How Do You Treat G.E.R.D?

Question

Acid Reflux

Answer 1

You first need to determine if you have hypo or hyperchlorrhydria. You have a sphincter at the bottom of you esophagus leading into your stomach and in order for that sphincter to close properly you need a certain amount of stomach acid. If you don't have sufficient amount of stomach acid this sphincter stays open and the little stomach acid you do have creeps up your esophagus and causes GERD. So sometimes GERD is caused by too much stomach acid and other times its caused by not enough (as weird as that seems). A lot of people that have GERD and actually have too little HCL in their stomach end up taking tums and other antacids that only make the problems worse. There are ways that you can determine if you have too much or too little stomach acid. I personally use to get some acid reflux so i did a test (which isn't the most pleasant) where you swallow a pill attached to a string - you leave this string in you esophagus (goes to your stomach from your mouth) and then it gets pulled out after 15 minutes. Then the pH of this string is tested and the pH of you stomach can be determined (this in turn corresponds to the level of stomach acid you have). The pH of my stomach ending up being around 7 which is bad....stomach pH should be about 1 or 2. So i found that the cause of my reflux was insufficient stomach acid and when i supplemented with HCl my problem got better. I would suggest determining whether you have hyper or hypochlorrhydria first before treating it. In the mean time elevating your bed, reducing acidic foods and reducing stress can all be very helpful. You should change your diet and eat more alkaline foods.

Answer 2

please, try this- I swear by it. Simply eat some raw celery. It works really well, and everyone I have shared this with agrees. Celery is very alkaline and will stop your heartburn/reflux quickly, gently, naturally, cheaply, and with NO side effects. Do a search for "celery heartburn" and see what you find. Seriously, it works very well.

Here's two quotes and some links:

1: Heartburn Remedies

02-Nov-07 at 03:06PM:
NAME: Chelsea
COUNTRY_OF_REMEDY: USA

INGREDIENTS: Celery
INSTRUCTIONS: My doctor told me to try celery, she swears by it forheartburn relief. I thought is sounded silly, but she said it is highly alkaline, which counteracts the acid. It works great! And almost immediately. Now I have a constant supply of celery in my fridge.

2: Eating celery to help with reflux symtoms
From: Bonnie
Remote Name: 205.188.195.42
Date: 08/16/02
Time: 09:51:20 PM

Comments
A friend eats celery every day, and says the reflux has stopped....also cabbage. Look up: eating celery to treat reflux on website...many articles on it. Anyone else experience this?


http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/heartbu...
http://ezinearticles.com/?Home-Remedy-fo...
http://chetday.com/blog/2004/11/natural-...

Answer 3

Nexium and fruitin from over the counter does help, elevating the head of your bed or more pillows so when laying down your head is elevated and the best remedy is eating a granny smith apple before retiring at night and 1 during the day. Have smaller low fat meals. Taking 2 tbspoons of Apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tsp. of baking soda mixed together also is good remedy of getting rid of reflux.

Answer 4

I agree with Ms. RN. I tried all of the over-the-counter meds, but none of them were able to even touch the acid problem I was experiencing. I changed my eating habits, I slept in a recliner, I did everything anyone could think of to help.

I went to my dr. and she gave me Nexium. Nexium is fairly expensive, depending on your drug plan, but now my stomach is not manufacturing all that excess acid. My stomach is happy and I can eat and drink whatever I want. To me, Nexium is a miracle drug.

TX Mom

Answer 5

In the short term, there are medications that may or may not work for you.

In the long term, look at your diet. I have personal experience with many people, including myself, where the elimination of certain foods has resulted in no further symptoms for years.

Answer 6

treat

Answer 7

There are over the counter medications but it would be best to see your family Dr. He may refer you to a gastroenterologist for a definite diagnosis and put you on the best medication for you.

Answer 8

LIMIT THE ACID TYPE FOODS IN YOUR DIET(TOMATO SAUCES, CITRUS FRUITS DRINKS) DONT LAY DOWN FOR 1-2 HOURS AFTER EATING. ALSO TRY ELEVATING THE HEAD OF YOUR BED ABOUT 4-6 INCHES WITH BRICKS SO WHEN LAYING DOWN YOUR HEAD IS ELEVATED.

Answer 9

tums or pepto and stop eating the spicy enchaladas