Posted on

Interesting GERD Development

I am still wrestling with GERD, and I have discovered an anomaly!

I started taking probiotics (Vitacost brand) about a month or so ago. Probiotics are supposed to aid in managing GERD symptoms and I’d been taking Kyo-Dophilus before I got the Vitacost brand without issues. Soon after starting these, I began to have bouts of severe hypersalivation (called “water bashing”) which is caused by acids touching the esophagus an causing an automatic salivary response. In addition to having a LOT of saliva, swallowing it would make the GERD even worse! It was keeping me up at night.

I was even getting GERD spikes during the day and occasional water bashing during the day! I thought I was doomed to start back on PPIs to get rid of this nasty symptom. As it was, I was having to take Pepcid (H2) several times a week just to sleep.

Tuesday I decided to look up probiotics and GERD. Lo and behold, there IS actually a correlation to taking them and having worse GERD symptoms! Sigh. I, apparently, am one of the people who have bad results with probiotics. LUCKY ME! I stopped taking the probiotic yesterday and the GERD has already backed off a bit. I think it’s the Vitacost brand that has something in it that does not agree with me. Nonetheless, probiotics are OUT.

I’m still having some water bashing – I had a couple of short bouts last night. I’m hoping it will cease now that I’m off the probiotics. The minor good news is that the H2 (Pepcid) does not seem to cause complete constipation, so I think I can safely use that for nighttime GERD.

So, if you are taking probiotics and your GERD is no better, try stopping them. They might be making it worse!

This fucking issue (GERD) is a moving target. UGH. I’m mostly OK, but it is something I deal with every single day. BUT would I choose to skip VSG knowing that I’d have GERD? NOPE. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done and I’d do it again. It’s worth playing the odds that you won’t have GERD like I do. I think most do NOT. But I will tell you to get OFF PPIs as soon as you possibly can, so your body does not become dependent like mine did. GERD is no joke!

Posted on

GERD update

I’m still taking no PPIs and only the occasional H2 (Pepcid). The GERD is still around, however, it’s just kind of like whack a mole with how it pops up.

I still have reduced stomach capacity – about .75 cup rather than 1-1.25 cup with PPI, but that’s ok. I really don’t mind that. What I DO mind is random freak outs of Lil Tummy. Occasionally, I’ll have pain after I eat, particularly if it’s protein. It’s like an overfull pain, despite not eating that much volume.

Occasionally, I’ll have a bout of GERD about a half hour after eating. Which is odd. Typically, Lil Tummy will exact its revenge right after I eat too much or have something it doesn’t like. ??

Same goes for night time. Sometimes it’s fine, other times, I’ll have acid up to my throat. No rhyme or reason.

The good news is that Tums will calm any burning and at night, Pepcid will calm the reflux for sleep. Not much can be done for when Lil Tummy decides I’ve eaten too much or the wrong thing and it gets painful. Just gotta ride it out.

Due to taking Pepcid 1-2x a week, I still struggle with constipation issues. I’ve found the herbal supplement Smooth Move to be extremely good at helping with this. I hope all this will plane out eventually, but if not, eh, I’ll live. I don’t gripe about it too much, because Nick has fibromyalgia and has body pain pretty much every day. I don’t feel as bad as he does, so I really have little to complain about.

I do think that things are getting incrementally better. I hope that continues. I still do NOT regret VSG surgery. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.

Posted on

PPI Stepdown pt 4

UPDATED May 13, 2021! New info about PPIs and my current health. Made into new post as well.

Another update in my ongoing battle with GERD. Sigh.

While I am glad I’ve rid myself of PPI use, I can’t say that it’s been without its issues. I have bouts of GERD every single day, while awake and while asleep. I typically get a flare after eating (doesn’t matter what it is) and occasionally with wine.

I was AM using Pepcid, an H2 blocker with antacid (10mg famotidine + 750mg calcium carbonate) when GERD was really bad or it was flaring before bed – and it works GREAT! I was having some issues with the H2, but they planed out. I do have some constipation issues, but nothing that a senna caplet can’t handle.

I looked up famotidine and it has the best track record for long term use. There are no long term health issues from using is, as there are with PPIs. I discovered that PPIs have been DIRECTLY LINKED to liver damage with long term use. That is in addition to the potential kidney issues. Here is the NIH article on liver damage.

I do use Tums (calcium carbonate) A LOT to manage the breakthrough GERD that I get during the day and sometimes at night. I was looking up the details of calcium carbonate, such as safe amounts to take daily and found that it’s generally 2-3 grams per day for old people like me. Each chew is 750mg, so that’s 3-4 per day. Sometimes I am within that, sometimes not. The long term overdosing on calcium carbonate can cause kidney stones, but that’s about it. Constipation is a common side effect, which I manage with senna.

BUT overall, I feel that famotidine and calcium carbonate are my long term solution to VSG induced GERD. I use calcium carbonate (Tums chews) during the day if I need it and I take one Pepcid (famotidine + calcium carbonate) before bed. I’ve been on this regimen for about a year and it is OK. Not as good as PPIs, but I just can’t justify the potential organ damage that is caused by stopping stomach acid production. I think there is going to be a huge wave of people with organ failures from taking PPIs for years. I don’t want to be one of them.

Posted on

PPI Stepdown, pt 3

It’s been about 5 days since my last dose of esomeprazole. I got myself a care package of aloe juice, alkaline water, stomach tea (with similar ingredients to the Ibrogast formula that is too pricey) and the Target brand of Pepcid (famotidine 10mg + antacids).

The day I got the supplements, I didn’t use anything at all and made it through the night. The next day was rougher, with more breakthrough GERD and I took the Pepcid before bed. The day after that, fine.

So it’s been very uneven as far as the breakthroughs are concerned, but overall, I’m doing pretty well without the PPI. I think I’m done. I am so relieved!

I take Tums for minor flares, aloe for worse ones and occasional Pepcid at night. I’ve taken a tums before bed a couple of times when I feel that there *might* be a GERD incident. So far, so good.

I’ll update again if there is any change, but I think this is probably where I’ll be from now on. I think I’ll always have some sort of GERD flaring up, simply because of the shape of VSG making the stomach basically a turkey baster that pushes acid up to the esophagus. No particular foods have any effect, nor does alcohol, it’s all very random. I’m hoping the volume of my Lil Tummy™ goes back to about a cup, but if it doesn’t, no big deal. I think the overall inflammation is getting better.

So, I’m living proof that you CAN get off of PPIs. From start to end it took me about 6 weeks. Perhaps 8. With the quarantine of Covid-19, my sense of time is a bit distorted. I think it’s about 8 all together. It was not too bad for the most part, I did lose some sleep here and there, but I have to say, it’s been easier overall than it has ever been in the past to stop the PPI. I think it’s because I did the stepdown slowly this time. The first step was a month or so, then the second and getting off was quicker. I actually feel that the half tab at night made things worse than just not taking it.

I hope this roadmap might help others who want to be off of PPIs before they find out they have kidney damage or other issues.

Posted on

PPI Stepdown pt 2.5

I went out yesterday and got some things to try for the ongoing PPI stepdown. I picked up:
– aloe juice
– more probiotics (I’ve added these to my daily supplements.)
– alkaline water
– Gaia Gas and Bloating tea with similar herbs as Ibrogast (caraway, fennel, chamomile, star anise, licorice, peppermint)
– Target brand Pepcid Complete (calcium, magnesium and 10mg famotidine)

The Lil Tummy was pretty well behaved yesterday, but I got a little GERD-y in the late afternoon, so I took a Pepcid chew. Worked immediately and I felt fine. I did not drink any wine last night to get a good read on what Lil Tummy was up to. You’re not supposed to drink alcohol with oral famotidine, but there are not as many restrictions for the antacid/famotidine chews. I took another one before bed, since I’d had two nights in a row of horrible GERD.

IT WORKED!!

I slept well and had zero GERD all night. I hope that this will continue to work for me. I’d like to NOT take it daily in any case, because famotidine has its own list of fucking side effects and interactions that I’d like to avoid. But it’s a good start at living a GERD free existence. Even if I have it sometimes, I really don’t want to take any drugs daily other than my supplements.

Here’s to hoping that I’ll be drug free SOON!