Severe reflux. Have you tried the Acid Watcher diet?

[SandwichMakerHater]

I've had reflux for the past 3 weeks (but reading up about it, I can see that I've probably had symptoms I've not noticed for a long time).

It's at the point now where I'm looking at trying the first 28 days of the Acid Watcher diet - I have to work from home as I'm coughing and gagging at any time, it even happened while I was driving and I had to drive with tears streaming and one hand over my mouth to stop anything coming up until I could pull over.....as you can tell, I'm desparate so happy to try the strict anti-acid diet.

Just wanted to hear from others who tried it and have even carried on with the maintenance phase long term, to see how you got on with it.

By the way, I do have a GP appointment but the soonest they have as face to face is in two weeks.☹️

I’ve tried it, it was really really helpful for me. I continue to follow the maintenance diet loosely. I also, very reluctantly, took omeprazole for a month or so as well. I’d advise you to consider that, acid reflux is really damaging, and I think that taking omeprazole can help your sphincter to heal. I was fine coming off it, I used gaviscon advance to help. But I know some people use the diet only, very successfully.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'll keep trying to get a GP appt sooner, but my surgery's mantra is to come up with evermore unfriendly services in the hope that their patients just go away and die, so at least I can try and ease things with the diet while waiting!

I did read a bit about the implications of damage but stopped as that was getting pretty scary, so I definitely want to try anything that could help.

I remember that the opening chapter of that book is quite scary. I’ve found that I don’t need to do his recipes. I just make simple meals of fish or chicken with rice, quinoa or some form of potato and veggies on the side. I’ve got used to plain meals. I never gave up butter, and if I needed it, put a bit of butter on for flavour. I got used to porridge oats without any sugar, and would never need to add any now. I never figured out whether soya milk or coconut milk yoghurts were allowed, but I ate them. I lost quite a bit of weight at the start, but I’ve got that under control now.

Yes, from what I've read, after the 28 day plan, people choose to reintroduce whatever they can manage for it to fit their needs.

The last 3 days has been porridge with oat milk and banana, scrambled egg then chicken with brown rice - as boring and bland as possible! I am a big foodie and love cooking new recipes but honestly, if I can get rid of the symptoms that I've had in the last week, I'd happily give up the tea, cakes and curries forever!

OP, are you overweight?

Not a personal question but any means, but it's pertinent to your plight. As someone who has lost weight and their chronic GERD symptoms disappeared, it's definitely the place to start.

More than I'd like but not massively. 70kg and 5ft 6, so a 12-14. I have lost about 3kg over the summer and eat pretty healthily, no snacks, homemade food due to allergies in the house, no smoking or drinking (even fizzy soft drinks), with dinner finished by 6pm. Exercise 3-5 times a week.

Had a better day today with only a couple of episodes then just woke up with it a few minutes ago leading to a huge coughing/swallowing/burning fit, 6 sodding hours after a very bland dinner.☹️ I'm upright on the sofa so I've no idea what would set it off.

Was it just losing weight that led to your symptoms lessening, or did you need to drastically change the foods you ate/avoided?

I have foods that will trigger acid reflux and I lived on antacids for 10 plus years, I went from 90kg to 75kg in 8 months and I've probably taken 4 antacids since achieving my goal weight, I am male though which I appreciate changes things slightly in terms of body composition and I'm 5'11.

Now I can eat and drink normally without triggering reflux.

You'd be worth a doctor's appt to check for underlying conditions such as H.pylori, hiatus hernia etc etc. But everyone I've spoken to that has suffered with chronic GERD has had their symptoms improve with weight loss.

Thanks for all your info! Yes, i was going to ask them to check for other things and hoping for a referral for a scan too - though part of that I know is because I know someone who had throat cancer and went from diagnosis to death in 3 months so I may be a bit more panicked about it.

I thought I'd update this thread, in case anyone else has an issue with reflux and finds this useful:

GP referred me as an urgent case and I was sedated with a camera down my throat a week later! All is fine apart from the whole area being inflamed.

As to the diet, it's been difficult, but the results have been amazing. I didn't follow the exact meal plan, but followed the 'rules: I'm lucky in that I don't drink alcohol, smoke or eat lots of unhealthy food, but the lack of fruit variety and the extra time prepping food (I haven't eaten anything processed for a month!). So far, 4 weeks in:
I've lost 4kg
I've noticed an absence of symptoms that I hadn't realised I'd had (as I'd had them for so long, they were just 'me'): constant dry cough, throat clearing, raspy voice, feeling full quickly, constant snotty nose.
One of the biggest benefits has been that I don't wake up during the night anymore (I guess that's due to generally eating less and not drinking anything apart from water.)

I'm starting to reintroduce one decaf tea per day and will try a fruit and nut milk smoothie at the weekend, but I can honestly say I have no interest in eating cake, biscuits or crisps anymore. The combination of knowing what certain foods were doing to me (and the long term implications) and being able to wear clothes that haven't fitted for two years, is the biggest motivator I could have!

If anyone ever wants to ask anything or to share recipe ideas, I'm happy to chat.🙂

@SandwichMakerHater hey, I put another thread up about reflux yesterday. I just read this and it’s super reassuring. Did you have a lump in your throat feeling as one of your symptoms out of curiosity? I’ll definitely order this book after reading your post!

I’ve had gastritis before but never all of these throat symptoms/coughing. I think the onset of these are what’s scared me the most and it’s all come out of no where (I say that I was drinking a little more than usual over the summer I guess).

Do you have a favorite meal from the book? I’m desperate and might do it tonight while I’m waiting for it to come! I’ve been having porridge at 5pm the past week and I just need something else now!

thanks for your reassuring post ☺️

@Ellie54320 lovely to hear from you!
Yes, it was horrible, it felt like as soon as I ate, the food was stuck and not going down. Even swallowing made my throat feel too full up and I was just gagging constantly. I couldn't brush my teeth during a 3 day period because the cold minty fragrance was too harsh and would set me off.

I'll have a look at home tonight at the recipes. I eat a lot of really simple but tasty meals:

Salmon or trout fried in olive oil, then mushrooms added after 10 mins, then loads of spinach wilted on top for the last few mins.

Baked chicken with roasted veg and sweet potatoes.

I use a lot of cumin, ground coriander and ginger to add warmth/curryish vibes.

I have another book by the same author that has lots more recipes - the banana and walnut loaf is lovely (just as well, as that's my only 'treat' 🤣)

Breakfast is porridge and banana but I bought packs of barley flakes, rye flakes and spelt flakes to mix with the oats to vary the nutrients.

Lunch is usually salad (leaves, carrot, cucumber - no tomato, pepper or onion) with fish, olives and cheese or chicken, or an omelette.

I use the breadmaker now as it's cheaper than trying to find bread without additives that isn't £££!

The big change has been to eat smaller amounts, more often so there isn't too much to try and digest. I was eating three meals between approx 10am-6pm before but now breakfast is around 7.30, and I have some melon or banana/walnut loaf between the small meals.

I did try it. It maybe helped a little but not much. I had it on an off for years. Eventually ended up diagnosed with an underlying bowel condition and the gastro gave me diet ideas for that. I don't have any reflux since. It's all connected and the symptoms at the top end were really because of issues in the other half of the digestive tract.

Would you mind saying what you had and how you were diagnosed? I'm convinced after several years of suffering that my reflux issues relate to my bowel movements in some way, but I seem to be getting nowhere with my GP. If not, that's fine, afterall these issues are quite personal so I understand.

I did the diet OP and it’s helped me. Like some others have said, I didn’t stick religiously to the recipes, as they were quite American in style, and not really to my taste, but I did stick to the foods list.
ive cut right back on caffeine and carbonated drinks (mainly sparkling water) and reduced the small amount of processed food we did eat. And it’s all helped.

Sure. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, but it's very mild so more like hidden Crohn's. I'd had a gastroscopy that found nothing, even though the reflux could be quite severe. It was when I got a positive routine screening FIT test that showed blood that I got a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Crohn's. It's taken a lot of work and commitment for the diet (there may also be some cross over with IBS tendencies) but no reflux if I stick to it.

Thanks for replying. I'm glad your issues are at least manageable now, knowing what the cause is is half the battle I think. It's horrible when the digestive system goes wrong.

I certainly bought the books.....

I’m so glad you eventually saw your GP as reading your first posts made me quite worried for you! My friend is having another delightful procedure to measure how much acid she has in her oesophagus- she has to be particularly careful. I’ve had the lump-in-throat, acid reflux and found to have a hiatus hernia and very inflamed oesophagus. This was managed with medication and drinking water with (small portioned, more often) meals. Strictly no late meals - sadly, those days are over! All is well now as long as I’m careful.

Glad to hear there’s an Anti Acid diet, thanks for sharing and I’m also glad you’re much better

I thought I'd update this again in case others find it useful.
I'm still following the diet pretty closely. I will sometimes test out my tolerance by having really small amounts of acidic foods, eg a meal that has a couple of tablespoons of ketchup cooked into it, but mostly I stick to what's recommended.

I'm starting to adapt recipes so that I don't have to eat separately, so I now make tomato-free bolognaise/lasagne using a mix of veg, subbing leek and celery for onion and adding beetroot to make it red rather than orange!
I have two 'treats' (very loose definition😂), peanut butter on toast and a mango cake that I make and put slices in the freezer.

I do get cravings for crisps and chocolate but I just tell myself I'm not going to die if I ignore the craving and I don't see those types of food as an option anymore.

The biggest advantages: still losing weight, 7kg so far; saving money on food as the house snacks last a lot longer and I don't stop for a hot chocolate or cake in a cafe; the coughing/throat clearing has gone and my sleep is better.

Biggest disadvantages: fitting exercise in (has to be on an empty stomach) and missing some more exotic fruit and veg...and hot chocolate, I would love to see if I can tolerate a small one once a week.

It's definitely been worth it for me so I can't see me going back to an unhealthy and inflammatory diet. My next challenge is to think of a couple of treats for Christmas!

@Ellie54320 some of the recipes I have liked from the Acid Watcher book:
Dr Aviv's power bars. DS loves these too as an after-school snack.
Salmon spinach salad with walnuts and olives.
Miso halibut with sesame bok choy.
Turkey burgers with rocket ginger salad.
Squash soup with mushrooms.
Mushroom and barley soup.
Chunky monkey biscuits😊

Hello!

Really encouraged by your post. I’ve started the healing phase of the diet - how do you manage eating out? How strict were you in the healing phase? I have been very strict so far but I feel like I may want to have a decaf tea once in a while. I am such a foodie and this is very hard!

thanks so much

@Coatsey221 sorry, I've only just come back to this!
I'm still being pretty strict. I've eaten out twice in the last month: first time I had a creamy pasta dish. I knew it would likely contain onion and garlic but there was an option to have a half portion + salad, so I decided it wasn't too risky.

Second time I messed up and ordered a dish that was in tomato-based sauce. It was fine, I felt full up in my throat and was coughing for a few days, but it was a useful lesson because I could feel its impact because of how strict I was being otherwise.

I have two Christmas meals out coming up. I will have the roast without stuffing and just not bother with pudding. I hate the feeling of being too full now, so I don't feel like I'm missing out at all.

My Christmas treats will be some white chocolate, I'll make a vegan sticky toffee pudding thar has cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in and some shortbread date slices.

Thank you! Really encouraging- if you are able to share those delicious sounding recipes for Christmas?