I'm getting rather desperate now. I'm only 22 and I've never had a long running history of problems until just 10 months ago, I developed serious hypochondria about my heart. Once that was cleared up, I began getting symptoms of acid reflux 8 months ago including:
- Burning throat even after drinking water or following diets such as Dr Kouffman's Reflux Diet
- Constant throat clearing
- Occasional sore throats/heartburn
- Sheer depression
- Constant belching if I so much as wiggle.
I'm on Cimetidine and Gaviscon Advance which stop the burning but nothing else, and what scares me is the moment I stop them, everything comes back. Worst of all, the Cimetidine is only 400mg and it doesn't last all day. I'm on edge all day worrying what foods will make me worse, or when the symptoms will return. Sometimes they happen at the start of the day, before I even eat or drink anything. Sometimes they don't happen when I eat bad foods, other times they happen one day but not the other, even if I eat EXACTLY THE SAME foods at exactly the same times.
What can I do? Can anxiety/stress alone CAUSE reflux issues? I don't mean can it worsen them, because that is obvious in its own right, I mean has anything proven that stress can cause GERD and/or LPR? Is it guaranteed to be a lifelong problem? I'm really scared that it is, I don't want to suffer for over 60 years ;(
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Daxter
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I had it so bad & that burning well I no how it feels
I had the pipe down my throat & was told I make a lot of acid due to been anxious as we tend not to digest our food very well
I have been on several different meds & they worked short term , but then it would come back as bad again
This last 6 months , it is a bit expensive , but I have been taking a teaspoon of Manuka Honey 10+ up to 3 teaspoons a day & I cant believe the difference its made
I dont take any meds now just that & its the best I have been in years , I do watch what I eat i.e spicy , pastry , if you tend to suffer these can bring it on , even though when I fancy it I do have some , just make sure I take the honey
Hope this reassures you though that this is a very common symptom that comes with anxiety
I have really found it very good , I cant believe it to be honest , after all the meds they have had me on & none worked 100% , its good for lots of other things as well , I take it straight of the teaspoon , in fact I think I will have a teaspoon of it now
She did get some medicine from the doc ages ago but she can't stand it. I think if we could settle this down she wouldn't be so convinced she's going to vomit. She complains often of 'sicky, acidy burps' does that sound familiar?
Yes it does , thats what it is like , its not pleasant at all to be honest
I had it explained to me that when we are anxious we gulp in a lot of air & that with not digesting our food , as we should causes it
I dont no if she will like it of the spoon , it does taste of honey , but slightly different from normal honey , son has it when he has a cold because its good for that as well
To start with I did take 3 teaspoons a day , but as it settled I just take 1 a day now , if I get an upset stomach , usually through something I have eaten , I go up to 3 again
It is 12 pounds a jar & make sure its the 10+ one but when you are on 3 teaspoons a day it lasts 2 weeks & when you are on less longer
Seriously though I have been on so many meds for this , all gave me side effects , some made it worse & I cant believe how this has worked for me
It wont harm her , its good for you in so many ways , I would certainly tell someone to try a jar , by then you will no if it works & if it does you can continue , if not well it was worth a try
Look at me going on , anyone would think I was on commission here
Hello Im sorry that you are having touble with reflux.
I just wanted to share my exsperience in the hope it can help others
I was on omeprazol for 8 years for acid reflux during this time i became even more anxious than when I was a child and felt ill all the time. I thought I would be on medication forever because every time i stopped the omeprazol the heart burn came back 10 fold. It wasn't until they tried to change my medication that things changed.
reading the side effects of the new drug gave me an anxiety attack on the bus home from the doctors and in desperation i wanted to find a natural cure.
And what i found out was quite interesting. drugs for heart burn like Omeprazol are called Proton-pump inhibitors
what these drugs do is stop your stomach cells from producing acid which means you don't get acid reflux.
what the doctors had not told me was that because they stop acid production. there is not enough acid to break down your food properly. so you miss out on important nutrients vitamins/minerals. (this is my view from what i have read online) this is not good for anyone especially anxious people.
also because you stomach does not have enough acid in it your brain sends signals to your stomach to produce more acid producing cells. which in turn are switched off by the drugs.
once you stop taking the drug (Proton-pump inhibitors) then all the acid cell including the extra one start working again and your acid reflux will come back twice as bad. (this is what i have read online) and this is what I believe.
It takes your body anything up to six months to get back to normal amount of acid producing cells.
obviously though if you have been on medication or not you want to stop the heart burn.
now I hardly ever get heart burn and ive been off tablets for a year and a half.
foods that help settle heart burn I have used are red apples. apple cider vinigar. honey, aloe vera juice. liquorish. and almonds to name but a few and when I first came off the tablets I tried them all.
then I found out an interesting fact. in your stomach you have a sphincter muscle that stops food travelling back up your throat. and certain foods relax that muscle. causing acid reflux.
They are chocolate alcohol mint caffeine there are probably others too.
I stopped drinking, eating chocolate, drinking tea or coffee and eating things with mint in and with the help of the other things above I got rid of 95% of my acid reflux. I do drink again now but not heavily and I rarely get heart burn. I hardly have almonds liquorish or aloe Vera now but if I get acid reflux they do help. (I dont know if its a placebo but they aren't bad for you in moderation so there is no harm done.)
I must also say I am gluten intolerant so dont know if cutting wheat and gluten out of my diet has helped.
also because of cutting out wheat and gluten/ chocolate ive lost about 2 and a half to 3 stone. which is said to help reduce acid reflux as extra weight puts pressure on the stomach forcing acid up the throat.
sorry if I have bored everyone to death and if your still reading I hope this advice can help but in a lot of cases acid reflux can be controlled with diet there is loads on the web about it. and I believe that it can be caused by a number of things added together poor diet poor health anxiety stress.
also sleeping on your back or your left side helps stop acid reflux because of the positioning of your stomach.
I think im more susceptible to acid reflux because of my anxiety but I do believe in a lot of cases it can be kept under control naturally.
sorry again for going on. I hope you work out a way to deal with it
sorry to go on but just wanted to add your not alone I got and still do get very down/depressed about my health and its a horrible place to be. I just hope you can work out a way to deal with it. Art can help to relax.
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