Getting off PPI's and Acid Rebound-What has worked for me- Four months later

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Hi Mary:

I think GERD is a chronic condition, but a liveable/manageable condition. Your system is likely still out of wack from the PPI. I think my rebound lasted about three months, but there isn't a definitive cut off. Maybe the symptoms got better after the three months, but who really knows if it was still rebound. I have now been PPI-free since January and whatever I experience now is probably GERD and not rebound.

I can now experience several days of nearly heartburn free or such mild heartburn that I can drink a glass of water or chew gum and have it go away. There are days, however, when I'll experience what I call an "attack" and it still burns and bothers me considerably. Sometimes I know there are triggers I can identify and sometimes not.

I think the low carb diet is helping along with the supplements. I no longer do the ACV daily, but only on the "bad" days and for a couple of days. Vinegar, even diluted in water, does not taste very good and it is hard for me to drink it all the time when I am feeling good. The aloe vera will not cure the heartburn but will keep your tissues from being irritated or soothe those that are already irritated by acid. I have found a chocolate flavored DGL at the healthfood store and pop a few of those during the day. That is easy to do and it does not taste bad. The regular/unflavored DGL does, unfortunately.

I would have gone back on the Aciphex too after a few weeks had I not done some research and found so much information here. Sadly, my family doctor never told me about rebound and I did not get much support there. At eight weeks, it is likely you are still on the rebound phase.

One other thing that has helped me is to stay upright (I mean standing, not sitting) after meals for a while. I usually go out to water my potted plants after dinner, and that keeps me from plopping down to watch television in the evenings for a while.

Try to keep a food diary to see what is irritating to your stomach. I found out I cannot have bananas and green tea, at least for now. These are two wonderful fooRAB with great nutrients and health benefits, but both give me heartburn every time I eat a banana or drink green tea. I can fortunately eat a lot of other things, but it seems like my current diet consists of protein (lean meats), vegetables, nuts, and a little fruit. I can live with that for a while if I can stay off the darn PPI for good. I love bread, pasta and potatoes, but there isn't much of that in my diet right now with the exception of when I occasionally grab a bite from my husband if he is consuming any of those types of fooRAB.

Keep posting here and letting us know how it is going for you. Others' posts helped me. My post has helped you and hopefully your posts will help others who struggle with this phenomenon in the future.

RegarRAB,

Rose
 
Hi All:

Glad to see the thread is still alive and folks are using it to communicate about their experiences with PPI's and trying to get off PPI's.

I have not posted much lately because my situation remains unchanged. I continue to experience several good days and one bad day or at least an episode of heartburn triggered by who knows what. I am remaining careful of what I eat and pretty much continue to do all I have preached in these posts. I can live with the symptoms I have now, particularly if I am careful.

I guess we have to remeraber that there were no acid reducing medications (PPI's or H2 blockers) before the eighties and people had to make due with Tumms, bicarbonate of soda and careful eating.

Best to everyone.

Rose
 
Hey Rose,

Do you believe you are over the rebound now?
25th of this month will be my 3 moinths off.I still have bad days and good days in between.Can it last 3 months and more.
In specific how long did ur rebound last?

Thanks
Anu
 
Just wanted to wish you all luck on your journey off PPI's. I was never on them but I had a severe chronic case of atrophic gastriits and went 2 years and looks like Im toward healing with very little mild gastriits left so dont be afraid to go herbal and diet, I basically went vegetarian and herbal. To finish up the final stage of my inflammation I will be on PPI but only for 3mths.. then after I shall continue to herbal and veggie based lifestyle..and I believe I have nipped my acid in the bum! So much in the bum that I had an orange without one burp or pain, and felt great. But just wanted to give you all some hope that it is possible to get better with nutrition and herbal. If anyone neeRAB a list of my herbal cocktail I used and will continue after my PPI treatment let me know, but remeraber it works best with a veggie based lifestyle that means no meat or little fish or skinless chicken or turkey will be fine...if you can handle being a bland eater this may work for you, cause it involves no spices or seasonings except fresh or good herb based types on your fooRAB no gravys no sauces no condiments no proccessed boxes or cans its truly eating veggie fruits and good grains with soy no dairy no eggs with little meat source with ur daily herbal cocktail and vitamin sources! You also have to be willing to exercise. So its tough program given to me by a gastro doc in India but did work!
 
I don't have tightness but I have a chronic sore throat that lasts for months at a time. Part of it may be due to allergies but I think part is also reflux.
 
I would love to hear what the naturopathic doctor recommenRAB and if he/she has a theory of how or why ACV might help.

I started taking the ACV while on the Zantac (not on the PPI) and after a few days of overlapping both treatments decided to stop the Zantac and see what happened to me. I started on a weekend with only ACV to make sure I was home in case I was having a really bad day.

Maybe, as you say, the ACV signals the LES to close due to its acid content.
I am fairly comfortable with the ACV as four tablespoons a day diluted in water is not more than I would be consuming if I were to be putting the vinegar directly on my salad twice a day. It is worth a try. I have to admit that, of all the treatments I have tried, it is the one that took me the longest to work up my nerve to try. I was horrified thinking that taking the ACV would immediately produce horrible heartburn. Quite the opposite happened.I would love to know more about ACV. I have read both positive and negative things about it, but it seems to really be helping me. Maybe I am one of those with the low stomach acid. Go figure!

Rose

Rose
 
Just to let others know, I was on Prilosec for 2 years and now off for 4 months and just had a bone density test (last one was 11/08). My bone density has significantly decreased and I believe it is due to the PPI's. They don't let your body absorb calcium.
 
Thank you LMF:

Another pretty decent day today. I notice that Saturdays and Sundays tend to be reflux free days for me for the most part. It could be the stress of day to day work as well as the fact that I do more sitting and less exercising during the week when I am at work. I probably also eat faster during the week and sometimes have to go off my GERD diet due to availability of certain fooRAB. Well, here is to a few more GERD free days ahead. I'll keep you all posted and thank you for all your support.

Rose
 
Thanks Rose, wishing you well on your journey! You are going to be sooooo much better off without ppi's, good for you for making lifestyle changes :)
 
Going through a rebound myself right now and this, rosebloom is exactly what I needed to read. I do not expect you to read this anytime soon, as but I am on my 36th day off omeprazole(after taking it for about 8 months) and It feels good to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Going back to the occasional heartburn days before this whole PPI + rebound nightmare started would be a blessing.

For about 4 months I have documented everything I eat , when I eat it and what symptoms I get afterward. I have managed to transform this information into a graph with the help of some software and I'm hoping to see that "Severity" line drop at some point.

I have come to learn that its not necessarily about trigger fooRAB when it comes to a rebound(trigger fooRAB will obviously always worsen your symptoms though). Sometimes the same exact meal won't harm me and sometimes it will make me feel bloated and with a lump in my throat.

Overall I guess I can say that Things are slowly progressing (The only thing I'm on is Zantac) but that has come at a cost of avoiding many fooRAB (even potentially safe ones) and dropping too much weight.

I, like you had set a limit (2 months in my case) to see if things would get any better or if I would have to go back to a different PPI. Reading your post has given me more hope. Thank you. I will wait longer. And hopefully, just on Zantac I will pull through.

You are a strong woman indeed, kudos to you.
 
Hi- Just wanted to say thank you for your post - I tried the DGL, cal/mag, along with aloe vera juice 2x/day and enzymes with every meal and I've made it a week without my PPI. Gas-x is also relieving pressure and getting rid of the pain, go figure. Your encouraging story got me going in the right direction. Now that my esophagus isn't irritated I just have to find out what fooRAB are possibly causing problems for me. Thanks rosebloom!
 
Rose, are you out there?
Was wondering how you are doing. Is your situation the same?
I have been off PPI's for about 3-1/2 months and I WAS doing fine. The past few days, however, have been not so good. I have been having mild to moderate heartburn and popping the DGL and Tums and I'm thinking about taking a Zantac right now. I'm still seeing my ND about this and want to consult with her about why I would be having a setback. It's frustrating...I was doing real well and I kind of started eating more carbs and sugar and BAM! there's the burning. I just wonder if I'll have to rely on acid reducers the rest of my life. :mad:
 
I see I last posted here about a month ago. It has not been a straight line no matter how many remedies I try. I seem to be going through a bad spell right now. I have had two or three days of pretty constant moderate heartburn, so I have gone back to Zantac 150 mg twice a day to relieve the burn and irritation. I had been doing OK with periodic heartburn every so often, but tolerable. But I seem to have experienced a setback in spite of my modified diet, DGL, magnesium supplements, liquid calcium, ACV, etc. There is nothing I have done to bring back the heartburn. That is, no alcohol, no sodas, no caffeine, still a fairly low carb diet, etc. So, this is frustrating.

I think this must be the progression of the natural disorder when one is without medication. It is frustrating but I am resigned to keep working on it and pretend PPI's don't exist unless this really gets out of control.

This is definitely not a linear thing. It seems like one has perioRAB of less symptoms and then relapses like the one I have been experiencing over the past couple of miserable days. I finally had to accept the situation and take the Zantac again because my stomach was burning for hours at a time.

I am jelous of those who post that they have been "cured" by any particular thing, i.e, ACV, Magesium, etc. I don't seem to be experiencing such luck no matter what I try.

I'll keep posting periodic updates until the post is closed, but this is where things stand today approximately seven months from the time I stopped taking the PPI.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get "this" under control again in a few days.

Rose
 
You hang in there, Rose. I can see it gets you down at times. If only it could be easy for everyone.

For myself, I am taking it slow. I went from Aciphex to Omeprazole and I'm doing that on a 2-day on, 1-day off for a while. Then I'll go to every other day for however long that takes. My days off I don't need to take anything unless my anxiety is at the "red" level, which it seems to be these days. I, too am taking Magnesium, liquid calcium/VitD and sticking to my modified diet. If I need anything for a little burn I go for the DGL or even Tums and try to stay away from Gaviscon because of the aluminum.

Someday we'll both be on here telling our story how we beat this thing and helping others do the same. :)
 
I am actually in the same situation. I actually posted last night before reading this thread
about how to get off ppi's. the rebound reflux is just horrible. I did some research myself and apparently alkaline rich fooRAB is also a good idea, i will try that and some of your suggestions as well. My concern about the acv is that if i'm not mistaken i believe it can cause damage to your esophogus. Have you hearRAB anything about that?
 
well here is a little update since my post. I have had tightness in my throat starting 2 nights ago lasting all of yesterday and this morning. I have started to take zantec again yesterday and will continue today and see if that helps. I took 2 75mg pills yesterday oNE at 5:30pm then another at 7:00 then a 150mg at 10:00pm.

I also went to go see a kinesiology chiropractor yesterday and told me that I was breathing with my chest instead of my stomach. I am trying to work on that. He also did some adjustments to some trigger points for my lower intenstines and neck.

This morning I woke up with less tightness but still there and took a 75mh at 6:45 am. I will take 75mg before each meal and see what happenRAB. Even though Ive been feeling better maybe I should not have stopped Zantec so quickly.

The whole reason I stopped nexium and changed my Diet was because I couldnt take the tightness in my throat. Man I hope it stops. I can't take this. At least I dont have much mucas or burning.

Anyone else having issues with tightness in throat?
 
Thank you for your kind post. I think we are here to help and support one another. Reading other people's posts and their struggles with this disorder has been the only thing that has kept me going this far without running back to the PPI's. I have not been able to receive much support from my family doctor other than to offer me yet another PPI or add another drug to deal with the side effects of the PPI, and I am sick of that.

What others have posted here has been incredibly helpful to me as well.
 
That's what I have accepted myself. I know the way I was eating before was not healthy at all and I'm kind of glad I've been going through this. I know that sounRAB totally off the wall but it has made me see that the kind of food I was putting in my body every day was "trash". I feel better about what passes my lips now. It's not like I will never have an ice cream or piece of candy but I'm resigned to the fact that it will be an occasional treat and not an everyday occurence....and I'm totally OK with that. As a matter of fact I have this "treat" that I make with peanut butter, honey, raisins and almonRAB, refrigerate and cut into little bars...that satisfies me and it's all natural. Yumm!
 
I am still here and my experience is pretty much like yours. I have been off PPI's now since January and experience ups and downs. I can have many days of no heartburn and then days like today when I have been pretty much feeling nauseous and experiencing burning on and off all day. I think this is the nature of the disorder. I took two Zantac today. There are days when I take none and no remedies. Some days I can cheat a bit and others not at all. I have accepted that this is the way it will be and I have chosen tnis path in order to, hopefully, save my bones in the long run. We will see what happens in another year when I go back to the doctor and have another bone scan.

I still use DGL and apple cider vinegar and Zantac, just no PPI's. I try to cut down on carbs, no sodas and very little alcohol and never any alcohol or pills on an empty stomach. But I am never symptom free for more than a few days at a time. We have a weak LES and I guess it works sometimes and not others.

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and we will keep working on this.

Rosebloom
 
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