This is what I found on testing my self VS internet research / study
about
ME:
GERD 4+ years
PPI / H2Blockers Don't work anymore
Symptoms: Throat spasm, globus sensation, heart palpitations, anxiety, S.O.B, and stomach churn.
WHAT I FOUND:
Most GERD is caused by too little acid and PPI or H2Blockers suppress acid. Your stomach actually needs to be acidic. Undigested high carbohydrate foods are what bacteria feeds on. When bacteria feeds on carbs they will produce gas that in turn cause abdominal pressure pushing acid into the esophagus.
MY TEST:
If this is true, then eating a low carb diet such as a paleo or keto diet will help GERD. I went on a keto diet, which is a diet that contains 0 carbs, for a few weeks. After the first day on keto, I already seen improvements in my symptoms. In a week, it was better. To test if it was due to no carbs, I went back to eating carb foods. In just a few lunches I'm already having bad symptoms. I went back and forth on keto and carb diet for a few weeks and the results were the same. My conclusion is that low or no carb diet helps control GERD symptoms.
WHAT I FOUND:
Alot of people take OTC anacids like tums. Well I read that calcium neutralizes acid in the stomach. I also found that people praise antacids for helping their GERD but also read articles antacids are just temorary relief and can cause more harm in the long run. Long term antacid use can inhibit nutrient absorption, promote bacterial growth, and increase risk of other diseases.
MY TEST:
I tried it out by buying a specific brand called Gaviscon Extra Strength (GES). I've been taking this for months on and off when my GERD was out of control. Anyways, I keep a GES log if it was really working. In my log of symptoms, I felt that GES was working and suppressing my GERD But my log didn't say so. I noticed in my log that my symptoms actually gets worse when I take GES and this took a few months to notice the pattern. Whenever I take GES I would get heart palpitations, increased throat spasm, and anxiety. I imediately stopped and noticed that the symptoms would die off. To make sure it was the GES, I bought an acid suppressor called Gaviscon Advanced (GA) which had totally different ingredients. Since they are chemically different I should have different symptoms. On taking GA I did not have any much bad symptoms as when I took GES. To even prove my test further I took half of GES and GA together and ended up with bad symptoms. Then, later I took the antacids seperate. I did this for a couple of days back and forth and I concluded that anything that contained GES always gave me bad symptoms. There is something in the ingredients of GES that is making my GERD worse. It does make sense, GES neutralizes acid while GA suppresses it. Meaning that antacids like GES lower acid in the stomach which creats undigested carbs to linger longer in he stomach for bacteria to feed on which then cause gas build up.
CURRENT:
Im still working on some testing, like H. pylori and taking anti anxiety medication for GERD (im taking citalopram). Also, I'm researching on the current study where they found that autoimmune disease (when your body attacks itself, usually caused by celiac disease or gluten intolerant) causes GERD effects rather than acid itself. The study shows that when your body is on autoimmune, your GI or in this case esophagus become inflamed which then causes GERD symptoms. They found that when acid hitting the esophagus did not cause any noticeable irritation matter in fact it took weeks for acid to cause irritation while the autoimmune caused instant inflammation in the esophagus.
Thats all for now... I would like to see actual self diagnosis vs research from studies from you guys because it challenges research if its true or not.
Post Edited (k1m11) : 7/7/2016 9:23:17 PM (GMT-6)