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Acupuncture for GERD Session 2

The second session with Dr Li is in the bag. Different places were done today and a couple were twangy, but mostly imperceptible. Dr Li was happy with my innovative way to take the Death Tea™! (See previous post for how to brew, store and take the Death Tea™ with minimum assault on your tastebuds!)

Visit went the same way as last time. Had a couple in my wrists this time and a few more in my lower leg. Also had a couple in my legs on the back this time. My spine was less sensitive this time, which is a good sign. My body freaked out for the first 10 minutes, as usual, but calmed down. I am extremely sensitive to any fiddling with my body. I don’t like it in general and I avoid it as much as possible. But I think this modality is going to work for me, so I tolerate it.

Dr Li asked if she could do electricity with them and I declined. I am VERY averse to electrical charge. I tried the Violet Wand: NOPE; I tried it with a facial: NOPE. She was fine with my refusal. My skin is uber sensitive to anything electric, I’d advise caution with the electricity if the needles are painful to you or you are new to acupuncture, I’d skip it.

Here are a couple of shots of me with all the needles in place. I’ve linked to the large version of the photos since the needles are so fine they are hard to see without zooming in. The needles are VERY fine, smaller than a pore, and they leave no trace. I also found out today that there are different lengths for different areas of the body, which makes sense, the wrist has much less flesh than the stomach or the leg. I’ll try to get a shot of them next time.

OK, I have four in abdomen, one in each wrist (inside), two on each leg, and two in each foot (I think). See if you can see them:





The needles are SO tiny! Yet I can feel the Qi being stimulated. I am also feeling results even with just two visits. My usage of Tums during the day has already dropped and Lil Tummy is feeling more robust and less bitchy. Of course, if I drink a lot, I know I’ll pay for it for a day or two, and I’m OK with that. But in general, I am starting to see some improvement. I hope it continues!

If you’ve ever considered acupuncture, I’d say give it a try. Find a Chinese Dr and go for it. It is worth a shot, particularly if nothing else has worked.

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Acupuncture for GERD!

I have taken my own advice and started getting acupuncture for my GERD. These will be in the bariatric section of this blog since my GERD is caused by VSG and also under Health.

I’ve had the first appointment and it went very well. Not very painful at all. I could feel a couple of the needles, but in a zingy kind of way, not a hurty kind of way. I can’t explain it any better than that. The needles are tapping into your energy meridians in order to stimulate Qi, so if you think of these meridians as electrical circuits, you can imaging what a zingy feeling could be like. It’s interesting.

Dr Jiang Li is an AMAZING Chinese doctor here in Atlanta whom I HIGHLY recommend if you have ever wanted to explore Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture. I saw her years ago for compressed disks cause by some asshole “trainer” who had zero clue what he was doing. The acupuncture session then was terribly painful the first time and somewhat better the second, but my back was completely better in just a few days. Read about the first session here and the second here – I am very specific with needle placement for the second session, so read it for info! (I have no idea why I stopped going after only two sessions, but it is SO like me to do that. Sigh.) This time is VERY different!

Anyway, I’ve been recommending Dr Li to people forever and it suddenly occurred to me that I should take my own advice and seek alternative treatment for this damned GERD. So here we are. Continue reading “Acupuncture for GERD!”

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More PPI and Famotidine Info for GERD

This is a repost of the update I just did on my PPI post from last year.

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 alcohol.

I have been 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. Yeah, HARD PASS on the PPIs.

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.

So, if you use PPIs regularly, I implore you to rethink that strategy. Remember, ANY drug that ends in -zole is a PPI. Drugs that end in -dine are H2 blockers. That is an easy way to tell what your Dr put you on.

You have to understand that Drs are all about treating symptoms. They rarely look at the long term effects of anything they prescribe. If your Dr has you on PPIs long term, ask him or her if they are aware of the various NIH papers and studies on the long term effects. I’d be shocked if they have read ANYTHING about it. If YOU want to educate yourself, then I suggest you read my posts about PPIs. I’ve linked to various studies and papers that have been done about the potentially deadly health issues caused by long term PPI use. HERE is a fairly inclusive post with lots of referral links. If you want it all, go to the search box (front page) and search GERD, which will give you ALL the posts I’ve made regarding GERD.

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GERD Update #eleventyfive

The GERD has been worse the last few weeks, to the point of keeping me up at night and eating Tums like candy. The Pepcid helps, but I’ve had a couple of times where even that did not quell the pain 100%.

At the private dinner the other night, the doctor (who I was cooking for) was telling me that I needed to get GERD surgery or I might have a hiatal hernia that is causing the GERD. He was very sure that a Nissen fundoplication was the answer to my problems.

After some research, it appears that I am not able to have Nissen fundoplication to relieve my GERD since I’ve already had VSG surgery. There are many surgeons who are starting to do the Nissen WITH VSG due to so many VSG patients ending up with GERD or having it get worse. But of course, I missed that train. :(

I asked the Mexico surgeon about it and his only solution was RNY Bypass. There is nothing surgically I can do for this fucking GERD – other than go full on RNY bypass and I will NOT do that. If I’d wanted bypass I’d have gotten one at the outset. Bypass is a nasty business and it interferes with nutrition for the rest of one’s life. NO THANKS.

I can (and probably will) check to see if there’s a hernia causing all this strife. THAT can be fixed laparoscopically. But knowing my luck, it will not be a hernia, just a weak esophageal sphincter, which can only be fixed by the Nissen procedure.

I guess I’m left with GERD. I should buy stock in TUMS since I eat them like candy – literally after almost every meal. And Pepcid, which I have to take occasionally to sleep. Sucks.

The one shred of good news is that the Pepcid is not binding me up too badly, which means it is helping without the horrible side effects of PPIs.

I guess I’m now a part of the chronic illness club. Awesome. I am not happy about this, but there is nothing I can do but treat symptoms. Just like Nick, who can only treat his fibromyalgia as it pops up. Sigh.

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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!