Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Acid Reflux



Today’s adventure story will be of a medical nature, the dreaded acid reflux, also known by some as heartburn. For me, it all began perhaps 40 some years ago when describing certain symptoms to my family care doctor he said it was acid reflux. He also noted it could be precancerous and sent me to WFMC…… World Famous Mayo  Clinic. They concurred. Thus began a seemingly lifelong regimen of famous pills both prescription, over-the-counter and other antidotes. Also there was the low acid diet which eliminated among other things tomatoes from my life. Goodbye pizza and spaghetti. In spite of all this there were still bad spots for me as when on Vancouver Island in Canada I ran out of Nexium and prescription drugs could not be filled for reasons too complicated to remember or explain. The symptoms were extreme enough that Mrs. T had to do the driving as she raced us in only two days back to the state of Washington. So it went.

Much more recently,  as her Alzheimer’s dementia began to reach the drastic stages, my physical reaction included a lot of stress. My new primary care doctor prescribed a pill for anxiety. I followed her advice, took the pills as well as  went to another visit to Mayo Clinic to check  my worsening acid reflux.

 
It was in the gastroenterology department that a day and one night at home test revealed that I didn’t have acid reflux. I asked the consulting physician how all that could be possible after 40 years of doctors and pills saying I did have it?   Mmmmm.? Will get to the bottom of it, he said Now I’m involved in the mystery but the eye, ear, nose, and whatever department will help sorted out. More tests including a camera down my throat to take pictures. A day later reporting to the consultant they had the definitive result.

“You have acid reflux” he said. I won’t be smart this fine clinic which saved my wife’s life twice different cancers and mine once from a near fatal drug reaction but I did momentarily laugh and suggested they call me when the two departments resolve their differences.

I do know that apparently Mayo sometimes withdraws all the medications from some of their patients who have mysterious ailments. Back to the starting point as it were

Conclusion: I made that decision myself to no longer taking any meds of any kind related to acid reflux and  gave up my acid-free diet as well. I no longer have any symptoms of acid reflux and enjoy my orange juice for breakfast and the occasional pizza for lunch :-) I’m sure there is a moral to this tale but I don’t know exactly what it is. Perhaps you do. In the meantime, I’m off to see my beloved at Cottagewood. The food is really good there and I eat whatever they serve and help my wife to eat as well.

14 comments:

  1. It was hard for me to get off Nexium, but I did. The doctors, after telling me to take it for ten years reversed their decision and warned me about the dire side effects of the drug. I now take non-PPLs “only” when I have a “bad” attack.

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  2. Seems like everyone is diagnosed with acid reflux, prescribed the PPI's...and now we are told to get off them. I am on 10 mg a day and my dr. says that is still too much. But when I go off them, it returns with a vengeance. What to do??

    I find that carbs cause me GERD symptoms. Try to stay away from too much bread and see if that is true with you as well.

    I will be anxious to see how it goes for you. I hope to wean off this stuff too!

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  3. I do hope things go well now that you are off meds and the special diet. I have only had heartburn when pregnant, so I can't sympathize much with your symptoms.

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  4. That is totally weird. I have to take meds for a similar problem.

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  5. That's pretty funny about the diagnosis being confirmed after saying you didn't have it. But now you are free of the drug and feeling fine, right? Glad to hear it. :-)

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  6. Too funny and too close to home. I also dismissed myself from the diagnosis of acid reflux, enjoy what I want and take Tums and famotadine (generic nexium).

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  7. I also would like to drop all meds! I wonder how necessary they are.

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  8. I hope it works out. I have SIBO that causes reflux. I have to limit (but not eliminate) carbs and fiber in order to keep symptoms at bay.

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  9. I sometimes think we are our own medic adviser. I haven't seen a doctor for a few years and treat myself for any minor ailment I have. Goodness only knows how long that will last... grins.

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  10. Yikes, sometimes I think they use dart board diagnosis. So sorry you had 40 years of misery but am delighted that you are now pill free. Enjoy those pizzas.

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  11. I get occasional acid reflux but find Tums are enough to calm the old stomach down. Glad to say I don't get heartburn with it though. Not fun.

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  12. Such good news to be off medication and enjoying foods you haven’t been able to eat all these years. It doesn’t usually work that way!

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  13. Yeah for being off the pills. I was always allergic to strawberries, pineapple and celery...recently I had some allergy tests and I am no longer allergic to them...the Doc said some peoples allergies change when they don't have the offending foods:) Who knew?

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  14. I made a decision several months ago to stop my blood pressure medicine because as soon as I started taking it my blood sugar went up. It was a diuretic commonly used for lowering BP, but it also made me lose weight I didn't need to lose. When my blood pressure started going back up, I started splitting the tablets in half. That seems to be working. Your experience encourages me to keep using common sense with caution as I navigate this season of life.

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