health issues in last couple months

[Smokin Harley]

I do eat greek yogurt ...not exactly every day but probably 3 days a week . We generally eat veggies raw or steamed . What gets me is that the Prilosec has taken care of everything so far. First two days on it I had to take an additional short term antacid after dinner/before bed. I haven't even had the appetite I normally do , which , I seem to get by on 3 meals a day since I started taking it when i used to need almost 5-6 without it. Yesterday I got busy doing things outside- cleaned up the dog poop(three labradors), cut grass and later in the afternoon started cutting a few branches off the dead tree out front and had a nice afternoon stogie (a Southbound cigar ,blend 1 ,#4 )and a cold Leinie's Canoe Paddler to relax after. Medium to high calorie tasks. I had a decent breakfast of two eggs, bacon, and grits with 2 pcs of toast at 8:30 and it lasted me until almost 1:30 when I had figured to be hungry at 11:30. No light-headedness . Then made dinner BLT's and I ate two. That was a little after 6pm , didnt have the need for any snack at night like I usually do,but had my usual 20 oz bottle of water while we watched our usual hour of tv. Went to bed around 8:30, slept very well all night.
I'm just taking this once a day and waiting for the dr visit. Thanks everyone for the concern and advice. I'll post again if anything changes and what doc says.

 

[LewZephyr]

You could always try an ancient cure all.
This will cure ebola, sars, you name it....

wait for it.

Yogurt Enema.
There are just a few nuances to it.
Always use the plain type. The ones with fruit in it are just wrong.
And the yogurt doesn't flow so well in the bag, so you need to have a good friend spoon feed it to you.

say AAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Sorry couldn't help myself. Guess this should of been in the jokes area.

all the best to ya SH

 

[waikikigun]

One thing that sucks about getting addicted to Prevacid/Prilo, is the infamous difficulty of getting off these things. I've tried many times. You can make all these health/lifestyle changes and then try to get off the drug and you can't measure how much of what's going on (continued symptoms) is from the failure of your lifestyle changes or from withdrawal symptoms of trying to get off the Prevacid.

I speak from experience, beginning with a visit to the ER about 15 years ago. Have undergone many lifetyle and diet changes, including greatly reduced alcohol and coffee and nicotine, fats, lost tons of weight, became active, etc. I managed to get off the drugs for a few months when I went to Buenos Aires to learn to dance tango and was obviously very active, and, sad to say, smoked zero cigars. Came back home and promptly relapsed, waking up in the middle of the night on fire and awash in acid. Really hard to isolate the causes. You think you're onto something, then, nope, you're still 'f'd.

So I am one of those "Prevacid for life" people. At least I can just accept it and get on with enjoying my martinis, wine, whiskey, chocolate, espressos, and cigars.

 

[ArizonaDave]

Also beneficial would be unpasteurized sauerkraut.

With overzealous bureaucrats in the FDA here, unpasteurized anything in the U.S., could be met with undue penalties. There was even a crack down on a farmer with a cow that he used to drink milk from.

However, in Cherokee, NC I had some awesome unpasteurized cheese on the Cherokee reservation that was fantastic!

 

[Frozenthunderbolt]

Try the 5:2 diet. If it's an ulcer, get you some calendula flowers and eat them daily.

 

[Nic]

Hello guys, I have been meaning to write in this tread for a couple of weeks since I had one of those sleepless nights and stumbled upon the trad while browsing ftt on my phone...

Although, medical issues doesn't translate as easy as "on topic" conversations I must say I really can relate to some of your symptoms. I am 31 yo and maybe 5 years back I had problems with my stomach for maybe a year+ and it all culminated with severe pains in my abdomen for 3+ months. When i couldn't take it anymore I went to the free healthcare clinic provided for us University students. Even if they mostly cure common colds and hangovers, I have only good experiences with them! In my case they did run some test for bacteria? and found nothing. After several visits to the doctor she stated that I could have something like a beginning to an ulcer. However it was never confirmed that I had an ulcer, since the medicine and some of the lifestyle changes I made helped me to get rid of all the pain!
I have only 2 simple suggestions and I don't wanna sound like this is bulletproof and that I have the answer to all your problems, just share what in my case helped me.

1. Skip the soda and all carbonated drinks, drink water and only water.
2. Strong acidic snus (I guess its the same for chew dip etc.) I switched to a lighter brand (less acidic)

I hope I can help someone because I was suffering real bad just because I liked to drink the "wrong" drinks and snus the "wrong" brand. Now that I know what to stay away from I'm back to enjoining my Saturday night whiskey, beer, fatty foods etc...

Take care
// Nic

 

[Jitterbugdude]

In a nutshell, if you are getting acid reflux it is your body telling you that you are eating garbage. You have to experiment to determine what works for you. Many people think things like yogurt are healthy. Most Greek yogurt has more sugar in it than a Granola bar. What works for me might not work for you. Experiment is the key. If I had Acid Reflux ( I don't) I would probably go on a ketogenic diet (aka Atkins) and eat lots of raw fat, eliminating sugar (including fruits) would greatly reduce inflammation. I would also consider taking an enzyme pill before each meal. The enzyme pill should include Lipase, Protease and Amylase.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I'm not eating garbage...If you saw what I eat now in the last 5 yrs compared to what I ate before , its completely better...more Raw vegs, more fruits. Almost completely cut out fast food . I rarely eat sweets or greasy food, processed or spicy food I avoid anyway.
I'm just waiting to see the internist dr and see what he says.

 

[rustycase]

sh, I'm foolish enough to offer free advice...

Any sort of stomach problem, increase your amount of water intake.
If you been drinking more than 2 pots of coffee a day, cut back. and float a biscuit in it.
Same with the vitamin B. Put something solid in there with it to buffer the acidity.
Yes, a change to shift work can make a bad difference.
Raw veggies and all that hippie stuff are difficult to digest if you try to make some sort of switch-over.
Avoid big meals, especially late in the evening. Pizza is notoriously bad once you have noticed problems.
Milk is so calves can put on weight quickly for their first winter.
Cut back on wheat products and sugary crap. Read the labels... they are mostly scary !
Free advice? lol Get a 2nd opinion !

No one here gets out alive.
rc

 

[Smokin Harley]

ok, went to the dr today... after saying im in really good shape for my age ...even after he asked if I smoke cigarettes and I told him no I smoke and roll my own cigars, he asked if I inhale to which I said no. They hooked me up to an EKG just to rule out anything on the ticker .Dr will review that tonight and if its anything he'll call with details.
...hes calling what I have going on GERD , possible ulcer w/ acid reflux. prescribed me Protonix for 3 months . should fix me up . I'm still wanting a total blood workup . Their lab was closed by the time I got there so I can just go as a walk in to the local hospital for that and I'll need to fast for a cholesterol check.

 

[Knucklehead]

Don't give up if the Protonix doesn't fix your problem. It works for some and not for others. I started off with Protonix and still had pain like it wasn't lasting long enough. They switched me to Prevacid and I'm good to go as long as I can remember to take the pills. If I skip one pill I'm plumb miserable. You may have to try two or three different name brands to get the one that's right for you. If you've been suffering with it for a while, you're going to think you died and went to heaven when you find the prescription that fixes it.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Got my lab results...all is normal except for cholesterol- total is 227, HDL is 60 ,Triglycerides are 80, my LDL's are 151 , should be below 130 . Blood sugar is normal and I fasted a good 16 hours before the lab. Kidney and liver function and pylori (whatever that is) is normal .

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Pylori is the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers. If you are in your 50's cholesterol is an absolute meaningless number. This comes from the Framingham Study that has been ongoing since 1948. LDL is meaningless too unless you know your LDL Particle Number. This can be obtained via a VAP Test or an NMR Test. These will also tell you if you have dense LDL particles or large, fluffy particles. If your LDL Particle Number is low you have the lowest risk possible for heart disease, regardless of you LDL count.

Other serious risk factors that you should get checked are C-Reactive Protein, Homocysteine and Fibrinogen but if you could only get one test it should be LDL Particle Number.
People with cholesterol below 200 have lower cognitive skills than those with cholesterol above 200.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I'll be 48 in August .

 

[deluxestogie]

People with cholesterol below 200 have lower cognitive skills than those with cholesterol above 200.

My cholesterol (as a result of treatment) is below 200...I think. It's hard to think clearly about it. And there was something else...about blood pressure...but I forget.

Bob

 

[webmost]

Pylori is the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers. If you are in your 50's cholesterol is an absolute meaningless number. This comes from the Framingham Study that has been ongoing since 1948. LDL is meaningless too unless you know your LDL Particle Number. This can be obtained via a VAP Test or an NMR Test. These will also tell you if you have dense LDL particles or large, fluffy particles. If your LDL Particle Number is low you have the lowest risk possible for heart disease, regardless of you LDL count.

Other serious risk factors that you should get checked are C-Reactive Protein, Homocysteine and Fibrinogen but if you could only get one test it should be LDL Particle Number.
People with cholesterol below 200 have lower cognitive skills than those with cholesterol above 200.

I must have super low cholesterol numbers, then, cause I could not grok half of what's in the preceding paragraphs.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Don't give up if the Protonix doesn't fix your problem. It works for some and not for others. I started off with Protonix and still had pain like it wasn't lasting long enough. They switched me to Prevacid and I'm good to go as long as I can remember to take the pills. If I skip one pill I'm plumb miserable. You may have to try two or three different name brands to get the one that's right for you. If you've been suffering with it for a while, you're going to think you died and went to heaven when you find the prescription that fixes it.

Knuck, I think I'm making the phone call this morning...Last nights shift was miserable. I took my med before I left at 6pm and by 11 I was already feeling the burn. I did better with Prilosec OTC.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Got med changed to Dexilant...its a slow release , maybe it'll last longer than the other stuff. Took as soon as I picked it up about 2 hours ago, so far it works.

 

[LewZephyr]

Well something else will kill us as it makes us feel better: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/combating-acid-reflux-may-bring-host-of-ills/

oh well, such is life.

 

[Smokin Harley]

" Most physicians think that GERD is a side effect of the obesityepidemic, and that lifestyle changes could ameliorate heartburn for many."

lol, I'm far from being obese.