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Tex (after you return from Florida)
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Hi Wayne,
I'm still stuck in Tallahassee, FL, but here is where that quote came from:
http://www.aim4health.com/stomachpains.htm
I'm not saying that this apples to you, but actually, you can develop Barrett's Esophagus, as a result of insufficient gastric acid. The "normal" pH of the stomach is between 1.6 and 1.8. That's extremely acidic. If the pH on the back of the lower esophageal sphincter, (the stomach side), rises much above that, the sphincter begins to lose it's capacity to maintain a tight and reliable seal. IOW, if the pH of the stomach is 3.0, for example, the sphincter can sporadically open, from time to open, and allow acid to reflux back into the esophagous. A pH of 3.0 is still very acidic, and can severely burn the mucosa of the esophagus, especially if it occurs frequently enough. IOW, a low pH in the stomach is essential to maintaining the integrity of the lower esophageal spincter. Many doctors don't seem to realize that, or choose to ignore it.
Inadequate acidity can also allow viable bacteria to pass into the intestines, instead of being killed in the stomach. The other primary and vital function of gastric acid, of course, is to do a major share of digestion. If this stage of the digestive process is incomplete, then it's unlikely that the intestines can compensate for the failure, and some of the ingested food will not be sufficiently broken down into the peptide chains necessary for the absorption of nutrients, leading to intestinal distress.
I would think that it would matter which form you take, since calcium citrate would presumably conflict with the function of the omeprazole.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Thanks for the good wishes - I wish the truck had your attitude.
Tex
I'm still stuck in Tallahassee, FL, but here is where that quote came from:
http://www.aim4health.com/stomachpains.htm
I'm not saying that this apples to you, but actually, you can develop Barrett's Esophagus, as a result of insufficient gastric acid. The "normal" pH of the stomach is between 1.6 and 1.8. That's extremely acidic. If the pH on the back of the lower esophageal sphincter, (the stomach side), rises much above that, the sphincter begins to lose it's capacity to maintain a tight and reliable seal. IOW, if the pH of the stomach is 3.0, for example, the sphincter can sporadically open, from time to open, and allow acid to reflux back into the esophagous. A pH of 3.0 is still very acidic, and can severely burn the mucosa of the esophagus, especially if it occurs frequently enough. IOW, a low pH in the stomach is essential to maintaining the integrity of the lower esophageal spincter. Many doctors don't seem to realize that, or choose to ignore it.
Inadequate acidity can also allow viable bacteria to pass into the intestines, instead of being killed in the stomach. The other primary and vital function of gastric acid, of course, is to do a major share of digestion. If this stage of the digestive process is incomplete, then it's unlikely that the intestines can compensate for the failure, and some of the ingested food will not be sufficiently broken down into the peptide chains necessary for the absorption of nutrients, leading to intestinal distress.
I would think that it would matter which form you take, since calcium citrate would presumably conflict with the function of the omeprazole.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Thanks for the good wishes - I wish the truck had your attitude.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Have you read the actual endoscopy report to see what it says? Did your GI doc actually measure your gastric acid pH?Wayne wrote:After my endoscopy last May my GI told me "if you could bottle and sell your stomach acid you'd be rich".
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Wayne,
Thanks, I must have missed that when you posted it, or maybe my CRS is acting up again.
That's only slightly below normal, and there's probably a reason for it. The omeprazole may be confounding the attempts of the body to take care of it's necessary "housekeeping". Please read this article carefully, and see what you think about it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 074441.htm
The "duodenitis of the bulb" noted in the endoscopy report was/is probably caused by a bacterial overgrowth in your stomach, and was/is what triggered the extra gastric acid production. Since that level of acidity should destroy most species of bacteria, I'm curious as to whether you were checked for H. pylori, since it's just about the only bacteria that can survive at that pH level, and tends to colonize the stomach. E. coli can also survive in stomach acid, of course, along with a few others, but they normally prefer to colonize the intestines, rather than the stomach.
I suspect that your stomach pH was trying to tell you, (or your doctor), something, but your doctor misinterpreted the message. That's just my non-medically-trained opinion, of course, so it's probably worth all of about two cents. The point is, there's a reason for everything. The human body is a very intelligent, and very sophisticated organism, and it always tries to cure it's own ills, though sometimes it's just not quite up to the job. When we misinterpret what it is trying to accomplish, and intervene by an inappropriate response, that's usually counterproductive, in the long run, even if it appears to bring temporary improvement.
Tex
Thanks, I must have missed that when you posted it, or maybe my CRS is acting up again.
That's only slightly below normal, and there's probably a reason for it. The omeprazole may be confounding the attempts of the body to take care of it's necessary "housekeeping". Please read this article carefully, and see what you think about it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 074441.htm
The "duodenitis of the bulb" noted in the endoscopy report was/is probably caused by a bacterial overgrowth in your stomach, and was/is what triggered the extra gastric acid production. Since that level of acidity should destroy most species of bacteria, I'm curious as to whether you were checked for H. pylori, since it's just about the only bacteria that can survive at that pH level, and tends to colonize the stomach. E. coli can also survive in stomach acid, of course, along with a few others, but they normally prefer to colonize the intestines, rather than the stomach.
I suspect that your stomach pH was trying to tell you, (or your doctor), something, but your doctor misinterpreted the message. That's just my non-medically-trained opinion, of course, so it's probably worth all of about two cents. The point is, there's a reason for everything. The human body is a very intelligent, and very sophisticated organism, and it always tries to cure it's own ills, though sometimes it's just not quite up to the job. When we misinterpret what it is trying to accomplish, and intervene by an inappropriate response, that's usually counterproductive, in the long run, even if it appears to bring temporary improvement.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.