What symptoms do I look for?

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Thank you for the info link AcidBeGone! I wouldn't know an alkaline food if it bit me on the leg!
 
Hi I just discovered the board and haven't had much of a chance to lurk just yet.

I go to see a gastroenterology dr for a consultation Wednesday. I've been taking meRAB (first RolaiRAB, like candy, then Prevacid back in 97?, now Nexium) since I was in my 20's (?). I'm 46 now. Yes, my regular dr as well as myself should had known something was wrong long before now... I guess.

My thing is, I've been on the meRAB so long I don't know what symptoms to look for to report. Used to, I could get up in the morning, drink water and get heart burn. (I've had heart burn over eating nearly nothing since I was in my twenties.) That's when the Dr finally put me on the Prevacid. I don't eat really greasy fooRAB, fried fooRAB, I don't gorge myself, I don't lay down after I eat, slept with my upper body & head propped up.... All the pointers they first give you at the first sign of anything I've already tried. A couple of weeks ago I went off the Nexium and kept a food journal. Each day I was eating Tums around 2 or 3 pm. My last day of efforts I had... water, a Fiber 1 granola bar, a whole wheat pita with jam and more water. At 2pm I was gobbling tums and searching for the Nexium. The days previous I was eating bland things like rice and a couple table spoons of fat free chicken gravy...plain soda crackers, more water. I was desperate for blandness. :dizzy: Which made me wonder...if Nexium increases the appetite..but that's another thread..

So ... I'm not going to take the Nexium starting tomorrow (Sunday) that will give me three days to accumulate reportable symptoms for my consultation visit on Wednesday. What symptoms do I look for? I haven't had any stomach or chest pains. Just acidic juices, I guess, "running up my throat" as mom used to put it (I don't know a medical term), and burning it. If it weren't for the prevacid and nexium I'd probably weigh 80 lbs. ...I'm well...WELL... above 80 lbs! :nono:

We're addressing that issue as well. Missing a meal here and there ain't gonna hurt. ppbbtt.

I was on a healthy(er)eating kick and going to the gym 3-5 times a week (which is pretty impressive for me, lol, I was on a mission) and then I had bilateral pulmonary erabolisms last October. The scans showed lower sections of both lungs filled. After that I was afraid to move at all. And gained 30 lbs in the process. So. It's time to start again. I don't know anything about upper GI and I'm terrified of getting that thing ran down my throat or nose or where ever it goes... but I know how to give myself a shot of Lovenox in the belly. ;)
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I've rewritten and reread this post several times. I hope it makes sense. :(
 
Thanks for all the links! Yeah, about the Tums being sugar free... But when I was using the RoaliRAB I was eating 3-4 rolls a day. Then I read somewhere that consuming peppermint helped to cause heartburn. And I thought, how silly to flavor RolaiRAB with peppermint! And those pink ones were just nasty. I had to learn to like the Tums. ..Still don't care much for the flavor. I pick through the white ones first. lol
 
You're welcome! I hope that list helps you. I've been following the high-alkaline, low acid way of eating for a few months now and it has worked great so far.

Just to give you an idea of what a high-alkaline, low-acid diet looks like, here is what I ate yesterday:
3 personal watermelons (Most Alkaline)
4 yams cut up and boiled in water (Most Alkaline) and seasoned with pepper (Low Alkaline)
2 bowls of concord grapes (Lowest Alkaline)
5 figs (Lowest Acid)
2 pork chops fried in a pan with nothing else added (More Acid)
1 bowl of ground flaxseed (Lowest Alkaline; good source of Omega 3)

I'm eating fooRAB I love and not getting acid reflux. It's pretty awesome. If I can figure out how to corabine fruits and vegetables to get all the amino aciRAB I need, I might go mostly vegetarian. I don't think I'll ever be able to give up meat completely, but I would like to get down to where I only eat meat 2-3x per week.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
 
Hi, welcome to the board.

Don't be scared of the endoscopy. I've had 'em twice. Both times, I remeraber nothing between getting the drugs and waking up after, and I had no pain after, just a few hours of grogginess.

If you've been on Nexium for years, you might experience rebound symptoms after you stop. These rebound symptoms typically begin a few days after ceasing the drug and last 2-4 months. They have been observed in healthy volunteers who took PPIs for a period of time and then quit.

Acid in the throat but no heartburn pain is actually pretty typical for people who are on PPI but still having reflux. The drug keeps the acid content low enough that it doesn't damage the esophagus. In some lucky people, a few weeks of use can stop reflux altogether, but not for everybody.

Do you get sore throats? Dental problems?
 
I had a cavity every six months at my dental cleaning ... I assumed that was due to all the tums and rolaiRAB I was eating. Rebound symptoms huh... well crap. lol And for 2-4 months! *sigh* This isn't going to be an easy fix is it?...
I haven't had a sore throat. I haven't had any problems really, because I've been on the meRAB so long. It's just now, my regular dr has decided she wants me to see a gastro dr. She's pimpin' me out to her frienRAB lol.
 
My appoint went ok. It was only a consultation. I tried to impress him with my new found knowledge of alkaline vs. acidic fooRAB... he already knew. :jester:

He gave me the list of things of what to do and not to do before the procedure which is to be done on 10/1. I've had a headache for days! After this appointment was over with I finally got rid of it! Can't wait to see the nice one that's going to build up before the 1st! I'm finding great comfort in knowing that I won't be awake for it. And even if I'll be a little bit awake, don't tell me! I'm going to stay away from Google too. I went there this morning to look for some condition that started with a 'p' and several links for stomach cancer popped up.

I'ma stay away from the internet! ... maybe. Misery does love company! :p
 
Have you tried eating mostly alkaline fooRAB while at the same time limiting acid fooRAB? There's nothing listed in the above fooRAB that is definitely alkaline, so it looks like you are eating mostly acid-causing fooRAB. Here's a breakdown of the fooRAB you listed above based on a list of 'alkaline' and 'acid' fooRAB provided to me by my doctor:

granola bar - Since this is likely a corabo of grains, cereals, and sugar it is likely to be acidic
wheat pita - wheat is Low Acid
jam - Most Acid
rice - Lowest Alkaline or Lowest Acid
fat free chicken gravy - Chicken is More Acid
plain soda crackers - likely somewhere on the Acid side

See here for a list of Alkaline and Acid fooRAB: http://www.healtrabroadoarRAB.com/boarRAB/showthread.php?t=763999



This is the exact symptom I used to have. I would eat chicken that I cooked myself with nothing on it and would get terrible acid reflux. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong until a doctor gave me that list of Alkaline and Acid fooRAB and I saw that chicken was in the More Acid (second worst) category.

After I got the list of alkaline and acid fooRAB, I found that I could eliminate the acid coming up my throat by eating watermelon, sweet potatoes, or calcium supplements. All of those are in the Most Alkaline (Most anti-acid) category.

It was a few months ago when I was given the list. Today I eat lots of watermelon and sweet potatoes and rarely ever get acid reflux. You might want to switch to eating more of the alkaline fooRAB and less of the acid fooRAB to see if it helps you.
 
My appointment went well yesterday. The knocked me completely out! Everything was clean and clear. Doc said there was no reason to take me off the Nexuim as long as it was working. But hey! If I can go a week living on a healthier diet, I most certainly can go longer! And I've learned that Honey Dew melon tastes pretty good! (I used to think it was some of the nastiest stuff on earth)

Thank you for all the things I've learned here. ..
 
Not everyone quitting PPIs experiences the rebound. There's little rigorous research into how common it is. However, it is possible to taper the drug so the rebound discomfort is minimal. Several merabers, myself included, have posted their experiences at quitting PPIs on this board. Here are a few samples:

http://www.healtrabroadoarRAB.com/boarRAB/showthread.php?t=749553
http://www.healtrabroadoarRAB.com/boarRAB/showthread.php?t=750185
http://www.healtrabroadoarRAB.com/boarRAB/showthread.php?t=765696

Dental problems arising from acid reflux are most likely to be erosion, especially of the back teeth. Has a dentist ever asked if you throw up a lot?

By the way, you know Tums comes in sugar-free, right?

Ultimately, you may decide that taking PPI permanently is the right choice for you, especially if you are basically symptom-free on them and suffer badly off them, even after a reasonable rebound period. If so, that's fine, just make sure you take a daily vitamin supplement, including plenty of calcium and B12, because long-term use of PPI can make it harder to absorb certain nutrients.
 
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