Apple cider vinegar and GERD?

[sandyd921]

Has anyone who has GERD tried using apple cider vinegar to treat it? I am thinking about giving this a try and was curious about others' experiences with this. There are many testimonials to this on one website on natural treatments that I visited: http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/acid_reflux.html

I have severe GERD and a very large hiatal hernia. I have gotten to the point that the prescription drugs like Nexium and Protonix are not helping very much. Lots of reflux that wakes me up from sleep, worsening of asthma symptoms (I have been asthmatic for most of my life), chronic heartburn, and a history of internal bleeding from esophageal inflammation. My doctor told me that it is time to consider surgery. I want to avoid this if at all possible. I understand that the prescription drugs when taken long-term have rebound effects making the symptoms worse. I really want to give some natural non/prescription drug, non-surgical remedies a fair trial before considering surgery and everything involved with that route.

Thanks for any ideas on this.

[mopinko]

1. do you sleep on a wedge?

that can be very helpful. put a couple of big books under the feet at the top of your bed, if you can.
my bed has one of those fluffy mattress covers, folded in thirds. turned DH's apnea from earthshaking to nearly nothing. they make foam wedges. they sell them at home medical supply places.

but, me, i would get the surgery asap. it is only going to get worse, and you are suffering for nothing.

[sandnsea]

2. If you don't produce enough acid

Vinegar can help neutralize your stomach and ease nausea. Taking antacids can make low acid stomachs even worse. My husband was just going through a period where vinegar was helping his stomach. We think a medication he was taking was messing him up. He stopped taking it and his stomach is fine again.

But in my stomach, vinegar can actually give me acid reflux. So can too many raw vegetables and too much dairy, which seems to make my stomach produce too much acid. I got mine under control by not eating at least 3 hours before I go to bed, watching what I eat, and trying to reduce stress. I had episodes where the pain was so bad I would just lay in bed for hours, my stomach felt like hot coals had been put in it. I can start feeling the bloat now and immediately cut out all raw veggies and dairy until I get back to normal.

[sandyd921]

5. Thanks for the pros and cons sandnsea

:hi:

Since antacids don't work well for me, I've been thinking that this might actually make some sense if I'm low acid. I'm also researching digestive enzymes and other natural approaches. Even if these are not the whole answer, maybe one or another approach could improve things some. I'm also trying to do better with stuff like not eating close to bedtime.

[hyphenate]

3. I can't help much

Too much vinegar makes my reflux a thousand times worse. I always need to neutralize it when I have a salad or something along that line. I take Protonix regularly, but sometimes the acid still breaks through, and I take Alka-Seltzer. It has a lot of sodium, but it is a lot better than a lot of antacids out there.

I would recommend that you check out some really reliable medical websites, though, before going ahead with any kind of regimen. Places like www.webmd.com, www.intelihealth.com or such. They will give you a lot more info, and spell out the dangers and/or benefits of any kind of program contemplated.

[Warpy]

4. If your doc is talking surgery, listen to him

because you're probably at risk for aspiration pneumonia and that can kill. In fact, that's what finally killed my dad.

While you're waiting for surgery, you can try the apple cider vinegar. If it helps with daytime symptoms, that's fine, but it won't cure a lose upper valve on your stomach.

[sandyd921]

6. The research I've done on the surgical approaches

used for GERD and hiatal hernia suggest that they are very often not that effective, there are frequent complications, and long recovery times. There are some newer approaches but not a lot of research on them. I'd prefer to investigate all of my options before becoming a guinea pig. I think that sometimes docs move a bit too quickly to surgical approaches without considering a range of possibilities.

I'm very sorry about your Dad. Did he have GERD? As I have seen recently (some of the stuff that came up went into my bronchial tubes and resulted in a bronchial infection) there is a real risk of this. This actually alerted me to begin to take this issue more seriously than I have been till now. Beyond the red wine vinegar I've been looking at a range of natural approaches to augment conventional medical therapies and just taking care to avoid foods and things that bring on reflux episodes.

[Warpy]

7. He did and required several esophageal dilatation procedures

due to extensive scarring.

The surgery is ugly and only used as a last resort.

I don't know about you, but my main bugbears are tomato sauce and canola oil.

[sandyd921]

8. Onions, butter and fats, and

rich foods in general. I can eat raw tomatoes but seem to be having some problems with tomato-based pasta sauces lately. I'm still in the process of identifying all the problem foods. Until the last few months I ate pretty much anything I wanted, with occasional reflux at night (maybe once or twice a month) although since my 20's I've always had to have some Tums or Rolaids on hand to take care of heartburn. I'm now at the point, for the first time, that I'm looking askance at most of the foods that I'd taken for granted before. I've always been a bit of a foodie, so this is a big adjustment. I also love Italian foods! Oh well....

I had an endoscopic procedure about 5 years ago that showed bleeding so I guess this shouldn't be a big surprise. I went on Prilosec and later Nexium and the meds seemed to solve the problem. The hiatal hernia was found many, many years before when I was in my 20's and I tied the heartburn to that but didn't realize that this could become a serious problem. But then every time I have a chest x-ray they recommend that I have a CAT Scan because it looks like I have a growth or tumor in my lungs. I always have to explain that I have a very large hiatal hernia that protrudes into my chest and, fortunately, not a tumor.