I'm confused -- input welcome

[Suzy]

Hi all. I'd love your input.

I started on 60 mg Dexilant about this time last year, and have been very slowly weaning off it for the last six months. I should be PPI free in a month. I've also been on 300 mg Zantac for almost a year and will wean off that when I'm done with the Dexilant. My goal is to never take a PPI or H2 antagonist again -- the side effects for me are horrific (specifically burning mouth syndrome, among others).

I was put on the PPI for mild chronic antral gastritis with inflammatory mounds and some erosions and a burning and lump in my throat.

Currently, during my acid rebound stage (from weaning off the PPI) I'm having significantly increased GERD symptoms, probably because the zero acid produced by the Dexilant and Zantac weakened my LES.

So here's my question....during my slow taper (and even before, while treating the gastritis), I've been living on this diet:

Breakfast -- a cup of gluten free cooked oatmeal with banana, rice/hemp milk and rice protein powder
Snack - banana/rice milk blended or about 8 oz of sweet potato
Lunch and Dinner - 8 oz white basmati or white jasmine rice with 2-3 oz white fish and about 6 oz cooked carrots and greens, plus about 1/8 oz ghee (the only fat I can tolerate right now, and only in tiny portions)
I sometimes add a tiny sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt.

I'm struggling to not lose more weight (I'm about 10 pounds underweight currently).

So basically low acid-producing, easy to digest foods, with very limited fat because that's what seems to set off my symptoms more than anything.

Is that the appropriate diet to also eat for GERD? I've read about low carb diets for GERD, but I'm afraid that eating more meats and/or fats and getting rid of the rice/oatmeal/potatoes will only irritate my stomach because I won't have any starch to soak up the acid. I tried home made bone broth and it was a disaster -- my GERD was much worse from the fat/protein (and I did skim off the fat).

Should I continue to eat the way I have been til the rebound is over, in the hopes that the gastritis will fully heal and the GERD will go away once the acid rebound period ends and my LES tightens from having acid around again?

Finally, is my gall bladder going to be ok with so little fat for many months on end?

Oh -- to have a raw salad with raw nuts and a crispy apple again! My dream!

Hope this makes sense, and thanks for your time and any advice you can lend. Happy Memorial Day.

[Gabes-Apg]

Hi Suzy
well done for embracing the challenge of getting off the PPI's!

first thing
are you taking Vit D3? have you had the level checked in the past 6 months?
High doses of Vit D3 (7000iu per day minimum) helped many here with GERD symptoms)

secondly
diet - the oatmeal may not be the best thing, even though packaging says it is gluten free, it can still have high level of contamination. Additionally it can be hard to digest.
the other aspect, you may not be having enough animal protein. it would be good to increase the intake of that - I know you said you reacted, but the reaction may have been because you had TOO little acid. As you reduce the intake of the PPI etc, it would be good to increase the animal protein.

what sort of drinks are you having?

[Suzy]

Hi Gabes. Thanks so much for your reply.

I was low on vitamin D so I started on supplements and on my last test it was normal, but I still take 6000 IU daily.

The too little acid/too much acid issue is confusing. I think my gastritis was caused by too much acid. But maybe after being on a ppi I now have too little acid? Though I'm going through acid rebound so my acid must be high again? Like I said, I just don't know. But I'm afraid to ingest anything (ie ACV, lemon, etc) that might re-ignite the gastritis after I've worked so hard to heal it.

Do you think it would be a better option to, instead of having oats for breakfast, just have a repeat of lunch and dinner...so breakfast, lunch and dinner would be white rice, white fish, cooked veggies and ghee (I seem to do ok with this meal)?

I only drink water, plus some rice milk and hemp milk in my oatmeal or when I make a banana/rice protein powder shake.

thanks again

[Gabes-Apg]

if you can do the rice / fish etc then yes it may be a better option for you. less inflammation will help healing

are you taking magnesium or using magnesium spray or lotion? we need good levels of magnesium for the Vit D3 to work properly...

re the Vit D3 test result, by normal, were you in the lower range of normal - if so you may need to increase the Vit D3 intake during the transition period of getting off the medications.
keep in mind, you need some stomach acid to absorb the VIt D3 if using tablets/capsules etc.

have you looked at the videos for hiatus hernia - doing those sorts of exercises may the digestion process.

[Suzy]

I was 40.60 for D. Is that about right?

For magnesium (which I was also low on), I'm taking 200 mg chelated magnesium glycinate daily (it's the form and amount that seems to not irritate my stomach). It helped get rid of my foot cramps and heart palpitations.

I have a hiatal hernia also! I will look at the videos. Where can I find them?

Thanks again so very much!

[Gabes-Apg]

you need more magnesium - the RDA/RDI is about 400mg elemental magnesium per day! you are only getting half that and you have deficiency

double check the fine print on your magnesium product as to whether 1 tablet or 2 tablets is the 200mg dose

to avoid irritating the stomach, using topical/transdermal forms are a good way to increase the magnesium amount without risk to the digestion
my suggestion try to have at least 600mg per day for 2 months. work up gradually to this amount.
spread the intake over the day

my hiatus hernia/gerd issues went away when I fixed things like magnesium deficiency...

link with videos etc
http://www.realgerdremedies.com/videos- ... -and-gerd/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu2MQqS2ucY

[Suzy]

Oh wow! It says 2 tabs are 200 mg. Can you recommend which topical/transdermal magnesium to use? I'll buy some today.

Thanks so much Gabes.

[Gabes-Apg]

quite a few of our USA members use Ancient Minerals http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Minerals- ... +magnesium

increase the tablet intake gradually... ie 1 tablet each meal (that will take you from 100mg per day to 300mg per day)

then maybe 2 tablets breakfast and 1 tablet the other meals and that will get you up to 400mg per day
that with the topical application will get you above 400mg each day..
if taking that much orally causes issues, drop back and increase the topical application

baths or foot soaks with epsom salts will also help

[Suzy]

I'm afraid to take more orally. Which topical do you suggest?

[Suzy]

Oops - I see the link is for topical! I will try more of that instead of ingesting more. Thanks again so much!

[Gabes-Apg]

the ancient minerals link i put in the previous reply.

give it a few weeks of increased magnesium before making any other medication changes -i think you will find with increased magnesium and increased Vit D3, the exercises in the videos, over the next 2 months things will improve

[Suzy]

Oh shoot! It has coconut in it (I'm allergic). Do you think the Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil will work just as well? It's just water and magnesium chloride...

[Gabes-Apg]

yes most definitely and there are other brands I think walmart has one that is just water and mag choloride

[Suzy]

So just to reiterate...up my dose of Vit D to 7000 IU (from 6000 now), and slowly up my dose of magnesium from 200mg to 400 mg-plus, and do the hernia exercises? Yes? Thanks again.

[Gabes-Apg]

yes
once you are on good doses of the magnesium for a few weeks, and have been doing the exercises, slowly reduce the meds...

hang in there - this is a major step to long term wellness for you.. well worth this effort