Horrible Acid Reflux! Please help.

Here is my situation and I really need help with this...

Prior to 80 10 10 I have had acid reflux for 1 year (that I have known about) and have been taking previcid 30mg 2 times per day before my first and last meals. During this time of my life I was eating a mostly vegetarian/vegan diet. My acid reflux was under control and not causing problems for me besides the occasional slightly sore throat.

However, after starting 80 10 10 100% one month ago my acid reflux has gotten worse and worse as each day goes on. For the first 1-2 I attributed this to poor food combining as I was eating all different types of fruits together, but for the past week I have been strict about my mono meals and have only been eating 1 fruit at each meal and waiting 2-3 hours between meals. Also, in the last week I have cut out citrus, nightshades, and acidic fruits.

For the past week I have been eating mono meals now of bananas, mangos, leachees, cherries, and grapes. At the end of the night I have been have 3 cups of chopped up raw cauliflower & 10 sheets of nori/seaweed (I know this is not 80 10 10 but I have been using it to transition and help me stop eating steamed veggies as I as in the beginning).

Each day though my acid reflux gets worse. My throat, stomach, chest, and back all BURN. After each fruit meal I eat everything starts burning and now it just isn't going away. I don't know what to do anymore???

Am I just personally not able to eat this much fruit with my acid reflux???

I am so committed to this lifestyle but it is hard to feel so positive about 80 10 10 and not have doubts when I feel absolutely horrible because of this acid reflux from the fruit.

Also, I have continued taking my acid reflux medication for this month that I have been doing raw 80 10 10. I went off of it for a few days at the advice of someone on this site but my acid reflux just got even worse on those day and so I went back on my medication. I want to eventually go off of the medication but I don't feel like now is the time since my acid reflux is out of control. I will go off of the medications once my symptoms get much better.

I am so scared about this out of control acid reflux caused by eating 80 10 10 since my father died in December 2010 of esophageal cancer.

I am so at a loss at this point!! Should I try eating steamed veggies for a few days to give my stomach/esophagus/throat a break from all the acid and then go back to mono meals of fruit??

**I would really appreciate it if people could give me advice on what to do because I feel like I have done everything right by cutting out suspicious fruits and doing mono meals and nothing is working for me and just getting worse.

Please help if you can!!

Thank you.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jessica on July 9, 2012 at 8:28am

Also, I just want to mention that I have been making sure my fruit is totally ripe before eating.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jessica on July 9, 2012 at 8:48am

Anyone?? I really need some help with this. I am at a complete loss of what to do and am miserable. I want to be raw 80 10 10 for the rest of my life, but I don't know how to get this horrible acid reflux it has caused under control...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ligoke on July 9, 2012 at 8:55am

Hi, I want to offer something, but don't know how well it will help. I am a Doula and childbirth educator, and as you might know, pregnant women are notorious for feeling the burn. I hate to tell you this, but it doesn't matter what you eat, if you're not eating "properly" - and you may not know what you are doing wrong. So, what I advise the moms-to-be is to eat keep meals small - about half of what anyone else eats; eat very slowly, chew thoroughly before swallowing, never eat until you know the last meal has left the stomach, and NEVER drink liquids with your meals. Eating slowly helps ensure you are not gulping air. If you are a mouth breather, this could be a big problem.

Anyway, I don't know if it will help you at all, but it does seem to help my moms-to-be when they hit that heartburn stage. I wish you the best!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jessica on July 9, 2012 at 10:44am

Thank you for this advice. It's hard to eat small meals on this diet as well as wait till my food has left my stomach before eating again, because since fruit is so low in calories it takes a large amount of fruit to get just a small amount of calories and I know I need to get a minimum amount of calories in each day. Do you have any advice regarding this?

Why do you say to never drink water with my meals? I always have water with my meals. I get thirsty while I eat.

Also, why do you say it could be a big problem if I am a mouth breather? I am a mouth breather so this worries me..

Are there any fruits/vegetables that you would recommend I eat or avoid?

Thank you for your advice and help!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DURIANRIDER on July 9, 2012 at 10:58am

I think its pretty obvious what you're doing wrong Jessica.

Its like someone stepping in dog turd and blaming the organic cotton socks for the stench.

Please post in LOWER case.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jessica on July 9, 2012 at 11:14am

I don't mean to be dense but it isn't obvious tome what I am doing wrong.

I have been eating mono meals, waiting 2-3 hours between meals, avoiding citrus/acidic fruits/nightshades, drinking enough water, getting an adequate amount of sleep, and not stressing a lot.

Yes, I do see that for the past week I have eaten nori & cauliflower, but my acid reflux on this diet was horrible before I started eating those foods. And the only reason I have been eating those foods is to prevent me from eating steamed vegetables which I worry could be worse for my acid reflux.

The woman above mentioned mouth breathing as a problem, but I honestly can't do anything about that. All my life I have had something deviated in my nose which makes it virtually impossible to breath out of.

Also, I never knew that drinking water during a meal was a bad thing. Why is that? I always thought if you're thirsty - drink water.

Sorry if I come across as being dense here. I'm not a dense person and I am trying to get this right so that I can fix this acid reflux and thrive on this lifestyle.

I will happily take and follow and advice you can offer in my case!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ligoke on July 9, 2012 at 11:25am

Please remember that my experience is coming from working with pregnant women, but I believe it relates on this point. You asked about the problem with being a mouth breather - it is that mouth breathers gulp air when we eat. Eat slowly, and conscientiously. Put the food in your mouth, close your mouth and chew til it's completely masticated. Do not revert to cooked foods, or dehydrated anything thinking that's going to help you. If anything you eat causes the symptoms to be less - look at how you're eating it first. Look at the time of day, what else is happening, whether you're standing, sitting, etc. If all else fails, consider a short fast and give your system a complete break. Unless you are seriously underweight, a short fast won't hurt. (Go read Dr Graham's and other's stuff on fasting.) IF you fast... make it a dry fast for 1 day, then water only for a day or two.... if you fast... when you start eating again, eat only melon or super juicy fruits in small meals far enough apart that your body completely processes it before you go on to the next meal.

And the problem with drinking while you eat... if you already have ARS or digestive issues, water during a meal simply causes dilution of your enzymes and puts a burden on the process. Instead, eat juicier fruit, or make a smoothie out of them.

If you've already tried all these things and nothing's worked, then consider getting professional help. Best!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jessica on July 9, 2012 at 11:33am

Thank you for this advice and information. I try to eat slowly but I will focus on that more. I always eat in a low stress environment and while sitting down. I am not underweight and will consider doing a fast. Fasting is hard for me though as I just love to eat and desire to everyday. I will stop drinking water while I eat. I didn't know that was an issue.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David Costa on July 9, 2012 at 9:11am

Maybe try some cooked carbs when you don't want fruit. Idk how much of your daily calories were from fruit, but if it was low then going to like 90% calories seems like a kind of shock to the stomach. If I eat too much fruit I get this bad stomach and back ache (some call it melon belly) for about 15 min a little after eating. I have been on the lifestyle for 3 weeks. Before starting this lifestyle probably 30% of my calories were from fruit, then I jumped in and started getting 90% of my calories from fruit. It's getting easier on my stomach now.

Maybe eat some steamed potatos or rice, ugali (cooked cornflour dough, the kenyan runners love it), quinoa etc. And keep your percentage of calories from fruit high, if 90% is killing you then maybe try getting 60% or 70% of calories from fruit and then increase as you feel better over the weeks.

And like Ligoke said about small meals, go slow and snack whenever you can. make sure you get at least 2500 calories a day tho, or you are going to feel weak and ravenous, use cronometer.com.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David Costa on July 9, 2012 at 9:22am

I didn't see dates in the things you eat, I love em because they pack 3 times the calories by weight as bananas, and bananas have alot more calories than most other fruit. Seems like you can get them for 3-4 dollars a pound online. If bananas are $1 a pound and have 1/3 the calories of dates and dates are $3-$4 but easier to stomach than 30 bananas then try some dates.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jessica on July 9, 2012 at 11:08am

Thank you for your advice and suggestions. I eat a lot of bananas. I make banana ice cream almost every night, but I haven't been eating dates. Don't get me wrong, I loooove dates but previously when I had tried this diet a few months ago I found that when I ate dates they made me uninterested in all other fruits. Maybe I should go back to eating them now since they are a low-volume fruit and may not upset my stomach as much by filling it up to such a full state.