Lesley wrote:nicksta43 wrote:Me too! What in the heck is that about?Ian F wrote: There must be something weird about how the blood flows through my brain because if I sleep on my back I'll get vivid, bazaar dreams...+1 Happens every time.
In my case, its a lack of oxygen. Sleeping on my back closes off air passages, causes sleep apnea, causes disturbed sleep...and probably brain damage.
Do you snore and wake up often and feel tired a lot? If you have sleep apnea, as most overweight smokers do, that is when a lot of the reflux may be occuring. Ask me how I know. Getting that fixed will do wonders for your efforts to lose weight and kick tobacco.
Toyman01 wrote: While digging around the internet, I came across this: http://chriskresser.com/heartburn
Sure. The body uses a feedback loop to set acid level (among other things). Depress the level with an additive and the body will attempt to compensate.
Same argement is made by the no-shampoo folk, and fundamentally they are right. Your hair gets greasy because it's so actively attempting to compensate for the shampooing you do to it.
As for your heartburn, watch your triggers as well. Learn some and you can really help yourself. For me, it's orange juice. Drink a glass and I can all but guarantee in a few hours I'm going to be hurting. And I'll likely pay for it throughout the night.
I was a fan of Nexium for the last ten years. Got new insurance in January and my $20 a month drug went up to $208. Switched over to drinking non-homogenized milk and sprouted grains as well as other whole foods. Haven't lost any weight but in the last four weeks I have had reflux issues once and that is because I ate some garbage from a crummy restaurant.
Get checked for a hiatal hernia. The "cure" is the same though... stop smoking, cut out caffeine, lose some weight, eat better... take drugs in some cases.
Streetwiseguy wrote:Lesley wrote:In my case, its a lack of oxygen. Sleeping on my back closes off air passages, causes sleep apnea, causes disturbed sleep...and probably brain damage.nicksta43 wrote:Me too! What in the heck is that about?Ian F wrote: There must be something weird about how the blood flows through my brain because if I sleep on my back I'll get vivid, bazaar dreams...+1 Happens every time.
I have a different problem with sleeping on my back. It cuts off the blood flow from elbows and knees down, so I wake up with pins and needles. I am also a light sleeper, so if I snore, I wake myself up
Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Gearheadotaku: I used to sleep on my left side all the time. Unfortunately that makes the bursitis in my shoulder act up. Getting old purely sucks sometimes.
Yeah, right. Love to hear you punk kids complain. 
OBTW: 'Gettin' old sure beats gettin' cold.' 
Quitting the smokes did more for my general overall health than anything else I have ever done.
In reply to Curmudgeon:
first 3 questions I get to every medical exam or problem I've had..
Dang. I rarely have acid problems but last night was a beeyotch. Went out for a nice dinner, had tempura fried lobster, didn't overeat, had a couple beers and then two cups of coffee with Bailey's. I wound up having to sleep on the couch sitting up. It must have been the lobster.
I'd have guessed the coffee.
The main thing is don't ignore it. I had ulcers @ age 27 and GERD ever since. Still I ended up with issues in my lower esophagus and upper intestine that have to be scoped periodically to make sure they haven't grown.
I take Omeprazole daily and seldom have problems with GERD. I also quit smoking in 95 and drink about one tenth of what I did. I still drink my morning coffee but 50% decaf. I still don't sleep nearly enough. I think the switch used to turn off the awake state is damaged by years of not sleeping enough.
I strongly suggest that we should all be taught in school how to deal with stress. Our world spawns it in spades and few of us handle it well. Some of our bodies are destroyed by it and some of us arm ourselves and go out into the world attempting to kill as many innocent people as possible. Again, find a way to deal with stress!!
I'm 42 years old, and have had chronic problems of this description. I like baking soda. One teaspoon with 8 oz. water . works every time,and cheap. Drink, and it feels like a bomb is going to explode in your guts, until you belch a mighty, and stinky belch, that brings incredible relief. DISCLAIMER- remember chemistry class, and what you get when you mix a base, and an acid(baking soda is a base)- a SALT!!!. watch your blood pressure!! if those two things are okay, you have an antacid that potentially costs less than ten cents a month. Occasional relief is certainly a grocery store visit away.
Well, I just quit smoking, lost 10 pounds, on high blood pressure meds and walking daily. Not much heart burn anymore. Nothing a Tums every couple of days won't handle. Should get better as the weight comes down.
I have taken 1 Pantoprazole (Protonix) a day for over 10 years. Stopped it cold---no more problems-- check with a Doc. All the other things mentioned will help--- good luck---
I've been taking Omeprazole every day now for ~ 5 yrs ... ZERO problems since then .... before the prescription I keep a bottle of Tums everywhere ... on my workbench, beside my recliner, in each of my cars, beside the bed, in my golf bag .... you get the pic... it really didn't get the job done
finally a substitute doc prescribed Omeprazole and told me that I was looking at esophageal problems/cancer yadayadayada somewhere down the road ...
the only time I have problems now is if for some reason or other I fail to take my meds.
I get dreadful reflux at times - It must be acid - it certainly feels like it. In reply to first comment - I don't agree with chris kresser - i take lansoprazole and this works great - it works by reducing stomach acid -i also wath what i eat and am on what is called a GERD diet -check out this article: link removed - this one of many I could pick about diets for heartburn - the site has other articles about acid reflux etc. I am pretty sure heartburn is due to acid and poor diet plus smoking etc Also - I have a great Subaru WRX STI 2.5 - UK model - I live on the south coast in the UK. Enjoy your cars
Zombie thread.
In reply to bobcrabtree77:
Hello Bob, and welcome to GRM. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of spam lately where new members dig up old threads and put links in their first posts, although usually directing us to watch movies online or remodel our kitchens. I have removed the link in your post, but I have not deleted your account since you seem like a car buff. Care to tell us more about your Subaru?
Since it was dredged up from the past, how about a update.
About 4-5 months ago I quit smoking. I gained about 20 pounds, but the heart burn is pretty much gone. I still get it once in a while if I overload on Mexican food but, the occasional tums does the trick.
I topped out at about 280. 
I just finished my 2 mile walk and now the weight is headed back the other direction. I should be back in the 240 range in a couple of months and down in the 220 range in a year or so. I might make it to 50 after all.
Awesome news Toyman! Way to kick it into high gear! 
What she said^. So Zombies drive Scoobaroos?
If I roll over onto my stomach while sleeping I pole vault into the floor, occasionally accompanied by acid reflux
Mine was definitely acid. In fact they stuck a probe up my nose and down my esophagus and told me to hit a button when I had heartburn. pH was 3.6, so yeah... its acid.
Mine was caused by a hiatal hernia (pyloric sphincter at the top of the stomach) herniates through the hiatus (diaphragm basically). It can no longer do its job at preventing acid from migrating up the esophagus.
A study done years ago estimated that up to 35% of Americans have a hiatal hernia. Some just keep downing the Rolaids, some seek help, for some it doesn't cause any symptoms.
Unfortunately there are few options at this point. Surgeries are getting better, but they basicaly amount to cutting a piece of the hiatal muscle and wrapping it around the herniated sphincter. Results can range anywhere from ineffective repair, to losing the ability to vomit.
Treating it with proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec or Zantac aren't the proper fix, but they work with a low occurence of side effects.
curtis73 wrote: Treating it with proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec or Zantac aren't the *proper* fix, but they work with a low occurence of side effects.
since the surgeries don't always "work" … what is the "proper" fix ?
as I posted earlier omeprazole, has totally taken care of my problem (no diagnostics done to determine what was the cause …just the result)
Just my luck, since I posted a joke in this thread, that I woke up in the middle of the night nearly vomiting with severe acid reflux. Probably time to visit the doc about it.
i find it easier to control what i eat than to take a drug every day. the withdrawls my body went through getting off nexium was 2 weeks of the worst acid reflux and headaches ever. the stuff made me fat. i was 205 and the doctor put me on it. i ballooned up to 255 in 6 months and heard several people with the same issue. it's like it turned off my full switch and i kept eating not feeling full until i ate way more than normal. once i realized that i figured out when to make myself stop, but i was still miserable.
since i've kicked nexium i just make sure to keep acidic stuff to a minimum and try not to eat after 8. and don't eat then go lay in bed, that'll get you every time. i cut out coffee, lots of the carbonated stuff. when i want pasta with tomato sauce i cut it with alfredo so i'm not eating straight tomato acid. i get the low acid orange juice for when i want that. and i quit it with the hot and spicy versions of the stuff i like to eat and went mild with the salsas and sauces.
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