Questions For Those With Stomach Issues

I have what I would guess is pretty severe gastritis and acid reflux. I drink ACV, take Protonix (just the past couple days), and drink Maalox which does help temporarily.

I get burning in my throat and chest, reflux, nausea, sternum pain, feeling like there is something in my throat, and even back pain when it gets bad.

Do those of you who have these issues also get chest tightness and the feeling of something sitting on your upper chest?I'd say it's right at the top of my chest and sometimes it feels like something is either sitting there or pulling. I've heard that these can be gastro symptoms, but I wanted to see if anyone here experienced it?

I swear it seems to affect most of my upper body.

Yes, the symptoms you describe are some of what I have frequently, including the chest tightness/something stuck in the upper chest. It is very uncomfortable, painful, and frustrating. And it can be from Lyme, but it can also be from other causes (food allergy/intolerance, GERD, inflammation in the gut, etc.).

Be careful with the mix of what you're taking: ACV, Protonix, Maalox. The combo interacts. Maalox blocks absorption of Protonix if taken within 2 hours of each other. ACV (acid) does the opposite of Maalox (alkaline), so you may get a lot of gas in your stomach if you take them within an hour of each other. The ACV may also aggravate the gastritis. And keep in mind that Protonix taken long-term will reduce absorption of iron, Vitamin B12, and other nutrients that rely on an acidic environment for absorption; it can also increase chances of infection because stomach acid is one of the body's natural defenses against swallowed pathogens. Have you been checked for H. Pylori (another spirochete!)? It can cause the symptoms you describe, and is usually easy to get rid of (either with medicaitons, or with herbs).

Perhaps a better recipe would be Ginger Root (promotes good motility in the GI tract, reduces inflammation), DGL (tightens up the lower esophageal sphincter to reduce reflux), an anti-reflux diet (plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, cold water fish, lean meats, lowfat dairy; and avoid/limit fatty foods, fried foods, red meat, high fat dairy, sugar/corn syrup, caffeine, spicy food, citrus, tomato products, peppermint, and anything else that seems to aggravate your symptoms), and a good calcium supplement. Digestive enzymes may also help, so might probiotics. Acupuncture may also help ~ I've found it useful for reducing the severity of my symptoms at times. Chat with your health care providers before making changes. Also, check with your pharmacist to make sure any herbs you might want to take aren't going to interact with any prescriptions or over-the-counter medications you are taking.

Good luck,

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-Razzle

Have you tried eliminating gluten or dairy from your diet to see what happens? I found when I removed "trigger" foods from my diet, my GERD died down considerably. Didn't even have to take my reflux meds for close to 6 months. Only had to start again when starting abx because of the stomach upset.

Hi Razzle - Thanks so much for your suggestions. I will definitely get some Ginger Root, DGL, and Digestive Enzymes. I'd also like to look into acupuncture to see if that would help.

I've finally started modifying my diet to eat a little healthier and am including lots of fruit, veggies and fish. It's so hard trying to figure out what to eat because I never know what's going to cause an attack.

I was tested for H. Pylori by blood test, which was supposedly negative. I say supposedly because my early Lyme test was negative too. I don't know how reliable the H. Pylori blood test is, but I do have a lot of the symptoms.


Hi Beadaddict - I haven't removed all gluten and dairy, but I've been trying to eliminate as much gluten as possible. I will have to work on dairy next and see if that helps. I really regret not taking my probiotics regularly when I was on antibiotics. I think that caused some stomach issues for me too.