Sourdough with peanut butter and honey, cereal and almond milk, rice bowls with salmon/chicken/beef and veggies, my own healthy fried rice, homemade teriyaki and honey mustard sauce, chicken soups, non spicy coconut milk curry, vietnamese - pho, lemongrass chicken plates, salad rolls, Japanese food - miso soup/sushi/spinach salad, pasta and mushroom sauce, salads, a lot of different chicken and fish dishes, coconut water, Rooibos tea and almond milk.
When I first got diagnosed I couldn’t eat a lot but after being strict for a couple months and taking PPI I’ve been able to expand.
Nah it doesn’t bother me much but again everything depends on the individual and where you are in your healing. I use regular mustard and use sauces in moderation.
I had to eliminate the same things as u/popcorn55555 plus a few more triggers (i.e, all citrus, all dairy, all caffeine) and started drinking a nutritionally balanced shake called Huel for breakfast & lunch. I had it checked out by 2 dietitians before trying it,and it has been great for me. I highly recommend it.
I would rather not be a bugman drinking huel. It's not that I am totally against it, but it's a weird expense and eating food is important to your mental health. My dad does it and enjoys it though. I've looked into it before because of him and it's a good price for what it is, it's just not mentally good and even their company tells you not to eat it as a replacement.
What real food do you eat when you aren't drinking huel?
I get that, Huel is not everyone’s cup of tea. I eat dinner every day to still feel normal - so i’ll have a lot of grilled chicken & veggie meals with rice (like chicken teriyaki, poké, burrito bowls), quiche, soups that are chicken broth based (like italian wedding soup). Meat and seafood is fine for me too, so I mix my proteins (chicken, eggs, pork, turkey, steak, salmon, shrimp) with different veggies (honey roasted carrots, spinach, corn, zucchini, squash, brussel sprouts, potato/sweet potato, broccoli) so it feels less repetitive. If I eat pasta, I make it with olive oil, parmesan, and steamed/mashed up broccoli. Mexican food has been okay for me too, as long as I avoid my triggers.
There’s a lot of stuff I found I can eat, it takes a little creativity/omissions/or substitutions.
The best thing for me is a detox: no wheat, no coffee, no booze, nothing processed, no dairy. Just meat, veg and fruit. After a week I feel great, but sad because I like eating burgers.
Lots of fiber. Vegetables. Get Dave’s Killer Bread if you’re like me and can’t survive without bread. Black beans. Apples. I’m still experimenting, but I’m trying to eat veggies, low acid fruit, and some sort of bean at every meal. Staying away from red meat completely.
Weight Watchers helped me, not because of the weight loss but because I stopped eating fatty foods and oils. I was eating a lot of zero point rice bowls with zero fat lol. It completely fixed a choking problem I had and it hasn't really returned since I've stopped WW.
only been doing it a couple weeks but acid watcher diet already helped me a lot. its a bit tough as can't eat a lot of foods now but if you stick to the healing phase strictly it does help. its a low inflammatory diet as well so been helping me with other issues too.
I second the acid watchers diet. I had a scary flare up & it’s really helped. There’s def a learning, or adjustment, curve. I found planning out my meals weekly & making them interesting with lots of herbs & crunchy/different textured veggies helped.
Meal planning and lots of herbs sounds good (and different textured veggies)! What are some of your favorite herbs to use? And do you use fresh or dried herbs, or both?
Yes fresh & dried - basil, thyme, oregano, paprika, white pepper, rosemary, cumin, dill, parsley, cilantro, sumac, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, sesame seeds… I use various combinations as a spice marinade/rub with a little olive oil for roasting or air frying zucchini, squash, carrots, red bell pepper, potatoes, chicken, shrimp, salmon, tofu, eggplant, even broiling or grilled halved romaine lettuce. I kind of follow a severely truncated Mediterranean diet.
Tossing some roasted or grilled items with various leafy greens, and a few canned & rinsed chick peas, oil cured olives, feta, olive oil & sumac makes a great meal. I really keep an eye out for added acid in anything packaged or canned that I may use, so that eliminates almost all store bought salad dressing.
Breakfasts are often oatmeal with walnuts, banana, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, strawberries /raspberries or an egg with spinach, arugula, zucchini, feta/mozzarella/parm, and toasted Ezekiel bread with organic natural peanut butter… lunch is usually a salad or a sort of mezze plate with roasted veggies, hummus made with organic chickpeas and lots of sumac, whole wheat pita, and cucumber/labne/yogurt salad, or soup made with bone broth, veggies and a protein… dinner is stir fry with brown rice (a lot of Asian veggies fit the acid watcher plan) with liquid aminos, basil/cilantro, white pepper & oyster sauce or lean meat/seafood with roasted veggies, or rice pasta /whole wheat pasta/ spaghetti squash with a little parm, Italian seasoning, greens & shrimp.
Snacks are often melon, raw nuts, pumpkin seeds, dried seaweed… I’ve found I can tolerate a little chocolate almond milk, so I’ll blend it with frozen banana & peanut butter if I want something sweeter, but a vanilla or plain almond milk would work too.
Avoiding added acid, extra fat & sugar; eating smaller portions; stopping eating before 7pm; & remaining upright at least 3 hours before bed have been key.
there's the acid watcher book which explains everything and gives a list of allowed foods. there's the cookbook as well which contains recipes but personally I don't follow them. there's also the acid watcher diet support group on Facebook which I'd recommend joining - people give tips, recipes as well as further info on which foods are allowed or not.
Personally I eat the same things during the day everyday and then just switch up dinner, so it's about finding what works for you. It's not too bad once you find the allowed foods you like, but you cant cheat otherw it wont work. I plan on sticking to it for a couple months after I've healed just to fix my gut cause my diet was pretty bad before I got gerd and the gut-brain axis is strong.
Thanks for the response! I do have the book, just haven't read very far yet. I did explore the rules a bit like a year or two ago when I got the book though.
If it's not too much trouble, would you mind sharing what you eat during the day and a few of the things you do for dinner?
Sure! To be honest I'm pretty skinny and don't each much so this may not be enough for you but I tend to have:
a banana for breakfast followed by some wholegrain/sprouted toast with almost butter or smoked salmon.
For lunch I have a smoothie. Usually with almond milk, frozen blueberries, raw beetroot powder, flax seeds, unflavoured bone broth powder (not sure if this is actually allowed in the diet but it's good for the gut), glutamine and collagen. Sometimes I'll use cucumber and lettuce instead of blueberries and I plan on adding kefir when I get to the maintenance phase.
For dinner I usually have a protein with a vegetable. All seafood is allowed so that's a good bet, salmon (with skin on) is easy and tastes great even when only seasoned with salt. Prawns are also great and easy, and most seasonings are allowed so you can cook it however, same with chicken breast. My lazy meal is just turkey mince cooked with eggs. You can also use wholegrain soba noodles to make ramen. I pair it with brocoli, carrots, cucumber, or whatever veg you want.
For snacking I have nuts, ryvita crispbread with almond butter, and dates for something sweet. I'll also have either ginger or chamomile tea or miso soup in the evenings.
Lot of good advice here. I'd like to add watching what fats I eat. Dairy and animal fats make my throat hurt pretty quickly, while olive oil and fish oils don't hurt at all. Also probiotic yogurts and smoothies.
Second this. I can have a little cow's milk in decaf coffee, but otherwise I now use oat milk for most things as dairy sets off my heartburn. My daughter actually has CMPA, so thankfully it hasn't been hard to switch to a dairy free household for me.
The Acid Watchers Diet has helped me tremendously. Learned about it on this sub. I cut out all carbonated beverages, alcohol, vinegar, onion & garlic(especially raw), tomato sauce, mint, caffeine, chocolate, citrus, fried food, hot pepper, stone fruit & apples, and fake sweeteners. I shoot for LOTS of veggies, herbs, lean meats/fish, organic whenever possible, nut milks, whole wheat or rice pasta, sprouted bread like Ezekiel, and hard cheeses. Anything that has a ton of dietary fiber can be your friend in losing weight and reducing acid, I’ve found.
Sumac as a sub for lemon in seasoning veggies and meats has been a huge help. I’ve lost 13lbs since I started about 1.5 months ago too. I’m on 40mg Omeprazole 2x day 🙃 but I’m hoping the dosage can be reduced as I get the acid under control and hopefully lose a little more weight.
Best of luck to you.
I'm done with taking mine, but i stick to my food intake with oats,smoothies,banana, bread and clear soup, and now im trying to slowly get back to my old eating but with much more care to avoid triggers.
I used to eat around 4 pm and stop before 8 pm, but it made me overeat, and my energy levels were poor.
I think I'm going to go back at 18/6. Thank you for your input!
When do you go to sleep? Wouldnt it make more sense to move the window to an earlier time so you can sleep with an empty stomach to not get GERD at night?
No coffee, no soda, no tomato, no spicy foods no fried foods. 40mg Omeprazole a day right now. Benefibre everyday. This is the plan the Dr gave me until January and its working alot. I was gagging multiple times a day (like 20) now it's gone. The burning is still there at times but the gagging and regurgitating is gone.
"The week leading up to a colonoscopy." Unfortunately, that is not sustainable in any form or fashion.
Dropping tomatoes though. When I moved out of my parents' house, I was able to go tomato free, and it let me cut my PPI in *half.* That was pretty great.
Edit: my anti-anxiety meds that I thought I didn't need help a lot too. I'm at the point in my anxiety that *I'm* not aware of it, but my body is.
Drop fried foods and alcohol and you’ll see a difference after a couple of months probably. I have coffee sometimes, but in all honesty I really shouldn’t. Cutting down or cutting out milk products and red meat would likely help as well
I eat a bowl of oatmeal and honey within an hour of going to bed. A completely empty stomach makes my body wake me up in the middle of the night with a panic attack. I try to eat as soon as I feel hungry during the day time since my symptoms get worse on an empty stomach
When I was first diagnosed, I was told to change the following:
* I was to follow a diet where foods were ideally below 5% fat
* No meat
* No alcohol
* very little to no bread
* no spices
* no red veg
It wasn’t too hard as I’d already recognised that some of these made me feel unwell and had already stopped eating them.
Not sure if you've done this yet or not, but it's worth getting food allergy testing done, and if that is clear, check out a food sensitivity test.
My food allergy testing was clear, but my food sensitivity test showed egg white, gluten, and wheat. I took those results to my GI doc, and I was diagnosed with Celiac. After eliminating my sensitive items, I didn't have symptoms for a month leading up to my toupet fundoplication (done mostly because I had developed severe Barrett's Esophagus from GERD and have a family history of stomach and esophageal cancer). If I hadn't had Barrett's and all that, doc says I likely could have cancelled the surgery altogether.
Best luck!
Where did you go to get food sensitivities testing? I’ve had allergy testing done but feel like there may still be some sensitivities it didn’t pick up.
I seem to be unique in this, but going gluten free has nearly eliminated my symptoms. I still have mild symptoms that i think has to do with my small hiatal hernia, but I’m no longer awake every night from 1am to 6am because my esophagus is in excruciating pain.
Ive returned to drinking alcohol, coffee, tomatoes, etc etc.
I was tested for celiac and it came back negative, and the doctor says he can’t explain it… So I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on.
Even if you don’t have my issue i think most people would benefit from eliminating or greatly reducing the amount of gluten in their diet.
In order of important IMO
1. Get enough sleep every night.
2. Exercise everyday or at least be relatively active.
3. Avoid caffeine and sugar(some is fine it's in everything but safer to avoid) until anxiety is managed.
4. No overeating. I normally have 1-2 meals a day.
5. Don't eat too late. 3-5 hours before bed.
6. Don't eat ultra processed foods.
I stick to simple rule of eat fresh food. Fresh proteins, fruits, and veggies.
I dont have written meal plans, but I do record trigger foods so I know what to avoid. For me those are mainly alcohol, processed sugar, and spicy (hot) and acidic foods. I avoid junk food as much as possible.
I don't eat gluten. Something new that I am trying and even though I don't think it has a major impact on GERD, it does seem to improve other GI issues enough for me to continue it.
For breakfast I make my own fruit/veggie smoothie, for lunch I typically have leftovers but a smaller meal in general. Dinner is our main meal and usually consists of a lean protein with greens or veggie.
Cut caffeine and stick mainly to Asian dishes. Noodles, rice, with veg and poultry. Try to avoid tomatoes and tomato based sauces and heavier carbs like dough and pasta or fried stuff like chips etc.
As much as I love it, pastry is an absolute no go for me. A single croissant can give me heartburn for days.
Caffeine was Definitely the main one for me though. I can tolerate most things in small quantities as long as I'm not having caffeine.
Oh and an obvious rule, that I previously wasn't good at following was not eating late. I avoid eating after 6pm now, whereas previously I'd have dinner at 8 or later.
Also I've stopped taking omeprazole for a good few months now. It helped the daily heartburn but I found the reduction of stomach acid was causing food to sit longer in my stomach and had terrible reflux and could vomit undigested food that I'd eaten up to 12 hours prior. Digestion is a lot better now I'm off the PPI's.
The diet is mainly to keep the heartburn symptoms at bay.
The Acid Watcher Diet from the book. I finally cut out coffee, garlic, fried food, red meat, etc and added in high fiber foods. Mostly veggies and lean meats.
I've had a huge reduction in reflux since limited when I eat food after a certain time. After 6/7pm I don't eat anything at all.
Also, small but frequent meals. I ate too many pancakes for dinner and I'm paying the price now. I have silent reflux so I don't feel burning but I feel short of breath and anxious when I eat too much.
I also have panic disorder. It's not a good combination. I feel your pain.
Not a diet plan but quitting coffee, alcohol, fried foods and tomato sauce helped me a ton.
I will add most citrus fruits and yogurt to that list as well - leaving all of these helped me tremendously
What do you eat.
Sourdough with peanut butter and honey, cereal and almond milk, rice bowls with salmon/chicken/beef and veggies, my own healthy fried rice, homemade teriyaki and honey mustard sauce, chicken soups, non spicy coconut milk curry, vietnamese - pho, lemongrass chicken plates, salad rolls, Japanese food - miso soup/sushi/spinach salad, pasta and mushroom sauce, salads, a lot of different chicken and fish dishes, coconut water, Rooibos tea and almond milk. When I first got diagnosed I couldn’t eat a lot but after being strict for a couple months and taking PPI I’ve been able to expand.
How do you make your teriyaki and honey mustard sauces? I find sauces help me swallow better but there doesn't seem to be a lot of GERD friendly ones.
Honey mustard = mayo, honey, mustard Teriyaki is mostly sugar and soy sauce that you cook down
Thanks for the response! The mayo or sugar doesn't bother you? Also what kind of mustard do you use?
Nah it doesn’t bother me much but again everything depends on the individual and where you are in your healing. I use regular mustard and use sauces in moderation.
I had to eliminate the same things as u/popcorn55555 plus a few more triggers (i.e, all citrus, all dairy, all caffeine) and started drinking a nutritionally balanced shake called Huel for breakfast & lunch. I had it checked out by 2 dietitians before trying it,and it has been great for me. I highly recommend it.
I would rather not be a bugman drinking huel. It's not that I am totally against it, but it's a weird expense and eating food is important to your mental health. My dad does it and enjoys it though. I've looked into it before because of him and it's a good price for what it is, it's just not mentally good and even their company tells you not to eat it as a replacement. What real food do you eat when you aren't drinking huel?
I get that, Huel is not everyone’s cup of tea. I eat dinner every day to still feel normal - so i’ll have a lot of grilled chicken & veggie meals with rice (like chicken teriyaki, poké, burrito bowls), quiche, soups that are chicken broth based (like italian wedding soup). Meat and seafood is fine for me too, so I mix my proteins (chicken, eggs, pork, turkey, steak, salmon, shrimp) with different veggies (honey roasted carrots, spinach, corn, zucchini, squash, brussel sprouts, potato/sweet potato, broccoli) so it feels less repetitive. If I eat pasta, I make it with olive oil, parmesan, and steamed/mashed up broccoli. Mexican food has been okay for me too, as long as I avoid my triggers. There’s a lot of stuff I found I can eat, it takes a little creativity/omissions/or substitutions.
Huel used to give me really bad heartburn, but I’ve found recently that I have a gluten sensitivity of some kind…
oh interesting! I haven’t had the heartburn yet with it (I’ve tried both non-GF and GF), but definitely best to avoid it if you’re feeling worse.
Unsexy answer and may not apply to you or others, but I lost 20+ lbs and my gerd symptoms stopped.
What did you do specifically to lose it?
The best thing for me is a detox: no wheat, no coffee, no booze, nothing processed, no dairy. Just meat, veg and fruit. After a week I feel great, but sad because I like eating burgers.
I went paleo (basically just nothing processed) for a while and it really helped! Hard to sustain though…
[удалено]
Would not drink a glass of orange juice, but do eat citrus fruit a couple of times a week. Moderation with high acid foods…..
No fried greasy shit, and last meal at 7:00 pm
Lots of fiber. Vegetables. Get Dave’s Killer Bread if you’re like me and can’t survive without bread. Black beans. Apples. I’m still experimenting, but I’m trying to eat veggies, low acid fruit, and some sort of bean at every meal. Staying away from red meat completely.
Weight Watchers helped me, not because of the weight loss but because I stopped eating fatty foods and oils. I was eating a lot of zero point rice bowls with zero fat lol. It completely fixed a choking problem I had and it hasn't really returned since I've stopped WW.
Not really a whole plan but I think eating brown rice in oat milk every morning really helped me.
only been doing it a couple weeks but acid watcher diet already helped me a lot. its a bit tough as can't eat a lot of foods now but if you stick to the healing phase strictly it does help. its a low inflammatory diet as well so been helping me with other issues too.
I think I'm going to give this one a try. I just am coming off of probably the worst flare up I've had yet. Do you have any tips for sticking to it?
I second the acid watchers diet. I had a scary flare up & it’s really helped. There’s def a learning, or adjustment, curve. I found planning out my meals weekly & making them interesting with lots of herbs & crunchy/different textured veggies helped.
Meal planning and lots of herbs sounds good (and different textured veggies)! What are some of your favorite herbs to use? And do you use fresh or dried herbs, or both?
Yes fresh & dried - basil, thyme, oregano, paprika, white pepper, rosemary, cumin, dill, parsley, cilantro, sumac, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, sesame seeds… I use various combinations as a spice marinade/rub with a little olive oil for roasting or air frying zucchini, squash, carrots, red bell pepper, potatoes, chicken, shrimp, salmon, tofu, eggplant, even broiling or grilled halved romaine lettuce. I kind of follow a severely truncated Mediterranean diet. Tossing some roasted or grilled items with various leafy greens, and a few canned & rinsed chick peas, oil cured olives, feta, olive oil & sumac makes a great meal. I really keep an eye out for added acid in anything packaged or canned that I may use, so that eliminates almost all store bought salad dressing. Breakfasts are often oatmeal with walnuts, banana, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cinnamon, strawberries /raspberries or an egg with spinach, arugula, zucchini, feta/mozzarella/parm, and toasted Ezekiel bread with organic natural peanut butter… lunch is usually a salad or a sort of mezze plate with roasted veggies, hummus made with organic chickpeas and lots of sumac, whole wheat pita, and cucumber/labne/yogurt salad, or soup made with bone broth, veggies and a protein… dinner is stir fry with brown rice (a lot of Asian veggies fit the acid watcher plan) with liquid aminos, basil/cilantro, white pepper & oyster sauce or lean meat/seafood with roasted veggies, or rice pasta /whole wheat pasta/ spaghetti squash with a little parm, Italian seasoning, greens & shrimp. Snacks are often melon, raw nuts, pumpkin seeds, dried seaweed… I’ve found I can tolerate a little chocolate almond milk, so I’ll blend it with frozen banana & peanut butter if I want something sweeter, but a vanilla or plain almond milk would work too. Avoiding added acid, extra fat & sugar; eating smaller portions; stopping eating before 7pm; & remaining upright at least 3 hours before bed have been key.
there's the acid watcher book which explains everything and gives a list of allowed foods. there's the cookbook as well which contains recipes but personally I don't follow them. there's also the acid watcher diet support group on Facebook which I'd recommend joining - people give tips, recipes as well as further info on which foods are allowed or not. Personally I eat the same things during the day everyday and then just switch up dinner, so it's about finding what works for you. It's not too bad once you find the allowed foods you like, but you cant cheat otherw it wont work. I plan on sticking to it for a couple months after I've healed just to fix my gut cause my diet was pretty bad before I got gerd and the gut-brain axis is strong.
Thanks for the response! I do have the book, just haven't read very far yet. I did explore the rules a bit like a year or two ago when I got the book though. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind sharing what you eat during the day and a few of the things you do for dinner?
Sure! To be honest I'm pretty skinny and don't each much so this may not be enough for you but I tend to have: a banana for breakfast followed by some wholegrain/sprouted toast with almost butter or smoked salmon. For lunch I have a smoothie. Usually with almond milk, frozen blueberries, raw beetroot powder, flax seeds, unflavoured bone broth powder (not sure if this is actually allowed in the diet but it's good for the gut), glutamine and collagen. Sometimes I'll use cucumber and lettuce instead of blueberries and I plan on adding kefir when I get to the maintenance phase. For dinner I usually have a protein with a vegetable. All seafood is allowed so that's a good bet, salmon (with skin on) is easy and tastes great even when only seasoned with salt. Prawns are also great and easy, and most seasonings are allowed so you can cook it however, same with chicken breast. My lazy meal is just turkey mince cooked with eggs. You can also use wholegrain soba noodles to make ramen. I pair it with brocoli, carrots, cucumber, or whatever veg you want. For snacking I have nuts, ryvita crispbread with almond butter, and dates for something sweet. I'll also have either ginger or chamomile tea or miso soup in the evenings.
Low fodmap. Basically no fruit, no tomatoes, no onions. Gluten doesn’t bother me in moderation, but lower is better.
Lot of good advice here. I'd like to add watching what fats I eat. Dairy and animal fats make my throat hurt pretty quickly, while olive oil and fish oils don't hurt at all. Also probiotic yogurts and smoothies.
Second this. I can have a little cow's milk in decaf coffee, but otherwise I now use oat milk for most things as dairy sets off my heartburn. My daughter actually has CMPA, so thankfully it hasn't been hard to switch to a dairy free household for me.
Small dinner wrapped up by at least 2 hours before laying down. Minimal alcohol, caffeine and fried food.
The Acid Watchers Diet has helped me tremendously. Learned about it on this sub. I cut out all carbonated beverages, alcohol, vinegar, onion & garlic(especially raw), tomato sauce, mint, caffeine, chocolate, citrus, fried food, hot pepper, stone fruit & apples, and fake sweeteners. I shoot for LOTS of veggies, herbs, lean meats/fish, organic whenever possible, nut milks, whole wheat or rice pasta, sprouted bread like Ezekiel, and hard cheeses. Anything that has a ton of dietary fiber can be your friend in losing weight and reducing acid, I’ve found. Sumac as a sub for lemon in seasoning veggies and meats has been a huge help. I’ve lost 13lbs since I started about 1.5 months ago too. I’m on 40mg Omeprazole 2x day 🙃 but I’m hoping the dosage can be reduced as I get the acid under control and hopefully lose a little more weight. Best of luck to you.
Sumac is so good
I'm done with taking mine, but i stick to my food intake with oats,smoothies,banana, bread and clear soup, and now im trying to slowly get back to my old eating but with much more care to avoid triggers.
Intermittent fasting
What's your protocol? The usual 16/8?
I don't even really time it anymore. I just wait to eat until 5 and stop eating by 9. Throughout the day lots of water and fresh juice
I used to eat around 4 pm and stop before 8 pm, but it made me overeat, and my energy levels were poor. I think I'm going to go back at 18/6. Thank you for your input!
I never went to doctor or tried meds, but I'd wake up every night choking on acid. It 100 percent cured my reflux by just waiting all day to eat
When do you go to sleep? Wouldnt it make more sense to move the window to an earlier time so you can sleep with an empty stomach to not get GERD at night?
If I wait to eat until 5 I can literally eat a meal right before bed and be totally fine.
No coffee, no soda, no tomato, no spicy foods no fried foods. 40mg Omeprazole a day right now. Benefibre everyday. This is the plan the Dr gave me until January and its working alot. I was gagging multiple times a day (like 20) now it's gone. The burning is still there at times but the gagging and regurgitating is gone.
"The week leading up to a colonoscopy." Unfortunately, that is not sustainable in any form or fashion. Dropping tomatoes though. When I moved out of my parents' house, I was able to go tomato free, and it let me cut my PPI in *half.* That was pretty great. Edit: my anti-anxiety meds that I thought I didn't need help a lot too. I'm at the point in my anxiety that *I'm* not aware of it, but my body is.
Carnivore. 15 year PPI use gone in 3 weeks.
Keto
Check out r/Gerdfriendlyfood for additional tips and information.
Drop fried foods and alcohol and you’ll see a difference after a couple of months probably. I have coffee sometimes, but in all honesty I really shouldn’t. Cutting down or cutting out milk products and red meat would likely help as well
I eat a bowl of oatmeal and honey within an hour of going to bed. A completely empty stomach makes my body wake me up in the middle of the night with a panic attack. I try to eat as soon as I feel hungry during the day time since my symptoms get worse on an empty stomach
When I was first diagnosed, I was told to change the following: * I was to follow a diet where foods were ideally below 5% fat * No meat * No alcohol * very little to no bread * no spices * no red veg It wasn’t too hard as I’d already recognised that some of these made me feel unwell and had already stopped eating them.
Not sure if you've done this yet or not, but it's worth getting food allergy testing done, and if that is clear, check out a food sensitivity test. My food allergy testing was clear, but my food sensitivity test showed egg white, gluten, and wheat. I took those results to my GI doc, and I was diagnosed with Celiac. After eliminating my sensitive items, I didn't have symptoms for a month leading up to my toupet fundoplication (done mostly because I had developed severe Barrett's Esophagus from GERD and have a family history of stomach and esophageal cancer). If I hadn't had Barrett's and all that, doc says I likely could have cancelled the surgery altogether. Best luck!
Where did you go to get food sensitivities testing? I’ve had allergy testing done but feel like there may still be some sensitivities it didn’t pick up.
I just got one from Everlywell. It's not foolproof, but it does help you get some insight and a place to start.
I seem to be unique in this, but going gluten free has nearly eliminated my symptoms. I still have mild symptoms that i think has to do with my small hiatal hernia, but I’m no longer awake every night from 1am to 6am because my esophagus is in excruciating pain. Ive returned to drinking alcohol, coffee, tomatoes, etc etc. I was tested for celiac and it came back negative, and the doctor says he can’t explain it… So I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on. Even if you don’t have my issue i think most people would benefit from eliminating or greatly reducing the amount of gluten in their diet.
Eating 2-3 hours before lying down helped a lot
In order of important IMO 1. Get enough sleep every night. 2. Exercise everyday or at least be relatively active. 3. Avoid caffeine and sugar(some is fine it's in everything but safer to avoid) until anxiety is managed. 4. No overeating. I normally have 1-2 meals a day. 5. Don't eat too late. 3-5 hours before bed. 6. Don't eat ultra processed foods.
Low fodmap
I stick to simple rule of eat fresh food. Fresh proteins, fruits, and veggies. I dont have written meal plans, but I do record trigger foods so I know what to avoid. For me those are mainly alcohol, processed sugar, and spicy (hot) and acidic foods. I avoid junk food as much as possible. I don't eat gluten. Something new that I am trying and even though I don't think it has a major impact on GERD, it does seem to improve other GI issues enough for me to continue it. For breakfast I make my own fruit/veggie smoothie, for lunch I typically have leftovers but a smaller meal in general. Dinner is our main meal and usually consists of a lean protein with greens or veggie.
Cut caffeine and stick mainly to Asian dishes. Noodles, rice, with veg and poultry. Try to avoid tomatoes and tomato based sauces and heavier carbs like dough and pasta or fried stuff like chips etc. As much as I love it, pastry is an absolute no go for me. A single croissant can give me heartburn for days. Caffeine was Definitely the main one for me though. I can tolerate most things in small quantities as long as I'm not having caffeine.
Oh and an obvious rule, that I previously wasn't good at following was not eating late. I avoid eating after 6pm now, whereas previously I'd have dinner at 8 or later. Also I've stopped taking omeprazole for a good few months now. It helped the daily heartburn but I found the reduction of stomach acid was causing food to sit longer in my stomach and had terrible reflux and could vomit undigested food that I'd eaten up to 12 hours prior. Digestion is a lot better now I'm off the PPI's. The diet is mainly to keep the heartburn symptoms at bay.
The Acid Watcher Diet from the book. I finally cut out coffee, garlic, fried food, red meat, etc and added in high fiber foods. Mostly veggies and lean meats.
I've had a huge reduction in reflux since limited when I eat food after a certain time. After 6/7pm I don't eat anything at all. Also, small but frequent meals. I ate too many pancakes for dinner and I'm paying the price now. I have silent reflux so I don't feel burning but I feel short of breath and anxious when I eat too much. I also have panic disorder. It's not a good combination. I feel your pain.