Hope for all GERD sufferers

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I happen to have GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) and I've read that a lot of girls with Aspie's have it too. Well, it's been rough on me since I was sixteen (25 now) and I've mostly just used Tums and tried to stay away from too much sugar or caffeine. (Prilosec also worked, but only for awhile.) But recently, I have starting taking Acidophilus, and it's been helping me quite a bit. It's the most effective if you take the kind with one billion live active cultures in one pill. What it is is a friendly bacteria that we (those with GERD) don't naturally have in our intestinal lining. I still have a few problems if I eat sugar at night, but it's really been helping me. And acidophilus is 100% natural!

Thanks! I should give it a try. Thus far the only thing that's worked for me is pantoprazole (Protonix), without which I rapidly become incapable of eating, and it's crazily expensive/inconvenient for me to acquire. An alternative would be nice.

the only thing that's consistently worked for me, is 1] to keep my weight below 200# and 2] to not eat anything heavier than a little snack closer than 2 hours to bedtime.

Papaya enzyme is excellent at killing GERD. You don't have to worry about when to take it, unlike prescription meds, and also there are few side effects. Just chew 2 or 3 before eating something that causes GERD. I have had GERD since birth and that's what I use. Nexium and Prevacid (what's commonly prescribed in the US) didn't do it for me.

Switch the kind of water you drink. I get heartburn if I drink mostly tap water, but the bottled water I drink gives my mom heartburn. Go figure.

I have also read that many undiagnosed celiacs- (people with gluten intolerance)- have GERD. It is possible, according to what I´ve read, that 90% of the cases of celiac disease are undiagnosed....i.e., people who are gluten intolerant but don´t know it. It can happen that GERD is a symptom of a deeper problem, and when that digestive problem is solved, the GERD disappears.

I´m not saying that all people with GERD are necessarily celiacs. But for anyone who has recurring problems with gastric reflux, you might want to try a gluten free diet and see if you feel any better over time. I´m saying this mostly for information purposes: I myself am a celiac, and since I discovered that I was gluten intolerant, and went on the gluten free diet, my digestion changed drastically! (For the better). It might just be good to look into, if you´re not sure.

I'm a female Aspie and I don't have this. Where did you read this? Was it just some random comment on a forum or is there actual statistics on this?

I really wish when people say things like that, they'd link to their sources.

If I'm not kind to my GI tract, it complains. If I'm kind to it, it goes about its business without a peep. When my GI tract complains, I listen. This is why I don't drink coffee or tea first thing in the morning like everyone else in the world, and avoid food I know my GI tract doesn't tolerate well, even if it's inconvenient (like yeasty foods that are everywhere). It amazes me how much people just ignore their GI tract when it complains and just put up with the consequence of their bad dietary/lifestyle habits by masking it with antacids and whatnot.

I have GERD, dyspepsia, IBS, been using probiotics and every possible supplement there is - but when I'm under stress, when it's very cold, or if I don't follow strictly the puffed rice, tea, puréed soup diet, it usually ends with vomiting, stomach cramps, reflux when not even cooked rice flakes are safe.

Oh well, ces't la vie.

My wife, who has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, as well as Acid Reflux, read this with interest when I showed her the initial post. Her medication does little good for her, too.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer