To ask if anyone has got better from reflux without medication

[Somethingsosimple]

I’m going for an endoscopy soon as I have been suffering from reflux for the last 6
Months and although I have tried all sorts of meds But i am still suffering . Omneprezole was hopeless. Weight is not an issue as actually underweight. Bed head raised, no late night eating,no alcohol, choc, citrus,Alcohol etc. Am I missing a trick? Sick of feeling ill with strangled feeling and food coming up in my throat. Also feel a burning in my chest. I’ve even tried no gluten for a week or so but ít hasn’t helped.

I ended up having surgery (fundoplication) for mine which fixed it once and for all. Prior to surgery I tried ranitidine, omeprazole, lanzoperazole, pariet, with and without rennies, gaviscon etc. Weirdly mine got worse after milk and porridge and things that's normally help a little, or at least not exacerbate it.

Ultimately mine was down to an issue with the cardiac sphincter not closing; so reducing the stomach acid (which is what those drugs do to varying degrees) didn't matter as I had nothing to stop what was there from coming back up.
Hope the endoscopy goes well and you find something that works, I will say that the surgery was a breeze though (in comparison to how terrible I'd felt for my entire life!)

I’ve had a fundoplication, I wish I hadn’t. I still take medication and I can’t vomit.

Cutting out gluten really made a diference to me

Apple cider vinegar saved me

apparently low acid gives reflux
We chuck stuff in to lower the acid
Which makes it worse
So Apple cider vinegar with the mother in made a huge difference

Helped on first dose and I was at the end of my tether

and forgot the most important change (for me): no drink with food. only drink one hour either side of a meal.

I'm reading this with interest as I've had reflux since I had my gallbladder out 4 years ago. My GP prescribed me lansoperazole but it didn't agree with me and I felt sick all the time. I've been managing with Rennies and Gaviscon but it's been particularly bad recently. I've put quite a bit of weight so I know that's not helping and obviously the rich Christmas food hasn't helped.

My Dh suffered very badly with reflux , The Docs rcomended befor going down the medication route to try a very small amount of food every 15 mins, a larger piece of food every 2 hour and a light evening meal
examples are ;
very small amounts 1 or 2 hazel nut , 2 grapes , 4 raisins, half a plainish biscuit, one piece of orange , Every 15 mins without fail.
Larger piece of food ; A very small apple , 2 biscuits, 1 small slice of toast ( scrape of marg ) 2 or 3 fruit pastilles/ mints.
Light eve meal Small chicken breast / piece of fish & rice veg , omelette, chips & beans , mild currys etc .

It was a pain to get into the habit , but after about 2 weeks he saw a improvement , the docs said stay om it for 2 months then every gradually go to eating 1 small snack every 30 mins and a larger snack every hour then cut out the small snack .
When a large and small snack coincide split them and have a medium snack.
You must start as soon as you get up and regardless as to if you want it or not keep the routine after your evening meal .
It took about three months , but with absolutely no medication once his eating got back to normal he was fine unless he ate a very hot curry or very greasy food on the same day.
The whole idea is that your stomach has lots of small but easy amounts to digest so the acid has something to work on rather than building up and causing problems .
It may not work for everyone but if you want to stay away from medicine it may be worth a go .

I had exactly the same problem. So much so I couldn't switch off constant reflux, it affected my appetite and caused lots of anxiety. I had an endoscopy and they took some photos , I clearly had oesophagitis.... I have been on 40mg esomeprozole for two months now and it has done wonders for me. The lady that did my endoscopy told me I would need to take them as it switches off the acid completely.

I had really bad reflux. I stopped eating all bread and for me that stopped it all together. Now I only get it if I’ve overeaten or try bread again.

Stopping smoking was the thing that fixed it for me. I'd go back to the GP for advice and would recommend sticking to omeprazole or nexium for now. The gaviscon liquid works wonders too. Hope you get it sorted soon OP. Reflux is horrible.

I was on rabeprazole as the only medication that worked for my reflux, associated with my hiatus hernia. Sometimes I got reflux like symptoms which were actually due to over medication ie not enough acid in the stomach to digest food quickly enough (as it resolved by drinking a can of acidic, fizzy drink).

I then read about rebound symptoms and hints of osteoporosis associated with long term use, and given I’d been taking it for nearly 10 years, it was a worry. I weaned myself off the rabeprazole successfully.

When the symptoms came back intermittently, my gastroenterologist correctly guessed I also have a gallstone which apparently is relatively common if you also have a hiatus hernia. I manage my symptoms by avoiding trigger food and keeping my weight below a certain point. And Zantac overnight if I eat too much rich food or drink any alcohol (this time of year isn’t great...)

Probiotics didn't help me.

What worked, not completely but almost there now, no caffeine, almost no wheat, no lemon or tomato, minimal sugar, no garlic, onions or spices. I was fine with cheese, and spelt sourdough bread, vegetables (cooked were easiest to digest). I drank decaf tea or water.

Taking extra strength aloe vera before eating or drinking, at least 3 times a day and at night.

Sleeping with an extra pillow and sitting upright until the last thing I ate had gone down.

I am of the opinion that it is not excess stomach acid that is the problem, but not enough, and was looking into treatments that help this, however I managed to get it under control without that.

I was diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux. I had tried omeprazole with limited success. Then the ENT said it had to be lansoprazole, twice a day for 6 months at least.
The feeling of a lump in my throat remained until I was given amitriptyline to relax the throat muscles - I had also been to hospital with esophagus spasms which feel like a heart attack caused by acid.
It had been so long from the issue appearing until medication worked that i had scar tissue in my throat and had to learn to swallow again. I still take meds off and on.

Literally tried everything, all the medications on the planet, tubes and camera down throat for biopsies, I was vomiting from severe reflux every day for 18 months.

I tried a new diet to lose some weight, high fat low carb. The opposite to what reflux patients are supposed to do.

The reflux completely stopped after three days. That was eleven months ago. It only comes back if I eat carbs or sugar in excess.

I know you will be scoffing at this and other pp will say it can't have happened.

But it did. I went from being on meds every day and spending two hours in the toilet each day with reflux every thirty seconds to having my life back within a few days. I used the Harcombe Diet book, but there are other similar ones. I've also lost lots of weight.

Good luck

My DM had similar symptoms and it was a hiatus hernia where the reflux had caused a stricture.

My DD had similar and it's Coeliacs disease.

@CharltonLido73 gastroenterologist, surgeon and nutritionist. I have no stomach.

Cutting out dairy really helped mine. Alcohol and smoking are also contributors. I found beer especially bad. A few beers and cheese and it was agony. The overuse of antacids also left me anaemic.

I take otc Zantac (75) and a second if it's really bad. Cutting out sugar and fat worked well but some days I prefer to just take the meds! Alcohol really makes the acid far worse so I restrict drinking to lunchtime pint in the pub on a Sunday or rare treats.

Literally the only thing that has made a difference for me is going back to a vegetarian diet. I used to call Rennie my bedtime sweeties I ate at least 6 or 7 every single night.

Was on omeprazole, some other med that I can't remember and my asthma meds were increased because the reflux would set off attacks.
.
Have switched to eating no meat for about 2 months now, and gave had one night of heartburn/reflux which was due to a really strong/fatty veg curry I ate.

Am on no antacids, no omeprazole and reduced my steroid inhaler to once a day.

Obviously this is anecdotal, but it seems meat was my trigger. I would discuss with a GP though before cutting out a food group.

Thanks everyone, it’s made me feel better knowing that it seems to be a common problem. I think worrying about it has made symptoms worse too. I fear being told that my gerd has caused damage too. I will try lots of the suggestions too

@PinkSparklyPussyCat mine went awful about 12m after my gb removal. But then I had a bout of stomach flu and it was fine and back to normal afterwards. It was so weird.

My weight just keeps creeping up post gb removal so I'm starting letichin supplements tomorrow for the choline. Apparently they're supposed to advise you to take them but no doctors here ever do 😳

Eating low-carb improves my reflux within a week or two of starting, and it all clears up completely within 6w. Completely. The oesophagitis symptoms fade away, the refluxing stops, the burping stops, the acid discomfort stops. I can eat curry and chilli again. I still burp if I drink fizzy or beer, but nothing comes up with it.

When I eat low-carb I do not need omeprazole or gaviscon. But within a couple of months of backsliding into a 'conventional' diet, the symptoms all build back up again and I end up on the meds again.

I've blood-tested negative for coeliac, and had an endoscopy that only revealed oesophagitis, but they went no further than my stomach.