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I have to switch to decaf.
The Doctor Visit
My doctor does not believe in natural remedies for acid reflux.
On Christmas Eve I went to see an ENT to have my throat evaluated. I have been having some pain and my doctor thought it would be best to involve an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor to see what was going on. Ends up I have Acid Reflux. The doctor I saw was sort of a jerk and what I like to call a pill pusher. He doesn’t wish to cure acid reflux, instead he will just push meds on me and assume that I will need to stay on them forever. I said no way! He didn’t care for me too much; it was evident in his face, his tone and the words he used. He told me that I could either take the pills and come back in a month, or stop drinking caffeine, lose weight and stop eating late at night, and come back in three “because, really what can you do in a month if you don’t take a pill?” When I said that I would like to try the latter he told me “oh, you can’t do that. You won’t stick with it. You won’t stop the caffeine; you won’t lose weight.” Wow, really doc? Rude much? I have all but cured my son of autism. I got this sh#t wrapped up!
Natural Remedies for Acid Reflux
I left his office and headed to our favorite organic market. I had to pick up our organic, free range turkey for Christmas anyway. While I was there I spoke with the woman in the supplements isle. She helped me come up with a plan to control my acid reflux naturally.
- Stop drinking caffeine – I made the switch to decaf coffee and caffeine free teas.
- Don’t eat less than 2 hours before bed – We used to do this a lot because we often put the kids to bed and then had our own dinner later.
- Lose weight – I have decided to take this very seriously and joined Weight Watchers On-line. I have already lost 3 lbs and that is in less than a week.
- Use Digestive Bitters before each meal – I picked up some citrus flavored bitters by Urban Moonshine Organic Bitters
and have been taking them before each meal to stimulate digestive juices. - Take Digestive Enzymes with each meal – I had some great Digestive Enzymes we use for Matthew so I just started taking them too, with every meal.
- Drink Aloe Vera Gel – I use Aloe Vera Gel an hour or so after meals to help coat my esophagus and promote healing.
- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar – this may seem counter intuitive, but adding Raw Apple Cider Vinegar can get the right level of gastric pH and help close the muscle at the bottom of the esophagus.
- Probiotics – I added probiotics daily to help with gut flora.
Other items that have been used to treat acid reflux include naturally fermented foods like kefir and sauerkraut. There are also reports of supplements such as turmeric or curcumin (active ingredient in turmeric), cinnamon, and fresh garlic helping to stop acid reflux.
Results
Since making these changes I have not had issues with acid reflux. To me that is so much more important and beneficial than taking another pill daily. Those pharmaceuticals are not created to heal the body, they just mask the symptoms. I prefer to use natural remedies for acid reflux naturally. Would you try this is you could?
Try a chiropractor. Yes, they can actually help with acid reflux!
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oh, good to know Lisa
With my first pregnancy I took a shot of Aloe Vera nightly! It’s a big help!
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This post could not have come at a more perfect time! My husband has been having issues with acid reflux and I am very anti prescription medications unless absolutely necessary. After his Prilosec began giving him heart palpitations, he finally agreed to try a more natural approach. I just bought Raw Apple Cider Vinegar capsules (we already had the actual Braggs stuff), he has stopped caffeine and started probiotics. I’m going to talk to him about your other suggestions!
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Marcie, I hope they help him as much as they have helped me. Def use the aloe vera to heal the gut. Also you can make rich bone broth from good pastured animals and let it go for 24 hours to extract all the good minerals. That is super healing too!
omg, I had no idea caffeine had any part in it. Eeks!
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Apple Cider Vinegar is like a cure all for everything! lol
I always like to try natural first..
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I had this for a while…the culprit was tomatoes.
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I actually drank aloe during my pregnancy and it helped a lot.
Awesome, glad you are doing this with taking meds…when they are necessary fine, but when you can solve the problem without that is even better.
I am so thankful I don’t have reflux. My sister suffers from it and has so many problems. I will have to pass along these tips to her. Thanks for sharing.
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The apple cider vinegar helps for me, I’ve also heard if you eat one apple a day it will prevent heartburn/reflux
I have only dealt with this while pregnant — but the majority of that list I followed to help keep it at bay.
And, UGH at that doctor. How RUDE!
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I don’t have this but my youngest battled this for 6 months as an infant. I love to see there are natural alternatives (at least for adults) instead of medications to help people.
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Wow, I didn’t know caffeine can flare up acid reflux? I’ll have to keep that in mind when I have it again. Great list, MaryAnn!
Laura (Got Chocolate) recently posted..RECIPE: 5-Alarm Chocolate Chili
When I was pregnant I tried apple cider vinegar for the awful heartburn
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Glad you are getting some relief. Hubs has issues too.
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Great remedies!
Thanks for sharing these. My husband gets acid reflux all the time and we are always looking for new ideas.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts on natural remedies for heartburn during pregnancy.
Regards
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That doctor should be ashamed of himself. Question about the Aloe Vera Gel – are you talking about the kind that comes in a bottle for sunburns? What does it taste like?
No Elizabeth, you need to go to a health food store. It comes in a juice bottle. It tastes bitter so you probably would need to mix it with something.
Well, my doctor prescribed me Nexium, however, it has many side-effects and I decided not to use it and try natural remedies. Thanks for sharing this information!
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