whats the cause and the solution?

[jim509]

i have symptoms which indicate acid reflux. I am otherwise young, healthy and not overweight. So whats causing it? i have also been watching what i eat but nothing seems to help, some days I get more of a bloated stomach than other days but I keep waking up with a sore throat. Is there any hope?

[Jangela]

  Hi!
       Don't know if you will check this or your inbox first. Just sent you a reply.
       My husband suffered horrible reflux after years of having a "bad belly" which was never properly diagnosed. After trying anything under the sun to fix his problem, a dentist finally asked him "Are you a bulemic? You have very bad acid wear on your teeth." That's how we found out about the reflux. Then came the parade of medicines....
Nope, not that one. Trial and error, sleepless nights, desperation. I finally got sick of the whole thing and started playing health detective online. Three years later, here I am! He hasn't had reflux since. His hernia causes some heartburn still, but that's why I give him the supplements- To keep it under control. Learn from our mistakes- Don't be a guinea pig. Educate yourself as much as you can on how digestion works and it will all make sense. :)      By the way, grapefruit tastes acidic, but it is actually an alkaline food. Don't eat it if it hurts your throat. Otherwise it's a great pH balancer. My husband eats it every morning. No problem.

[jim509]

Thanks for the advice but may I ask what your background is? Have you suffered form this yourself?

I'm not sure about the grapefruit, they say to avoid acidic foods, I dont know why that is? but in any case I'm unsure about eating such a strong acidic food right now. I have pain.

The thing is if I have a 'big' meal it exacerbates the pain but if i dont eat at all or dont eat much my stomach begins to ache.

[Jangela]

       Just an afterthought- Think of your new "friendly" bacteria as a garden that you need to maintain. You need to feed the good bacteria so they can thrive. This means lots of enzyme rich foods (your apples are a good start) as are most raw fruits and veggies. Try to eat a big green salad everyday. Do you like grapefruit? Have half of one with your breakfast. For now, try to stay away from refined sugar, white flour products, fried food, milk, (you can use acidophilus fortified milk) you get the idea. Grow your garden and it will resume its job manufacturing enzymes, amino acids, and digesting food, and your reflux should be a thing of the past. No big or heavy meals. Give it some time. In the meantime take a Source Naturals digestive enzyme with each meal from the health store. My husband feels it everytime he forgets to take one!

[Jangela]

        Each time acid comes up, your esophagus gets burned. The unknown question is, how often and how severely. Your body can probably heal occassional burning on its own, like when you throw up, but if you're reinjuring it over and over, it can start getting really raspy and sore. It could become hard to swallow, because eventually the throat lining will contract, so the opening will be smaller. The only way to see the actual damage is with an endoscopy from a gastroenterologist. Of course, they will prescribe an acid reducer or proton pump inhibitor, but since you want to go the natural route, you need to try to initially neutralize the acid so it can't burn your throat when it does come up.
     Apple juice would be good, but only if it is freshly made by you in a machine. The stuff from the grocery store is acid forming because it is pasteurized ( They heat it to kill any living bacteria, but in the process, they kill all the beneficial enzymes, too. It's better to eat apples (Preferably organic). Some people have commented on apple cider vinegar helping their reflux, but I've never tried it myself. If you do try it, get the unfiltered kind and read up on it first. Yes, yogurt would be great, but eat the plain kind first ( simple sugars are food for bad bacteria) You can sweeten it with stevia (in the sugar aisle). What's even better is kefir. It's a yogurt drink that is absolutely loaded with probiotics. Most stores carry it next to the yogurt in a bottle. Drink it everyday. Great stuff.

[jim509]

what do you think of apple juice and yoghurt for my digestive, reflux problem?

[jim509]

well how do i know my esophogus isnt already burned? In fact a year ago I had an accidental reflux when I bent over and it came right up and some also went down the other pipe. Since then my throat has constantly been sore. I wake up with sore throat. So is it out of control?

[Jangela]

         Jim, you are smart to question any medication. If you read up on any of them, you will find out that they are a temporary solution and won't actually "fix" the problem. I won't even go into the possible side effects....
         You feel bloated because your digestive system is not running efficiently. Even if there isn't a lot of food backed up in there, there may be an overgrowth of bad bacteria in your intestines that give off gas. That's why I suggested the probiotic supplements. They contain good bacteria that will set up shop in your intestines and help your digestion, and they keep bad bacteria from taking over.  If you take the supplements I suggested above, you will help neutralize the extra acid in your stomach and balance out your body chemistry so that you won't continue to reflux and get all bloated. If you burn your esophagus, that's when things really start to get out of hand. If you don't trust that the supplements will work, do a search on each one online to find out how effective and beneficial they are.

[jim509]

I feel bloated after meals and even after a glass of water. Why is that?

My doctor did advise medication to cut the acid production off but I am reluctant to take it especially in the long term.  I only want to stick to natural remedies. What should I do?  

I dont think I have a hernia because this problem started fairly suddenly and I havent suffered any injuries etc.. I dont even have a diagnosis of GERD yet, but I suspect it is some sort of stomach problem and acid reflux.

[Jangela]

   Do you know for sure you don't have a hiatal hernia? You can get one lots of different ways, including injury to the groin, as when playing sports.
   Being young and underweight doesn't exclude you from membership in "Club GERD", unfortunately. My husband was only 30 and a strapping, muscular, healthy guy when he was diagnosed with GERD (and the hernia, by the way), in no way unhealthy or overweight.
   Stress can cause GERD because your bodies response to stress can mess with digestive functions in lots of ways. Your stomach can produce more acid, it can constrict, and the other chemicals released by your body in response to the stress can cause other symptoms that can make you worry even more, causing more stomach upset.
    Whether GERD is permanent or not depends on why you have it and what you do to treat and prevent it. A hiatal hernia will most likely always be a challenge because the food will always want to come back up if it's not quickly digested. The dietary, stress issues can always be improved, but you need to give your body what it needs to stay efficient, or it will let you know it's not happy.

[jim509]

i am young, i dont have a hernia. I am actually slightly underweight if anything. I think if theres one thing on that list it would be stress but theres no evidence that it causes gerd. Also I've read that once you get GERD its permanent which is depressing if true. Is it?

[Jangela]

       Causes of reflux; Poor diet, hiatal hernia, stress, genetics, food allergies...
    If you are at the beginning stages of reflux, it may take you a while to pinpoint the cause, but well worth it to find out. First, rule out a hernia. Many people have one and don't know it. As a matter of fact, almost half of all people over age 40 have one. If you do have one, that would explain why nothing you eat stays down. If your stomach has shifted out of place, it makes it easy for food to come back up. Next, I would take a good hard look not only at what you are eating, but what you're not eating. Are you "eliminating" regularly? Make sure you are eating enough raw fruits and veggies for the enzymes they contain. They keep things moving thru the GI tract. Read up on these things- They can help you tremendously:
                      Probiotics (like what you find in yogurt)
                      Broad spectrum digestive enzymes
                     Green juices like wheatgrass (for pH balance)
                      Aloe vera juice ( for soothing and healing your insides)
                      Activated charcoal capsules (for belching/gas/acid)
My husband had bad reflux and now takes all of the above everyday, and now has the reflux under control.