So I see this drug company commerical for acid-reflux treatment, and it hits me.

[Skip Intro]

The commercial is just going on about what acid reflux is, that it is a medical condition, and they have developed this great batch of chemicals that can treat it, and, after listing some bizarre side-effects, I'm urged to talk to my doctor about this company's great drug creation.

Maybe it was the fast food commercial that followed, but a light went on.

Did I just see one ad for processed and chemical-laden "food", and another telling me I have a medical condition if I have trouble digesting that psuedo-food, and that that condition can be "cured" by ingesting a different chemical concoction?

Is it really a medical problem if I can't digest well the formed, shaped, color-enhanced and preservative-laden garbage that is passed off as food?

Just boggled my mind.

Reminded me of some tv sitcom from years past where some therapist was trying to "cure" a person of his fear of flying, as if it is natural to be hurtling through the air in a tin can, tens of thousands of feet above the ground.

Maybe it's just me...

[Honeycombe8]

1. Ironic, isn't it? nt

[RKP5637]

2. You mean you actually have a problem digesting plasticized fake food? Jaws had no problem with

fake food. We are being conditioned to think cardboard pictures of food will be just fine! Just add some flavoring and take this little pill!

[Berlum]

86. Spewage may ensue

[Kurovski]

3. It is called the FOOD and DRUG Administration.

[lunasun]

4. Oh BTW when you get one of those bizarre side-effects, they have some more drugs to help

the side effect and if you get a side effect from that drug you took to help with the initial side effect well, they have some more drugs to help you
and if you get a side effect from that one they have some more drugs to help you too!!
yeah start at the source and dont get on the pharma train if you can just correct what you are putting inside you in the first place(food) you may be able to avoid the rest of the story

[Voice for Peace]

12. ++++ yup yup yup

[chalky]

15. But then, if you happen to die from all the drugs, don't worry...

there's a commercial that will give your family the 1-800 number to call to join in on the class action lawsuit over the poorly tested, quick-to-the-market drug that killed you.

[Cresent City Kid]

26. It's part of the life cycle of a drug

They start with ads for paid research studies, then the slick drug ad comes out, followed by the litigation ads you mention. Sprinkled in between are the hasty government approvals and recalls.

[NYC_SKP]

5. It's the purple pill!

My 80+ mom and pop, both in long term care, have been taking that for decades.

Medicare pays for it and for a dozen other meds for each of them.

They don't need it and it may have contributed to my mom's osteoporosis.

Just eat right, take some Tums, sleep with your head elevated.

Nobody needs this medication.

Nexium?

[PADemD]

8. Eliminate Carrageenan from your diet

And you won't even have to take the Tums! Worked for me.

[merrily]

21. Very hard to do. It's even in the ORGANIC cream that my supermarket stocks.

[PADemD]

37. Land O Lakes Half N Half has no Carrageenan

There are other brands; you have to check.

There is so much of it in the dairy section of the store I frequent that I told the Manager he might as well hang the acid reflux medication on a peg there.

Be careful with the ice cream, too.

I've even found it in cereals and baked goods.

The last time I had acid reflux was when I purchased and ate a pumpkin pie from the store bakery for Thanksgiving two years ago. It contained Carrageenan.

Here are a few web sites for more information:

http://www.notmilk.com/carageenan.html

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html

http://www.rodale.com/carrageenan

[merrily]

42. Thank you. I do check very carefully. Plus, Half and Half is not the same as heavy cream.

I try to avoid not only carageenan, but every additive I can possible avoid.

The organic light cream at my supermarket is indeed carrageenan-free. However, there are times I need heavy cream for certain recipes. At those times, I melt and cool butter to the point at which it is still liquid, but does not curdle the milk, and add it to organic milk or organic light cream until I think I have a ballpark approximation of heavy cream. I have never tried to make whipped cream that way, though.

I need home delivery, and that means I am limited to one supermarket. However, it does have a decent variety of products, including a lot of reasonably priced organic products.

One of the benefits of ordering online is the ability to check ingredients on everything I order--and google every ingredient that I do not recognize right away. Then, I store the items that are acceptable to me on a product list, so I don't have to repeat that process.

On the few occasions when ingredient info is not given, I just don't order that item.

Thank you for the info, though.

[NYC_SKP]

28. Thanks, I hope I remember that! (nt)

[PADemD]

71. Carrageenan is the magic ingredient used to de-ice frozen airplanes sitting on tarmacs

http://totalhealthmagazine.com/features/the-health-detective/carrageenan-food-additive-and-aircraft-de-icer.html

If it's in your food, don't eat it!

[Warpy]

11. Most people who take it might not need it

Some of us do, so back off.

[customerserviceguy]

67. Thanks

For what should be a pretty tolerant place, we have a lot of folks who are very judgmental about what other people do with their own bodies, diets, and medical treatments.

[shanti]

25. when i first was Dx'd with acid reflux

the doc told me that i would likely be taking them for the rest of my life. it's been about 7 years now, and i'm still taking them. i did the tums before i started taking the purple pill. they just didn't work as well. it's pretty easy to see that acid reflux is an epidemic now, just like T2 diabetes (which i also just got Dx'd with).

[NYC_SKP]

27. Good luck with the Diabetes, sorry to hear.

My impression with the folks was, wow, look at what you guys eat!

Same for myself, but I regulate it with eating less late at night and sleeping with my head higher than my shoulders.

This was my own doctor's advice when I mentioned the heartburn problem, and it has been manageable.

I suppose a pill would be easier, but at what risk?

Take care!

[Lars39]

32. Untreated reflux can result in serious conditions.

Much more serious than the side effects of the pill to control acid reflux.

[RILib]

39. Exactly so.

I get a bit tired of people saying it's all a crock.

[SouthernDonkey]

53. ++++

Might I add that neither should one get their medical advice from "experts" on internet forums.
I have a stenosed esophageal valve as well as Barrett's esophagus. That's a pre cancerous condition that can easily turn into cancer with continued irritation from stomach acid. Poor diet and food alergies aren't the only things that cause acid reflux. Prevacid nor Prilosec worked for me. Nexium was the only thing that continuously controlled it. Thats why I go to a doctor instead of seeking medical advice from DU.

But I can relate.... I don't know why anyone would risk taking a medication who's known side effects were psychotic depression and suicide! Or like with Ambien...driving in your sleep! What kind of crazy shit is that??

[RILib]

61. Ambien

My sister-in-law took Ambien, went to bed, and the next thing she knew she was waking up in the hospital. Unhurt, but the neighbors had called the police because she was wandering around the neighborhood in her nightgown trying to get into cars and houses. I know "anecdotal" evidence isn't reliable, but this is not a "friend's cousin", this is my sister-in-law. I would not touch that stuff.

[merrily]

44. Weight has a lot to do with both Type 2 diabete and acid reflux.

Overweight is definitely an epidemic in the U.S.

[shanti]

47. that's true

i've lost 30 pounds since my diagnosis. the problems remain, but to a lesser degree.

[merrily]

48. FANTASTIC. What a great accomplishment. Congratulations.

I am fairly certain I would never lose 30 pounds. I should lose at least but I don't. No excuses. I just don't.

Fortunately for me, my weight does not reflect fully the amount of food I eat because of a different physical condition that I have. It's no picnic, but it does help keep weight off me.

If my weight matched my intake, I'd be in very big trouble, no pun intended.

Again, congrats.

[OregonBlue]

75. Have you tried apple cider vinegar? I know several people who used it and it works.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/478034-apple-cider-vinegar-benefits-for-acid-reflux/
http://www.ruthsrealfood.com/2011/11/can-apple-cider-vinegar-treat-your-gerd.html

There are lots of articles about it on the net. I know it seems counterintuitive but most people who have GERD don't have enough acid in their stomachs to digest food. My mom suffered for years until she started using acv and so did one of my neighbors. It may not work for everyone but I personally know several people who tried it with great results. The medications given for GERD actually stop acid production which is not healthy.

[shanti]

103. i have heard of acd

for GERD. in fact, i have some in my pantry, i'll give it a try today, thanks for the tip!

[AAO]

38. Wrong. I need this medication!

I have what's called a hiatal hernia, which is a malfunction of the trap door that keeps stomach acid from going back up your esophagus. I don't get a tight seal, so acid gets into my esophagus and causes damage. It doesn't really correlate much to what I eat ( haven't had fast food, except for Subway in years), but can have irreversible damage to the esophagus - and you only get one of those vital constructs. When you esophagus goes, you're not far behind.

Anyway, I take Omeprazole (Prilosec) to keep the stomach acid under control so I don't end up dying, which would be inconvenient.

[RILib]

62. artificial esophagus

I saw an article about an artificial esophagus awhile ago. I forget how it was built. Perhaps stem cells on a structure. Anyway, it had actually been implanted in one person and seemed to be working.

[AAO]

84. Pardon me if I'm not getting off the medication just yet...

But thanks for the info.

[JoePhilly]

94. Not a viable option.

[NYC_SKP]

70. I'm certain many need it.

But my parents never even tried alternatives.

I think it might be over prescribed.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

77. WOW...

I never knew just how lucky I am until reading the posts on this thread. When I was 41 I began having heartburn...it went on for weeks until I visited the doctor. Had the usual tests, Upper GI and was Dxd with reflux due to a faulty valve. The doctor prescribed Prilosec and said I would need it for the rest of my life. I stopped taking the Prilosec after 3 weeks...experimentally. I haven't taken it or anything else since...no more heartburn. I'll turn 65 next month.

I'm sorry you weren't as lucky. Can you have the hernia repaired surgically?

[AAO]

85. Instead of taking a daily pill? The risk profile is to high for me.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

88. I'm so sorry. Obviously I was very lucky, as I said.

[AAO]

90. Update: I may someday want to do a less invasive cure

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022158584#post89

[Sekhmets Daughter]

93. Good luck, or more importantly, good health. n/t

[AAO]

96. Same to you and all on DU!

[thecrow]

82. Me too..

I had the inherited valve defect that many in our family (in the past) have died from. I had an eroded esophagus (looked like land mines went off)despite taking medications for acid reflux.... and I was suffering from esophageal spasms... sort of like a heart attack... you can't breathe, and your chest tightens...Went to a Gastointestinal specialsit and he told me that I MUST HAVE the operation (Nissen Fundoplicaton) and that would save my life!

Had the operation, but still was having the spasms and bizarre shoulder pain after eating. Insisted that my doctor send me to Johns Hopkins for a workup. After testing, they prescribed (in addition to a double dose of Prilosec 2x a day) BENTYL. Two little blue pills taken 30 minutes before I eat. Saved my life!I took the first two, ate a big dinner, and... NO PAIN! The Bentyl helps motivate your digestion and helps with releasing the stomach muscles so your stomach "stretches" when food is introduced. That was my problem after the operation...!
So you unbelievers can go on about folk remedies and decry the use of pills, but for me it was the answer, and if you actually had this condition, I doubt you would be so blithe about the various ways to treat it.

And... anyone who had the fundoplication operation (I also had a hiatal hernia repair at the same time) and are still having problems, please go see an good internist and ask about Bentyl or another motility med.
I am pretty normal now, though I cannot burp or vomit ever again and have to be very careful about where I eat. I eat normal, real foods (preferably without labels... always did) and take probiotics and live yogurt cultures. The only downside is that my belly bloats because of the lack of burping (every time you swallow, you swallow air, and that bloats you if you cannot burp it up) and of course, if I get food poisoning or a stomach virus, I get sicker than most, because I cannot barf and have to wait it out.
Several of my relatives (great grandmother, great aunt etc.) died of this complication before these cures were invented.
But my life has been SAVED, and I am grateful to Johns Hopkins and modern medicine for that.

[AAO]

87. Thank you for that! Home remedies might be good for occasional heartburn

but that's not what you and I are talking about.

BTW, not to make light of your situation, but if you can't burp, how does all that gas get released? I think I know the answer, but if I'm right, the next time my wife yells at me in bed, I will tell her your story (ie: it could be worse!)

Also, I was wondering about the Hiatal hernia operation. Can they do that through a scope hole or do they need to open you up? Do you know what the success rate is? I'm hesitant to go that route with the medication working so well, but I'm curious (for possible future reference).

Thanks, crow

[AAO]

89. Actually the did the same for Hiatal hernia as they did for weight reduction

They've invented a titanium ring that can be put around the junction between the stomach and the esophagus kind of like the lap-band treatment for overweight. If they can put that in through a tiny hole I may give it a shot one day.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2012-jax/6812.html

[patrice]

6. salad. daily. mixed greens.

[Oilwellian]

72. That is a very bad suggestion

Raw vegetables are difficult to digest for a normal person with a healthy gut. Taking a pill that shuts down the acids necessary to digest those raw vegetables only exacerbates the problem. It's a vicious circle. You take the pill for indigestion, acids shut down and you stop digesting your latest meal, the food rots in your gut, take another pill, rinse and repeat. That's how the pill was designed and that's why they're making $5 billion a year in profits on just the purple pill alone.

Keeping a healthy flora in your gut is key to taming your digestive issues. My husband was on these pills for years, and his taking probiotics has helped his digestive issues tremendously.

[patrice]

74. Used to take Omeprazol. I eat salad now & don't take anything for the GERD. I'm fine. nt

[Politicalboi]

7. Drink more water

And get some Tums or Rolaids. The side effects are ridiculous for the ones they advertise on TV.

[Warpy]

9. If you have the disease process, the proton pump inhibitors

are nothing less than pure magic. Fortunately, two very good ones are now OTC and don't cost a fortune for those of us who have to be on them long term.

Yes, there are side effects, mostly linked to malabsorption if the drugs overshoot the mark. In my case, they make me normal, needing Tums if I eat something really bad for me, pain free if I don't.

The alternative is either fasting or living with an erupting volcano under my sternum, something that is not positional, not related to weight, not due to caffeine or other methyl xanthines, and not particularly dependent on diet (although wheat made it worse, of all things).

I'd have committed suicide before now had the drugs not become available, either slowly through starvation or more quickly with a brand new gun.

That's how bad it is.

[customerserviceguy]

68. In addition to OTC

if you find that a prescription-only medication is your answer, you can often get them cheaper from Canadian pharmacies. My insurance was so lousy that the company that serviced our drug needs would charge me about four bucks a pill for Protonix, but I found a Canadian pharmacy that charged just under a buck a pill, delivered.

[Warpy]

97. That's how I used to get my Prilosec

when Astra-Zeneca was filing nuisance lawsuit after nuisance lawsuit to keep generics off the market.

[lynne]

10. You might be onto something if acid reflux and -

- chemical-laden and processed foods were related but they're not. Acid reflux can be at its worst when eating home grown, organic veggies fresh from the garden. And acid-reflux has little to nothing to do with digesting food, no matter if it's color-enhanced or colored by Mother Nature.

That commercial is obviously lacking in clarity and details.

[Warpy]

13. Thank you

I get heartily sick of healthy people denying a disease process exists because they haven't experienced it for themselves.

I'm one of those whole foods cooked at home people. There is remarkably little rubbish in my diet. This is not diet related. It's because the muscle at the top of the stomach is not doing its job to keep food moving in the right direction. My dad had it and I inherited it. Lucky me.

[lynne]

17. My son had it horribly bad in elementary school -

- and the school counselor called me in saying his stomach/chest pains were a behavior problem. Grrrr . . . Finally - after this little kid lost 8 pounds in 1 month because he was afraid to eat - we were referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist. He was diagnosed and placed on RX meds for several years. Like you, we've worked with diet and it made little difference. In his case it has improved very much with age as he's now 20 and rarely has any problems.

Must be genetic, though. My 10 mo. old grandson was diagnosed with it. He kept screaming, wouldn't sleep, throwing up his bottle, my daughter was changing formula, etc. and then they gave him reflux meds and he has dramatically improved. I hope he'll outgrow it as my son did.

Hang in there as this thing is a bear. And I can't stand it when people make little of the disease because they have no understanding of it. It's NOT heartburn or indigestion. Things would be so much easier if it were that.

[merrily]

45. Sometimes, it's a hiatal hernia. My sister was born with one.

It did not bother her as far as acid reflux when she was very young and very thin, but, as she got older and plumper, it bothered her to the degree that she pops Tums like crazy and even bought a hospital bed, so she could sleep semi-sitting up.

She has been trying to eliminate additives from her food for a while now, too.

[noamnety]

16. Thank you.

My husband has it - and his diet is pretty much low fat, no fast food, no eating out, no corn syrup, I make our own yogurt, I either bake our bread or buy it from a store that bakes it fresh with 4 ingredients, we eat lots of fruits and veggies, we don't serve dessert with our meals or keep chips in the house, he's a healthy weight and has been working out daily for decades. It's just part of how he's made. The biggest culprits for him are probably tomatoes, oranges and pineapple, and coffee.

[Luminous Animal]

18. So does mine and we eat similarly. He was able to mitigate the problem

when he cut out dairy and most wheat. Fortunately in his case, tomatoes are not a problem. He loves his in season heirloom tomatoes.

[Warpy]

19. I always thought tomatoes were a particular trigger of mine

but once I switched to corn pasta and dropped pizza entirely, I had absolutely no problem with tomatoes, tomato sauce, even greasy ragu sauces.

[Luminous Animal]

29. My husband used process of elimination - something that we did with

our toddler daughter's food allergies. We started out with rice and built from there. While it was no fun for him to cut out dairy (he drank a quart a day), or giving up commercial wheat, the freedom from daily discomfort and pain is a plus.

We buy heirloom wheat flour for pizza dough, homemade pasta, and deserts because that doesn't bother him

[2naSalit]

40. I suspect that

there is a generational genetic inheritance after how many decades of GMO foods..? I recently, in my late fifties, am suddenly unable to eat a lot of things that I have eaten all my life so I think that there may be something new about the "stuff" that goes into processed foods and that are GMO grown. Milk is for baby cows anyway so I don't see why so many people drink that stuff but...

For those who take the drugs for it, I hope you can find foods that don't cause such a problem, the thought of so many relying on all those "meds" is frightening. What will you do if they suddenly become unavailable?

[RILib]

64. why should they suddenly become unavailable?

And what would people who have heart conditions do if heart meds "suddenly became unavailable"?

If you're talking about a temporary shortage, I stock up on at least three months of meds. In my experience insurance companies let you refill every 25 days, so I do that for awhile until I have the extras.

Not all conditions can be cured by a change of diet. Like other people here, I have a plain physical weakness where the esophagus joins the stomach.

[SouthernDonkey]

54. I've been on

a wheat free, and mostly gluten free diet for about a month and I feel tremendously better. I LOVE some pizza and I love me some beer, but the combo kills me lately. Cutting out the gluten is really helping, but I miss my pasta, bread and beer

[historylovr]

79. Does your grocer have a health food section?

If so you might try some quinoa or corn pasta, if they have it. And if you have a Happy Joe's Pizza near you they have a gluten free crust. It's a tough diet to follow, I know. My daughter was on it for over a year.

[Warpy]

98. Corn pasta is really quite good

and there's a corn/quinoa pasta in health food stores that's even better. You'll swear it's wheat, it's so good. The cooking times are quite fussy, though, so you'll need to time them carefully. They go from al dente to mush in a nanosecond.

Bread is more difficult. Glutino makes the only subs I can stand but the best thing about them is that they keep your hands clean when you're eating a tuna salad sandwich. Most of the time I either wrap it in lettuce and Vietnamese rice wraps or eat it plain on a bed of greens. Their corn English muffins are pretty good toasted.

Googling "gluten free beer" got me a huge number of sites with consumer comparisons of best and worst. I can't drink alcohol at all, so I can't speak to this one.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

78. All high acid foods...

If he enjoys coffee you can get delicious low acid coffees. I love coffee, but the high acid varieties make me nauseous... The low acid coffees allow me to drink as much as I would like, (well almost, I can't drink it past 5 pm if I want to go to sleep before 2 am)

[CreekDog]

14. Nothing gets by you does it?

[Skip Intro]

95. I suppose...

that at any given moment each person's attention is focused only on a minute fraction of the torrents of data which relentlessly bombard us all.

[mettamega]

20. Great Awakening :-)

thanks for posting about your awakening

[merrily]

22. Some medical conditions result in acid reflux, no matter how "clean" one eats.

[efilon]

23. That purple pill

nearly killed me. Anaphylaxis is no fun. It's scary to wake up with doctors holding defib paddles above. No more purple pills for me. I was shocked when they were available over the counter.

[Silver Swan]

24. I take OTC omeprazole

Before I did, I was being treated for asthma.

But it wasn't asthma, it was acid reflux.

[Jenoch]

30. I have a brother with a

fairly serious acid reflux condition. He first started having the problems close to ten years ago. He does not eat fast food or a lot of processed food. It's a serious condition because it can lead to esoghageal cancer.

[grasswire]

31. keep in mind that they can deplete minerals, too

I was in the ER a few months ago for arrhythmia, and both my magnesium and potassium were low. Just a caution.

[chuckrocks]

33. 2Tbs of baking soda, 1/2C H20

Works. And a lot cheaper than tums or pills

[SouthernDonkey]

55. Not great if you

have high blood pressure. Especially if you love the salt! That'll send you sodium through the roof.

[chuckrocks]

58. well that sucks.

[SummerSnow]

63. and a nice deep belch after taking that.You feel like a new person.

[arikara]

91. That's a lot of baking soda

we get by on 1/2 tsp with 1/2 cup of water. It usually works just fine.

But we rarely have any acid reflux problem around here because we avoid those fast food-like substances.

edited for dosage

[chuckrocks]

99. my great grandmother probably did it more like your formula.

I'm sure I've overdone it. I'm hurtin for certain if I have to go the soda route, so that's more of a midnight mixture.

[KittyWampus]

34. Acid Reflux > eliminate refined carbs. Sugar, wheat especially. It begins helping almost immediately

Alternatives to sugar are stevia, erythritol and xylitol.

Alternatives to wheat > see gluten free recipe books. Chickpea flour and maybe spelt. Sprouted grain flour.

[SouthernDonkey]

56. I will admit

That it does help overall with digestive issues! I've started gluten free as possible for a month. No wheat, refined sugar (only honey) and no beer or wine (WAHHHH!), but I don't feel like my gut is inflamed and about to explode! But I had some home made guacamole tonight with a lot of Jalepeno peppers, no gluten, and I'm feeling a little burn.

[OnyxCollie]

35. Your problem is you watch TV and think.

Fortunately, there's a drug for that.

[SheilaT]

36. I don't have a TV, so I miss almost all of the commercials everyone else sees.

It really makes a difference.

There are any number of real physical conditions that are out there and need to be dealt with. But there are even more fake conditions that we're led to think we have if we see the commercials.

When I was much younger, and in my 20's, I had an ongoing problem with acid reflux. It eventually went away, although I have no idea why or how. I think perhaps (for me, and this simply may not be true of anyone else) that dieting, and keeping my weight down to an expected level may have had a lot to do with it. Maybe not. But I can say that for several years I had acid reflux on a regular basis, and it just went away. I have no idea why. I wasn't taking any medication, made no major changes in my diet, but it disappeared. And it never came back.

Too bad I don't know why, because perhaps I could package that as the miracle cure.

Sometimes, things go wrong. Sometimes, things get better. Sometimes, we can figure out why. But not always.

I do think that it's far too easy to be bamboozled by ads on TV to think we need a medication that we don't. Or the three page ads in magazines. OMG! Have you seen those? I can't even begin to imagine reading them all the way through. I can even less imagine why we need a three page ad to convince us we need to take some sort of medication for a condition we never knew we had.

[ecstatic]

41. So true. Has anyone here been able to overcome reflux/heartburn symptoms?

I tried a couple of times to get off prilosec. The burning and nausea is just too much. Now I just dutifully take the medicine every day.

[merrily]

46. Yes. As I posted upthread, my sister.

She has a hiatal hernia, which contributes to the problem, and is somewhat overweight, which is the most common cause.

She is has been trying to eat a diet without any additives (as am I). And she bought a hospital-type bed (Kraftmatic) so she could sleep semi-sitting up as things are much worse when lying down.

You can get a similar effect with pillows, especially if you start with one that is shaped like the back of a chair with armrests (sometimes called a bedrest pillow) and then add your ordinary bed pillows:

A diet lower in fat helps both to reduce acid reflux and to reduce weight, so it helps on both counts.

[ecstatic]

49. Thanks. I'm willing to get pillows & change my diet, but I'm worried about losing too much weight

I'm already approaching size 0 without trying. Additives are a problem for me though... I've been drinking crystal light regularly for a longggggggg time and I'm sure that has damaged me in many ways.

[merrily]

59. Then weight is not causing or exacerbating your acid reflux.

I don't know anything about Crystal Light. I don't drink much of anything besides coffee and water.

Coffee is not great for acid reflux, either. But, I'm not giving it up!

[Sekhmets Daughter]

92. Pillows aren't as effective

as putting blocks under your headboard and they are cheaper than a whole new bed. They are sold in set of 4 usually, but you'll only need two. The doctor advised my mother to do this when she was diagnosed with an hiatal hernia. They worked quite well for her.

http://www.amazon.com/RISERS-Table-furniture-lifts-STORAGE/dp/B000L3OHRS

http://www.amazon.com/KENNEDY-Home-Collection-6-Inch-Risers/dp/B001AYWV52/ref=pd_sim_hg_9

There are several others as well.

[PADemD]

100. Crystal light ingredients

http://www.livestrong.com/article/413874-what-are-the-ingredients-of-crystal-light/

[REP]

50. I had two duodenal ulcers from an H pylori infection. Took 'the cure' and now ulcer-free

The cure at the time was a course of two antibiotics plus bismuth for two weeks; I think there's a simpler treatment now (along with easier diagnoses that doesn't invoke endoscopy). Until then, I had horrible reflux all the time (literally) but after the infection was cleared, I rarely have heartburn, let alone reflux.

[RILib]

65. h pylori is not reflux

It can feel like it though, but it is different.

[Prometheus Bound]

69. I had what I consider a miraculous recovery from a hiatal hernia.

The pain was got so bad that I was admitted to hospital twice. A fleet of doctors gave me a zillion tests and said I would likely have to have an operation. They sent me home with an enormous box of Nexium. Drugs like that are free where I live. I got home and looked it up on the Internet and read about all these side effects people were having and decided not to take them.

Fortunately, the next week I got accepted in the half marathon and started running a few times a week, and all symptoms went away immediately and haven't come back in 3 years. I never even bothered with any of the follow-up doctors' appointments. I went back to 10 cups of coffee a day, beer and lousy food, and still not the slightest whimper from my weak hernia muscle. I chew gum as I run too. Makes me burp, which I'm convinced helps.

Anyway, it worked for me. Run. It's been so good for me, I'll run til the day I die.

[PADemD]

81. Yes, you can get rid of acid reflux

Eliminate all Carrageenan from your diet. I have a diagnosed hiatel hernia and no acid reflux since I eliminated Carrageenan from my diet.

Please see the links in my post above.

[JVS]

43. There's more to it than that.

There are also plenty of people who lack frequent enough access to medical care that they are able to discuss various maladies with a physician. The doctors' time is so precious that they have to rely on the TV to inform them that there are indeed names and treatments for the maladies they may be suffering.

[sylvi]

51. You're more likely to suffer acid reflux

You're more likely to suffer acid reflux from the cola you washed that fast food burger down with than the sandwich itself. There is a family of chemicals called xanthines, of which caffeine is a member, that decrease the muscle tone in a small sphincter at the lower end of the esophagus, known, oddly enough, as the lower esophageal sphincter (LES),which results in acid flowing back up the esophagus. Avoiding coffee, tea, chocolate, caffeine-containing soft drinks, and even some OTC pain relievers that contain caffeine within a couple of hours of lying down may help relieve reflux. I know since I switched to caffeine-free colas it has helped me. IIRC, nitrites such as those found in bacon, hot dogs and other processed meats can have the same effect. I'd have to review the data on that, though.

Of course the items mentioned in the above posts - obesity, hiatal hernia, decreased gastric motility from eating large, fatty meals - contribute also. I have the best results from just trying to avoid eating substantial amounts of high-fat foods right before bed and taking an occasional Zantac if I'm in doubt. Those with more serious problems take a PPI like omeprazole or pantoprazole. Doing what you can to elevate the head of your bed helps, too. That can be anything from a foam wedge or extra pillows under the upper body to actually placing small wooden blocks under the feet of the headboard to tilt the whole bed a few degrees.

[Sgent]

52. You missed

all of the people who truly suffered with GERD before the invention of H2 antagonists when we had baking soda and tums for treatment. Not to mention the increase in cancer, etc.

BTW -- diet has almost no effect on it with one or two exceptions. Currently the only diet known to reduce symptoms of GERD (vs heartburn) are eliminating caffeine and alcohol. Stopping nicotine is also useful.

The "natural diet" fad for treating stomach problems has a lot more to do with what we can diagnose now -- GERD, vs. ulcers, vs. Gall Bladder, etc. Diet definitely can aggravate the latter two, less so for GERD.

[RandiFan1290]

57. Sharp and fast!

Like a PUMA!

[Turbineguy]

60. When you see those commercials

you're supposed to leap out of your chair with a cry of "Eureka!" and run to your Doctor claiming you have this disease and that you need these pills.

And then when you leave the clinic, stop off for some junk food.

[customerserviceguy]

66. It is just you

No matter what I eat, my stomach needs my daily Protonix. And no generic stuff either, that simply doesn't work.

The human digestive system (and all other parts, for that matter) was not designed to last more than a few decades, some of us are damned glad that a group of bright scientists figured out how to make proton pump inhibitors.

Enjoy your body while it's still young...

[green for victory]

73. Mimi Kirk disagrees:check out this 71 yr old veggie

71

Most people don't even know at the end of the day if they've eaten all the required vitamins and minerals. Years of the tiniest deficiency can turn into major problems.

When was the last time you ever saw a 71 yr old look like Mimi Kirk?

Proves it's possible. The American diet is basically junk and nutrition-less.

[customerserviceguy]

104. Glad her belief system works for her

For me, it's better living through chemistry.

[Javaman]

76. Typical advertizing...

It's called the 1-2 effect.

They have been doing it for years.

Usually they lead with a food commercial first, but not always.

Commercials are insidious. The inject an idea and after the 30 second spot is over, you think you have moved on, but your brain hasn't. So you start to subliminally think about food.

If you ever notice with some of the drug commercials, there is a "sing song" quality to the peoples voices. Not a jingle or a slogan, but a rhythm. The script is written that way for a reason so people remember them.

Full disclosure: I worked in the film industry for many years and have worked on over 2500 different commercials.

[jwirr]

80. While many of you are assuming that this cannot be a disease I know better. My severely disabled

daughter began regurgitating her food at about 12 years old. It was one of the major causes of being underweight. There was no food she could eat without this happening.

There was help thought. We asked a doctor for a muscle relaxant for her legs and got one of those surprise cures. It did not help the legs but she stopped regurgitating. She now has a feeding tube through her stomach and has gained weight and is much healthier. The disease does exist but it is not as common as the ads would suggest.

[musiclawyer]

83. AR...

is just your body telling you to stop eating something you used to. Medically supervised if possible; eliminate wheat, dairy soy and sugar Basically you will be fasting for a while. Then slowly introduce the alternatives ....sprouted grain wheat, almond milk or non milk substitute, then, fermented soy foods, then sugar alternatives such as honey and agave stevia. I'm not sure the order of reintroduction matters. This puzzle will take months to solve but it's worth your life. Because that's what we are talking about. Big pharma WIll take your like. If your doctor simply wants to push pills then he or she is part of the problem. Go to a physician assistant or holistic MD
And you should also get a liver cleanse either way Been there. Done it all. It works

[Spider Jerusalem]

101. The US is, as far as I know, the only country, or one of very few...

where advertising prescription-only medication on television isn't banned.

[geckosfeet]

102. Marketing. The herpes of the retail world.