Heartburn! Do Not Know What To Do.

[Guest scully]

Hi, everyone....

Well, I have been gluten-free since the end of October and am proud to say that all of my GI symptoms have disappeared. The horrible heartburn was gone, the diarrhea and running to the bathroom had stopped, and my bowels are now like clockwork! No more gas, no bloating, nothing.

However, the heartburn has returned over the last few weeks. I don't know why. At first I thought it might have been because I had consumed more than my share of Diet cola over a period of two weeks. Well, I cut my consumption all the way back to what it was before (1-2 a week) and nothing happened. Heartburn was still there most of the day. All I can think of is that I got glutened somewhere. I have no idea where or how this may have happened. I am so careful.

How do I stop the cycle so the heartburn stops? The Apple Cider Vinegar makes it burn worse. About all that helps is baking soda and water. I am on 80 mg of Pepcid per day.

Please help! I don't want to have ulcers again in my throat!

Jen

[Lisa]

Do you have a hiatal hernia? Maybe another food intolerance? Some suppliments can have that effects. I recently stopped taking meletonin due to awful reflux. It promptly went away.

Maybe a food dairy may find an issue. Hope you feel better soon.

[rumbles]

If baking soda and water calms your heartburn symptoms, you might have

something called hypochlorhydria, - fancy word for low stomach acid, and

yes, it creates heartburn, and other symptoms of GERD. The body makes

less of most things as we age, and for about 60% of the population,

stomach acid is no exception.

When you drink the baking soda and water, do you burp? An informal test

for low stomach acid is as follows: when you first wake up in the morning,

before eating or drinking anything, mix 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in

8 ounces of water and drink it, then for the next five minutes see if you

let out a good old fashioned healthy burp (the kind that everyone hears);

stop timing after five minutes. If you burped, you have an adequate amount

of stomach acid. If you didn't, you don't.

If you have low stomach acid, acid blockers (like Pepsid) create a nasty

imbalance cycle, as they lower the acid content even lower; the stomach

tries to compensate by making more acid, goes a bit overboard, which

results in heartburn and GERD symptoms. It's a nasty cycle that plays out

over many hours, - usually with the heartburn being worse at night. For

some, they'll also experience a rapid heartbeat late at night, usually when

laying down. If you have low stomach acid, try Gaviscon, - it's not

an acid blocker like the others, it's a foaming agent that creates a foam

layer on top of any stomach acid, which prevents it from splashing to

areas where it doesn't belong. In addition, if you do have low stomach

acid, you will need to take an acid supplement (HCL + Betaine, it's sold in

most health food stores, - you might want to start with 250 mg. if you

can find it, you'll know over time when if you need to step up to 650 mg.

or more; everyone's different, but it's easier to start with a low dose and

then work up to find the level that works best for you; just make sure it's

gluten free) whenever you eat anything with protein in it (HCL + Betaine

starts the protein digestive process, - protein isn't digested properly without

it, . . . the undigested protein causes a histadine release/histamine reaction

farther down the digestive tract, which causes allergy symptoms . . . if you

have low stomach acid, taking the HCL+Betaine supplement may reduce

allergy issues).

If you google hypochlorhydria, you will find quite a bit of information written

about the subject, - doctors are starting to catch on, at least some of them.

The following is an article that describes the baking soda and water test that

I wrote about above:

Open Original Shared Link

Hope this helps!

rumbles.

[Di-gfree]

However, the heartburn has returned over the last few weeks. I don't know why. At first I thought it might have been because I had consumed more than my share of Diet cola over a period of two weeks. Well, I cut my consumption all the way back to what it was before (1-2 a week) and nothing happened. Heartburn was still there most of the day.

I find heartburn to be one of the worst things to take. My heartburn used to be excruciating (I still get it occasionally), and my doctor prescribed the usual medication, but I never took it. I hear the medication can make you worse in the long run because we *need* stomach acid in order to digest our food.

I found out I was acidic (as opposed to alkaline); and one of *the* worse foods (most acidic to the body) is 'diet' sodas. Aspartame is the worst thing you can possibly eat. I don't touch the stuff - it's poison, seriously. Personally, I would stop, altogether, drinking the diet cola (or regular sodas) - don't just cut back. I know it's going to be really hard - I gave up coffee (and it was my one addiction) because it was too hard on me. Really - aspartame (or any other artificial sweetener) - think, 'poison'.

I would also eat more foods that are alkaline. Pick up some PH testing papers (at a health food store). It really did help with my heartburn. Not only that - I tested for thyroid problems (but that's another story). Here's one of many links about acid/alkaline balance.

Open Original Shared Link

[Roda]

I find heartburn to be one of the worst things to take. My heartburn used to be excruciating (I still get it occasionally), and my doctor prescribed the usual medication, but I never took it. I hear the medication can make you worse in the long run because we *need* stomach acid in order to digest our food.

I mentioned the same thing almost three years ago when I had horrible heartburn to my doctor. He automatically said that in the long run it would be worse to let it go and have problems. I ended up not taking his advice on the prescription and basically managed it with/without foods that I knew triggered it. I would take an occasional tums. Since going gluten free I don't get it anymore unless I eat something I shouldn't or if something is majorly cross contaminated. I have gotten random heartburn, not as bad as pre gluten free, just because and not gluten related. I have found that when I'm up at night at work and don't drink enough water, I get minor heartburn.

I also try not to drink soda. I have to watch my caffeine intake because of fibrocystic breasts and it stimulates my already borderline fast heartrate. If I do drink soda it is usually regular sprite, sierra mist, or 7-up. I also try to avoid artificial sweetners. The only place I get those is in sugar free gum that I chew once in awhile.

[dadoffiveboys]

How do I stop the cycle so the heartburn stops? The Apple Cider Vinegar makes it burn worse. About all that helps is baking soda and water. I am on 80 mg of Pepcid per day.

Are you still on this after going gluten-free? One thing to remember is if you take medicine for a condition (say gluten causes it) and you go gluten-free then you need to re-evaluate ALL medications because you may not need them and taking them could actually put you at risk.

My father stopped his antiacids a week after going gluten-free when he started feeling better and hasn't needed them since. He was having problems for 30 years - his stomach had to be 'unblocked' due to damage to the emptying valve, he had H-pylori, etc, etc.. Anyways.. you could have low stomach acid because if you don't eat gluten you shouldn't need the pepcid and taking the medicine when you don't need it could also cause problems.

However, if you are STILL having stomach acid problems while gluten-free then you need to find what is causing it because it should actually completely go away if it's just gluten and like others said there may be another food culprit.

[ang1e0251]

I will add my two cents to the drop asparteme concensus. It took me a long time to figure out how bad it made me feel. That was the hardest thing so far to give up.

Next I'm taking a hard look at sugar, the mother of all addictions for me to break!

[Guest scully]

What am I supposed to look for as far as testing with the PH papers, what are they supposed to tell me?

The link you gave me on how to test pH didn't work.

Please help!

Thanks

[Di-gfree]

That's odd - the link works for me. Maybe you can copy and paste it? Or, you can google 'acid alkaline foods' and you'll get lots of information that way.

The PH paper (the one I get) comes in a dispenser (like scotch tape), and it also comes with a chart so that you can compare the colour of the paper with the colours on the chart to determine whether you are acid or alkaline.

ang, I know what you mean about sugar. Although I don't think I eat a lot of it, I still have to have something 'sweet' for dessert after I eat supper. gluten-free brownie, muffin, cookie... I can't seem to give that up. I've given everything else up, and I want my cookie darnit!

Roda, that's what I did, too - tried to manage the heartburn by changing my diet - even more! I still get random heartburn, too; but I can usually link it to a certain food. I'm a medication phobe, so I do whatever humanly possible to stay off it. Except thyroid hormone (desiccated), which I have to take. And possibly HC because I'm secondary adrenal insufficient/hypopituitary.