Jane
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10:15:59 pm on December 7, 2006 | # |
I sent in a donation to my local PBS station to get Brenda Watson’s “H.O.P.E. Program” DVD and book. Once I receive the materials I’ll watch the program and write up my report in a separate post. How I came to learn of Watson’s program is an interesting story itself.
Early this fall, my reflux (LPR) began flaring up regularly, and sometimes quite severely. I ended up getting a barium X-ray, and nothing seemed amiss. I was still taking 40 milligrams of Prilosec OTC each night, and occasionally still waking up from the acid hitting the back of my throat (did you know acid tastes more bitter than sour?). I was really getting worried because I didn’t know what was wrong with my stomach. I was also taking antacids more often when the symptoms were particularly bad.
No matter what I was doing, the GI specialist couldn’t seem to find anything wrong with me, other than attributing everything to my “nervous stomach.” That’s almost the same as being told it was “stress-related” – in other words, “we don’t know what’s wrong with you so keep taking these drugs.”
Needless to say, I was getting frustrated. I was also worried because chronic reflux is nasty stuff – your risk of esophageal cancer increases with chronic reflux.
A few days ago, I got ready to eat lunch and turned the TV on. I channel surfed to a PBS station where a woman was standing in front of a table stacked full of fruits and vegetables. She was obviously lecturing on health, and I had my channel changing finger ready. Before I could click to another channel, she started to talk about heartburn and reflux! I decided to watch, albeit skeptic of what she would say that would help me.
The woman said that esophageal sphincters require stimulation from hydrochloric acid (the acid your stomach secretes to digest food) to close. She also said most people get reflux not because their stomach secreted too much acid, but because their stomach was not secreting enough acid. Whoa – What? That really got my attention, because it helped answer a nagging question I had for some time: how could taking these acid reducing drugs for as long as I’ve been taking them be helping my stomach digest my food, and if these drugs were reducing my stomach acid, then why was I still getting such bad reflux even after months of religiously taking these pills?
When the program cut to “(pledge) commercial” I learned the woman was Brenda Watson and she wrote a book on digestive health.
Since I want to wait until I get the DVD program and book before divulging more information, I’ll ask for your patience. I wanted to make sure I don’t miscommuniate Watson’s information and start giving advice on digestive health before I listen to the entire program. Remember, I turned the TV on when the program was more than half way through.
Still, let me tell you my preliminary outcome. I tried a test that Brenda suggested, and I did a couple of things when eating a meal as I had heard on the program. That very night I decided to stop taking the Prilosec, to see what would happen.
First night: I did wake up from tasting acid in the back of my throat. The next day, though, I had no reflux symptoms. I decided to remain Prilosec free for the second night to see what would happen.
Second night: I slept through the night, no acid taste in the back of my throat. The next day my reflux symptoms remained in good control. I kept off Prilosec for the third night to see what would happen.
Third night: I slept through the night, no acid taste in the back of my throat even thought I slept on my back and didn’t elevate my head with an extra pillow. Weeks ago I started to sleep only on my side and elevate my head to keep the acid reflux in check. It wasn’t too helpful and gave me achey neck in the morning. By the way, I realized that my reflux stemmed from my taking NSAID type pain relievers for long periods of time because of a neck injury I sustained 3 years ago.
So far I’m impressed with how a couple of simple dietary addition (digestive enzymes, acidophilus supplements) helped a lot more than taking the medications. It also told me that the medications may be excerbating my problems instead of helping them. I do get some reflux symptoms – but nowhere as severe as I had them days a week ago. I am optimistic that I can get my stomach back in better health via simple dietary changes, and I’m definitely keeping off the drugs until further notice. I haven’t yet notified my GI specialist about this, and common sense dictates that you should consult your doctor before changing any treatment regimen you are currently on.
I’m still taking Citrucel (chocolate), although I’ve cut it down to once a day from twice a day with good results.
More to follow!