Do you know of supplements or something that help?
here's a diet:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/13/acid-reflux-13-f...
definately drink aloe vera
I assume you are talking about infant GERD and not adult GERD. If so, I'm so sorry, I've been through this and it's terrible. Unfortunately, there is no magic cure. For the most part, you have to wait it out. That little muscle at the top of their stomach just isn't developed yet, and until it does there is little you can do. Here is the list of things that I did. Each helped just a little - but my little one didn't sleep through the night for a long time because of his GERD.
prevacid (I heard that they might not give this to babies anymore, but for us it worked better than zantac)
no dairy in his diet at all (and I was nursing, so this meant no dairy at all in my diet)
I learned to use a moby wrap and wore him as much as possible. There were times that the only way he could sleep was completely vertically in the moby
Tilted the mattress in the crib
nursed him in a vertical position, where he was basically sitting on my thigh (with support) and leaning forward to nurse. No nursing in a cradle-type position
I bought those wedge-shaped pillows that they sell for babies and used them so that he didn't sleep flat on his back, he was a little bit on his side. One he could roll over, he chose to sleep on his tummy.
After nursing, I put him in the moby so he stayed vertical for at least an hour. Once he was big enough, I also used the exersaucer for this.
I tried to feed him small meals twice as often. So other kids might nurse for 20 min every 4 hours. I nursed him on 1 side for about 10 min every 2 hours.
A tipe that is not about the baby:
You are probably not sleeping and you need to. Do whatever you can to trade off night feedings with your husband so that you get at least 1 stretch of sleep that is more than 2 hours long. Even if you are nursing, pump some extra so that someone else can give a nighttime bottle every now and then.
I won't even tell you how long it took my son to grow out of it - it's different for every child. If you look at my account in 2010-2011, I have a bunch of desperate questions about sleeping and GERD. I got through it, and you will too. But I won't pretend that it's not incredibly difficult. Good luck, and I hope your baby outgrows it soon.
Check for food allergies which can cause the same symptoms. My 2nd grandson was diagnosed with GERD as a toddler. All the medications didn't help at all. It was actually a milk allergy.
Hi, H.,
I second what others are saying. Can you please specify some more things? Are we talking infant GERD or adult GERD? What prescriptions have you already tried? What lifestyle changes have you tried? This will really help us to help you!
If it is infant GERD, I am well aware of how challenging this is, as both of my children had it. We were able to find out things to help them (and us!), and I would be happy to share whatever information might help you and your family.
A note on the prescription meds....the type of prescription you use can make a big difference. Also, expect 1-2 weeks of any acid reflux prescription before you'll start to notice any difference. We tried several different medicines with our children and both times settled in on PREVACID. It was the ONLY prescription that worked for our kids...enough so that if our third child has GERD (please no, but we'll see what happens in Nov), then we will probably try prevacid before any other Rx. They used to have solutabs, but they were really tough to get towards the end of our daughter's stint with GERD. When the solutabs were not available, we had to open the regular capsules, mix it with water, and feed it to her through a food syringe.
Prevacid is now over the counter (although, never self-medicate with a child...make sure to talk to the pediatrician). Certain dosages and types (presumably solutabs) are still Rx. Oh, and the generic works just as well. --Both children were transitioned completely off of medicine around the 12 month age, because their bodies had grown enough to fully develop the flap to better help keep those stomach acids down.
For nursing, we were on a 3 hour schedule during the day....Every day was pretty close to the same...to the hour (we had some flexibility, but the goal was the same every day). We would cluster feed in the evenings to build up for the night, and then both children WERE able to sleep through the night...even with their GERD (thank goodness for the prevacid in our case).
One last thing: This was HUGE for us...absolutely no more nursing/feeding the baby to sleep. I know that this is tough for many moms, but it can make the GERD so much worse. You need to deliberately PLAN on having about 30 minutes of upright play time with baby after every feeding (except for a late night feeding) before laying baby down to sleep. I know, I know...baby is feeding and gets drowsy. It's so tempting to just let baby drift off to sleep and lay him/her down. DON'T DO IT! If you do, you'll probably notice a pattern of baby waking up about 45 minutes later to cry. Playing upright for about 30 minutes allows baby to start to digest the feeding (keeping it from backing up as much). Also, as strange as this sounds, you will also be training your child that he/she doesn't need milk to go to sleep... After playing for about 30 minutes, then feel free to lay baby down in his/her crib and let them drift off to sleep on their own (and by-the-way this will help with baby drifting back off to sleep on his/her own if woken in the middle of the night).
I don't know which "lifestyle changes" you tried. What helped me was eliminating food I apparently had problems with. Gluten is frequently problematic (wheat, rye, barley, and for some even most or all grains). I rarely eat any processed foods at all. Interestingly, my husband says he has a lot less "acid stomach" just from eating what I eat at home (he is on the road a lot so eats most meals out).
If its adult reflux, I have heard of taking vinegar but I haven't tried it. I take nexium and sometimes more than one in 24 hours. I have had reflux since I was a child. The nexium depleats my magnesium.
I wish surgery was a sure thing because I would do it in a min. But surgery is only successful 50 percent of the time.
If you are talking about infant reflux, you might talk to a pediatric gastroenterologist about surgery if nothing else works.
Sometimes GERD, burping, intense pressure, "upchucking" bile or fluids is BECAUSE you don't have enough stomach acid--not because you have too much! (as doctors like to tell you)
My daughter and I were having issues with burping and having "food/bile/liquid" come back up after eating. I bought NOW Beltaine HCL (which is natural hydrocholoric acid). We take that before we eat and haven't had any more problems.
If you haven't seen a gastro doc who is working closely with you then you need to find a new doc. One that will do the tests over and over until they find good cause of why this is happening.
Eating multiple small meals and not overfilling your tummy at any time should stop most of the reflux.
As for acid production, if the meds are not turning off the acid producers in your stomach then you need to try different meds and eat foods that don't trigger them producing more than normal.
Raise your head, top half of your body any time you are laying down. I sleep with a couch back cushion and it's about 8 inches thick. I am sitting in a reclining position then I have my pillow under my head. So I am sleeping almost sitting up. I still have some reflux that causes my throat some discomfort, the acid burns my vocal cords, but it's only a couple of times per year now instead of a few times per month.
I do not eat any special foods or not eat foods I love like Pizza...lol.
I do not eat late in the day, I eat more like our pioneer ancestors. They ate huge breakfasts and lunches and ate smaller dinners. They knew they were having to go out and work the fields, hard manual labor, so they fueled their bodies early in the day.
They would come in for lunch starving. They'd go back out in the fields and work. By the time they came in it would be near dark and they'd be so tired they would just want to nibble on something and go to bed. They didn't have as many problems as we did physically.
Diet changes are the best answer. Go completely off processed anything. No wheat, no diary, etc. Simple foods that you can identify and preferably made yourself.
Which prescriptions have you already been given?
There are 3 ones that have worked great for me and my husband (an M.D.)
Dexilant
Protonix (this is the only thing that allowed me to sleep when pregnancy heartburn kicked into high gear)
Aciphex
I've heard from some friends that drinking vinegar helps, but I haven't tried it myself. It seems counterintuitive to me to treat acid problems with more acid, but it might be worth looking into.
ETA: Yes, please clarify if you are taking about infant or adult GERD. Makes a big difference.
