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A condensed version can be found at the bottom of this post.
Months ago I had my first real acid reflux reaction (at least that’s what my doctor suspects it was) - it felt like something had burst inside my left side in the upper stomach area, and it was followed by an excruciating squeezing pain. It happened while having a cocktail - something with blueberries, some hard liquor (gin/vodka), and who knows what else. I immediately felt like something was wrong because I had never experienced anything like it before, and I actually felt mentally out of whack for the rest of the night.
A couple of days later, I just could not shake off the fatigue, the yawning, and issues with what I call the 4 B’s: bloating (constant), breathing (can’t fully expand diaphragm to inhale), burning (stomach/heartburn), and burping...all the time. Nowadays I mostly get “LPR” (laryngopharyngeal reflux - mostly throat/nose symptoms, which make sleep quality go down)
Each symptom has mildly improved through avoiding irritants and by my sequentially trying out all the supplements that have previously worked for me (I got something akin to CFS’ish some years ago, along with a bunch of food intolerances) in the digestive department. The only things that have mildly improved me (I’m somewhat functional now) were resistant starch, colostrum, and diatomaceous earth.
Keeping in mind that I already have food intolerances to gluten and lactose, I now can no longer tolerate acidic (e.g. blueberries, fermented foods) and bitter foods (e.g. most herbs) either - they give me upper abdominal bloating and acid reflux. They don’t get absorbed, either, and my energy and mood go to crap. This is unsustainable in the long run: bitter and acid (sour) foods have a lot of important nutrients and medicines to provide, and I find it puzzling that the body could block off intake of these valuable inputs. A few days ago I had a deathly migraine and I couldn’t even take the Neem leaf capsules that made it go away last year. I also don’t want to run out of food I can eat: food intolerances + this acid/bitter reflux will have me drinking water and eating ice until death.
Does anyone have any other ideas on how to fix this thing?
The usual advice of “add acid” (through Betaine HCL, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) clearly does not apply to me - they make me worse, and it’s not dieoff. My best bet at the moment is it’s some kind of gut bug, or a hiatal hernia - but I’ve read about plenty of people with hiatal hernias who are fine with bitter foods so I’m confused.
List of things I’ve tried that not only didn’t help, but made me worse: blackstrap molasses, neem, chanca piedra, various forms of clay, charcoal, apple cider vinegar, digestive teas, collagen hydrolysate, kefir, sauerkraut, sheep yogurt, raw sheep cheese, lemon.
List of some stuff I’ll try eventually: mastic gum, Primal Defense probiotics, baking soda, larch tree arabinogalactan.
............
The condensed version:
Months ago I had my first real acid reflux reaction (at least that’s what my doctor suspects it was) - it felt like something had burst inside my left side in the upper stomach area, and it was followed by an excruciating squeezing pain. It happened while having a cocktail - something with blueberries, some hard liquor (gin/vodka), and who knows what else. I immediately felt like something was wrong because I had never experienced anything like it before, and I actually felt mentally out of whack for the rest of the night.
A couple of days later, I just could not shake off the fatigue, the yawning, and issues with what I call the 4 B’s: bloating (constant), breathing (can’t fully expand diaphragm to inhale), burning (stomach/heartburn), and burping...all the time. Nowadays I mostly get “LPR” (laryngopharyngeal reflux - mostly throat/nose symptoms, which make sleep quality go down)
Each symptom has mildly improved through avoiding irritants and by my sequentially trying out all the supplements that have previously worked for me (I got something akin to CFS’ish some years ago, along with a bunch of food intolerances) in the digestive department. The only things that have mildly improved me (I’m somewhat functional now) were resistant starch, colostrum, and diatomaceous earth.
Keeping in mind that I already have food intolerances to gluten and lactose, I now can no longer tolerate acidic (e.g. blueberries, fermented foods) and bitter foods (e.g. most herbs) either - they give me upper abdominal bloating and acid reflux. They don’t get absorbed, either, and my energy and mood go to crap. This is unsustainable in the long run: bitter and acid (sour) foods have a lot of important nutrients and medicines to provide, and I find it puzzling that the body could block off intake of these valuable inputs. A few days ago I had a deathly migraine and I couldn’t even take the Neem leaf capsules that made it go away last year. I also don’t want to run out of food I can eat: food intolerances + this acid/bitter reflux will have me drinking water and eating ice until death.
Does anyone have any other ideas on how to fix this thing?
The usual advice of “add acid” (through Betaine HCL, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) clearly does not apply to me - they make me worse, and it’s not dieoff. My best bet at the moment is it’s some kind of gut bug, or a hiatal hernia - but I’ve read about plenty of people with hiatal hernias who are fine with bitter foods so I’m confused.
List of things I’ve tried that not only didn’t help, but made me worse: blackstrap molasses, neem, chanca piedra, various forms of clay, charcoal, apple cider vinegar, digestive teas, collagen hydrolysate, kefir, sauerkraut, sheep yogurt, raw sheep cheese, lemon.
List of some stuff I’ll try eventually: mastic gum, Primal Defense probiotics, baking soda, larch tree arabinogalactan.
............
The condensed version:
- I appear to have a type of acid reflux that gets worse with the consumption of bitter and acidic foods (so apple cider vinegar will not help - only worsen)
- Primary symptoms: bloating, inability to fully expand belly to breathe, reflux in sleep, LPR (“silent” reflux in throat and nose), lots of burping, can no longer eat bitter herbs or berries or fermented foods without bloating and fatigue and reflux
- I’ve tried a bunch of stuff (list above)
- What might I be missing? (other than “You’re screwed, manage your symptoms by avoiding the irritants”)
- What else would you try?