Magnesium supplements cured my acid reflux

D

dcguy

New member
I started posting on this board after feeling frustrated by a lack of proper diagnosis of my very sudden onset of acid reflux. My doc put my on Prilosec but it was not enough, and I had to supplement with Pepto and eventually Gaviscon after every meal, and several times throughout the day. Even on Prilosec I had to sleep at an incline or else risk waking up with terrible acid reflux. Even in the middle of the day without eating much I would feel other strange symptoms.

In the beginning I didn't know what was wrong with me but it affected my breathing, I felt weak, and wondered if there was something wrong with my heart. I'm only 36 and have never had any issues, and my blood tests are always stellar. I did a stress test and cardio echo anyway and everything came back fine.

Finally, I found this thread here under a different category http://www.healtrabroadoarRAB.com/boarRAB/showthread.php?t=41225 and read that people said Magnesium supplements helped them tremendously. It sounded too good to be true but I decided to give it a try.

Incredibly, the very day I started the supplement I also decided to stop taking Prilosec, and I'll be damned if ALL my problems didn't vanish immediately. I started eating pizza, drinking beer and wine, chili, spicy Thai food, etc., in the days immediately following and NEVER experienced any acid reflux or other systems since. I can lay flat at night and don't have any issues whatsoever. I sleep like a baby now and am so happy my symptoms have gone.

Thinking back, it sort of makes sense because the Gaviscon, which contains magnesium, always made me feel a lot better than Pepto. Plus I noticed a big difference between taking the omeprazole with magnesium vs. omeprazole with no magnesium. And when I had the sudden onset it was after a night of heavy drinking, and I read that alcohol causes magnesium to be expelled from your system. So must have finally reached a critical point or something.

I'm also taking a men's health 1-a-day vitamin at the same time as the mag supplement in case I have any other deficiencies, and all I can say is the mag (or the mag corabined with the 1-a-day) has completely and instantly cured my probelms.

I don't know if it will help others as much, but it can't hurt to try. There is no negative side effect to taking 500mg magnesium once per day. Magnesium helps aid digestion and also is critical for controlling muscle function. It could be that my esophogus was spasming or not able to close completely and stop the acid reflux because of this deficiency. I also feel more alert and less tired.

I can't wait to tell my doctor how taking this supplement has cured me. There's no other way to describe it.

Anyway, thanks to these boarRAB I finally found relief. I hope this helps others.
 
Apple cidar vinegar and antiaciRAB cancell one another out. PLEASE MAKE YOUR DR> DO AN ACID TEST TO SEE IF YOUR STOMACH EVEN MAKES ACID and you reflux is not BILE WITHOUT ACID at all, because if that's the case, YOU ARE MISDIAGNOSED and it's a SAD EPIDEMIC where Dr.'s are not TRAINED appropriately, and the whole medical profession neeRAB to be SUED TO CATCH ON and the ANTIACIRAB companies will get SUED I'm sure, antiaciRAB and things like what you are taking STOP any residual acid your body is TRYING TO MAKE to protect your health and give you nutrition, and it's not stopping GERD, it's masking am uch more dangerous problem called Achlorhydria(lack of stomach acid), when your stomach acid production drops after age 40, it goes low enough it isn't strong enough to be sensed by the VALVE in your throat that is called the LES(Lower Esophageal Spinctor) so it stops closing and you get reflux. Reflux from LOW stomach acid, not from HIGH stomach acid. Just in having low acid means your body is going to get SICKER and sicker because your body wont digest your food and undigested stool will smell weird when you go to the bathroom,then you'll know you are in trouble! It's HCL(hydrochloric acid in higher levels that need to be taken to suppliment lack of stomach acid enough to trigger the LES to close) and actually stop reflux ina safe manner. Please read up on it, you could get sicker and sicker, regular Dr.'s ar not naturopaths or holistic Dr.'s and are mistrained, the don't know anything about this REAL DANGEROUS chronically misdiagnosed problem.
 
I suspect you had hypochlorhydria, which meant you got weak because the anti aciRAB were making your low stomach acid induced reflux even worse and you were going into a mal-nourished state. I am now going on higher doses of magnesium as well. I want those kinRAB of results.
 
I wish I could say Magnesium cured my reflux!

I take 250 mg of Magnesium citrate twice a day along with my calcium and vitamin D3.

My type of reflux is related to the LES not closing properly or not closing properly sometimes. I don't know if magnesium can help with that or not. But after reading about magnesium, I figured it sounded like a good supplement to take, especially along with the calcium.

I have tried many, many "natural" remedies in the hopes of being able to get off acid suppressing medication. I have tried D-Limonene (orange peel extract), DGL, aloe juice, slippery elm capsules, melatonin, etc., etc., etc.

Thank you for sharing your story and congratulations on being reflux-free.

Rose
 
is it safe to say that if you wake up with a burning esophagus and have trouble swallowing, that excess stomach acid is being produced?
 
How long did you take the PPI drugs before stoping them and going with magnesium??
If the PPI was long term it means that magnesium somehow help to fight with the rebound effect?
Correct me if Im wrong but you said the same day you stoped PPI and used magnesium supplmentation 500mg splited to 250mg 2 time daily, and you didnt expirience rebound??

And 1 more question can calcium and magnesium suplementation and more hard minerals like those help with rebound because they being disolved by acid and at the end acid goes away??
 
That makes sense to me. The PPIs that I've taken don't really seem to help at all (H2s are a little better), yet the ACV does seem to help, so maybe it is low acid. I will definitely talk to my doc about this soon. At this point, I have no idea why I thought magnesium was the answer, except that the very day I went off my first round of PPIs (month ago) I started taking the mag. It could be that just going off PPIs by itself is why I felt so much better, not the mag.
 
rebound, what does that mean? rebound reflux being worse?
I was fine as I personally took dosages strong enough right away of HCL(stomach acid replacement) to get my LES(valve to sense it and close), but I am now dependent upon that to stop my reflux.
 
UPDATE: It has been over 3 months since I made this original post, and I still feel better since I started the mag supplements. The one or two times I stopped taking them daily I would notice mild reflux coming back. I did get Upper GI results and they confirmed I actually have reflux, but it's very rare I feel any symptoms now, and I have not changed my diet or habits at all.

I keep some Pepcid AC tablets around and if I feel something coming on I just take one and my stomach settles down, but this is rare, and usually related to too much drinking or overeating, so I am not surprised when it happens.

Thinking back, can I really say magnesium "cured" me? No, not medically, but ever since I started it I've felt better, and the effects were immediate, and I'm still taking it (down to 250mg/day).

My blood did come back relatively low for magnesium (although still in the normal range) and this was after I started taking the supplement, so maybe it was even lower when it all kicked in.

Even though I'm 36, this episode has proven I am not that young or indestructible any more, and when I don't take care of my body -- much like a car -- then I should not be surprised when it starts to break down. I know some people's reflux is not directly related to how much you eat or drink, but I can't help think it's all connected to how well you take care of yourself in general both mentally and physically.
 
Have you tried probiotics and digestive enzymes ? Maybe you're getting a lot of gas because your digestion is slow and taking a long time to leave the stomach.

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500 mg daily split into two doses of 250 mg each. I take it along with 600 mg calcium citrate (twice a day for a total dose of 1200 mg a day) and 1000 D3 (I take only one D3 a day).
 
I was not on Prilosec for very long, maybe a few weeks. I went off it the same day I started the mag supplement. So far it's been almost 3 weeks and I still have no symptoms. Perhaps I had a mild case (although it did NOT feel mild to me at the time; it was quite debilitating).

I spoke to my doc about all this and he said I should get a blood test that checks mag and phosphorous levels, so I am going to go off the supplements for a few days to let my body normalize before the blood test. It will be interesting to see what comes back. I have not made any changes in my diet or lifestyle either, even though I know I should. ;)
 
Not necessarily. Reflux can also happen with not enough acid being produced. SounRAB to me like you have a weak LES.
 
I take 500mg once per day at lunch. I always take it with food. I also take a men's health 1-a-day multivitamin, which also contains about 150mg of mag, so I guess that's a little over 650mg per day. I am not going to take it forever. I might stop taking the 500mg supplement and just stick with the 1-a-day and see how I feel.

So far it's been over a week and I still feel "cured" (and still off the Prilosec and Pepto/Gaviscon completely). My diet is still lousy so that's never been a factor before or after my sudden onset.
 
That's interesting. I will definitely ask my doc. I will say, however, that I have no stomach pains, I'm not losing any weight, have no diahrrea or constipation, I have no discomfort swallowing, and I have felt the reflux immediately after eating something bad (presumably when acid production kicks in). So I wonder what other symptoms I should look for to indicate LOW acid.

So far the Nexium seems to be helping a little, corabined with drinking 2 Tbs of Apple Cider Vinegar a day, also back on 250mg Magnesium and taking an enzyme supplement. H Pylori test came back negative.

I had the upper GI which showed mild reflux occuring. All of this was sudden onset about 6 months ago after a night of heavy drinking. Could it be nerve damage from alcolhol that caused this? I'm 37 and otherwise healthy. Partied a lot when I was young, probably drank too much, although was never an alcoholic per se.

Also, most of my discomfort seems to come from not being able to burb when I need to. I think this is what causes the chest heaviness I feel sometimes. When I am having breakthrough symptoms and I burb, I always feel A LOT better.
 
Yes, started on some two days ago after I got my new Nexium prescription. I can't say I notice any change yet. I also started taking mag again.

What's odd is that I notice that when I typically feel good in the morning, and when I take my PPI first thing (whether it was Prilosec, Prevacid or this new Nexium), I immediately start getting a lump in my throat and begin to feel reflux symptoms even though I haven't put anything in my mouth since dinner the evening before. Why would my PPIs have this effect?

I have to go out of town tomorrow for a wedding and I am dreading it because I don't want to travel and be in front of all that food and drink when I know it will probably give me symptoms. I may just stop taking the PPI and supplement with a fast acting H2 like Pepcid Complete if I feel something coming on. That seemed to work well for me in the past, but every time I go back to the doc he puts me on a daily PPI. Ugh. Now I am mixing ACV and probably making my sytem go crazy. I probably have an pH irabalance in my blood or something. I will have to go in right away when I get back and see if my problem is low acid instead. I have conflicting feelings about this, though, since "some" antaciRAB have made me feel better in the past (but never the PPIs).
 
Magnesium and calcium both act as anti-aciRAB, so magnesium is doing that for you enough to stop your over acid stomach. It appears you don't have achlohyrdia(low stomach acid).
 
bump for new users or people who didnt see this before.
I hope some people will find this information useful.
 
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