My mother-in-law takes a PPI and is having problems with esophagus

[Jennifer72]

She’s concerned she might be getting Barrets. She coughs a lot and gets mucas as a result from the acid indigestion. Her doctor mention something about a sleeve on the esophagus as a solution.

Sounds really scary. I’ve read here and there that PPI’s actually cause the problem with acid indigestion / ulcers to worsen? That it is actually a lack of stomach acid that is the problem?

I’ve had acid indigestion in the past and I take 1 tbsp of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar with some water and it gets rid of it. So it does seem like it could actually be a lack of stomach acid.

She eats the Standard American Diet, but tries to keep the grains to a minimum. Without suggesting she radically change her diet to KETO, which I don’t think is very possible since she is very set in her ways, is there a book I could recommend to her about solving her problem by improving her gut and getting off PPI?

Like should she taper off the PPI, use apple cider vinegar for the acid rebound (withdrawl symptom) and take probitioc capsules along with active yogurt , & prebiotic fibers like raw potatoes? Is her problem due to have an obliterated gut microbiome?

I guess I need a book recommendation for some functional medicine book that advocates a healthy diet, which isn’t specifically keto, that can help her resolve her problems. A book which can help her rebuild her gut microbiome and recover from PPI usage. Just want to get rid of her stomach acid. She isn’t terribly insulin resistant so she seems to tolerate a diet higher carbs than I ever could.

Any suggestions?

[BeStill]

Has her gastro doctor tested her for food allergies? Pre-keto I would get silent reflux, literally just burning acid into my mouth and even sinuses out of seemingly nowhere. One of the worst culprits was peanut butter, it was the first sign of an allergy I was unaware of that developed as an adult. If I have gluten, within minutes I am trying to clear my throat (mucus, etc) and bread was a major cause of reflux for me. Paprika and tomatoes, also developed an allergy to and before it was severe, I would present with reflux. Two of our children had severe allergy to cows milk and their only presentation was reflux and constipation. There are some serious physical abnormalities that can cause reflux (where the flap is unable to close as it should) and diet will not fix that, but otherwise it’s mostly diet related and eased by dietary changes.

[David_Stilley]

I have a hiatial hernia and have suffered from GERD forever it seems like. I took omeprazole for years and pepcid and or tums for years too. I hoped keto would help the GERD issue but the best I have been able to do after trying to stop omeprazole twice now is taking it every other day and occasionally every day or skipping several days sometimes but the burn always returns eventually. You have to deal with this because if it certain things that are causing the problem like a physical defect making stomach acid stronger seems to make it worse and can lead to esophageal cancer after years. Sorry for your mom’s health issues and dilemma. There is not a clear answer without all medical issues considered.