Heartburn/Indigestion Help

[[DHT]Osiris]

5'-10" 190-195 depending on the time of day. Too much, I need to get back down to the 170s.

It might have more to do with amounts or what you are eating as well. I'd be curious if you had issues on an exceedingly low-carb diet. Mine were virtually eliminated when I went from ~230 to ~200 and cut out carby stuff (breads, pastas, tomato sauces, fruits, etc).

 

[local]

It might have more to do with amounts or what you are eating as well. I'd be curious if you had issues on an exceedingly low-carb diet. Mine were virtually eliminated when I went from ~230 to ~200 and cut out carby stuff (breads, pastas, tomato sauces, fruits, etc).

I would probably die, or at the very least I would fail.

My diet is more or less the same as a 5 year old. Other than raw carrots for snacks I don't do veggies and I have gotten back on my one apple a day kick to help with digestion. Other than that it is pretty much meat, potatos, cheese and bread. Pizza and pastas are significant portions of my diet as well as Tex-Mex and your normal classic American foods.

I do eat salads but they make me want to stab myself in the gut to relieve the pressure. Fish I eat rarely but no issues that I can recall. I have eaten the exact same thing multiple times over and had different results each time. For drinks it is water or beer on the weekends. I have a cup of coffee in the morning and had no change when I stopped that for a couple months.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I would probably die, or at the very least I would fail.

My diet is more or less the same as a 5 year old. Other than raw carrots for snacks I don't do veggies and I have gotten back on my one apple a day kick to help with digestion. Other than that it is pretty much meat, potatos, cheese and bread. Pizza and pastas are significant portions of my diet as well as Tex-Mex and your normal classic American foods.

I do eat salads but they make me want to stab myself in the gut to relieve the pressure. Fish I eat rarely but no issues that I can recall. I have eaten the exact same thing multiple times over and had different results each time. For drinks it is water or beer on the weekends. I have a cup of coffee in the morning and had no change when I stopped that for a couple months.

Well, I certainly won't tell you what to do, all I can do is give recommendations based on my own experience. I personally stay far, far away from sugary stuff. Even a small slice of cake or something similar will give me pretty severe heartburn/reflux. Same goes for anything with large amounts of tomato sauce, like pizza, calzones, pastas, etc. In moderation I'm okay, but I'm talking very small portions. The salad bloat makes me feel reinforced my in theory though, your gut flora is screwed up. I get the same issue with a lot of food types (primarily sugars, sometimes cruciferous vegetables too) and the more I eat, the worse it gets. I know that if I'm having something like a sandwich, I do not have chips with it. Open faced sandwiches if I can. Burger? No fries.

For a while I was doing pretty strict keto and had zero issues. I could eat a pound of sausage and feel like a million bucks.

 

[local]

Well, I certainly won't tell you what to do, all I can do is give recommendations based on my own experience. I personally stay far, far away from sugary stuff. Even a small slice of cake or something similar will give me pretty severe heartburn/reflux. Same goes for anything with large amounts of tomato sauce, like pizza, calzones, pastas, etc. In moderation I'm okay, but I'm talking very small portions. The salad bloat makes me feel reinforced my in theory though, your gut flora is screwed up. I get the same issue with a lot of food types (primarily sugars, sometimes cruciferous vegetables too) and the more I eat, the worse it gets. I know that if I'm having something like a sandwich, I do not have chips with it. Open faced sandwiches if I can. Burger? No fries.

For a while I was doing pretty strict keto and had zero issues. I could eat a pound of sausage and feel like a million bucks.

I understand.

 

[Micrornd]

Another cause of "long term" heartburn or acid reflux can be heart disease.
I had acid reflux almost daily for a year and it was treated unsuccessfully. Subsequently I found out the hard way I needed a triple bypass and magically I was heartburn/acid reflux free.
Fast forward 17 years and acid reflux started returning, when it became a regular thing, a stress test confirmed a stent was needed, and then once again heartburn/acid reflux free.
Having a cardiologist check you over can't hurt at any age. 😉

 

[Muse]

Another cause of "long term" heartburn or acid reflux can be heart disease.
I had acid reflux almost daily for a year and it was treated unsuccessfully. Subsequently I found out the hard way I needed a triple bypass and magically I was heartburn/acid reflux free.
Fast forward 17 years and acid reflux started returning, when it became a regular thing, a stress test confirmed a stent was needed, and then once again heartburn/acid reflux free.
Having a cardiologist check you over can't hurt at any age. 😉

I was having what I experienced as serious digestive issues around a year ago that lasted for months. Over the summer I had testing done including pretty extensive blood testing, saw a doctor, then that afternoon took an EKG. Those didn't reveal any problems. Doctor suggested I take a stress test EKG (i.e. while on a treadmill, the speed of which THEY control). I did that a couple weeks later, passed that fine. The problem went away. I think there may have been a psychosomatic component, and I had mentioned that to the examining doctor, who wasn't my regular doctor (he was on vacation!). I was examined by a female M.D., who specializes in emergency interventions, IIRC.

I really think I should change doctors. My doctor is just way to terse with me in emails, I can't remember being able to talk with him on the phone. I think I do better communicating with women, anyway. I have a female doctor in mind, maybe I should change now, maybe wait until the pandemic subsides. Anyway, I think I'm going to avoid facilities in general until that happens.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Ok, medical science has failed me so I am looking for other opinions. About 10 years ago I started getting heartburn almost daily. My doctor prescribed Omeprazole and after a couple weeks we settled on 40mg/day. I would still get the occasional heartburn and what I now assume is indigestion. Over time the frequency of this has increased to where for the last year I get what I assume is indigestion daily if not multiple times a day and occasional heartburn.

About 18 months ago I got tired of dealing with it and brought this up to my doctor who recommended an endoscopy. $800 and a short nap later I am told there was nothing found at all. So, disgruntled about an $800 nap I just lived with it until recently. Two weeks ago I had to go back to my doctor to do a consult on my ongoing medication and again I told him about my problem.

Now, 10 years after being prescribed the Omeprazole apparently there is more evidence coming out about the negative side effects of taking these kinds of heartburn relievers so he would rather I get off them. He inquired about my endoscopy and I told him the results were negative. He then started thinking that maybe my problem was never too much acid but instead not enough. Not having enough acid was causing my stomach to churn more than usual and would splash some acid into my esophagus causing heartburn. The meds I am on reduce the acid to a point where that usually doesn't happen but since there is even less acid my stomach churns even more and is causing indigestion.

He offered up a suggestion to try taking some digestive enzymes to help my stomach process and settle down the churning. What he said made sense to me so I did just that. The first week I took my Omeprazole and the enzymes and it was kinda ok at first but after a couple days my indigestion was back to full force. The second week I pulled back on the Omeprazole while still taking the enzymes and I had the same results.

As I write this I have had almost constant indigestion and heartburn for the last three days. If it subsides a little and I so much as drink water it comes back within a minute. I feel like I am completely stuffed and full of air but cannot get it out. Every once in a while I will have a nice deep burp that gives instant relief but it only lasts a minute or two. What I eat seems to be irrelevant as even just drinking a glass of water will cause it. This has been my life almost every day for the last two years at least.

I don't know anyone in real life that has even a fraction of the problems that I do so I am hoping that someone here can give some suggestions.

Cliffs:
Been on Omeprazole 40mg/day for 10 years.
Heartburn mostly under control.
Indigestion steadily getting worse, daily now.
Taking digestive enzymes had little to no effect.
Symptoms can be brought on by as little as a glass of water.

ask your doctor about Pantoprazole!! I take one 20 mg tablet a week and it does wonders!!
Omeprazole has never worked for me!!

 

[Muse]

ask your doctor about Pantoprazole!! I take one 20 mg tablet a week and it does wonders!!
Omeprazole has never worked for me!!

I was prescribed Omeprazole and IIRC it seemed to work. I still have some in my freezer, but I stopped needing any anti-acid something like 10+ years ago. I get occasional heartburn after turning in but it's because I inadvisedly ate too much and/or too soon before turning out the lights.