I’m proud to say that I’ve now been medication free for 2 weeks :-). After years of reflux (while still on heavy GERD drugs, namely Losec), it’s really weird to be reflux free. I still have to follow a diet that avoids reflux triggers (like citrus, tomatoes, spicy foods) but I figure that’s a small price to pay for being medication free.
Using probiotics and deglycyrrhizinated licorice worked really well as I weaned down the dosage. I did find when I stopped completely that I had a little bit of reflux at night (which left me with a sore throat in the morning).
The answer to this has been to stop oats / porridge after dinner, as oats require large amounts of natural stomach acid to break down, and I have started taking enzymes as well as probiotics. Literally after two enzyme tablets all my residual reflux stopped.
As for the side effects of Losec, I am sleeping better and am much less fatigued as my blood counts have come back to normal. I have to wait to have a bone densitometry to check for osteoporosis as this is one of the biggest side effects of Losec (which of course your docs don’t tell you unless grilled specifically).
But voila – I am no longer reliant on the pharmaceutical machine!!
