Also in Oz and new to this excellent forum! My wife and I have both successfully shed PPI's. The secret was discovering DGL. We take 2 tablets 20 minutes before each meal. Hard to find these in Australia for some odd reason as they are highly regarded in Germany and USA. We took these for 2 months whilst still on PPI then slowly reduced PPI. Suppose you realise you can reduce Nexium by putting it into apple juice? Agree that a good specialist does take some trial and error. Our big peeve is they all want to solve ones problems with yet more drugs with few ever suggesting natural ways. There is good info on You Tube by John Bergman - extremely realistic approach that really makes you think. DGL by the way heals the LES and fixes stomach mucosa - wonderfu stuff and only 7 cents a pill and you dont get rebound if you forget a dose. Of course you do need lifestyle changes to keep it working. Vegetable juice three times a day and magnesium taken transdermally seems to have done the trick for us!
hi rex, glad to meet someone from ozi too in this forum! and thank you for sharing your tips to get off nexium!
i was at 40mg/day for 4 months until sept, then i've been reducing to 30,20,10mg and now i'm at 10mg every 3rd day. like you and your wife, i've been using slippery elm and dgl. i also gargle with bicarbonate soda and take gaviscon if i start feeling the pain or burning symptoms.
unfortunately, besides reflux problem, my doc thinks i also have esophageal hypersensitivity prob. because evenwhen i was at 40mg nexium, i was never free of symptoms, i always feel bloated and belch many times! and the gas causes me to relfux! to this prob, my doc prescribed me endep (nerve drug) and ordered me to stay with nexium until dont know when
did you/your wife have any bloating/gas problem when you guys on nexium? i've been wondering whether the bloating is aside effect of nexium or it's really just my stomach being sensitive.
how long did you take to wean off nexium? and how long did experience acid rebound after your completely ceased nexium?
Looks like we all go down the same path! On slippery elm with alovera. Prescribed motilium for bloating. Dumped it after reading about the nasties plus having heaps of interactions (physillium husks in smoothies work far better but no more than 4 table spoons a day). At one stage last year we reached the prescription FREE list which really was disgusting (I mean how crazy is it to take Pariot, Nexium and Ranitidine all at once?), so started researching more natural cures instead of band aids as seem to be used by most doctors. Now down to 1/2 a BP pill a day rest is supplements. Chrissy has an anti depressant but we think that is thyroid related. Couple of things you could try - Buderim Naked Ginger from Coles or Woolies will take the sting out of your throat (but it does have some sugar!), Hamiltons Aquae spray is really good when you wake in the middle of the night! Lemon juice as ice cubes work well and break up muecos. Alpha Lipoic Acid will fix saliva getting confused and thinking it is acid when its really alkaline. It took two months of struggle to get off ppi's. Chrissy was on Somac so it was easier for her. I was on the same double dose as you! Also have a hiatus hernia. We are both feeling great. Chrissy has about zero nasal drip and morning coughing fits are gone - thanks to DGL. We are both feeling 200 % better after sheding all those useless meds. I still have the odd bad night waking with a burning throat. Just introduced zinc and it seems to be doing something. Stopped all Gaviscon (hard to do!) be aware though I'm not cured and have no bread, cakes or dairy and of course zero sugar and no coffee!
Hang in there! You'd think living in Melbourne we would have zero problems getting diadnosed but it truly is hopeless. One is forced to use Dr Google. Wonderful how we can all help each other isnt it?
interested in what you said that you avoid bread, cakes and dairy.
i read articles from norman robillard website, where he said that reflux is caused by undigested carbohydrates which can't be absorbed by our bloodstream, and then those undigested carbo are fermented by bacteria in our small intestine, the result of that fermentations is gas. excess gas pushes our les to open, and the acid escapes to our esophagus = reflux. that's his theory.
his theory ties closely with ibs sibo (bacteria overgrowth). i actually mentioned this to my specialist, i asked him whether i should go for hydrogen breath test, but he dismissed it, he said it's very unlikely that i have sibo. well, my whole drama with reflux was actually started after i had my appendectomy last year, was given heavy antibiotics after the surgery and 6 weeks after that i had bad reflux right after eating 1 pear. the condition got worse and worse after that.
rex, have you ever done a hydrogen breath test?
i'm actually wondering what causes us not being able to digest bread? carb malabsorbtion? gluten? but it's impossbile to get celiac just out of the blue....sibo? iunfortunately 20mins consultations with doc is not enough to discuss so many things with him, and most docs just want to rush rush and rush us out of their room