Sleeping on your left side helps tremendously with acid reflux. Elevated head of the bed helps a great deal. When mine gets bad, I drink either a small amount of apple cider vinegar, or warm water with baking soda.

I think a banana might help. I was eating Shredded Wheat every morning and started getting gastritis last September. I was already taking a PPI for acid reflux, which didn't help the gastritis. After feeling a little nauseous after breakfast for months, I switched to a less robust whole grain cereal with a banana about a month ago and I haven't had any gastritis in a few weeks. I am tapering off the PPI now.

Wow, great suggestions everyone! Thanks so much.

I have a hiatal hernia and suffer greatly with heartburn. Peanut butter is a big no no for me. Also, if I sleep on my left side I get heartburn, so I sleep on my right side.

When it is very bad the bile will come up and into my mouth, nose and whatever ear I am sleeping on! Truly a terrible thing.

One thing to avoid that you might not think of, is honey. The only time I get heartburn is if I eat super spicy food or honey. I was surprised to read some people recommend it as a cure, but I know several friends who also get bad heartburn from honey.

Last night when I was falling asleep I got a mouthful of acid, very unpleasant. It's not as bad today.

I started progesterone last week for a health issue and apparently it weakens the valve over the stomach that keeps the acids in, so I think that's why it's flared up.

If you cannot take any meds other than Tums, which you can't take, this won't help you. Note not all antacids contain calcium; some contain aluminum, magnesium, and sodium bicarbonate. GERD is also treated with H2 blockers and PPI's.

Not saying this is your problem, but my doctors have related it to excess weight. I don't have a problem with it unless I eat a lot things I'm not supposed to.

Our home remedies were a little bit of baking soda in water or 1/2 cup or less Coke. Both make you burp.

It's been almost 10 years ago, but I had a perfect storm of stress and ended up with severe, long-lasting heartburn. When the worst pains hit, I'd sip water and walk ... slow pacing around and around, up and down the stairs, inside the house. Avoid stress, loud noises ... limit your diet to foods that don't cause immediate pain (cantaloupe, plain white rice for me)... keep your life dull and boring until you get a handle on the medical situation.

There's lots of treatment options. For me, a six month course of PPI's and attention to eating habits -- no more snacks before bedtime -- did the trick. It might take a while to find what is effective for you, but hang in there, there will be a solution.

Chi, have you tried digestive enzymes? If your doctor agrees, I will give you an excellent brand that my holistic herbalist prescribed for my dog. He only prescribes human grade medicine and works with human cancer patients as well. When I told him my symptoms, he said I should try it too.

It worked for both of us.

Also, NO eating/drinking 3 hours before bedtime:(

Nannygoat, please share! I'll ask my doctor about it.

1/4 tsp of baking soda in a glass of water twice a day (recommended by my doctor) Also. check out bed risers on Amazon. Just get the two for the head of the bed so you're sleeping on an angle. You will barely notice. Bed doesn't look so pretty, but you will surely notice the difference. (also recommended by my doctor)

It's DigestZyme by Transformation. You can get either 120/240 capsule amount. I purchase them at his store (Petsturant) because I want to support his animal Foundation but you can purchase them online. The company is very responsive to any email inquiries you may have. The capsules are relatively small and easy to swallow. They are very safe and you take two capsules 20 minutes before each meal. I was able to reduce my dosage to 2 daily, taken before dinner, which is my largest meal.

I hope they work for you as well as they did for us!

Acid reflux runs in my family big time. The only time I was consistently free of it was when I was eating extreme low-carb. It was like a miracle. I've since added some carbs back into my diet, and with them came the acid reflux again. The only acidic food I'm aware that I eat is yogurt.

Apple cider vinegar is suggested because acid reflux is sometimes caused by insufficient acid. I forget the mechanics of how that works, but it made sense when I read it. Evidently I don't have too little acid because when I tried the vinegar it made things worse.

In addition to Tums, baking soda, mentioned above, has helped me, and occasionally (rarely) I turn to Alka-Seltzer.

To spare your esophagus, can you take DGL (licorice)? It protects the esophagus from acid reflux, and some say it alleviates the symptoms. I take it when I think of it, which isn't very often. Because I've never taken it the way you're supposed to, I can't comment on its effectiveness.

I have a brother in law, with Barrett's esophagus. He uses Aloe Vera juice, to combat acid. I find it, in the pharmaceutical section, at Walmart.

Why no meds other than Tums? Heartburn usually means some refux, and this can be serious and lead to Barrett's Esophagus, a potentially very serious condition. If this happens more often than a couple of times a YEAR and then only after a dietary indiscretion, then one should see a gastroenterologist and be tested. Most likely, one will be put on a prescription med such as Dexilant, which is the Gold Standard.

When one has refux, there is also the possibility of aspiration of stomach contents into the lungs and a resulting pneumonia.

This is not something to mess around with and get DIY treatments/ cures on the internet. It's a serious health problem. Ask me how I know...

I am under the care of a gastroenterologist. He says I have GERD though he didn't perform the endoscopy yet. He prescribed Ranitidine (Zantac) but I can't take it so I'm looking for alternatives.

I get heartburn only from certain foods. A couple bites of Campbell's tomato soup and it starts but other tomato based foods no problem. I generally avoid the foods that bring mine on than I have no problem. This is definitely something that needs followed by a gastro doctor.

I am in agreement with Anglo. If you can’t or won’t take the Zantac, then your gastroenterologist should be finding you an alternative. And if you stop taking what he prescribed without his knowledge and/or approval, then you’re not really under the care of a gastroenterologist.

Many years ago, when I was pregnant ( 60or so) a tablespoon of cream worked well.

Interesting...i'm definitely going to try some of these foods/drinks. It can't hurt.

I had severe GERD, was in multiple drug studies because of the degree of my damage. I was in the prilosec and Prevacid drug trials many years ago. I was put on them alternating between the two. Although they were originally prescribed for short term use most people stayed on them. I was on them for many many years. My current gastroenterologist wanted me off of all proton pump inhibitors and I did too. They were taking a toll. He was 100% for the apple cider vinegar. He gave me some great literature to explain exactly what happens in the body and gut on long term proton pump drugs. It was exactly what I was going through. He transitioned me onto low dose Zantac and Pepcid, alternating. I had to drink apple cider vinegar and water every morning and every evening. If I felt Reflux or Heartburn I would drink more immediately. It was amazing how well it worked. But understanding the mechanism of the process from the literature it made perfect sense. He was trying to get all of his patients off of the proton pump meds. Or use them as they are intended as a 2 week treatment only. I followed his protocol exactly and so did my husband. We have both been totally free of proton pump inhibitors for a few years now. I still do the apple cider vinegar but don't find I need it as much. I take apple cider capsules every evening after my meal. If I need to occasionally take a Zantac or Pepcid I do. I always have a bottle of natural apple cider vinegar with the mother in it at hand. My most recent endoscopy showed no more damage. I am beyond happy to be off those drugs.

I agree with the watch your dietary intake. Bread is a HUGE cause for me. The spicy foods, not so much but peanut butter, red wine...also positioning, push ups or laying flat face down does it every time. My doc put me on a course of Prilosec which worked for a time but it is something I have to repeat too often. Wish there were a permanent fix!!!

A friend was being treated for excess stomach acid when he decided to do the test and found out he had low stomach acid...that was his actual problem. So the doc treatments were making his situation worse. You can read about doing at home tests here: https://healevate.com/how-i-figured-out-i-had-low-stomach-acid-and-fixed-it/ or other similar links.

Also DH and I were doing a carb controlled diet so we were having eggs every day. Before we knew it, we were both suffering acid reflux issues and ended up on PPIs. Then I read that eggs contain a hard to digest long-chain protein that can be an issue. So we cut out the eggs for awhile and no more acid problems. We've since added the eggs back, but not on a daily basis like before.

Acid dissolves in water, so make sure you're drinking adequate water.

Also on the food list is mint and chocolate. I'm willing to take my chances on chocolate but limit the intake :-))) Do try the risers. I've had them on the bed for 6 months now and no night time incidents. My Doctor and the printout she gave me on acid reflux says it's better than using two pillows, which I would never do because I have a bad neck, and it's better than using a wedge. Also, eat nothing three hours before going to bed. Eventually, you will learn what foods seem to irritate you, but reading the print out she gave me on GERD, mint and chocolate were definite no-no's. The mint surprised me because it was my go to instead of Tums but now I just have a little carbonated beverage..........works for me.

This is a long thread and I haven’t read all the responses, but have you tried a good probiotic? It may take a while to really kick in, but it could help over the long term.

We use Pearl Probiotics which were suggested by our physician and you can get them from Vitamin Shoppe. And if you google Probiotics and Gerd, there are a number of articles about it too.

Eat Celery it is an alkaline it will destroy the acid

When I have a really bad case of heartburn I drink baking soda in water. It works quickly and reassures me that I'm not actually having a heart attack-lol. Sometimes it hurts that bad! I realized some foods cause me to have really bad heartburn, like sweetened nuts, like toffee peanuts, which I used to love to eat. I even brought some baking soda to work to keep after having a horrible episode at work a few months ago.

In the case of a hiatal hernia -- our naturopath made this suggestion -- you can try to reconnect your esophagus with your stomach -- there's a little space there that is causing the reflux (I am sure I'm describing it incorrectly!!!) Anyway. When you get up in the morning drink a cup of warm water. Then, standing up, go up on your toes and then strongly bounce back on your heels, do this three times. It's worth a try.

They say to avoid mint yet Tums comes in peppermint. Go figure.

Just an FYI if you have digestive problems caused by artificial sugars most things like Tums can contain sorbitol or other artificial sugars. There are still a few types of Tums that contain sugar or maltose. When I looked last week even the ones that were marked "natural" that natural apparently was only natural flavoring.

Chi...

18 years ago through a scoping, I found that I had full blown Barrett’s Esoqphagus, which is a pre-cancerous condition and nothing to mess with..it is serious . I was put on list of the “forbidden foods” that you and others have listed...raised the head of my bed 6 inches...sleeping only on left side so the acid would flow away from my stomach...nothing to eat within 3 hours of reclining...given every PPI available...but last year, my “gut specialist” said I had put up with this for way too long and there was a study connecting the use of PPIs and kidney failure. So he sent me to a surgeon for a Nissen Fundloplcation (sp?). I had 5 small incisions and she tied the sphincter (flap) between my esophagus and my stomach so that it will not let the acid come back up into the esophagus. I can still belch, but not vomit. I am free at last! I can eat anything I want (lovin’ eating chocolate and tomatoes again) and no more reflux. I will still have to be scoped every other year to make sure my Barrett’s is silent, but I wish I had done this years ago. Good Luck! (Gaviscom was my best friend when I was suffering.)

"our naturopath made this suggestion -- you can try to reconnect your esophagus with your stomach"

If your esophagus is disconnected from your stomach, you have a major medical problem. A naturopath may not know enough to understand that.

Elmer, did you read my disclaimer? This was what I said: (I am sure I'm describing it incorrectly!!!)

I guess that wasn't strong enough. I heard this more than twenty years ago. This was the image I fixed in my mind to help me understand why the "bounce" was necessary. This particular naturopath was knowledgeable but I guess you'll have to take my (now questionable) word for it.

Bleusblue....you are partly right....they do pull the top of the stomach up over the bottom of the lower esophagus to hold the sphincter (flap) down...

Between the esophagus and stomach is the lower esophageal sphincter muscles.

Bleu, I almost stopped reading at the word naturopath but continued on to the end.

Naturopaths are quacks as far as I'm concerned. Advice or an analysis/treatment plan from one doesn't hold water for me.

Anyone who wants to drink water and bounce a few times after getting up, great. Don't think that does anything unless you're doing so on the directions of a medical doctor with real training and real education. Things naturopaths don't have.

Have your own opinion but please see a real doctor when you're unwell.

I wonder if there are ways to strengthen the LES. I'm taking something now which I've heard weakens it so I'm hoping my issues are temporary.

Chi

According to what I have read there are meds that can cause the LES to relax and loosen allowing acid to leak into esophagus....i.e. some heart and blood pressure meds, asthma meds, IBS meds, antidepressants, hormone replacements, sedatives, etc..... whatever you take, drink plenty of water with the medication.

Elmer -- you too are entitled to your own opinion. This "bouncing" business is merely a suggestion to support any other choice you make including a drug. It's merely something to try -- you know -- something to try. That's what it is. If it doesn't work so be it. Yes, I have visited a naturopath, someone very informed whether or not you give them credence. You don't have to visit one. I also have gone the complete medical route. My family doctor is knowledgeable and up to date. I trust her knowledge of current medical practice -- but I'm not asleep. I do my best to understand what's at stake when I make my decisions. I don't consult quacks.

"I don't consult quacks."

Well, I'm sorry, but you do if you see a naturopath for any health matter.

The Nissen Fundoplication is usually a last resort for uncontrolled GERD. As you know, the biggest downside is the inability to vomit. Another problem is that if the esophagus has lost much of its elasticity due to the acid, it can keep the food from moving on to the stomach, causing a blockage. Then surgery must be done to both remove the blockage and usually to reverse the Fundoplication. My gastroenterologist said it's a very tricky surgery.

There are other new minimally invasive surgeries out there. Cleveland Clinic is the place to go - they are doing the most research on this issue. Unfortunately, I'm not a candidate for either the minimally invasive surgery or the Fundoplication. We have tried two drugs - the first caused such vertigo I could not take it. I haven't been that dizzy since I drank way too much bourbon while in college! It was awful! I'm now on a drug for anxiety (which I do NOT have) but which is used off-label for GERD. I think it is helping some. I'm VERY careful about my diet. It killed me this past winter not to be able to eat a bowl of tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold winter's night! No Italian food for me, either. No citrus fruits, cranberries, rhubarb, chocolate - the list goes on and on... I really try to follow these restrictions as I tend to aspirate stomach contents and end up with infection and pneumonia. It really has made my pulmonary problems far worse.

I need a full renovation of my esophagus!

Have not heard of any evidence, or read any science, to support the "bounce back" method described. However, it sounds like a great way to get injured and end up in the ED; job security for me. :-)

mdln -- I'll take your comment as tongue in cheek.

Here's how it's done: you rise on your toes and then do a little bounce on the heels -- no harder than you'd do when dancing. My goodness. I have to put the confusion down to my casual description of it. I'll do better next time. It isn't a cure, it's just a little strategy to try. I haven't heard of any double blind studies of this little exercise but if some university professor applies for a grant I'm sure he'll be offered a whole wing and lab at his university. There's a Nobel prize waiting for the one who confirms its effectiveness.

"I haven't heard of any double blind studies of this little exercise"

Water and bouncing is a silly and trivial thing to take issue with but there's a point to be made. mdln quietly mentioned "science and evidence" - that's what tested and accepted research produces in the world of real medicine. THEN the subject matter can be considered as promising to be an effective treatment. If something hasn't been proven to have a specific effect, then the default in science is - it has no effect. That's assumed to always be true absent evidence.

It doesn't work the other way around but that's typical of quackery. "Here's what I'm going to recommend, now someone see if it does anything". Or, "prove me wrong". Nope, sorry. Be glad that real medicine doesn't work that way.

Chi, the LES is involuntary so you can't strengthen it by exercising it. However, you may strengthen it by exercising voluntary ring muscles in the Paula Method:

"Exercise – the repeated, deliberate activation of each ring muscle reverberates in the other sphincter muscles and throughout the body. In other words, exercise creates chain reactions that realize the body’s potential to heal itself. Each one of the system’s muscles can be the key to balancing the entire body.
A ring muscle in proper condition can be the key to balancing a remote ring muscle that is weak, loose or tense. Similarly, we use a properly functioning sphincter as a key to treating the skeleton muscles. We can also use a voluntary sphincter to affect internal, involuntary systems.
Paula method exercises are very simple and repetitive, and their performance is intentional, yet their effects are involuntary."

Attaching a link:

http://paula.org.il/en/about-the-method/the-principles/

Please DO NOT try to exercise on your own. In some medical conditions ring muscle exercises are counterindicated. You need a certified trainer in this method.

Elmer -- I think you realise it was a joke -- double blind studies. You inflate what is a simple, harmless suggestion into a battle between approved medicine and quackery. If it doesn't work, no harm done. Believe me the naturopath that was not the only suggestion the naturopath gave. The doctor was well aware of his suggestions also -- I wasn't the patient by the way. Let's not discuss this further. It's pointless.

Honestly, no I didn't. I assume those who see practitioners like a naturopath (or a homeopath) don't realize that their treatment modalities, in the main, haven't been shown to have any effect at all. They're untested, unproven and not studied at all. A sarcastic phrase I've used before is that quacks like this may as well treat problems by prescribing putting polenta on your head for 30 minutes, twice a day. It's no less likely to work than anything else they do.

Yeah, maybe I overreacted but I hate seeing people being fooled and taken advantage of. As I said, the danger is that when someone has something that DOES need medical attention, if they go to one of these quacks whose methods do nothing, they'll fail to get the treatment they need. And waste their money doing so.

I've heard of this stuff. It's still being sold and there are lots of buyers.