Where'd I put the warranty card on this body, anyhow?

[kitanzi]

Right, long story short(ish), I've been having stomach problems for a couple months now. Two weeks ago I had a EGD done to find out what was going on in my esophagus and stomach. Yesterday I had the follow up visit.

Diagnosis is severe acid reflux, causing considerable erosion to the esophagus, and a sliding hiatal hernia. Treatment between now and another followup visit in four weeks is a strong anti acid medication, diet modification and weight loss. Possible future treatment includes surgery, but let's hope not.

So, ideally, I am now not supposed to eat anything I might actually want to eat - that should make the weight loss easier. As far as I can tell, the ideal diet for this (which I do not expect I will follow perfectly) is bland and fat free, with minimal spice or acidic foods. I should eschew chocolate, alcohol and caffeine. I should eat small amounts, slowly, and chew it as thoroughly as any cow could dream of.

No, I'm not really happy about this, how could you tell?

Neither of these are especially uncommon conditions. Does anyone out there have a good resource for recipes, foods and suggestions that won't leave me wanting to solve the whole problem at the source by simply cutting my throat?

Comments

some dissenting opinions

[klrmn.livejournal.com]

this may not be something to experiment when you've already got a hernia going on, but here are some opposing viewpoints:

the kind of food most likely to create heartburn is sugars and simple carbs (and possibly specifically gluten). https://www.google.com/search?&q=carbs+and+heartburn

acid splashback into the esophagus may be because the valve (which is supposed to respond to acid levels) is not getting enough acid to trigger it to close. intentionally drinking something acidic (the suggestion was a teaspoon of cider vinegar in a glass of water, but akien has had luck with a glass of juice) can trigger the valve to close. i've done this after taking pills on an empty stomach to good effect. https://www.google.com/search?&q=carbs+and+heartburn

i also suspect in another decade or so they are going to figure out that use of proton pump inhibitors cause an endemic of diseases related to mineral deficiencies. stomach acid is required to absorb calcium, magnesium, and iron. if you're thinking about taking chalky antacids, try taking a calcium-magnesium-zinc-vitd supplement instead. should accomplish the same thing and be better for your body as a whole. https://www.google.com/search?&q=proton+pump+inhibitors+mineral+deficiency

[klrmn.livejournal.com]

also, you deserve some *hugs* =)
i'm sorry your body is misbehaving

Re: some dissenting opinions

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

I agree with what I know about this. The condition runs in my family and I had issues with it myself. I went to a health food store and they said that often people are told they have too much stomach acid when they don't have enough and digestion is not happening as it should.

They suggested & I use Newton's Homeopathics "Bowel & Indigestion" tincture. It worked!!!!! And still works!!!!! I had problems with bloaty gas (and gas pain) heartburn... all that. For $13 bucks, they all went away. I hesitated to say this given the hernia thing, but klrmn opened the gate, so I'm going to step through.

It's only $15-ish bucks, so you could try it. It won't kill you. It's a tincture which stimulates the production of acid and helps things get digested.

I'm also going to join klrmn on some extra Hugs too!

Re: some dissenting opinions

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

The doctor did mention that a more powerful drug he might try if this started failing cause have a long term effect of osteoperosis, so that makes sense with the calcium absorption. What I'm on currently isn't a chalky antacid but a capsule. In any case, that's a good reminder (along with hsifyppah's advice) that it's always Your Body, Your Science Experiment in the long run.