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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!
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!
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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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