Reflux Treatment

I was just about to chime in.

I have been on Restore for almost 2 months now, and I am basically back to my old self. Reflux is still gone.

The general idea behind the Restore is that it heals the ‘tight junctions’ within your digestive tract. This is a necessary part of your body’s filtration and can get damaged or weakened with all the chemicals (pesticides or herbicides) that are used on our foods. I believe that it also helps to digest gluten, and possibly other allergens / irritants.

I also take probiotics and drink kombucha fairly often. I probably wouldn’t even have to do that, but I cheat on the diet on weekends and still drink plenty of beer, so I try to balance it out

Not good.

Carcinogen in Zantac and Generics Triggers FDA, EU Probes

The FDA found NDMA levels as high as 17 micrograms in blood-pressure pills recalled starting in July 2018. Valisure detected NDMA levels as high as 3,000 micrograms in Zantac pills and its generics. In the wake of recalls of blood-pressure drugs, the FDA set an NDMA limit of less than one microgram for the pills and required all companies that make the hypertension treatments to test for the contaminant.

Boy your full of good news, I only take about 20 rantadine a week I should be safe .

I wasn’t really interested in the story until I got to the end where I read that quote.

I had read earlier in the week the 17 micrograms in the BP medicine would result in about 1:4000 chance of developing cancer. I wonder what 3000 micrograms does?

Not to mention the increased risk of dementia from Zantac and similar drugs.

https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20160215/widely-used-heartburn-drugs-linked-to-dementia-risk-in-study#1

Bassn Dan wrote:

Not to mention the increased risk of dementia from Zantac and similar drugs.

https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20160215/widely-used-heartburn-drugs-linked-to-dementia-risk-in-study#1

Let me be clear I am against using ppi’s for just about anything but you have to realize that epidemiological study doesn’t actually prove anything.

This quote from the article is extremely important.

“To evaluate cause-and-effect relationships between long-term PPI use and possible effects on cognition in the elderly, randomized, prospective clinical trials are needed,” said corresponding author Britta Haenisch, from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn.

Bringing this back up since many suffer from this acid reflux problem.

Earlier in the year I had an acid study done which came back very high for acid in the esophagus. The valve to the stomach was basically not functioning. If I did something where I had my stomach higher than my mouth, I had to tense up to keep dinner from dumping out. My dr had discussed a tif procedure but my valve was too far out of “Spec” to be a candidate.

So on to the next step. Friday I go under the knife to have a Linx band installed on the esophagus just above the stomach. And a hiatal hernia repaired. The surgeon will be using a diVinci robot to perform the surgery. Look it up. Kind of neat and scary at the same time. All I know is I’m told the cut my med dosage in half and stop altogether after two weeks.

I won’t really know the full out come for sometime. Probably many months as the esophagus heal.

I’ll update as I heal for those interested.

First of all, I wish you good luck with your surgery and good luck with your recovery. I researched all of the surgeries available for this and would have definitely asked about the linx as my first preference. I liked the concept and liked the fact that it can be removed if it’s not successful. It also appeared that it had the best success rate of all the surgeries. You said you have high acid in your esophagus. Does that mean you had high acid in your stomach as well? From my experience, over production of stomach acid is very rare and that low acid is actually the cause. Your LES (lower esophageal sphincter) needs a certain amount of acid and neurological signals from the stomach and nervous system to close properly.

I have come to be a firm believer that diet is the sole root cause of reflux issues and that it is also the solution in most cases. The problem is that I never realized what a good and bad diet was until I was introduced to the diet that ultimately solved my problems. There is so much deceptive marketing and poor advice out there regarding diet.

Poor diet creates imbalances in your gut microbiome which sets off all sorts of other problems including low stomach acid. This can also lead to depression, RA, fatigue, muscle soreness, among lots of other things. My wife has also been battling RA for the past 4-5 years and now has been off of her medication for about 6 months now and her blood test on Friday came back better than it was before her diagnosis. Obviously her diet changed with mine and she’s also been taking supplements prescribed by a naturopath.

Thanks for the input. I’m very interested to hear how it works out.

The acid study was to determine the amount getting into the esophagus through the LES.

I have been dealing with this problem for at least 25 years. I have tried diet changes, maybe not to the extent as some on here, but did not get relief.

The ball to surgery really start to roll when I was diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus and had to get the pre cancerous stage zero cells removed. I had more biopsies taken this past Saturday to check again to make sure the Barrett’s has not returned. I’m not sure if I could chance continuing different treatment options to see if they will work for me when I already have an increased risk to cancer in the esophagus. This is the main reason I’m moving forward with surgery.

I’m sure this is not the best option for many but with my history, I’m confident with my decision.

I will update as I progress through recovery.

Sounds like you’re at a whole different risk level than most of us. I would personally consider a significant diet change along with that surgery. Grains are typically the most difficult to digest and can play a large part in indigestion and acid reflux.

I also tried reducing intake on some food but it wasn’t until I completely eliminated dairy, grains, added sugars and refined vegetable oils that I actually started feeling relief. I thought I had a good diet to start with. Boy was I wrong.

Again, good luck. I’m sure it’s the right decision for you.

Yes more diet changes will be part of this process for me.

Three days post Linx hiatal hernia operation.

So far no reflux but I’m sure it’s too early to really tell. Stomach feels full and like I was punched in it. But not bad enough I couldn’t go to work to get some paperwork finished I’ve been avoiding.

Id say the worse part was the severe chest pain from the co2 that was used to inflate my abdomen. There was nothing that could help that pain. Still dealing with some now but it’s getting better.

I’ve been instructed to eat something small every 2 hrs while awake to keep the Linx band moving during the healing process. Other than not being able to belch, things seem to be going ok.

I’ll update later about the reflux once I’m feeling normal again. I have a few more stages of healing to get through in the upcoming weeks.

MikeV wrote:

Three days post Linx hiatal hernia operation.

So far no reflux but I’m sure it’s too early to really tell. Stomach feels full and like I was punched in it. But not bad enough I couldn’t go to work to get some paperwork finished I’ve been avoiding.

Id say the worse part was the severe chest pain from the co2 that was used to inflate my abdomen. There was nothing that could help that pain. Still dealing with some now but it’s getting better.

I’ve been instructed to eat something small every 2 hrs while awake to keep the Linx band moving during the healing process. Other than not being able to belch, things seem to be going ok.

I’ll update later about the reflux once I’m feeling normal again. I have a few more stages of healing to get through in the upcoming weeks.

Someone I know had the same surgery when she was 70. She had spoken with me about it before hand and about all the issues and dietary restrictions she had been enduring. A month after the surgery she was back at work and was drinking a cola. Kidding with her I said “You’re drinking a soda!” She laughed and said “And it tastes so good!!!”

Be patient, and do what the doctor says and your life should be much better once you’re healed up. Good luck!

Talk to your Dr about a proton pump inhibitor, usually protonix. A pill once a day. Another alternative.

Yes following directions given by the dr.

Ive been on protonix for about 6 years. Once in the morning. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Went to twice a day for a short time but a new dr reduced the amount because he had concerns about the high dosage and long term use.

I hope you will all be as persistent about following up with your Doc’s on any continuing reflux problems as MikeV.

I had reflux for years and then had pain. Thinking I had an ulcer I went to the Doc. AFter 6 months of different meds they did an endoscopy and found I had esophageal cancer. That was 17 years ago next month.

I had most of my esophagus removed. The odds were ugly on survival and I was extremely lucky.

Treatment is much better today and life expectancy has improved but the cure is a MF’er.

If you have continuing acid reflux issues check it out with your Doc. The earlier part of the thread is chock full of tips on how to reduce reflux, they work.

Good luck to one and all!

It’s been almost 4 weeks post surgery.

So far, I’m very happy with my decision to have the linx procedure. I am completely medication free. No more protonix or any kind of over the counter acid relievers and have absolutely no acid reflux.

I still have difficulty swallowing food at least once a day. It seem to get caught just above the stomach. It doesn’t affect breathing, just really uncomfortable. This is an expected side effect of the procedure and should resolve itself as the esophagus strengthens over time. I have been told that since I had basically a no functioning lower esophageal sphincter, the muscles that aid swallowing are very weak. They had nothing to work against. Now the linx band is making them work harder and they like to spasm once in awhile. This is slowly getting better every week.

The hardest thing for me has been changing my eating habits. More thorough chewing, smaller bites and waiting until food is completely swallowed before the next bite. If I go back to my old way of eating, my esophagus will tell me to slow down in the form of a spasm. Plus side, I eat less, feel great and have lost quite a bit of excess weight.

Sounds like great news. Hopefully this prevents the dreaded c-word.

My experience with a Linx implant.

Just an update to hopefully help others.

It has been about 8.5 months post surgery for me. I have zero acid reflux. I take no medications for anything. I can eat anything and have no problems. Occasionally, I get some discomfort (food stuck feeling above the stomach, my fault) if I eat too fast but it’s getting better each month.

I’m happy with my results so far.

That’s really great news. Minimally invasive surgery with little or no side effects. Although I’m not sure if it would be a good thing for me if I could eat anything.

For me I’m pretty close to eating anything. I still avoid processed oils at all cost. A handful of potato chips will give me some heartburn. As long as it is a natural fat like expeller pressed or animal fat, no issues whatsoever. I can’t seem to eat bell peppers or a lot of onions. Other than that, I’m back to eating dairy with no issues and as long as I eat a reasonable amount of food, I’m symptom free. Or if I drink too much, but that’s not good for any condition.

If I start to feel discomfort, I take some very very dark chocolate. The bitterness triggers something in my stomach to close or something.

I don’t want to add a lengthy post to all the information already here, but for anyone looking for relief, insist that your doctor prescribe Pantoprazole.
Best thing for me by far, and I’ve recommended it to others who can’t believe the improvement over Omeprazole. One pill per day and I can eat anything, and absolutely zero side effects.

mojo wrote:

I don’t want to add a lengthy post to all the information already here, but for anyone looking for relief, insist that your doctor prescribe Pantoprazole.
Best thing for me by far, and I’ve recommended it to others who can’t believe the improvement over Omeprazole. One pill per day and I can eat anything, and absolutely zero side effects.

I was on that med for several years and still had Barrett’s. At one point I took the med twice a day for short term after I had the Barrett’s removed. There were some questions about long term use and potential problems depending which study you read that was discussed with gastro dr and surgeons.

I went a different direction to repair the problem, a almost non functional valve (Sphincter)above the stomach, instead of treating the symptoms. This was my choice and may not work or be a solution for everyone.