Acid Reflux, anyone?

       Late July of this year, I suffered from a stomach flu. I wasn't feeling right at that time, and I kept on having watery bowels for three straight days. So I self-medicated and had some loperamide. It offered some relief from my frequent visit to the bathroom. But it just did not stop there. 

         After that week, I experienced a lot of discomfort. I felt like there was a ball of air in the lower part of my neck. I'm not feeling any pain, but it was uncomfortable.  My stomach seems to be full of air too. I  kept on belching to take the air out, but nothing  seem to work. Then there also the experienced of water brash or having this excessive saliva in my mouth which made me spit all the time.

          Since I didn't have the time (or the budget) to visit a doctor, I consulted Mr. Google. And he did have the answer to my symptoms. I was actually having an acid-reflux or GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). The more I researched about it, the more scared I got and apparently it was stress-related.  I have always been a stressed-out mom, a junk-food lover, and a soda-lover...really a bad eater. I have never been a vegetable-loving person but I do love fruits. 

           With GERD,  one have to continuously avoid some foods though. You must avoid caffeine, soda, milk, citrus, and spicy foods.  Pastries and sweets must be taken into moderation as well as some dairies. 

            My symptoms were mild, the heartburn I felt was never that painful, only some heaviness in my chest area. I never took those medicine that were supposed to inhibit the acid in our stomach because those medicine also kills the good-bacteria in our gut and makes other bad bacteria thrive. Again, after researching, I found this probiotic that can help our  stomach with its good bacteria. So I tried it first and lo and behold, it worked! For me it did. I took one pill in the morning with at least a hour before my breakfast. And then another pill at night, two hours after dinner. A week of this regimen, and you will have some relief from GERD symptoms. The probiotic that I tried was called OM-X probiotic. It is a potent probiotic made in Japan. It was introduced to me through my daughter's pedia when she started having this tummy aches again this year. In their website, OM-X is said to contain at least 92 plant-based ingredients that has been naturally fermented for three to five years. Though it is a little bit pricey and hard to find in some drugstores here in the Philippines (always out of stock), I believe its still worth a try for GERD sufferers.

          

            GERD is a battle. Specially if you love eating like me. When I was younger and things got a little stressful, I would just grab a bottle of Coke and a pack of chocolates, and there's "happiness" back again and "stress" would just flew out of the window. But not now, I cannot do that anymore. I also miss my morning cup of coffee. The good thing with all of this is that I lost some weight. And I gain the determination and the discipline to avoid junk food and to eat healthier. 

              It's been two months now. Half of this time was being miserable and just crying, and half of it was  acceptance and the will to control my life back.