gerd

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beni
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Post by beni »

Hello again, I am one of the lucky ones who manage my LC with diet, now and again I slip up but mostly I am ok but for the last 2 months I have Gerd at night, I know others in this forum have this what do you do? I also have Asthma at the moment and wonder if its related, can anyone advise me please, Beni
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JFR
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Post by JFR »

Beni,

I used to have very bad gerd. When I switched to a low carb, no grain no sugar diet it went away never to return. That was 10 years ago. Before that I took Prilosec which I now know did me no good and probably did me a lot of harm,

Jean
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Post by Polly »

Hi Beni,

It helps to avoid eating for some time before going to bed and to elevate the upper part of the body when sleeping. Also, it's best to sleep on the left side.

I'm not aware of any connection between GERD and asthma. I agree with Jean that the GERD is likely diet-related somehow.

I also agree with Jean that it is best to avoid the proton pump inhibitors (like Prilosec). Not only are they believed to cause MC, they can interfere with the absorption of calcium, iron, and vitamin B12. BTW, it has recently been discovered that the H2 blockers (like Zantac and Pepcid) can also interfere with B12 absorption, which makes sense since anything that reduces stomach acid can have this effect.

Hope it improves soon.

Polly
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Post by Pat »

My brother in law thought he had asthma. He is a doctor and stupidly treated himself. Finally he went to a specialist and found out he didn't have asthma but had GERD! He takes some kind of GERD med and now no asthma.

Pat
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Post by janr »

One possible connection between gerd and asthma is a mast cell issue. They could be involved in either of these conditions. Some kind of allergy, food or environmental could be a trigger.
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tex
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Post by tex »

IMO, Jan is right on target in suggesting that inappropriate mast cell activity can possibly lead to at least the symptoms of asthma (as Pat's post also suggested). This is mostly speculation, but here is why I believe this to be a possibility:

A few days ago I posted about having an apparent histamine reaction to a high-histamine food (chicken soup that had been stored in the refrigerator, rather than frozen, for a few days). The first symptom I noticed (within an hour after eating) was minor bloating. Soon after that I began to experience what seemed to be attempts to belch, but instead, each time it happened, I could feel a slight amount of acid burning my throat (and I was sitting in front of a computer, not lying down). Obviously acid was being refluxed into my throat every time. This caught my attention, because I don't recall having that problem before.

The belching/reflux stopped after about an hour or so, but then I noticed that my nose was running, and my eyes were watering. I took an antihistamine, but of course I had D during the night, anyway. The next day I was back to "normal" again.

Clearly, I had a histamine reaction from food, that resulted in the typical array of symptoms, plus acid reflux. After thinking about this a bit, I'm getting close to convincing myself that all reflux/GERD issues may well be attributable to inappropriate mast cell activity. After all, in the book I cited research that makes a convincing argument that GERD meets the definition of an autoimmune disease, so a mast cell connection would fall right in line with that observation.

Furthermore we have found by experience that vitamin D and antihistamines help to prevent reflux/GERD, and both vitamin D and antihistamines are well known for minimizing the effects of inappropriate mast cell activity.

And of course, as we all know, asthma is a result of inappropriate mast cell activity. So there you have it. What do you think?

Tex
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Post by DJ »

Hi Beni, I've had severe GERD for nearly two decades. The short story is that all my GI complaints are turning out to be one issue. As I treat MC by identifying food sensitivities, my GERD is improving.

GERD is secondary to something else. Examine your diet very carefully. I've taken harmful medications for decades. I am now finding more relief from diet control than I ever found from medications.

GERD is a fancy way of saying that your stomach contents are backing up into your esophagus and your throat. The question is why?
It's a bit like saying that all people die because they stop breathing. It's true but, why?

Good luck!
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tex
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Post by tex »

Beni,

I forgot to mention, if it turns out that mast cells are causing your GERD problems, it should help to avoid the foods on these lists (or at least only eat a minimum amount of them)

Histamine-Rich Foods (including fermented foods):

Alcoholic beverages, especially beer and wine.
Anchovies
Avocados
Cheeses, especially aged or fermented cheese, such as parmesan, blue and Roquefort.
Cider and home-made root beer.
Dried fruits such as apricots, dates, prunes, figs and raisins (you may be able to eat these fruits - without reaction - if the fruit is thoroughly washed).
Eggplant
Fermented foods, such as pickled or smoked meats, sauerkraut, etc.
Mackerel
Mushrooms
Processed meats - sausage, hot dogs, salami, etc.
Sardines
Smoked fish - herring, sardines, etc.
Sour cream, sour milk, buttermilk, yogurt - especially if not fresh.
Soured breads, such as pumpernickel, coffee cakes and other foods made with large amounts of yeast.
Spinach, tomatoes
Vinegar or vinegar-containing foods, such as mayonnaise, salad dressing, ketchup, chili sauce, pickles, pickled beets, relishes, olives.
Yogurt

Histamine-Releasing Foods:

Alcohol
Bananas
Chocolate
Eggs
Fish
Milk
Papayas
Pineapple
Shellfish
Strawberries
Tomatoes

Those lists are from this site:

http://www.michiganallergy.com/food_and_histamine.shtml

Tex
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Post by UkuleleLady »

Hi Beni,
I had asthma for decades, and gerd for about a decade of that. There is a connection between the two, and I think from personal experience they are both mast related AND I think that the acid going into lungs can cause acute symptoms.

By some miracle when I took up running my asthma pretty much disappeared. After a decade of PPIs, Zantac, etc, removing gluten made my gerd almost disappear.

I still sleep with a wedge pillow at night, and it is so helpful. I suggest you look into buying one. I got mine on amazon.

Zantac (ranitidine) has been linked to MC. I know some people can take it, but I think for me it was a trigger. I just want to mention this so you are aware.

Best wishes.
Nancy
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beni
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Post by beni »

thank you all for your replies, sorry for the tardy response, we were hit last Wed. by a hurricane that reached 177k winds, lots of damage of course and we have no power, have the use of a generator for an hour so hense the short reply, I am sure it is a mast cell response too, might have to cut out the night cap !!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks again, Beni
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi Beni,

I'm very sorry to hear about the storm damage. I hope the damage to your farm and buildings wasn't severe, and the power will soon be restored.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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