Acid indigestion?

[GreeCguy]

Anybody else suffer with acid indigestion? For about two months now, my stomach has been on fire. I've cut my coffee consumption down to a cup a day, (I used to drink two pots a day) and I'm trying to watch what I eat.

Last night, I slept about two hours. I had a hot dog for supper with some mac and cheese and I tasted that dang hot dog all night long. Could not lie down as my stomach would turn to fire, (upper part of stomach). Finally got a little sleep by sleeping in my easy chair. Thought I would get a good nights sleep tonight, but stomach is starting to burn again like you wouldn't believe. Ate ribs for dinner with no sauce and some lima beans with no seasoning at all. I've been taking pepcid, tums, rolaids, you name it, but it seems to be getting worse.

Is this what they call "acid reflux"? The top of my stomach burns like fire and keeps me awake. I'm getting to the point I burp all the time and on a couple of occasions have puked, (sorry to be so gross).

I used to enjoy a little shot of Johnny Walker in the evening, but now I can't because it's like drinking gasoline and swallowing a match.

Does anybody else suffer with this? It's starting to really bother me.

 

[EType]

Welcome to the modern American / Western diet.

You need to start eliminating foods one by one and see what is causing the effect.

Try drinking more water, especially before meals.

You can sleep on your left side. That should help.

However, I wouldn't be surprised at the end of the day if wheat is the root cause of the issue. And perhaps other carbs from grains. Note that wheat is found in many many foods not just bread and pasta.

 

[tom slick]

I take Ranitidine for acid reflux and it knocks it out, tums and the others like it are very temporary. I've tried apple cider vinegar, aloe vera juice, etc and it doesn't help me. My starts burning up into my throat. Your's sounds bad enough I would have a doctor check you out.

Is there anything in your diet that sets it off?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranitidine

 

[yonyon]

See your doctor. If you have a hiatal hernia or some such thing, it could be bothering you for a while.

 

[JamesBond]

You already know that this sounds like a questions for the doc. Don't pop pills all day trying to ignore what could be a problem.

That being said... I do not have the same problems as you, but I find that my stomach feels the best when I don't drink any liquids for at least a half hour on either side of a meal. I make sure to hydrate throughout the day but near a meal only a couple of sips if I'm thirsty.

I also try to stay vertical for a while after I eat, no laying out in the lay-z-boy.

 

[Azeem]

Acid reflux,yes.Try to eat small frequent meals and don't eat 3 hours at least before you sleep and get 2 pillows underneath your head,cut alcohol,coffee and beverages. Try some OTC heart burn medication like "Equate" from walmart.It could be anything from Peptic ulcer to hiatus hernia .

 

[ram_man]

Sounds like gerds disease

 

[jorton]

Put pieces of 1x6 or 2x6 under the legs at the head of your bed. Eliminate seasonings that contain cumin(cumino). And eliminate processed meats like hot dogs, and for that matter eliminate all processed foods. You can make a complete meal using fresh foods only. Season meats with salt, pepper, fresh garlic and fresh squeezed lime juice only. Good luck!

 

[spasm3]

See a doctor. you might need a week or so of a proton pump inhibitor , in order to heal. Nexium or prilosec, but see a doctor, He might want to test you for h-pylori, a bacteria that can cause ulcers.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: EType
... start eliminating foods one by one and see what is causing the effect.

Try drinking more water, especially before meals.

You can sleep on your left side. That should help.



These help.

I had the same thing starting a few years ago, and figured out some things that cause it reliably, namely

-A heavy dinner, which could include pasta, anything with sugar in it, and some meats, especially with sauces that have sugar in them.

-Eating within 3 hours of going to sleep

-going to sleep while feeling full

-I also have a sensitivity to corn, which seems to cause some weird stuff. Not an allergy though (it's been tested) but there are symptoms.

After eliminating foods as EType suggested above, and staying strictly with the 3 hour rule, I rarely get it any more...and then I can almost always pinpoint the food that did it.

Drinking rarely does it to me, but works really well if it's on top of a heavy meal.

All in all this is easily managed with behavioral changes.

When it hits me, it is almost always like clockwork around 2am. Don't know why. Sometimes when it's really bad it's like my stomach is trying to eject everything and I wake up just before the vomit makes it to the top. But in the middle of the night, something basic (like chemistry basic), milk, coconut or almond milk, and to a lesser extent water take most or all of it away. Then usually I prop myself up with a couple pillows for the rest of the night.

Welcome to the world of being over 35!

 

[Highline9]

I have the same problem. Soda makes it happen more to me. tomato sauce kills me too. Bland foods help. A glass of milk helps me. I take 20mg of prilosec every morning. If you have a beer type belly like me it seems to make it worse. More fruit and vegys less grease helps me also. I know it sucks.

 

[JavierG]

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR!!!!!

I thought the all caps would get your attention. Trust me, I've been through that and have had it much worse. Try 1 teaspoon of ACV with 1 teaspoon of honey in 8oz of water. Once in the morning and once in the evening. You can try the SCV by itself but the smell knocks me out. For more info just Google apple cider vinegar.

Good luck!

 

[stockrex]

I double the apple cider vinegar,
the stomach acid etc is caused by your friendly neighborhood bacteria, yes, germs,
honey, and other food to change the ph of food you eat will help,

 

[GreeCguy]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Last night the tums/rolaids were hardly knocking it back so I chugged some olive oil thinking it would coat my stomach. Was pretty tough to choke down but mananged to do it and it did seem to help.

Yes, I do have a belly and need to lose it - not huge but big enough to be uncomfortable.(I'm 6'1" and 208)

Yes, I love fried foods, (what southern boy doesn't). And I love hot dogs, especially the kind that turn the water red when you boil them. I like to fry them in the skillet with olive oil and eat them with mustard and relish.

I hadn't heard of the Apple Cider vinegar cure but will give it a try. My sister is a great believer in ACV and uses it for almost everything, (she has gout in her right foot and swears it works for a flare up.

And yes, I hit the easy chair after supper, kick back and watch television or play on the lap top.

Ever since we moved back to Florida, I eat a lot of processed foods because I can't grow the big garden we had in Alabama. I've tried raising one at my parents place but it's tough as I only get there about once a week - so it's hard to do all I need to do there and tend a garden there at the same time.

I don't like going to the doctor, but it might boil down to that.

Thanks again for the wisdom and advice.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
I used to drink two pots a day

I had a hot dog for supper with some mac and cheese

I used to enjoy a little shot of Johnny Walker in the evening, but now I can't because it's like drinking gasoline and swallowing a match.


Imagine that. You're living on processed foods, a heavy coffee drinker and hard liquor drinker. And now you have serious health issues because of your dietary habits.

You'll probably be chasing this the rest of your life-most people continue with the same cycle of garbage foods and pills in an attempt to mask the problem rather than make dietary changes that will fix the problem.

Get yourself to a doctor and find out exactly what's wrong and how to correct it. But if you really want to know the root cause of the problem, look at the things you stuff into your mouth.

 

[Stelth]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
See a doctor. you might need a week or so of a proton pump inhibitor , in order to heal. Nexium or prilosec, but see a doctor, He might want to test you for h-pylori, a bacteria that can cause ulcers.


This. Definitely get the h-pylori test. If you have h-pylori, it needs to be treated. If you don't have it, then you need to treat the reflux, esophagitis, hiatal hernia, or whatever is causing your discomfort. I nearly passed out one night from choking on stomach acid. Not pleasant.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted By: Stelth
Originally Posted By: spasm3
See a doctor. you might need a week or so of a proton pump inhibitor , in order to heal. Nexium or prilosec, but see a doctor, He might want to test you for h-pylori, a bacteria that can cause ulcers.


This. Definitely get the h-pylori test. If you have h-pylori, it needs to be treated. If you don't have it, then you need to treat the reflux, esophagitis, hiatal hernia, or whatever is causing your discomfort. I nearly passed out one night from choking on stomach acid. Not pleasant.


I am agreeing with the others that changing diet and loosing weight will be the answers, its just that he might need a week of proton pump inhibitors to heal a bit. Again h- pylori should be ruled out.

 

[EType]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
I used to drink two pots a day

I had a hot dog for supper with some mac and cheese

I used to enjoy a little shot of Johnny Walker in the evening, but now I can't because it's like drinking gasoline and swallowing a match.


Imagine that. You're living on processed foods, a heavy coffee drinker and hard liquor drinker. And now you have serious health issues because of your dietary habits.

You'll probably be chasing this the rest of your life-most people continue with the same cycle of garbage foods and pills in an attempt to mask the problem rather than make dietary changes that will fix the problem.

Get yourself to a doctor and find out exactly what's wrong and how to correct it. But if you really want to know the root cause of the problem, look at the things you stuff into your mouth.


Agree with the diet comments.

However, beware of doctors who treat the symptoms. That's what most of them do.

The OP knows what diet changes he needs to make. He needs to reallocate time and money to buy fresh ingredients and assemble / cook them.

 

[kb01]

I'm sure you already thought of it but if you're in the habit of taking ibuprofen (or other NSAIDs), that could also be aggravating things.

 

[DBMaster]

I have mild to moderate acid issues. I find that large meals, alcohol, and high acid foods are the usual suspects. But, there is more. If you are overweight, especially with visceral fat (look it up) you can do yourself a huge favor by losing some of that fat. If I can stay below 210 (below 200 is better, but I appear to have poor discipline) I have less trouble. I am able to keep mine under control with Tums and an occasional generic Zantac. Mine is only mild to moderate, though, and isolated to the area of esophagus just above the stomach.