Re: GERD is often misunderstood
Maybe you're the one out of a hundred who will actually have an answer to my oft-repeated but never answered question: If the cause of GERD is too little HCL, then why does Prilosec make me feel better?
Please allow me to 'dump' (pun intended) a brief history.
I had a SAD (standard American diet) till I was 42, when I was introduced to an alternative health advocate. I had already lost my gallbladder at age 32 and was put on Prilosec at age 39. I was never scoped to arrive at the diagnosis of GERD; they did a blood test for H-Pylori (negative) and looked at my symptoms, which were as follows:
bloating after only a few bites of food
frequent severe nausea and diarrhea with very painful cramping and burning
a heavy, burning pain in my stomach
frequent belching, day and night
With a much improved diet and Prilosec I have been symptom-free, except for the belching. If I try to go a few days without Prilosec the symptoms all return with a vengeance. I tried taking Betane HCL once and immediately had the burning, acidy pain in my stomach. I'm no doctor, but to me these things indicate that too little acid is not my problem.
But I suspect the Prilosec of somehow contributing to my continual battle with yeast infections. I'd dearly love to stop taking it, but nothing I've tried keeps those awful symptoms from returning. Help! (BTW, I am currently awaiting the saliva test by mail for hormone imbalance).