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Gastro Esophegeal Reflux Disease... I have suffered with this chronic condition since I was a child, grew up thinking that Rolaids were candy (not kidding). I have been to so many doctors, had so many tests, even surgery (which screwed me up worse and only alleviate some of my symptoms *this much* was supposed to buy me 10 years of relief, didn't) so I had to take matters into my own hands and take what I know about nutrition and activity to try and extend my QUALITY of life. Matter of fact I am happy I made it to 40. I highly doubt I will get another decade.
But I have genetic issues and certainly not what the average person experiences with combination of passage of time (everyone's body wears out eventually LOL ) and lifestyle.
My Old Grump gets me raw ginger and slices it paper thin then puts it into a jar of pickle juice. I LOVE pickled ginger, and it is much less expensive than a supplement bought in a store and perhaps better for you than a pill from a jar I suppose as you know EXACTLY what you are ingesting. I eat slivers throughout the day and it REALLY HELPS my body to break down food for easier absorption.
I am thinking that your lack of appetite might be from gastritis. Do you often feel nauseous? Gastritis is the inflamation of the wall of your stomach. It is usually covered with a thick mucous lining to protect it from harsh acids. But if your stomach excretes too much acid over the course of time it WILL wear the lining away causing chronic inflamation. Pepto bismol helps coat your stomach but it certainly is only treating a symptom and NOT a cure.
As to why you crave sweets (which are calorie dense foods that occupy very little space)... Your body is trying not to starve. You already eat small quantities of food so naturally you will crave whatever food you can get down that will yield the most amount of calories. Unfortunately this approach is also only a bandaid for a much more severe problem that in the end won't help, but actually harms the situation. You will experience mood swings and crashes in energy levels when your blood sugar plummets from no more energy (no more food in your stomach) once the simple sugars are all gone. More calories from simple sugars = less consistent energy = more calories stored as fat = grumpy, listless, skinnyfat moody unhappy you.
The story of my life, I know it well.
So, what do you do?
Well, my specific issues are caused by a few things.
1. My stomach manufacters too much acid. (I had specific tests to confirm this)
2. My LES valve (the valve that keeps the stomach contents from backing up into the esophagus that does NOT have protective mucous lining) was faulty and would relax thus allowing stomach contents to back up, causing inflamation of my esophagus, permanent damage to my vocal chords, accelerated deterioration of my teeth, often times I can not even swallow my own saliva, forget food... and will inevitably lead to Barrett's syndrome which is a precursor to esophageal cancer for which there is no cure.
3. I have some sort of "absorption disorder" as the lower half of my GI tract failed to function properly once I had a Nissen Fundoplikation to help with my severed GERD symptoms. I often have SEVERED diarhea to the point where I have needed hospitalization several times over the past few years.
4. I am often nauseous (due to gastritis) and have pain in some portion of my GI tract every minute of every day.
I suggest that you alter your diet. Avoid alcohol (yea, I should NEVER drink but at this juncture the bit of pleasure I get from the buzz outweighs any minimal benefit I get when I don't drink - I gave up drinking the entire time I was competing/modeling and of course, when I was having my girls and I still ended up with the rapid and severe progression. If giving up alcohol would yield a positive result for me - I would do it in a heartbeat). Alcohol will make any GI issues much worse.
Clean up your diet. Try to eat very clean foods - not too many spices - nothing processed. Eat more protein and veggies and slow burning complex carbohydrates. Even if you only eat 2 bites of something good for you and eat 2 more bites every hour on the hour - DO IT. I promise you, you will feel MUCH BETTER!!!
Have little bits of food with you everywhere and eat. A handfull of peanuts, then some carrots with cottage cheese, a chicken salad, etc
I haven't been able to eat a full entree in YEARS. I would eat half, the rest would be breakfast the next morning. Worked out really well when dating as a single mom! LOL
Try to remain active. The more you move about, the more you will inevitably become hungry. The less you move, the less you eat, the more mass you lose, the unhealthier you will become.
I am NOT a doctor, just become proactive about MY specific health issues and MY body.
There is a GREAT doc up in your area... He is the chief of labroscopic surgery at, dammit I can't remember the name of the hospital. It was at the end of the Turnpike... Garth Ballantyne was his name I believe. He is also gastrointeroligist. He really tried to help me, but he couldn't. His last words to me were, "You are an enigma."
I was at my competitive height - uber clean diet - no drinking - very low bf - unbelievable physical shape - no smoking - no drugs yet I had the insides of a sedentary, obese, smoking, alcoholic male.
Go to the doc and see what they tell you.
But if you implement my eating strategies I guarantee you, you will feel better. It will be hard at first, but I promise you, it works.
Also.... I know it will sound flakey, but one of the reasons I have made a switch to aquatic exercise is that the pressure of the water on my midsection actually "massages" my insides and makes me feel better. I get weight-resistance workout and cardio benefit, also less chance for hurt as you warm up naturally and I know enough about what movements to avoid to make sure I do not injure my joints.
If you have any questions or if any one has any other information that might be of use to those of us who suffer from GERD, please share.
But I have genetic issues and certainly not what the average person experiences with combination of passage of time (everyone's body wears out eventually LOL ) and lifestyle.
My Old Grump gets me raw ginger and slices it paper thin then puts it into a jar of pickle juice. I LOVE pickled ginger, and it is much less expensive than a supplement bought in a store and perhaps better for you than a pill from a jar I suppose as you know EXACTLY what you are ingesting. I eat slivers throughout the day and it REALLY HELPS my body to break down food for easier absorption.
I am thinking that your lack of appetite might be from gastritis. Do you often feel nauseous? Gastritis is the inflamation of the wall of your stomach. It is usually covered with a thick mucous lining to protect it from harsh acids. But if your stomach excretes too much acid over the course of time it WILL wear the lining away causing chronic inflamation. Pepto bismol helps coat your stomach but it certainly is only treating a symptom and NOT a cure.
As to why you crave sweets (which are calorie dense foods that occupy very little space)... Your body is trying not to starve. You already eat small quantities of food so naturally you will crave whatever food you can get down that will yield the most amount of calories. Unfortunately this approach is also only a bandaid for a much more severe problem that in the end won't help, but actually harms the situation. You will experience mood swings and crashes in energy levels when your blood sugar plummets from no more energy (no more food in your stomach) once the simple sugars are all gone. More calories from simple sugars = less consistent energy = more calories stored as fat = grumpy, listless, skinnyfat moody unhappy you.
The story of my life, I know it well.
So, what do you do?
Well, my specific issues are caused by a few things.
1. My stomach manufacters too much acid. (I had specific tests to confirm this)
2. My LES valve (the valve that keeps the stomach contents from backing up into the esophagus that does NOT have protective mucous lining) was faulty and would relax thus allowing stomach contents to back up, causing inflamation of my esophagus, permanent damage to my vocal chords, accelerated deterioration of my teeth, often times I can not even swallow my own saliva, forget food... and will inevitably lead to Barrett's syndrome which is a precursor to esophageal cancer for which there is no cure.
3. I have some sort of "absorption disorder" as the lower half of my GI tract failed to function properly once I had a Nissen Fundoplikation to help with my severed GERD symptoms. I often have SEVERED diarhea to the point where I have needed hospitalization several times over the past few years.
4. I am often nauseous (due to gastritis) and have pain in some portion of my GI tract every minute of every day.
I suggest that you alter your diet. Avoid alcohol (yea, I should NEVER drink but at this juncture the bit of pleasure I get from the buzz outweighs any minimal benefit I get when I don't drink - I gave up drinking the entire time I was competing/modeling and of course, when I was having my girls and I still ended up with the rapid and severe progression. If giving up alcohol would yield a positive result for me - I would do it in a heartbeat). Alcohol will make any GI issues much worse.
Clean up your diet. Try to eat very clean foods - not too many spices - nothing processed. Eat more protein and veggies and slow burning complex carbohydrates. Even if you only eat 2 bites of something good for you and eat 2 more bites every hour on the hour - DO IT. I promise you, you will feel MUCH BETTER!!!
Have little bits of food with you everywhere and eat. A handfull of peanuts, then some carrots with cottage cheese, a chicken salad, etc
I haven't been able to eat a full entree in YEARS. I would eat half, the rest would be breakfast the next morning. Worked out really well when dating as a single mom! LOL
Try to remain active. The more you move about, the more you will inevitably become hungry. The less you move, the less you eat, the more mass you lose, the unhealthier you will become.
I am NOT a doctor, just become proactive about MY specific health issues and MY body.
There is a GREAT doc up in your area... He is the chief of labroscopic surgery at, dammit I can't remember the name of the hospital. It was at the end of the Turnpike... Garth Ballantyne was his name I believe. He is also gastrointeroligist. He really tried to help me, but he couldn't. His last words to me were, "You are an enigma."
I was at my competitive height - uber clean diet - no drinking - very low bf - unbelievable physical shape - no smoking - no drugs yet I had the insides of a sedentary, obese, smoking, alcoholic male.
Go to the doc and see what they tell you.
But if you implement my eating strategies I guarantee you, you will feel better. It will be hard at first, but I promise you, it works.
Also.... I know it will sound flakey, but one of the reasons I have made a switch to aquatic exercise is that the pressure of the water on my midsection actually "massages" my insides and makes me feel better. I get weight-resistance workout and cardio benefit, also less chance for hurt as you warm up naturally and I know enough about what movements to avoid to make sure I do not injure my joints.
If you have any questions or if any one has any other information that might be of use to those of us who suffer from GERD, please share.
