I’m two weeks in on 20mg omeprazole, down from 40mg. It’s pretty rough right now with coughing and irritation. And I’m considering quitting from here rather than transitioning every other day or so. Mainly because I just discovered Dr Jamie Koufman’s blog and searched it for rebound hyperacidity.
It seems like her and Dr Jonathan Aviv are the only two doctors around promoting getting off of PPIs and eating a low fat and no acid diet to help with GERD. I feel weird about that because I’m putting my trust in just two people. But nothing about their methods seems far fetched or quacked. Everything is sound science, so why hasn’t it taken off? That’s whats troubling me…
I hate to go down conspiracies about healthcare. One thing that is true, I’ve seen several GI doctors and not a single one asked what do I eat or my lifestyle(other then drinking/smoking). How is that even possible? Were the endoscopes just a means to make money? I have to be careful here, because I may have just slipped off the slipperiest slope ever. Like, I touched it with my toe and got launched into space.
The takeaways I’ve gotten out the the last few days of researching:
- I’m pulling the plug entirely on omeprazole, and getting on 20mg OTC Pepcid. Taking one before breakfast, dinner, and two before bed.
- I should elevate my bed. And eat at least 5 hours before, not the 3-4 I was doing.
- Have one vegetarian meal per day. And right now, I think that’ll be dinner. This will make it sure that it clears before laying down.
- Take Tums after eating.
- Acid reflux irritates your stomach valve. The more it gets inflamed, the more you’ll get reflux. The more you reflux, the more it gets inflamed.
I’m experiencing reflux daily now from omeprazole withdrawals. It’s a nightmare. And this is likely to continue for weeks or months, and the Acid Watcher Diet can’t help me much right now since it’s the drug that’s making this happen. I just have to ride it out and try to minimize the damage the best I can.
So back to Costco today for a 5 gallon bucket of Pepcid.
Last night was the first night I slept elevated. And it was pretty miserable too.
