I have symptoms of GERD, acid reflux. I am not sure what if anything this might have with diabetes,type 2, 25 years. I go to my DR. Next week. Anyone else have it? Nancy50
I wad diagnosed with gerd in 1986, mine was caused or exasperated by a malfunctioning asasagough flap. Diagnosed with diabetes in 2000. Don’t be live they were related.
Just want to add, make sure you do as directed to control. There’s a lot of information out there to help control. The way you sleep has a big affect. Had to lean to make myself sleep on right side to help keep contents in stomach.
Best med I’ve found (and I’ve pretty much have used them all) is Dexilant. Very expensive but I get it for free, direct from Takeda. I used Tagamet for years but it quit working. Other meds didn’t work so I wasn’t on them for long, as I would be miserable. I’d get heartburn, reflux, hiatal hernia attacks…it was the pits, for years, until I started on Dexilant.
I have laryngeal/ pharyngeal reflux… which is when a tiny bit of acid creeps past the upper esophageal sphincter instead of a massive amount pouring past the lower, which is the more typical case with gerd/ reflux. Meds don’t seem to help a whole lot. One thing that every doc I’ve seen for it has highly recommended was elevating the head of my bed about 6”
@Dave44 do you find the PPIs slow down your digestion to the point that they effect your insulin needs and timing? Seems like when I’m on PPIs I digest food slower and get more delayed spikes… which makes sense
Nah, the speed of digestion for me depends on the types of food. Simple carbs go to work in a couple of minutes. Mexican takes a long time. that’s all normal, so I don’t think long-term usage of Dexilant has impeded my digestive speed.
Sam, I will be going for a scope, this term makes more sense to my symptoms. I never heard of this. I will research. PPI can affect carb absorption? Interesting. Thank you everyone. Nancy50
I’ve been on PPI for years, including prior to Dexilant usage. My carbs digest just FINE. Sometimes, “too fine”, if you get my drift.
No relation for me. In fact, my GERD got cleared up about 2 years before I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Don’t eat 4 hours before bed, avoid the reactive foods (tomatoes, butter, and chocolate for me) for evening meals, and reduce overall fat intake. I do miss late night movies with popcorn and real butter…
I’ve lived with heartburn for most of my life. I was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer when I was 16. Several years ago I started experiencing symptoms of GERD. Events while sleeping would wake me right up. I’ve been taking PPI drugs for many years; I think I’ve used them all. I’ve heard, however, that these drugs were not intended to be used long term and do have some significant side effects. Long term PPI use in some people leads to osteoporosis.
I started with a naturopath doctor last fall. At the initial comprehensive health survey and interview we talked about my long term PPI use and she encouraged me to consider weaning myself off of them. I was highly skeptical since I know the misery of bad heartburn and I couldn’t imagine living with that pain for any length of time.
This doctor recommended that I take one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar whenever heartburn symptoms appear. This sounded like a treatment that would only make matters worse! Well, I tried it and it surprisingly soothed my heartburn when it happened. It also decreased the number of heartburn events and I haven’t had a single GERD episode since I started this.
I’ve been using this apple cider vinegar treatment for about three months now and I see my symptoms becoming less frequent and less intense. It sure feels nice to get off of a drug. Up until then, it seemed like I was always adding drugs, never stopping them.
I’ve not seen this tactic mentioned in any health forum or article. Not sure how universally effective it is but I’m sure glad I tried it. I’m hoping that my upper GI tract will fully heal and eliminate the need for the vinegar.
The drug I’m on, Dexilant has a reputation of reducing Magnesium in the body, so I take a daily supplement of that. Before I had good PPI’s, I would go through tons of Gaviscon tablets. Before that, Gelusil, and before that, Maalox liquid when in the military. None of the last 3 did much good.
I’ve tried dexilant. My understanding is that it’s basically just rx strength Prevacid (lansoprazole)with a combo immediate release + an extended release formulation. I don’t doubt the same effect could be accomplished by taking OTC lansoprazole / Prevacid 2 x daily
@Terry4 yes long term ppi use isn’t ideal, but the long term effects of the conditions that they’re treating can be absolutely horrible like esophageal cancer. My understanding is that there is a push by the medical community to get them off the shelves and return them to rx only— which might not be a terrible idea
raise the head of your bed 4-6" so you sleep on a bit of a slope. This helps a lot with reflux.
Change to a low carb diet.
google gerd lchf or keto
When I went low carb back in 2012, I was able to get off my PPI drugs for a few months but then the symptoms returned and I started back on them again. I think there’s something to this and worth the effort to give it a try. For me, at least, there must be more factors involved.
I don’t have heart burn or any type of pain. Never take antacids. I do have a slight feeling of something in my throat and extra fluid,not sour tasting. See my doctor next week. Nancy50
The apple cider vinegar can help. Often with aging or other issues, there is not enough acid in the stomach. I have celiac disease, Hashimoto’s and was recently diagnosed with Chronic Autoimmune Gastritis (diagnosed via biopsy). I get a variety of GERD symptoms, bloating and stomach pinching. My AIG seems to ebb and flow. I do take apple cider vinegar and it seems to help. I want to avoid PPIs because I do have osteoporosis as a result of celiac disease (malabsorption) which recent biopsies revealed a healthy small intestine thanks to a strict gluten free diet.
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sorry, but Prevacid does not work for me. I’d like to see the information you are alluding to regarding Dexilant’s similarity to Prevacid, given that the two meds don’t work even remotely similarly for me. Furthermore, there are many meds that are SUPPOSED to be similar but they don’t work identically in some patients. I’ve encountered that issue myself–some name brands that work better than generics. Usually, I’m fine with generics but not always.
They’re both lazoprazole as the sole active ingredient. Dexilant has a patented dual release formula and is a stronger rx only dosage. They are the same med but maybe the dual release and stronger dosage makes a world of difference.
Another good rx only one is pantoprazole (protonix) which is supposedly the most forgiving in how it’s taken
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Early last year, both my wife and I suffered seriously with GIRD and acid reflux. Sometimes to the point that we couldn’t finish eating our meal. Our gastroenterologist prescribed Pantoprazole 40 mg and neither of us have experienced any signs of GIRD or acid reflux since.
It might have been a combination of the raised bed on a tilt and the low carb for me, I’m off the drugs and symptom free, unless I have a large drinking session. There is enough on the web about low carb and gerd to give it a shot. Like everything else, not everything works for everybody, as you know.