many.  Sickboy1 -- I think you are Smartguy1
SylfromCO


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Avatar universal
a number of things have been mentioned in this post, a lot of pearls of wisdom from experience so many thanks.

im trying to take all the stuff you've been recommending like the betaine, probiotics and  food enzymes but a lot of the time you dont make any specific reference to a particular of food enzyme or name of company.

if anyone manages to read this whos benefited from sickboys advice can they just type a list of recommended products and maybe the company or specific product theyd recommended with an internet link , and other generic producs like apple cider vinegar..and if it can be mentioned when is the best time to take them that would be great!

Ps im from uk

in the reflux/gerd boat
one thing i found amazing was the number of things which were part of my Islamic tradition ie part of the Prophetic traditions which as a Muslim were supposed to blindly followas the Prophet way for a Muslim is the exemplary way to live which are mentioned in the post, such as sleeping on your right , with a bend in the knees, other stuff like eating only when one is hungry to satiate and energise not bloat...and if one is to eat max he should do is 1/3 food 1/3 liquid 1/3 empty stomach and the odd fast. and the lemon thing especially first thing in the morning.

but the thing about maintaining that is the right foods always needed to be selected , so if one meal i might eat to satiate but that included chocolate which im a big fan of, i find that although many hours im not hungry my acidity levels go over the roof and the body yearns to be cooled down, which may lead to more food... which at the moment since ive been back from pilgrimage causes immense nausea even a bowel of rice krispies.
stopped domperidone ages ago. would seldomly take omemprazole also stopped that since pilgrimage not that i would take it consistently

yep got bowel issues as well and prostitus (although this is a lot better)
even after taking klean prep today for my colonoscopy i found a lack of pressure when emptying i have to maintain breathing in for as long as possible to keep the constancy of both flow often jus by breathing in the last stages stops the proces, likewise when excreting ill try holding breath and pushing it out in this helps .and very oftern im emptying/excreting it can be large amounts of and is extremely painful , after tissue it causes bleeding not flowing type and the backside jus tightens up so i cant clean

and the pain mentioned in the shoulder, ive had a pain in around my back right shoulder blade region , but ive never been sure if that was because of a crash.
very difficuilt to explain this stuff to doctors who think your mad


if i dont attend toilet to excrete when the body signals even though i know somethings there i sometimes have to wait another48 hourse before emptying becos of the absence of natural downward pressure

all and any advice would be appreciated especially from sickboy ! (thanks a ton alread) as well as the list of items
thanks

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Avatar universal
I too suffer from stomach gas and nausea, I am scared to go to sleep because I am afraid I will wake up with a painfull stomach that has me pretty much dry heaving , off and on for 6 hours. Maybe we are in luck. The CDC's website states that this is up their alley, CDC.gov under Healthy Living section. Someone needs to convince the CDC this is an issue for them to take on.
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Avatar universal
I came across ur posts about ur stomach issues while looking for clues to help me figure out why all the sudden my stomach suffered acute spasms. It began a few hrs ago- I used my stopwatch and I'd get a ten-second spasm every 1min45seconds- I could even tell when the spasm was going to begin again by keeping the stop watch running. I am on a medication that constipates me (been on for four years) and I have had a bowel obstruction removed about 13 yrs ago as well as my appendix removed. I suffer from heartburn frequently, more and more actually. I am 35 yrs old I'm not ready mentally to start having medical issues- and I also do not have insurance, I'm currently waiting for disability. Anyway, I read ur entire post and I wanted to tell u I think u write incredibly well, and I enjoyed reading everything u said, and it was also extremely informative
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Avatar universal
Hello sickboy 1 are you still responding to post. I would like to ask you a question in regard to weening of the Nexium. Thank you for your time.
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Avatar universal
It sounds like gastritis, what medicatiion are they giving you?
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Avatar universal
Okay so I'm 15 years old and I think I have reflux. I seem to notice it comes and goes. One day ill be good the other I won't be. My stomach hurts reallly bad and it burns. I cant eat when it happens because I feel like throwing up. I go to the doctors and they just give me medicine. I don't know how to make it stop. What should I do?
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Avatar universal
I totally agree with what you said, when the system backs up and food stops moving, it most definately leads to reflux in the stomach, that is why i recommend to everybody to try colonic irrigation as part of the treatment, it jump starts the digestive system to get moving again, bowel movement is very important as if the bowels are not emptying then the stomach has trouble emptying also, which inevitably leads to reflux.
Thanks for your input rchie
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Avatar universal
Forgot to ask, did they put her on prevacid because she was on anti inflammatory drugs? If she has been on NSAIDS for any prolonged period of time then this is very bad for the stomach and it could take up to 8 weeks to heal and could well have developed stomach ulcers. I am just wondering why the doctors would put her on medication to treat stomach ulcers, you can see how one medication can lead to other problems and it can create the viscous cycle requiring further medication and so on, it can be never ending once you start with the westerm medication.
If she is has developed gastritis or stomach ulcers i would look for a herbal and natural cure otherwise you will never break the cycle, but you may be looking at 8 weeks of further problems before she starts getting better but please stick with it, if she stays on medication she will never get better and things will only get worse long term.
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Avatar universal
Hi,
I think i would be very anxious also if my baby was having these problems, i have two girls 3 & 5, thankfully they have never had any digestive problems, except Cholic as a baby.
If it started at 3 week old, what were the symptoms, i really need to find out where it all started, is this your first child?
I find it crazy that doctors would start blocking stomach acid from 3 weeks old, a babies digestive system is not working properly until they are much older, hence why they throw up all the time, reflux is completely normal for any baby up to 3 months old and is to be expected.
I would seriously get your daughter off any medication and i truly believe that if she had not been put on prevacid at 3 weeks old here digestive system would now be working properly, it breaks my heart when i hear of a little girl suffering like this, but kids are a lot more resilient and i am sure the effects of medication for the first 15months of her life will be completely reversible.
Have you tried taking her off the medication? If you are going to try then do not give in after a couple of days if she is still having problems, please wait it out and try to let her digestive system find its natural rythm again, and i am sure she will be in no less discomfort than being on the medication.
What was the doctors diagnosis to warrant giving acid blockers to a baby?
My eldest started waking up with hiccups on a morning, due to my problems i knew what was causing this straight away, laying flat and stomach acids aggevating the esophageal valve while she sleeps, i elevated her mattress about 6 inches and it stopped and she still sleeps like a log, i thought about it and realised laying flat is not good for anybody of any age, it is not natural and is not something we would choose in nature.
I.e. if you go to the park on a sunny day would you choose to relax on a flat spot or an embankment, i know when i go to the park i see everybody relaxing on embankments or even if slightly inclined they will always lay so that the head is higher than the feet, i have never seen anybody do it the other way round. Needless to say i also propped up my youngests matress the same, they both say it is comfortable.
Think also why when in hospital they never lay you flat, they always elevate you from waste up.
This is the first step in helping your daughter.
The sloshing sounds in her stomach is typical of poor digestion, the breathing problems are also linked to stomach problems, when your stomach is bloated it puts pressure on the diaphragm, which makes it difficult to take a deep breath, when this happens give her "lemonade with a teaspoon of salt in" this will make her do a big burp and will relieve the pressure.
The pain she is suffering from is most probably also due to trapped wind, it can get trapped in the chest in your sides and can really be painfull, but again this is all due to poor digestion and delayed gastric emptying, when her stomach starts emptying properly again all the gas and sloshing noises will go away.
Ok now to why your daughter is having digestive problems, firstly this is due to the medication, but there may be an underlying problem, which at this age i can only suggest could be a food allergy, at her age i would recommend researching blood type and known food allergies, certain blood types are known to have problems digesting certain foods.
Also take her to get an allergy test, a proper one at a specialist clinic, they will test her against the 50 most common foods that are known to cause allergic reaction.

Does she still have a good appetite? If she does then this is good, Toddlers with stomach problems can start to have an aversion to food in general, if this happens do not worry, do not try to force her to eat as this will fuel the aversion, as painfull as it is for a mother, wait for her to say she is hungry and let her eat of her own accord and at will, kids do not need a lot to eat, they are more resilient than we give them credit, i had to stop my wife from getting stressed trying to force feed the kids all the time, she would get stressed that they were not eating.
When we tried my method,the kids would tell us when they were hungry and they would eat without any pressure to do so, they eat very little when left to their own accord and they are perfectly healthy and sometimes wish they did not have so much energy, also we live in a very hot climate and it is natural that kids do not need much fuel, half a sandwich and they are off running about for hours, we have to realise how tiny their stomachs are and how efficient there bodies are at turning food into energy, but we obviously still make sure they get a balanced diet albeit in small ammounts, thankfully they both love fruit and they eat their vegetables.

Anyway quite a bit to take in there, keep me informed, i would love to hear in a week or so that your daughter is getting better or that you have found the root cause for her digestive problems.
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1227988 tn?1276504453
try searching the net but be careful sum information are misleading.

but for me I tried a week of all soup, bread, fruit (apples and bananas) and fruit juice diet. I also take INTRA food supplement, I bet its one of the contributing factor because it cleans the colon. some experts say that gerd is also caused by constipation.
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Avatar universal
My 15 month old daughter has been on Prevacid for her GERD since 3 weeks of age.  She has never slept a night without crying out in pain.  No doc has ever done a ph test or any internal scans.  She is now on carafate; which I've researched online and found that it is used to treat ulcers!!!!  WTH!  Then I found out through my own research that long term use of NSAIDS can cause ulcers..........it was so nice to hear your personal story; doctors and medical articles have a way of getting you to not trust your instincts.

My daughter wakes up at night every hour or so crying out in pain.  Some nights are better than others.  Generally speaking, she's bloated, constipated, gassy and I can hear liquid sloshing around in her tummy during the day and when she cries at night, her breath really wreaks.  I read your post and I thought, God, am I causing her more harm than good?  It appears so.  It is so difficult on me because she can't communicate her pain issues.  But I'm going to start on a new path~I'm so tired of having symptoms compound on top of each other.

What do you suggest I ask the GI doctor next week?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!  :)

Anxious Mom.
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Avatar universal
That is really interesting, i have never heard of that before, what exactly is it and what does it do?
I personally am not in a situation to try anything new, due to the fact that i am feeling well and do not want to chance disrupting anything, but it may well be a miracle cure or even if it helps people on here to get their health spiralling back up then that is a biggy.
I would really like to hear more about it, one thing i have found is that ill people are 100%genuine, nobody ever comes on here to mix it up, seen as though it has helped you a lot, i am taking it as gospel that it really works.
I really wnat to find out more, I found very little information on the internet except it has been proven to cure bad breath, and is really good for people who have a chlorophyl deficiency, and has been proven to improve general health and well being, and is herbal, it does sound good and sounds like it should be taken as part of a healthy diet.
I am truly intrigued, for anybody who has stomach problems it may well be worth a try, i say this because the digestive system is so complicated,and i truly believe our digestive systems have still not fully evolved from when we were veggies, maybe this Chlorophyl deficiency could be the route cause of many peoples digestive problems, i.e. not enough green leafy salad in the diet.
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Avatar universal
Just wanted to add, regarding decreasing bile production, basically stay away from fatty foods in general, eat healthily and keep reading up on what to avoid.

Try to keep your stomach as empty as possible but without causing malnutrition, small ammounts regular, same goes for drinking , plently of water but sip regular, this is so you do not over dilute your stomach acids in order to keep stomach emptying fast.
I know it sounds like a contradiction but with the plenty of excercise you also need plenty of rest, as rest periods help the body heal.
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Avatar universal
The burning sensation that is left over is Gastritis, the stomach and esophagus are very slow to heal and take up to 8 weeks to heal fully, this is of course as long as the stomach is emptying properly and you sleep on your elevated and on your right to stop bile entering the stomach otherwise the viscous cycle continues.
Eating bran flakes, granary bread, whole grain foods helps cure the gastritis, eating things like and apple, or drinking cranberry juice can have a soothing effect.
H2H have much less side effects than PPI, but feeling that you need the H2H i believe is due to hiatal hernia, i confused these aches and pains of gastitis and haital hernia with a stomach acid problem for a long time.
Try weaning yourself off Zantac slowly, and just take an alka seltzer on a bad day if the acids start to reflux into your esophagus.
Also please get checked again for sludge in the gall bladder, i was getting pains in my back and right shoulder due to severe esophageal cramps, food would get stuck, if you are not suffering from this, then the pain under your right rib going into your right shoulder could be caused by gall stones and it can easily be missed, as it only shows up as a white mist.
Do you get fatigued all the time, feel like your body is fighting an infection? Have blood tests shown up a high white blood cell count?
Gall bladder sludge is considered more dangerous than large gall stones, please get it checked and double checked.
Dont eat white bread, pasta, meats, fatty foods, dairy products.
You can help your stiomach repair by getting some betaine, dervied from beets, which helps re- coat the stomach lining, whilst you have gastritis do not drink coffee or alcohol or smoke, but you are best off looking up gastritis on the search engine as there are lots of good advice for what foods to eat and what to avoid.
Generally get plenty of excercise and eaty healthily, i have a test for you to help diagnosis, but you must not take zantac whilts trying this, go and get some whey protein powder and make some drinks make sure you take digestive enzymes at the same time including lactase. It will sooth your stomach and help repair it like you would not believe, but if you do have gall bladder sludge it will bring on a mild discomfort in your right upper abdomen leading to the right shoulder, if this happens then inist to the doctors that you have gall bladder sludge and get another ultrasound, my sister suffered with gall bladder sludge for years and they missed it on 2 seprarate ultrasounds, until she eventually went private and they spotted it right away, if you try this with a protein drink, have some buscopan ready in case of a severe gall bladder attack, anad again if buscopan relieves the pain this tells you it is definately a gall bladder problem, also during the attack push under your right rib cage if it feels painfull to touch or even feels hard, again this tells you it is inflammation of the gall bladder.

In the meantime stick to foods that are easy to digest as there will be less chance of suffering from reflux, keep your acidity levels high so that food gets digested quickly, even though this comes at the price of discomfort due to gastritis i.s. stomach acids aggrevating the stomach wall, the only way to break the cycle is to put up with the gastritis until it starts to heal, but as mentioned there are many methods you can read about to reduce this discomfort and help the stomach wall heal quicker.

keep me updated and i am here to try and help you where ever possible, i really truly believe due to the itchy sensation upper right abdomen you have gall bladder sludge, i hope this is so, because a simple operation to remove the gall bladder completely will cure all your ailments.
This may be the underlying cause but no doubt the long term use of PPI have been making the condition worse and causing additional problems with bile backflow and reflux due to poor digestion, hence why it started to affect your esophagus. The digestive system is very complicated and 1 problem can lead to a syndrome of ailments, which is why doctors find it so difficult to find the root cause.

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Avatar universal
Also forgot to ask.....
Is there a list of foods somewhere that I can get which shows the foods that help to decrease bile production? Like maybe eating more proteins or less of a certain type of fruit or vegetable etc etc ?
As you can tell. I am desperately seeking ANY and ALL answers and I am seriously ecstatic that I found your post. I can imagine EXACTLY how happy you must have been when you had your EUREKA moment and found out the true, real cause of your suffering. I feel the same way now and I REALLLLLLLLY hope that this is exactly my problem and that I now will be able to solve it finally. You can't imagine how happy I am right now! I hope I don't get let down and that my issue is something else.
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Avatar universal
I think you might be a godsend for me Sickboy1 !!!
I believe I am truly Sickboy2 with your identical condition...Read on....
I suspected a long long time ago that I had problems with bile salts backing up into my stomach from my intestines and causing a severe, weird itchy burning sensation in my right upper abdominal area. It would spread through to my back and shoulder blades when it got really bad as well. Recently it started reaching my esophagus causing heartburn type symptoms and I also started to notice my voice getting hoarser and hoarser everyday. I kept on telling the doctors and the gastroenterologist and they kept ignoring me and pushing on brand after brand of PPI's when I kept on telling them this one isn't working or that new one is causing me other side effects etc etc.. I had no idea what to do to treat myself and like you I became an internet hound searching for answers for MONTHS. I finally came across your posting yesterday and I think you MIGHT have save me!!! Let's not be too overconfident yet but I will report my findings daily based on your suggestions.
I think I have been suffering like hell with exactly what you have been experiencing. I have successfully weaned myself off the PPI's completely and that was a huge, painful task. Yes, most of my symptoms from being on PPI's have disappeared but I am still on Zantac at the moment which is an H2 receptor antagonist like Tagamet. I am almost at the point of getting myself off that as well at the moment. Now here is my question to you. What are the short term things you did to relieve the painful burning sensation in the stomach when the bile washed up from the intestine to the stomach? I think I read somewhere that you said to eat 1 or 2 slices of toast. I had terrible burning today and I tried that and I think it WORKED !!!!! I will continue to try eating 1 or 2 slices of toast immediately whenever the burning sensation starts and see if that is a temporary solution until I can get my stomach and digestion and emptying back in order. I am actually thinking of completely fasting from food every other day for one week to see if that brings any relief due to reduce bile output. By doing the fasting only every other day I should be able to still get enough nutrition in me to not affect me too badly in that one week test period. If my burning sensation syptoms go away or decrease on those fasting days then I think I would have proven the theory of the bile being the problem and not acid.
So, what other tips do you have for me for the short term control of the burning other than eating the toast? What are the exact types of digestive enzymes that you are taking to help you? ANything else at all you can think of to share with me to get me short term relief while I work on the longer term solution and my testing?
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