Silent reflux...ditching coffee and maybe redwine? page 2

[meeshar]

Meeshar, I have a carafe of kefir fermenting on my cabinet. Chris Kresser highly recommends it and calls it "almost paleo". I'm hoping some of that daily will help. I have been eating some Bubbies sauerkraut almost every day and some yogurt. The kefir is supposed to be way better than yogurt and I made it with raw, grassfed milk that I just sourced so I'm very excited to try it. One of the problems with the HCL and ACV is consistency although I've gotten better since I've had a lot of trouble since Christmas. I do fear I have some esophageal damage. I'm going to give the primal a good honest try with Chris's suggestions and if it doesn't heal soon, I'll probably break down and go to a doctor. I hate to go through $$$ of tests, only to be told to take medicine I probably don't want to take. I'm 99% sure I know what the problem is; I think consistency and good habits will fix it. I will try no dairy also if the kefir doesn't seem to work. I consume dairy in moderation: some butter, a little cheese grated on an omelet, and yogurt, almost never do I drink milk, although the raw milk is delightful and I could become a milk drinker again just because it tastes so good and clean.

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I really appreciate the support.

Calidris, I think it is only good to keep up international relations by drinking; when in Russia, when in Scotland, etc....

You're definitely on the right track! One thing I recently learned about Bubbies is that it's not raw (they have to heat it so the jars don't explode), so it's not as great as making your own. Oddly enough I'm currently seeing a Paleo gastroenterologist (found on Paleo Physicians Network) and he highly recommended making my own kraut instead of Bubbies, as well as homemade kombucha. I drove over an hour to see him specifically because any other GI doc would have handed me a script for Nexium or something and sent me out the door. Kefir is great--I got some raw milk kefir from a local farm and I was really surprised--I saw a huge improvement after less than a week of drinking it. I have an EGD later this week, partly because of the issues I was having after the antibiotics (though I'm doing a lot better already with his suggestions), but also because I'm due to have the Barrett's re-checked. I'm hoping that after over a year of being Primal and mostly reflux-free, it will have healed some.

Good luck though, so glad to see someone else who is on the right track as far as healing reflux. I've tried to tell all of this to family members suffering from it themselves, but they won't listen. Sigh.

[eKatherine]

It's so easy to make fresh sauerkraut in small batches, you have to make your own.

[TornadoGirl]

Meeshar, disappointed to hear about bubbies but my next project will be sauerkraut. “Real” Sauerkraut Recipe this site has some interesting recipes.

[MikeAtTaree]

Have you had an endoscope to see what the problem could be? I had one a few years ago as they suspected ulcers. No ulcers but I have a slight hiatus hernia I didn't know about. So for several years I've been on Nexium which is a proton pump inhibitor.
I'll be interested to see how the new diet works out for the reflux and would be great to get off the meds.

I also gave up the coffee.

However you really should get it scoped to rule out "Barret's Esophagus" which can be pre cancerous.

[Calidris]

Update - last night I had myself a wee dram of Bowmore - a single malt from the island of Islay. I waited and waited and....nothing!! No acid reflux. Astonished is an understatement. my flabber has been well and truely gasted! Whisky might not be primal but it was the worst thing for my acid reflux and primal has stopped that. This does not mean I'll be swigging back the whisky but it does mean I am becoming even more enamoured with Primal. :-)

[Richard Seekins]

I used to have terrible acid reflux but it vanished when I started doing the Paleo thing. Its hard to say what I was causing it. I did notice the thinner I got the less I had it.

[TornadoGirl]

My first batch of kefir is done and both my daughter and I really like it, especially with a bit of Stevia and some cinnamon or vanilla. Really hoping that getting more cultured foods will help the reflux. Laying off the coffee seems to have helped already.

[meeshar]

My first batch of kefir is done and both my daughter and I really like it, especially with a bit of Stevia and some cinnamon or vanilla. Really hoping that getting more cultured foods will help the reflux. Laying off the coffee seems to have helped already.

That's exactly how I like my kefir, I use a few drops of vanilla flavored stevia drops. Mmm. I was so surprised that it helped so quickly, I went from gnawing stomach pain and mostly silent reflux (burping acid occasionally) back to normal in just a week or so. I had my EGD today and even though I quit taking PPI's a year and 1/2 ago (when I went Primal) my Barrett's has not gotten any worse, hooray!