Gerd and Esophagitis questions...help!

Hi Bevys,

Welcome to Healing Well! Glad you've joined us.

Before my Nissen surgery, I had gastritis and esophagitis several times a year. Esophagitis is very painful, and you're right about the raw veggies, etc. They're scratching the already irritated esophagus, and causing more damage.

Stick to bland foods (no spice, acid, alcohol) and smooth foods. My go-to food during an esophagitis outbreak was egg custard. Only eat things that can be chewed to a liquid, creamy consistency. Take small bites and chew, chew, chew, chew.

It takes time and patience to heal, but you will. If you stay away from those rough and offending foods, you'll get better more quickly. Just imagine rubbing raw veggies, nuts, or popcorn kernels into a raw spot on the outside of your body. Your upper GI tissue is even more sensitive than your skin. Also, your stomach has muscles that mash food as part of the digestive process. Once those rough foods get into your stomach, the get ground against the irritated lining of your stomach (if it is irritated) as well.

One other thing. If you have good insurance, ask your doctor for a prescription of Carafate suspension. It's pretty pricey. It's the best, though. If not, you can get Sulcrafate tablets (generic). You put a tablet in a shotglass or medicine cup, add a wee bit of water, stir, and throw it back like a shot.

While it doesn't coat as well as the suspension form, I confident that it will give you some relief from the pain that lingers after you swallow. Read the directions for taking it carefully.

You need to space your doses between eating and meds, so read the protocol. The Carafate/Sulcrafate coat the esophagus and stomach lining. My GI doc said that the coating lasts about 6 hours. Don't drink anything for 10 minutes after taking it, so it has a chance to adhere to your esophagus.

If you're careful and very patient, you'll heal and get back to normal. My GI doc said to wait 2 weeks after I felt perfect before introducing more challenging foods. Good luck...I know it's hard to deal with.

Happy healing,
Denise

Hi Dencha,

Thank you for welcoming to the forum and for the thoughtfulness of your response and sharing you story. I so appreciate it!!! The way you wrote about the healing process and how certain foods effect the irritated lining was so well explained. :)

Your so right about the Esophagitis being quite painful at times. I guess the healing time depends on the severity of it? I've seen a slow but steady improvement in the 3 weeks I've been on Nexium and Rantidine.
I think I definitely set the healing process back though by sneaking into my diet ....raw vegetables, nuts, crackers, doritos, a loaded subway sandwich and especially spicy gummy candy. Oh the payback I got for eating that spicy candy was awful. It was comparable to pouring alcohol on an open cut. I felt its wrath for a couple of days. Now, I'm sticking to a bland soft food diet and things have greatly improved. I do wonder if rice, milk and cheese are ok to eat?

I will be following your advice of soft foods, small bites, frequent small meals and to chew chew chew. I think I get to pushing it too quick when I feel good for a day or two and end up eating something I shouldn't. What your GI said about waiting two weeks after you feel "perfect" before introducing "challenging foods" sounds like the way to go.

When I saw my doctor last month she mentioned Carafate, but I think she was trying to see if it would clear up with just Nexium and Rantidine. I see her next week and will ask her if she will prescribe the Carafate she spoke about as I definitely want to try it. My Insurance just kicked in and I should be able to afford it. Last month I had to pay for Nexium out of pocket and I couldn't believe how expensive it was.

Thank you once again for all your wonderful advice and sharing your experiences. I so needed to hear from others and if they experienced what I've been throughI as I felt I was the only one. I will be posting if the doc will put me on carafate etc.

Kind Regards

Hi Bevys,

When I'd get esophagitis, it seemed to always take at least a couple months to clear up. It's a frustrating process, and I'd always lose 20 pounds at least. I remember one Thanksgiving when I had horrible pain just taking a swallow of mashed potatoes and gravy.

Cheese, milk, and rice should be fine. The rice needs to be cooked thoroughly, and chewed to a liquid before swallowing. The more you stick to soft/well chewed foods, the fewer setbacks you'll have and the quicker you'll recover. Just listen to your body. If you eat something that bothers you, hold off on it until you're better. Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly.

Believe me, I understand how hard it is. Just try to hang in there and stay positive. It'll happen!

Best wishes,
Denise

To dencha and Bevys,

You both mention something that I think a lot of people neglect to take seriously enough, even those reading this forum who are desperate for good advise on how to cure, treat, or at least learn to live with the various problems that result from heartburn, GERD and reflux, as well as the nasty side effects of the medicines that are prescribed for it: CHEW YOUR FOOD LONGER.

There is a mild bacteria in saliva that is meant to begin the digestion process. Most of us chew too briefly to give it a chance to work. For those with an inflamed or damaged esophagus, as you mention, thorough chewing brings the food to a slurry state that is less likely to cause irritation on the way down. For those on PPIs or H2 blockers, with less acid in your stomach you are not digesting food as well as you should, and are probably suffering from gas and bloating, so you need all the digestive help you can get, starting right in the mouth with chewing.

Chewing more thoroughly, taking a probiotic (or eating plenty of yogurt), a digestive enzyme tablet, and possibly fiber supplement as well, can go a long way towards normalizing the digestive process, and reducing the gas that is probably contributing to the heartburn all are trying to stop. When you have gas in your stomach, it's only way out is UP. That constant pressure is very likely to bring the stomach contents, acid and all, up with it.