Reflux, GERD, whatever it is
Acid reflux or hot stomach.
I am going to try to be as thorough as I can so please don't hate me for giving so much info!
About 12 years ago, I had a warm sensation on the right hand side of my chest. It wasn't very painful but it remained for days.
I went to my general practitioner. He prescribed a month on Zoton 15mg(Lanzoprazole). It worked very well. The warm sensation was gone within a day or two. However, once the prescription was finished, the sensation came back again after a day or two.
I returned to the GP and he upped the dosage to 30Mg and I was on the dosage for the next 10 years or so!
I have read bad things about calcium deficiency and it is not something that I want to face, and so I have been trying to wean myself off proton pump inhibitors.
The first thing I did was to change from Zoton to Omeprazole. I was on that for about a year. 10mg. It worked fine, but there is still a calcium risk and so I decided to try Nexium and started taking that. They are 20mg Mups but I break them in half and take half a day. It works just fine like that. But I have since heard that Nexium is very similar to Omeprazole and the calcium risks are there with Nexium too.
I took some Pro Biotic formula for a month or so, and then tried cutting the nexium down to half a pill every second day. This seemed to work for a while.
Normally, if I miss my nexium for a day or two I would have acid reflux and warmth in the stomach, but ever since taking the probiotics, the reflux hasn't been as common. However, I did start to feel warmth, or a slight burning sensation in my stomach of I miss my nexium for more than a day. So when I cut down to one every second day, the burning sensation was starting to come back after about 36 hours.
So right now, I am stuck on a half a nexium Mup 20mg a day. I would prefer to eliminate PPI's totally.
I have tried Sodium Bicarbonate and Apple Cider vinegar, with varying results, from good to ok. But never a cure.
Now, I know my diet has to be considered, but there are some things I am not really willing to eliminate which I know is very cheeky of me but let me try to explain.
I eat bread. A good bit of bread to be fair. I also drink beer and red wine. However, I do not eat sweets. Almost never. I don't eat a lot of salt. I cook at home regularly using Olive oil. Vegetables mainly. The only meats I eat are chicken breast and Beef. And not every day. I eat Butter instead of margarine. I don't take any other dairy products at all. No milk or yogurts for example. I have a beer during the day or evening, and I have a glass or two of red win with my dinner at night.
I occasionally take fast food and occasionally eat out. Could be good healthy food or could be pizza or burgers but not very regularly.
These are my little pleasures in life considering I don't generally take any sweets.
I'm a little over weight. Not huge, just a little and my posture isn't great. I tend to slouch and have my head dipped forward. I work at a computer every day.
I sold my car and so I walk more now and that has been helping. I try monthly fat freezing and that seems to be working little by little on my tummy.
I try to drink more water.
I am 45 years old. For the past year I have been taking a calcium and magnesium citrate supplement with Zinc. I have heard that citrate is the only way calcium will be absorbed thanks to the PPI's.
So my question is this. If I continue taking Calcium and Magnesium Citrate, will this solve the problems of potential weakened bones thanks to PPI's, and if not, can someone please tell me how I can get myself off these things? I know my dose is low but still, it cannot be good for me?