I've had this annoying burning feeling in like my upper abdomen and in my chest for a week now. Also have extra spit in my mouth and air in my thorat like I have to burp..and when I burp it doesn't help. The only explanation I can think of is the coconut oil. I did google searches and everything said "high fats" can cause it. Pepcid complete isn't helping.

I'm not eating spicy foods, not eating caffeine, no chocolate..etc.

Past couple of days I've been eating nothing but coconut oil, chicken and a can of green beans trying to rule things out.
Been taking 1 cap of salmon oil.. maybe that's it? But only 1 cap and only 3-4 tbsp of coconut oil a day.. I can eat a ton of peanut butter and hot sauce and not get these kinds of symptoms. Doesn't make any sense and its pissing me off.

And anyone know if it's true that eating whole grains soaks up the acid or something?

I'm willing to try it but I don't want to eat them for nothing.

Wecome to my world, I was suffering from acid reflux as soon as started this diet. Butter and coconut oil in large quantities are the worst for reflux. Food high in saturated fat keeps the sphictor open longer, allowing the acid to escape. Fat/protein mealwith almost no carbs, increases acid output in general. I can eat almond and peanut butter with no problem, but butter is a killer for me. 3-4 tbs of coconut oil is A LOT...Grains do soak up some fat, i eat bran-a-crips cracker with 4 g EC OR 1/2 cup steel cut oatmeal when I want a pat of butter. Make sure your BM are OK, constipation causes reflux as well. In general, our liver and digestive system work much harder to process protein/fat than when we eat vegetables, fruits and whole grains, so reflux is a pay off.
I eat more carbs and less saturated fat now, and feel fine. No more reflux.
Hope this helps

Having a 22+ yr history of reflux and other esophageal problems, I figured I'd put in my 2 cents.

My advice is to do what you're doing. Watch each and every food you eat, liquid you drink and see what bothers you and what doesn't.

Tomatoes, spicy foods dont' bother me in the least....but 2 bites of left over pasta and sauce and I'm in pain for a week!

Common items that cause problems in people:
Fried foods. Lots of people will say "high fat foods", but when you ask them to be more specific, they usually mention fried or highly processed (like fast foods) high-fat foods. (Burger King, et all cause immediate pain for me. Same with anything deep fat fried.)

Butter, chocolate, wine (red I think), peppermint, coffee.
Butter, pepermint and chocolate are all known to relax the cardiac spincter, which can allow more acid reflux, so more pain.

Raw fruits and veggies. Now I don't think you'll see this on many sites, but I and a lot of people I know (and my doc agrees) all have problems with at least some raw fruits and veggies. I can't eat and apple, but cook it and I'm fine. Go figure.

Grains, etc may soak up some of the acid, but carbs are great food for the bacteria that causes ulcers, so make sure you're negative there.

Calcium! Calcium, in foods, vitamins, or antacids can stimulate acid production. Years ago, they told people with indigestion (that's what it was called then, there was no GERD) and ulcers to drink milk when they had symptoms of "heartburn". The problem was that the calcium caused more acid and the carbs in the milk were great food for the bacteria and people were getting more serious problems.

A note on h. pylori. This is the bacteria that causes ulcers. Most people are negative. This is a problem that most docs feel will naturally go away. People are very easily treated with antibiotics, and they feel in a few years ulcers will be a disease of the "old days".

My advice is to pay close attention to your body's reaction to a food, and be aware that you may not have an immediate reaction. Some things don't bother me until the next day! Keeping a food diary is a great help! Since I started on LC and started recording things, I've been able to figure out a few more things that are an issue.

Don't eat anything for at least 2-3hrs before bed. If possible, sleep on a couple of pillows, so your head is higher than your stomach. Take antacids as needed, do NOT put up with the pain! pain means damage! If you find you're taking antacids frequently, try an OTC med like Pepcid. If that doesn't help, call your doc!

Indigestion can be a sign of a more dangerous diagnosis, including cancer. If diet and meds don't help, it should be checked.

If you have trouble swallowing or feel like you have a gas pocket in your throat, try drinking something warm. If food seems to get stuck when eating, always keep something warm nearby. Relax as much as possible, and sip warm liquids as you're able. If something gets stuck, call your doc or go to the ER!

Good luck and keep us informed!

I too have been diagnosed with Acid Reflux/Gerd. One thing I do know is it is severely aggravated by lying down while eating or right afterwards. Personally I think any food can trigger it. I know "water" used to throw me into fits big time! Sounds crazy eh, but my Mom had the same problem. Could be that all the oils are upsetting your system. Try to lay off both the coconut and salmon oil to see if it eases off. Also, could just be a coincidence that past eating habits are finally catching up with your system and the Acid Refulx is just now really starting to kick in. Annoying I know. Went undiagnosed for about 15 years! But thank God I finally hit upon the right doctor. I am currently taking Lansoprazole (Prevacid) 30MG. In the past thee years I've only had the symptoms like maybe one time. Not too bad a ratio considering it was constant before I went on this med. Wow! Thank's for the reminder! I need to phone in for a refill. Ikes
Hope some of this helps. I know how miserable you are. I know it's a no-no but if it is that bad then try to drink a little milk to help coat your stomach a bit.

Cissie

Cindy,

I know what you mean girl on the apple thing! lol, not funny for sure but let me eat a bite of raw green pepper and I'm fine but if it's cooked, the war is on!!! Ouch! Very good indepth information and advise here.
Keto, if this keeps happening by all means go see a doctor before it gets out of hand. Acid Reflux doesn't generally just vanish. You could have some severe damage inside that might erupt into a worse condition.

Cissie



Cissie

Strangely, I don't have and never had problems eating raw vegetables and fruits, never. Cooked apples don't bother me either, unless they are cooked with ...sugar. Sugar and too much fat are the worst offenders for me. Thank God I haven't had a heartburn for a while now. BTW, I eat at least 2-3 cups of a low fat plain yougurt daily now and my digestion wastly improved. No more hertburn even after tomatoe sauce, chocolate, and red wine. I also eat much less saturated fat now. May be it's the probiotics in yougurt. Actually, as we age, it's the low rather than high acidity that causes heartburn and indigestion in most cases.
Unless it's confirmed by a pH monitoring test, it's hard to tell. Another good indicator of low/high acidity is to drink 1tbs of apple cider vinegar in 1 glass of water when the heartburn strikes. If you feel better, you have low acidity, if worse, the high acid is the culprite.
Regards,
Dina

Thanks all. Lots of good info.

I still have it. I haven't had the coconut oil or salmon oil in a couple days. actually I quit all supps..even calcium and multi. Yesterday I ate fried steak (xvirgin olive oil) with 1tsp of butter and I noticed it getting worse minutes later. Weird, always ate that a few times a week and its never bothered me. Guess since my stomach is already screwed, it's more sensitive and everythings messing with it.

Also.. this started with gas I think. I read in a few posts on another board that high protein causes gas. I'm not really bloated and it's not excessivse. I'm not constipated.. actually because of the way I was eating..most regular I've ever been. I'm not even bloated..maybe a tiny bit, but not like I normally get.

I tried eating carbs yesterday. I tried 1 cup of dry ShreddedWheatNBran.. and then a couple hours before bed I ate like 1/2cup of oatmeal with a few tbsp of skim milk and water.. None of that helped much.

Woke up a few hours ago with it still burning. I have a drs appointment next week. Today I think I'm just not going to eat anything since everything seems to make it worse and nothing is helping. Maybe it'll heal faster if I don't eat at all and just sip water throughout the day?

Stay away from anything fried. You can still your protein eat and vegetables, but try braising and stewing rather than frying, grilling, broiling. Soup is very soothing for the stomach and generally easy to digest. You may just need to let your digestion heal for a while, oatmel, chicken soup with boiled chicken and vegetables, yougurt (plain, lower fat), cottage cheese would help. I'd rather eat cooked vegetables than raw salad, everything that is harder to digest, will cause heartburn. So the diet in a nut shell: mechanically and chemically soothing food, meaning cooked and slowly and thorough chewed, and not greasy, spicy, sort of blunt diet works usually good when I have a flair up. BTW, any supplement can irritate your stomach, at least for me it does, so try to get your vitamins from food, not the pill. And of course, see your doctor. I bet you'll be Rx one of the PPI or antiacids.
Feel better,
Dina

I'll try the soup thing. Thanks.

How long after doing a major diet change and avoiding all the possible problem foods should it start to feel better and go away?

Keto:
I'm not a doctor but I believe in traditional things like ...let food be your medicine rather than taking medications, especially PPI like Prevacid and Protocnex as well as any antiacid. I've been taking those for some time and they have very nasty side effects. But you should always cobsult your doctor to outroule more serious conditions, that could have the same sympthoms.
I would imagine that it shouldn't take long if it'sjust mild irritation. You can eat like this for a while and this diet is actually very healthy and is low carb Try not to eat any cranchy foos like dry cereal, chips, and nuts. They can aggravate the condition, your esophagus is somewhat irritated from the acid and scratchy food is the last thing you actually need. In order to push the food down , esopagus contracts and if the food is not moist but dry and scratchy, it can cause further damage. Try this WOE and see how well you will do. If the heartburn will subside, then you can try to add some of the other food one at a time, and see which one makes you feel worst. I can imagine if nothing serious, you will start feeling better within a few days. Don't rush, when left intreated chronic heartburn can do a serious damage to your esophagus.
Best of luck,
Dina

Yeah I'm not into medicating everything either. If I still have it by the time I go to the doctors(thursday I think..) then I'll try a medication for it untill it goes away.

All I ate today was 2 pieces of broiled chicken and 3 cups of oatmeal made with water. And I still have it. It's getting to the point where walking around too much makes me feel like I'm going to throwup. I'm getting bloated and gassy now, might be cause of the oatmeal though. So I think now I might even have 2 problems going on at once.

Tomorrow I'm eating nothing but soup made with chicken breasts and vegetables so its lowfat.

Keto...

You've had a lot of good advice, but I haven't yet seen what stopped my acid reflux (and I had it as a teenager...up until about five years ago...). I'm mentioning this because I don't see it happening in the diet you're describing.

You have an abundance of acid...you need to neutralize it...and how does one neutralize acid? Simple chemistry/biology says use alkaline foods....and most veggies are alkaline. (starchy ones are exceptions). Now...it makes sense that if you have a lot of acid already....you don't want to aggravate it by eating a lot of RAW veggies...at first....eat them cooked...so the soup is a great idea. However; keep in mind that a food you chew a lot might also provide a more alkaline environment because human saliva ALSO tends to be more alkaline.

Knowing these things....I started balancing my protein with veggies.....and chewing more slowly. I couldn't eat raw veggies at first...but later I took one at a time and chewed a lot....it eventually helped. I also drink a lot of water....water tends to spread out the acid. After awhile I could get myself off my prescription med....and I only noticed a few months ago that I am now only rarely chewing an antacid...in fact my Tums bottle expired three years ago...it's still 3/4 full.

Of course...you (like me) have foods to which you are sensitive.....and you'll need to discover those on your own. However, it sounds like this is out of control and your doctor can tell you better than anyone else if there is a more serious underlying problem...which is a possibility. Take care......

Keto:
Broiled anything can cause heartburn, boiled won't. I wouldn't eat 3 cups of oatmeal in one day either especially since you haven't been eating grains for a while. Oatmeal itslef doesn't make you bloated and gassy, your compromized digestion does (hyperacidity). I get bloated and gassy after eating nothing but protein/fat, eating vegetables and more fiber helps a lot.
Great advise from DelBrumers, chewing helps with digestion and hyperacidity. Also, cooked vegetables are much better than raw salad, wonder why asians always lightly cook their veggies I've asked my co-worker, who is chinese, and she explained that "cold" food, meaning raw vegetables and even cold drinks, make you liver stagnant and impare the digestion. Warm and cooked food is eacy to digest, and doesn't burden the liver. Too greasy food overtaxes liver as well, and liver is like General in our body, it regulates digestion and metabolizes fats and sugar. I drink Dandelion tea and green tea a lot instead of coffee, it also helps with digestion. Avoid any fussy drinks, mineral water including, and stay away from diet soda completely.
I sure hope this helps. As a last resort, 1/2 tsp of baking soda mixed with a glass of water is a great for heartburn and much better than any antiacid! It's the old folks remedy, and it's also very alkalizing. The theory behind it that more acidic food you eat (all proteins, sugars and grains) the more your mody becomes acidic, which in return churns more stomach acid. The most alkalizing food are vegetables (not starchy) and most fruits. Many folks benefit from this diet once they gave up sugary and starchy food, the drawback is eating too much protein/fat.
Good luck and I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Dina

Thanks all. These posts helped a lot.

Just wanted to update this..

Sometime after my last post I went on a mostly soup and oatmeal starvation diet (made with water, nothing else) for a week or 2. It was the only thing that seemed to help, or at least not cause acid reflux. I was scared of eating, I didn't care.

Butter and oils seem to be causing it the most. I wasn't even using that much butter, 1tbsp a couple times a week. I started getting a burning feeling minutes after eating it. I'm not sure yet if coconut oil is causing it. I've been scared to use it so I've only been having a tiny bit every now and then and it hasn't bothered me. I don't understand WHY coconut oil would cause Acid Reflux. The site I get it from even says it's supposed to be alkaline forming. I get the good stuff, not the proccessed or anything. I only took like 1tbsp with a meal of protein and vegetables..

I was using canned green beans too. I think that might've been a problem. I usually don't eat canned anything. Are greenbeans considered "starchy"? I know peas are..

Water also started doing it. But I also down 16-32oz of water in minutes.(room temp.)

This is a problem now because now I'm not getting like any fat in my diet and it's effecting my ketosis. Natural Peanut Butter still doesn't give me acid reflux, so I've been getting my fat from that. But I rather eat something better than that for fat. I'm also drinking less water.

I don't have any problems with chocolate and sugar either. I found this out around Christmas. :0

This sucks.