In the next few articles, I’ll be writing about the epidemic of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and its mismanagement by the medical establishment.
In this first article I will present evidence demonstrating that, contrary to popular belief, heartburn and GERD are caused by too little (not too much) stomach acid. In the second article I’ll explain exactly how low stomach acid causes heartburn, GERD and other digestive conditions. In the third article I’ll discuss the important roles stomach acid plays in maintaining health and preventing disease, and the danger long-term use of acid suppressing drugs presents. In the final article, I’ll present simple dietary and lifestyle changes that can eliminate heartburn and GERD once and for all.
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Heartburn and GERD Are No Joke
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Kidney Digestive Diseases, sixty million people experience heartburn at least once a month and twenty five million experience symptoms daily.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), a more serious form of acid reflux, is the most common digestive disorder in the United States. Studies show that 10-20% of individuals experience symptoms at least once a week, and prevalence of GERD is increasing steadily.
Drugs for acid reflux and GERD are cash cows for the pharmaceutical companies. More than 60 million prescriptions for GERD were filled in 2004. Americans spent $13 billion on acid stopping medications in 2006. Nexium, the most popular, brought in $5.1 billion alone – making it the second highest selling drug behind Lipitor.
As sobering as those statistics are, it’s likely that the prevalence of GERD is underestimated because of the availability of antacids over-the-counter. This permits patients to self-medicate without reporting their condition to a doctor.
Up until fairly recently heartburn wasn’t taken too seriously. It’s primarily been the butt of bad jokes about Grandma’s cooking. But we now know that heartburn and GERD can have serious and even life-threatening complications, including scarring, constriction, ulceration, and ultimately, cancer of the esophagus.
Problems with the Conventional Theory
If you ask the average Joe on the street what causes heartburn, he’ll tell you “too much stomach acid.” That’s what most of the ads seem to suggest too. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures like the one at the top of this post in ads for acid suppressing drugs on TV and in magazines.
But there’s a big problem with this theory: the incidence of heartburn and GERD increases with age, while stomach acid levels generally decline with age (Fig 1).
Numerous studies have shown that stomach acid secretion declines with age. In one study researchers found that over 30 percent of men and women past the age of 60 suffer from atrophic gastritis, a condition marked by little to no acid secretion. Another study found that 40% of women over the age of 80 produce no stomach acid at all. 1
Figure 1. Mean stomach acid secretion from the second to the eighth decade. (from Wright, 2001 p.20)
Just as studies show acid secretion declines with age, it is also well established in the scientific literature that the risk of GERD increases with age.
If heartburn were caused by too much stomach acid, we’d have a bunch of teenagers popping Rolaids instead of elderly folks. But of course that’s the opposite of what we see.
In fact, according to Jonathan Wright, MD of the Tahoma Clinic in Washington state, when stomach acid is measured in people suffering from heartburn and GERD it is almost always low, not high. In his book Why Stomach Acid is Good For You, Wright explains:
When we carefully test people over age forty who’re having heartburn, indigestion and gas, over 90 percent of the time we find inadequate acid production by the stomach.
In Wright’s 25 years of conducting these tests, he found very few people with excess stomach acid. Excess stomach acid is only found in a few rare conditions like Zollinger-Ellison syndrome), and GERD is hardly ever associated with too much stomach acid.
What’s more, Wright and other clinicians have found that giving hydrochloric acid supplements to patients with heartburn and GERD often cures their problem:
In 24 years of nutritionally oriented practice, I’ve worked with thousands of individuals who’ve found the cause of their heartburn and indigestion to be low stomach acidity. In nearly all these folks, symptoms have been relieved and digestion improved when they’ve taken supplemental hydrochloric acid and pepsin capsules.
My own clinical experience confirms this. So far every patient I’ve had with heartburn or GERD has responded well to hydrochloric acid supplementation. We’d expect just the opposite to be true if these conditions were caused by too much stomach acid.
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A Symptom Is Not a Cause
When I explain to patients that GERD is caused by not enough stomach acid, rather than too much, they are initially doubtful. “If that’s true”, they say, “then why do my antacid drugs provide relief?”
I’m not denying that the symptoms of heartburn and GERD are caused by stomach acid refluxing into the esophagus. Nor am I arguing that reducing or eliminating stomach acid with drugs doesn’t relieve those symptoms.
What’s crucial to understand is that any amount of acid in the esophagus is going to cause problems. That’s because its delicate lining isn’t protected against acid like the stomach lining is. You don’t have to have excess acid in your stomach to have heartburn.
The misguidedness of this approach is clearly demonstrated by the use of acid inhibiting drugs to treat heartburn and GERD – problems which are caused by not enough stomach acid!
The Consequences of Ignoring the Cause
As I wrote above, Americans spend more than $13 billion on acid stopping drugs each year. This expense might be justified if antacid drugs were actually curing heartburn and GERD. But just the opposite is true. Not only do these drugs fail to treat GERD, they will make the underlying condition (not enough stomach acid) worse. This virtually necessitates the lifelong use of these medications for anyone who takes them.
While this is a nifty sales strategy for the drug companies, it’s a bitter pill to swallow (yes, pun intended) for those suffering from heartburn and GERD.
Curing a disease means eliminating its cause. When a disease is cured, the symptoms don’t return once the treatment is removed. This of course is not the case with drugs for heartburn and GERD. As soon as the patient stops taking them, the symptoms return. And often they’re worse than they were before the patient started the drug.
Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies aren’t interested in cures because they aren’t profitable. It’s much more lucrative to sell drugs that people have to take for the rest of their lives than it is to promote dietary or lifestyle changes that would cure the problem.
Therefore, although the drug companies are well aware that GERD isn’t caused by too much stomach acid and that low stomach acid causes serious health problems and complications, they continue to sell billions of dollars worth of antacids to an unsuspecting public. Even worse, these powerful drugs are now available over-the-counter with no warnings about the dangers they present.
Note: if you think this sounds strangely like the situation with the #1 selling drug, Lipitor, you’re correct. Lipitor arbitrarily lowers cholesterol across the board, even though evidence clearly indicates that high LDL cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease. What’s more, low cholesterol is associated with greater risk of death in the elderly population. Something is definitely wrong with our “healthcare” system when the #1 and #2 medications are actually contributing to the conditions they’re supposed to treat. But I guess if you’re looking at it from the standpoint of the drug companies, who are in business to make a profit, it’s the perfect business model.
In the Part II I explain exactly how low stomach acid causes heartburn, GERD and other digestive conditions. We’ll also look at the primary causes of low stomach acid, and how you can prevent this condition from occurring. Read on!
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- Sharp GS, Fister HW. The diagnosis and treatment of achlorhydria: ten-year study. J Amer Ger Soc 1967;15:786-791. ↩
I have been on nexium for 5 years now and my GERD is worse than ever. Eventually I’m going to stop taking it, because it is only acting as a bandaid and not curing my disease. I went to the gastroenterologist today and he told me that I will have to take nexium for the rest of my life and get quarterly esophageal dilations. I told Dr. I did not want the dilation procedure anymore, because it only helps for a couple weeks and cost thousands of dollars; furthermore I wanted to get off the nexium because they were not helping. To my surprise he reacted in an angry manor, he tossed his clipboard on the table and looked at me and said, “so what do you want me to do then?”. I knew then that he could care less about helping me find a cure.
Day 5 people and still no heartburn. How has this not been discussed yet. PARASITE CLEANSE!!! It might not help everyone but, I think it will help some of you. Please try one…
Can you suggest the parasite cleanse that worked for you? My heartburn is unbearable!
I used ParaGone by RenewLife. I found it on vitamin shoppe website. I am about 12 days in and it’s been great so far. The only time I have felt a little was after a big meal right before bed and laid down, but even with that I would sit up for a few minutes then it was gone. Not even enough to take a tums. I know it sounds crazy and it might not help everyone but worth a shot. I think I may have picked up parasites as a kid, playing in ponds or eating without washing hands, maybe under cooked food or something. For me this has been a miricale and I don’t say that lightly. Everyone on this site should at least try. Just make sure to use fiber. I use metamuccil, because it did block me up. I am very afraid that reflux will come back after I am done with the cleanse but that is to be seen in a few more weeks. Will keep this site updated after finish. Two weeks reflux free though.
Ok so I said I would be back to talk about the parasite cleanse and how it went and where I am today. So I finished the parasite cleanse a week before Halloween. It is now Nov. 25th and my results have been nothing short of amazing. I have gained about 8lbs from being able to eat more then once or twice a day. I have taken ppi three times since I started the cleanse in Sept. Twice because I had gotten nervous when going out for the day with my girlfriend and knowing we would be eating italian food after I had drank the night before. Both times I had a small burb and i took a precaution. The third was legit, but it was after a night of drinking heavily, then waking the next day and eating leftover meatballs in tomato sauce and buffalo wings for breakfast. Dumb I know but it happens. Besides that there where three cases where I ate tums, that was at the beginning of the program. I must say I am surprised that this has not been mentioned more often. I don’t think I am cured because I will still get the occasional burb and burn in my chest. I am though at least 99% better then I have been in a while and I must say I am not hating it!
Hi, I have tried the low carb. diet for a week along with taking the Pervacid, Zantac, and gaviscon three time a day and symptoms still there. The pain is not severe but still there.
My problem started when I had to take lots of Aleve for my back injury. I think I got peptic ulcer.
I have tried some of the natural stuff like DGL tablets, Mastic gum, Aloevera juice and manuka honey but not much help. Any suggestions?
From my experience it all seems to stem from digestive problems.. if you can conquer those, it is a good way forward.. You can try taking Digestive Enzymes with every meal, drink plenty of water and avoid ready meals.. eat plenty of Salads and fresh foods and as your digestion improves, try to eat mostly raw organic produce… Hope this helps
OMG I got the same issues after taking too much ibuprofen.
4 months later, I’m still dealing with the nausea, burning, belching/gas and occasional pains.
How are you doing now?
I have been on my PPI for 3 months and I’m ready to get off and try the HCL supplement to treat GERD. Do I need to wean myself off the PPI or can I quit cold turkey?
This article is rather silly. So you start by admitting that heartburn or GERD discomfort is caused by acid splashing and touching the esophagus and then you go on stating that the cause of GERD is not enough acid.
So not enough acid causes acid to splash and have contact with the sensitive esophageal tissue? How does this make sense explain… and how does adding more hydrochloric acid help the problem of the acid having contact with the said tissue?
I will try to reformulate what I understood
having low acidity will not help digestion , even worse, it will favor fermentation . Hence dilatation of intestinal and gastric pressure , which phenomena will spoil closing of the cardia , supposed to avoid GERD
if the pressure is too high it may even lead to heart disorder ( this is my case : extrasystole and worse , fibrillation )
heart disorder can also come from oesophagia inflammation because oesophagia is very close to heart
it is correct then that we see a first improvment by taking anti acid stuff ,reducing irritation of oesophagia but after a while when fermentation is increased due to less acidity then heart disorder due to diaphram high pressure is increased
I had a problem with digestion for a long time and because of that I ate very good diet, My only sin was coffee and white wine. One day after a great stressful time related to my mom’s death I experienced reflux; I felt the like the food is “flowing” on the top of the stomach, but no heartburn, no mucus, no cough. I went to doctor and she gave me PPI. I am 49 yrs old and haven’t have any health problems, never took any medication, I am very active, slim, energetic…. I never for the whole life experienced any heartburn ( my parents, grandparents are from organic farms). I didn’t know anything about GERD, LPR, so I took the pill and was in such pain and fire that I wasn’t able to comprehend it. I took the pill couple more times and went back to the doctor . She didn’t listen to me and gave me Ranitidine. And it was then when I started to do a research.
Before I went to the doctor I was eating normally and have no problem, except with that feeling of stomach indigestion “moving up and down”. I don’t know if it was triggered by those pills, but I started to have LPR symptoms. Throat in fire, full nose, lots of mucus. In no time I was on complete alkaline diet, including even alkaline pH8.8 water; really almost 100% alkaline and I got even worse symptoms including pain while swallow. In that time I started to read Dr. Wright and everything became clear to me. I stopped pills, alkaline diet ( not completely, it’s great for digestion and together with it I started to dink 3 lt of water a day and my constipation is gone) and ate everything like before ( but I mentioned that my diet was very healthy anyway, but add all those acids back) and I feel as I felt before I went to the doctor. I still have a little feel of “heaviness ” in my stomach and maybe I have issues going on, H.Pylori, ulcer Idk, I will go for some test, but the LPR symptoms are gone.
I am shocked now, that without measuring your acid levels without even listening to you you are prescribed PPI. That your symptoms are not treated in a bigger picture, especially in cases of GERD. The low stomach acid and reasons for this problem explained by Chris, Dr.Wright and other world doctors are logical and right. Everybody can try it easily, but patiently, on himself. I wanted to share this, because I was so depressed in the beginning not knowing anything and saw myself dying from esophageal cancer.
This article made me lose faith in just about every doctor I have ever had.
First of all… I was never told I have Silent GERD. Never even heard about it until now.
I very rarely ever have the burning sensation in my chest. I feel it when it reaches the base of my throat. I had no idea I had GERD until one day (20 years ago) when I was having problems and a neighbor offered me an antacid. I protested saying that I didn’t have heartburn, but there was something wrong with my throat. He stated that if the antacid didn’t work, then no harm done, but if it did, at least I’d know for sure.
I’ll be darned… it worked.
So… I started taking antacids. First, one would do the trick, but then it got to the point when the taste of the first antacid hadn’t even left my mouth before I was having to chew on another. So I started chewing 2 at a time… then 3… then 4… when I got to 5 I decided to see a doctor. By that time I had become a connoisseur of the best tasting and longest lasting antacids.
He told me that the sphincter at the base of my esophagus wasn’t closing properly and that like a percolator, the stomach acids were building up and coming up the esophagus. He prescribed Prilosec and that seemed to do the trick… for a while.
By the time Prilosec wasn’t lasting a full 24 hours anymore, that doctor had passed away and I went to see another.
She told me… and after reading this article I wonder about her abilities… that I was producing too much stomach acids and prescribed me Nexium.
A few years later, I had annoying chest pains. Well… not really chest pains as the pain and ache occurred higher up towards the shoulder. About the same area where a woman would place her hand during the Pledge of Allegiance.
It persisted for almost a week before I went to the hospital where I was told that at some point, my reflux had gotten so bad that some acids had leached out of my esophagus and damaged the muscles there. I was then prescribed a nitroglycerin like medication to soothe and relax the smooth muscles there.
Unfortunately, I am no longer able to afford the Nexium prescription and have switched back to antacids, which I find now (in this article) isn’t doing me any good at all.
My reflux happens all time, It doesn’t matter if I have eaten or not, nor if I am laying, standing or sitting. I wish I had just one or two bouts of this a week. As it stands, I have it every single day… almost all day. Although burping isn’t very ladylike, I find myself burping at least three to four times an hour… whether I have eaten or not.
I have even had what I call “wet burps” during sleep and have woken up with bile in my mouth, unable to breathe because of course, I have tried to inhale that bile during sleep and that wonderful trigger that doesn’t want us to breathe liquids has kicked in and closed off my airway. That has to be the scariest times of my life. Fighting to breathe but not being able to.
Another weird symptom that I complained for years about (that no doctor could ever explain – but online sites finally did) is that every so often I will feel sick to my stomach almost to the point of vomiting, then I’ll sneeze, and that feeling will go away entirely after the sneeze. Guess what? It’s also a symptom of GERD.
I am beginning to think that some of these doctors need to go back to college and brush up on GERD. I am learning more about and finding more about GERD online than I ever have from a doctor.
I’m thinking maybe I’d like to try that Hydrocloric Acid supplements might be the next thing I try. At this point, I am so tired of the pain and discomfort that I’ll try just about anything to get relief.
Interesting. I have LPR too. Curious—what is your diet like?
Weird. I entered a message but now it’s gone??
I have a Lapband since December 2012. Two months back I decided to have a small fill. After that fill, two days later I started experiencing sever acid reflux. I’m at the point now where it’s been recommended having the band removed. I’m wondering if it’s a lack of acid, not excess acid. I bought Apple Cider vinegar to try. Can you give me a suggested dose and your opinion.
Sincerely,
Lee
Great website, full of good information.
Can someone advise if I can buy Hydrochloric Acid Supplements over the counter?
Also, the name of the supplement.
My body is creating acid for almost 6 months.
Just got off Nexium after 2 months course which seems to work when I was on it, week after I stop taking them I am back where I was.
Thanks.
Yes you can buy them in the Health Shop.. Be careful to start slowly, especially if you have inflammation in the Esophagus.
I just came off an HCG diet, no carbs, so sugar for one month. I decided to run an experiment and ate a boatload of pita chips this afternoon. Wow. Gerd. I suspected that might happen. I had noticed a couple of times having this within the last few months. I wasn’t sure it was tied to gluten. I had taken HCL and it may have helped. I took HCL this time and does not help. Gluten is my enemy at this stage of the game appartnely.
Maybe it was the Salt on the Chips, or even the way they were cooked… Crisps and Chips etc are more likely to cause Gerd.. You should try eating a piece of plain Bread maybe, that is more likely to show an accurate idea.
I wish I found you two months ago. I was eating very poorly and went to the doctor for indigestion issues – basically pain in my stomach and gas that would get stuck in my sternum and cause pressure in my chest. They suggested I try protonix 40 mg for acid reflux. I asked the doctor the down side of taking it and she said basically to try it and if it works great and if not, we will figure things out. Mind you, I didn’t have heart burn or other typical reflux issues. Just the painful gas rising into my chest. Well, after a week, I realized that nothing had changed after taking the protonix. so I stopped cold turkey. Didn’t realize that was an issue. Then reflux symptoms started so I assumed she was right and I started taking it again. Now 2 months later, I take 2 protonix 40 mg a day and still have the gas pain in my chest. I went to Mayo and basically said I had functional dyspepsia and acid reflux. I had a CT scan of my brain, abdomen and chest, a HIDA scan, a heart stress test, esophagus manometry, 24 hr ph test, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and barium swallow test and that is what they found. However, I believe I only have the reflux now after the drugs changed the way my stomach was producing acid. It was probably low acid to begin with but I wasn’t educated at the time. I am taking Iberogast (natural herbs that was recommended to me by Mayo and popular in Europe) for the dyspepsia- only on it a few days and it says it takes 4 weeks to work so too soon to tell. Also since I am having severe bloating and gas which I didn’t have before, next week I am going to be tested for bacterial overgrowth which could have been caused by the acid reflux drugs. I know without a doubt that my health issues went down hill as soon as I started taking those $%&#$ reflux drugs. So I so wish I saw your sight sooner!!! With that being said, can you let me know the best way to wean off of the PPI’s and how long I can expect it to take? I want to go to a purely natural way of dealing with my gastric issues.
Hi Beth, I do not think it is easy to get back to normal after taking PPI’s.. What you have described sounds like exactly what happened to me… Once I had taken them it was a whole new ball game… Burping, gas pains, stomach aches, undigested food in stools, in fact I was very very ill.. I had all sorts of scans, I thought I had all sorts of illnesses.. I cold not understand what was happening to me… I believe that they changed the whole pattern in which my stomach worked… They dish out these tablets like they are sweets! It has taken me months to get this far, and I am finally able to eat almost everything again.. I am just careful not to eat foods that are difficult to digest.. I still occasionally have episodes of Burping though, though not very often.. but before I took the PPI’s I never had those issues.. These tablets need to be used under stricter guidelines.. And more tests should be carried out to see whether a person actually needs them or not… I believe that PPI’s can cause a lot of damage if they are prescribed in-correctly.
Hi Jasmine,
Thanks for replying. I am still having lots of troubles and I have been off PPI’s for 30 days. Curious, when you said months, how many months before you started feeling slightly better. Also, how long were you on PPI”s to begin with.
Thanks in advance,
Beth
Hi Beth,
It took me about 6 months to feel normal again.. The tablets made me very ill… although I was only on them for about a month, I was trying other ones such as Zantac etc on the Doc’s advice.. which of course just made things worse.. I was so ill I could not digest anything! I was able only to eat plain rice that was almost a pulp.. I could not digest anything else.. I then gradually started adding other foods but it took a long time and a lot of bad days and nausea, burping, wind etc I now eat salad almost every day with dressing.. Jacket Potatoe was very easy to eat too… I do not have Dairy any more or Tea… I tried eliminating grains but it made no difference, in fact I find Bread really good to eat… I think the main things that tend to cause a problem with digestion are usually ready meals.. anything that is not fresh… If you stick to a good fresh diet and do not over do it with spice and fatty foods, that seems to work best.. also drink plenty of water. One day you will just notice that you are not thinking about that horrible GERD anymore, and you will realise as one day turns into 2 and then into a week that things are getting much better.. It does take a long time though!
PLEASE HELP!
Dr. told me I had mild gerd a year ago, and it only bothers me when I’m forced to take NSAIDs due to a migraine.
I have had Gerd now for the last 7 days, its not in my chest very much, but my throat is burning and that taste of vomit is in my mouth. At first I used Apple cider vinegar which didn’t help, them took a few OTC drugs and eating mostly alkaline foods. Still it comes back within a few hours.
By the way, I currently drink a lot of Kombucha and eat clean, off dairy and gluten for 4 yrs now.
Can I start taking this HLC while I have it burning in my throat? How much? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Hi, I started have Gerd about 7 month ago, with a sore throat. I have tried so many things.. but overall I think that trying to improve my digestion has been the most helpful.. It must be true that the initial problem must be lower down, for it to come back up… I have been very careful with my diet avoiding very hot and spicy, I also cut out Dairy.. I started with everything very soft and bland and gradually added back in each day.. Digestive Enzymes have been an incredible help and I take some with each meal..I also try to eat Papaya and Beetroot regularly as these also seem to help digestion.. I drink Alkaline water throughout the day and never drink Tea or Coffee.. Other than those restrictions I now have a very normal diet and can once again eat Chocolate, Tomatoes etc without a problem.. I hope this information is helpful to you.. I know how awful this terrible Reflux can be!
Thanks for all this info. Short version of a long story follows. Diagnosed with blastocystis hominis in July 2013, first symptoms occurred 20 May 2013 and it took a while to identify. Have now had 7 courses of antibiotics including flagyl finally graduating to a colonic infusion of a triple antibiotic administered directly into the colon. Whilst I was in hospital for the day I tested positive to heliobactor pylori. Last month 13 April, I had severe indigestion and was taken to hospital for a suspected heart attack. Today, thanks to your article I am thinking this may all be related and my question is— Could all of the antibiotics I have taken over the last 12 months reduced my stomach acid and indeed set me up with the H pylori?
reflux and heart problems have been associated with H. pylori [also A fib-racing heart].
Antibiotics deplete the B vitamins and iron.
They take out good and bad bacteria-probiotics are taken to replace good bacteria.
People in this blog have spoken about heart problems and reflux.
even evening at around two after being asleep for four hours i get a burning sensation in my gut. I had a cat scan of pelvis and abdomen two weeks ago as well as a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Have been seriously constipated for two weeks for the first time in my life not getting enough sleep or relaxation hoping to get more regular so i can enjoy my work and life.. i think it may have come from a serious diagnosis two months ago that caused anxiety and the cold winter brought a bad flu.. there is a lot of information that i will follow up with my gi doctor later today.. i heard conflicting reports on fiber good and bad mostly bad for constipation.. i think i want the hydrogen breath test, as well as test for hcl , how is hcl tested ?
Thanks
I thought I’d join the conversation. I have “GERD” from time to time. Although diagnosed with GERD I find that it tends to disappear. It re-appears after long term emotional upset/stress and it stays for a few months. I’m on PPIs again and plan to stay on it only for a short time until my esophagus heals (again). I tried HCL once and it did take the symptoms away (and that’s when I caught it before it got too bad). The second time I tried taking HCL I had really bad refux that ended up burning my throat quite badly so I never took it again. It potentially can be dangerous to take HCL for people suffering with GERD so beware. Even a naturalpathic doctor had cautioned against HCL for my case when GERD is very active. In general, if HCL increases the burn you should stop it immediately. Get a test for stomach acid to be sure.
Hi Ingrid,
Do you find that the PPI’s always help you.. How do you get on with the stopping and starting of these tablets.. do you get rebound? Also when you take PPI’s do you experience problems with your digestion due to the in-balance of stomach acid? Thank you Jasmine
I am looking for practical help on how to get off PPIs and start the hydrochloric supplements. Should I wean off the PPIs gradually or immediately and/or start the hydrochloric supplements at the same time that I am weaning off the PPIs? Also, will the hydrochloric capsules be harmful to an irrirated stomach lining due to gastritis? I am very interested in how to make this transition safely. Thank you – from a long time GERD sufferer.
Hi Cindy, In my opinion you should be careful using these supplements if your stomach lining is inflamed.. I too am about to try these supplements.. but I have inflammation in the Oesophogus.. I am very wary and have waited until I have zero chest pain and have been on a very controlled diet for some months, which seems to have calmed a lot of the symptoms down.. I bought the supplements with Pepsin and I will now open the Capsule and try for one capsule with a tiny amount of HCL and see what happens.. I plan to augment the dose little by little just in case it causes burning and is not suitable for me.. I hope to build-up the dose and see how it goes.. I am fearful of causing more inflammation..
I’d like to congratulate on the highly informative articles you have written on GERD etc., – thank you. Primarily I’d be grateful for any comment on Elastase and anti-trypsin deficiency which my wife has just been diagnosed with, causing constant coughing. Also, you refer to bacterial growth resulting from low stomach acid but not to imbalances in the acid/alkaline state of the body which I would assume is also influenced by the under-functioning stomach process, apart from the diet itself. An email response would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Michael Brookman.
Thank goodness someone has the thought process to realize that our digestive system needs proper acid balance for GI health and that acid reducers and inhibitors can do harm.
This is the first professional to offer this knowledge.
Do not laugh, but I have a four year old dog that has been very ill for a year now with terrible reflux – especially at night. The vet bills have been astronomical with many invasive tests and drug trials. IBD and pancreatitis are involved. I knew by his terrible response to Omeprazole that part of the the problem lay with too little acid. I mentioned this to the internist vet but the response was to try the Omeprazole again. Prednisone initially helped – certainly with the pancreatitis – but the night time reflux continues and is worsening and I do not know where to turn. It is severe, where vomitting into the mouth occurs around 4 or 5 every morning. So sad for a little dog that cannot lie down.
I like our local vet and will certainly mention this to him as it gives me some credence.
You say: Recent studies also show that the damage from poor stomach function and GERD not only extends upward to the sensitive esophageal lining, but also downward through the digestive tract, contributing to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and other gastrointestinal problems.
Aren’t stomach contents supposed to go downward through the digestive tract?!!!
Hello,
Hoping someone here can help me. I am 19 years old and have had acid reflux everyday for over 6 months now. I feel nauseous all the time and like there’s a lump in my throat. I try to clear my throat, but there is no relief. It takes hours for me to fall asleep because I have to sit up all night. My doctor prescribed me Zantac 2 months ago, but no relief came from it. I got Omeprazole and after 3 days taking it, symptoms are finally starting to fade. My doctors says I might have H. Pylori, is this bad? How does one my age get this bacteria? Having acid reflux problems for 6 months straight, is it likely that I have damage or ulcers or stomach cancer? Please answer with any feedback or help. I have an appointment in a week for blood test results and hopefully will be going to a specialist. Thanks.