Hi All

My hubby developed reflux after starting on a Atkins diet and limiting himself to one large meal a day (boy he'd pack it away at dinner time)He lost 30 lbs and to maintain the loss he really messed himself up. He has recently started with an acupuncturist and getting chinese herbs which I cook up for him and he drinks twice a day. He started to lose his voice from the reflux and he is a salesman so we have seen improvement with just two visits. I'd suggest seeing a chinese doctor! then doing all the things you must do to keep the heatburn down

[kokopuffs]

The "thing" about health care is the one needs to shop around for the right practitioner. Too bad that it may become costly in terms of time and/or money.

W.DeBord,

I urge you to simply phone the hospital that your primary physician is located (your records will be easily accessible)
or your local hospital if you do not have a physician.

Ask to be connected with one of their registered dietitians.
Make an appointment.

Chances are you are suffering from a lower or upper esophogeal sphinctor problem in which the sphinctor (or flap) in the esophogus does not function properly when food is eaten.
Normally, food and gastric acids should stay in the stomach.
But in many cases (heartburn) the flap refuses to seal up, thus letting the acid reflux back into the throat.

Believe it or not, heartburn medicines and over-the-counter remedies can make this worse. It all depends on your situation.
Make that phone call.

Nutritionpost

[kokopuffs]

NutritionPost:

There's no "flap" in the esophagus as I recall - only an upper and lower esophageal sphincter. Either one can fail to to close completely which allows reflux.

Don't forget the hiatal hernia, where an imperfection in the diaphragm allows reflux of the gastric contents. The imperfection occurs where the esophagus passes thru the diaphragm.

[W.DeBord]

For now I'm on a different medicine and I have a follow up doctors apt., but I'm kind of thinking your both right. Since no medicines are working (new one isn't yet) maybe it is physical, yuk... I'm not sure I want to know how that's fixed.

How do dietitians and nutritionists differ? Are they the same thing? Maybe if my gastro doctor thinks it's wise I could go to a dietitan and even be covered by my insurance, wouldn't that be nice. Now that you wrote that, I recall seeing some class offered by the hospital (cheap too), I'll have to check into that.

Thanks.

[kokopuffs]

In general terms:

A dietician is concerned with food and overall diet, what goes into your system from the dinner plate.

A nutritionist focuses on the individual chemical content of foods: a certain amino acid for example.

[Rachel]

Chinese herbal medicine is pretty affective for heartburn and more serious digestive disorders, but the problem is being available and having the time to boil them up and the more serious point that they can be absoulutely DISGUSTING. I used to take them and they tasted like a mixture of mud, radioactive waste (or what i assume it would taste like), and two week old sweaty socks. I've found it much easier going to a western herbalist and getting a tincture that I take twice a day in water. It also works. All Chinese herbs may not be as bad as the ones I took - my docotr did warn me that they were very bitter, he didn't say that they were slightly better than being punched in stomach! But he may have been to herbalists what Steve martin was to dentists in Little Shop of Horrors

[ziggy]

Do work through a doctor for a referral to a dietician(actually work through a doctor period to find the root of the problem as, as stated, it might not just be diet).

Also the transplant center that you are working through for the transplant should have a dietician on staff. My husband was on a transplant list for multiple years and we met with the dietician regularly to discuss dietary needs. Though he was the transplant patient I'm sure the dietician is available to the donor as well when the donor is known.

Good luck!

[W.DeBord]

Thanks for the advise Ziggy. Actually I saw the doctor yesterday and she didn't think food had anything to do with my stomach problems....so I'm holding off and following her testing and med.s' for now.

Hope you don't mind, how did his transplant go? Are the anti- rejection drugs as hard on them as some say? My Mom's more worried about the drugs then the surgery.

[ziggy]

W. de Bord - sent you a private message.