zantac / apple cider vinigar

beni · Post by **beni** » Sun May 20, 2012 4:17 am

Hi, I am very confused and wondered if any one knows the answer as I cant get to talk to my consultant about this, as I posted the results of the gastroscopy showed inflamation in my stomach and duodenum I was prescribed by my G.P. zantac to suppress acid production and as Tex said might happen I had a flare very quickly afer starting on them but the weirdest thing was heartburn so bad that whilst driving I had to change direction to find a chemist to buy some Gaviscon, that helped somewhat but I spent the whole day feeling like I had a whole banana stuck in my throat, not very nice!!!!!! a friend mentioned trying cider vinigar in warm water so I googled it and there was a youtube doctor talking about this and he was saying that in gatritis doctors are giving acid inhibiters when the problem is actually a lack of acid and by giving these drugs makes things worse, he seemed to have all the right credentials and talked a lot of sense but now I am completely confused. Needless to say I wont take zantac again but I should like to get rid of the inflamed upper gut and from a diet point of view I would need to cut out even more foods out of my now very restricted diet also not to drink my only treat of white wine!, Yesterday I had areally bad flare and had loads of bowel pain that I went to bed very depressed,watched the movie Titanic took a valium and went to sleep really confused and depressedso I woke this moerning and decided to annoy you lot with my saga!!!!!! so, is gastritis caused by too much acid or not enough??? sorry guys to keep using this site in such a greedy, needy way Beni

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Sun May 20, 2012 4:51 am

There is a book by Jonathan Wright "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You" where he says that heartburn is from too little stomach acid not too much. He recommends Betaine HCL, if I remember correctly. I used to have very bad heartburn, lived on ppi's until I began eating a low carb mostly paleo diet (cutting out all grains and sugar) and the heartburn went away like magic. Sometimes when I strayed from eating this way the heartburn would begin to come back. I do not think there is a definitive answer about whether reflux is too much or too little stomach acid but for me dietary changes did the trick, fwiw.

Jean

Post by **tex** » Sun May 20, 2012 8:03 am

Hi Beni,

I agree with Jean. As we age, our stomach produces less acid (why on earth would doctors think that our stomach produces more acid as we age? That's contrary to simple logic.)

If a patient goes to a doctor complaining of heartburn these days, the doctor automatically reaches for a prescription pad to write out a prescription for a PPI or an H2 inhibitor. In the old days, before the pharmaceutical companies convinced the doctors that everyone needs to take a PPI, a staton, blood pressure medications, etc., doctors sometimes actually tested stomach acidity. These days, they have forgotten how to do that, because it is so easy to write a prescription for a PPI.

This subject comes up now and then, and if you read the thread at the link below, it should answer some of your questions. If you click on the links in one of my posts there, you can read much more about it.

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12496

You might be interested in the discussion at this link, also:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14245

Tex

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Sun May 20, 2012 12:17 pm

sorry guys to keep using this site in such a greedy, needy way

Please, don't ever feel that way, Beni. :bigbighug:

We all have desperately needed help and advice (and a shoulder to cry on). We are always here for you.

Deanna in CO · Post by **Deanna in CO** » Sun May 20, 2012 6:59 pm

Beni,

Within a few months of starting a gf/df diet, I started having pretty significant stomach pain - pain which was eventually diagnosed as coming from a small hiatal hernia. (They also found gastric tissue in my esophagus, most likely a result of GERD - but not turned into Barrett's at this point.) The interesting thing is, I had started using ACV shortly after the pain first started, on the advice of my nutritionist friend. The ACV had only been slightly helpful, but because it had been, I started taking Betaine HCL, and that DID help. I believe my acid level was so low that while ACV didn hurt, it really wasn't strong enough to help much either.

My recommendation is that if you find the ACV helpful, you plan to switch to Betaine HCL. (Be sure to find a gf/df brand as you don't want to make your MC worse.) Take the Betaine HCL as long as you need to; I took it for a couple of months and no longer need it, but if the pain ever returns, I know exactly what to do.

Good luck!

Deanna

mzh · Post by **mzh** » Wed May 23, 2012 7:19 pm

I found that I need Bet Hcl to help the Entocort work better. When I get off the Betaine my BMs get a bit mushy despite the Entocort. I've gone off and on the Betaine numerous times checking this and it happens that way every single time. I only take 1 capsule whereas I could probably use 2 or 3. I wonder if I'd be able to get off Entocort if I upped my Betaine dose. Hmmm.

TXBrenda · Post by **TXBrenda** » Wed May 23, 2012 10:13 pm

If you decide to try ACV, be sure to buy the unfiltered kind. I rarely have any heartburn since i started taking this daily. Good luck getting relief.