My wife has acid reflux, complicated by a hiatal hernia. The most important thing for her (aside from a proton pump inhibitor) was to avoid big meals. She ends up eating everything–but in moderation. For example, she could eat a pound of chocolate at a sitting, but instead we each have one chocolate after dinner every evening and that puts finis on the day’s eating.
What I recommend, if I were in the business of recommending, which I’m not, would be to start by going for a month with none of the foods on the list (or cut way down; my wife is not human till she’s had her morning, but where she used to make a pot every morning, she now makes one cup and that is it for the day) and then try adding them back, but only ** one at a time** until you see what you can get away with. But not the big meals. That ought to be a permanent no-no. As it is with my wife, she makes no attempt to avoid any particular food, just too much.
If you just stop the gorging, you might find that you can handle just about any food, and not make any other lifestyle changes. Try eating smaller meals, and then try other changes.
I had to give up dairy, gluten, fungi and yeast items for six months to figure out what some of my issues are. Then, we gradually introduced a food type at a time into my diet. We discovered I’m a celiac so wheat is out. Happily, dairy is in, but I can’t do aged cheeses or anything with yeast, fungi (mushrooms) or mold. I can’t eat acidic foods in the evening and discovered that I really can’t eat anything within two hours of going to bed or I can’t sleep.
The good news about my dietary changes is that I feel healthier. I’ve also discovered lots and lots of good food that I was missing out on before. I’ve learned how to cook many Indian dishes and am a salad queen. I cook most of my food from scratch now and stay away from processed meats. This means I rarely eat bacon (waah) but I’ve discovered an awesome fresh, local sausage. Stay away from prepared meats like Hormel’s pork tenderloins that are loaded with salt. Put salt on your food after you’ve cooked it and you’ll use less. Ginger is spicy but still calms the stomach. I’ve also discovered that it is better to avoid the “bad” food altogether than look for substitutes that don’t taste right or feel right in my mouth.
You can make these changes too. It was hard to do on my own so I went to a nutritionist for help. She gave me some great advice and a push in the right direction. I do occasionally break down and eat some of the old food that I miss but occasional does not mean every day or every week. It’s very easy to slip back into old habits.
Yep, had to give up gluten. And I’m a wheat freak. Love bread, bake as a hobby, live for dessert. Hardest turned out surprisingly to be pizza - turns out pizza crust is addictive. For breakfast I like pancakes - never have been an egg eater.
You can tell a lot of people change their diets drastically - and manage to survive (and usually feel better - if you don’t, stop and enjoy the food at least - but give it a month or six weeks at least).
I’m going to 2nd the recommendation of Prilosec OTC. I used to go through 1-2 rolls of Rolaids per day, I tried chewable something or others, and ranitidine. They all helped, but not very much. I was pretty much miserable all the time.
Prilosec was a godsend. And when it came out in OTC form, that was even better. I can eat just about anything, and the quality of my life improved vastly.
It may not work for you (it didn’t for my dad), but to me it’s a miracle drug.
Prilosec is definitely wonderful. But it is dangerous insofar as it really does suppress the symptoms beautifully. It can mask more serious conditions if you take it regularly.
Pamela’s pancake/baking mix makes excellent gluten-free pancakes. It’s one of the few exceptions to my theory that substitutions aren’t as good as the original wheat-laden item. I miss pizza and doughnuts too.
I second this. You are much better off changing your diet than relying on Prilosec. You’ll want to know when something is wrong that may not be heartburn.
I like a lot of Pamela’s products, but prefer the Arrowhead Mills pancake mix. But it isn’t the same. Udi’s bread is edible, and Orgran makes a pretty good “white” pasta.
I am lucky enough to have an entire store of gluten free products about five miles from my house.
But my kids know when I slip in the gluten free on them, the definitely prefer the wheat versions (besides, its expensive to buy the substitutes), and I hate cooking a special meal for me. So I don’t tend to eat a lot of substitutes.
I used to get killer, wretched heartburn almost constantly. I eliminated almost everything from my diet except for steamed white rice and white chicken meat, and it didn’t change a thing. Then I went onto Prilosec, and as tdn says, it was like a miracle drug. I can eat virtually anything I want. However, I don’t tempt fate and still stay away from the worst trigger foods, i.e., raw citrus juice, chocolate, undercooked beans, and soda.
Coffee is one of the trigger foods, but I’m damned if I give up my espresso. It’s my last remaining vice.
I have had psoriasis for over 30 years. The drugs around for it are insane, and basically seem to involve shutting down your immune system. Fuck that! Another guess <and yep, everyone’s guessing; there is nothing that works very well for anyone> is to eliminate from one’s diet well…everything I eat. No acids. No heat. No fats. Nothing artificial. No salt.
Fuck it.
An option you might consider is whether it’s truly heartburn or acid reflux instead. Either way, generic acid reducers <I’m looking at a bottle that cost 6 bucks for 100 and it’s called ‘ACID REDUCER’ so it’s pretty generic> seem worth a shot. These you take once every twenty four hours, and voila. No more acid. No side effects.
Admittedly, I only need them on days I drink water or have a lot of ice in my drinks <for some reason water gives me acid reflux; explain that one!> so for me it’s an awesome cheap fix.
I’d think it’d beat your dietary options and would be worth a shot.