More on GERD

I've been trying to figure out why my prescription medications for GERD (reflux) stop working after a week or two. Could it be the herbal teas I drink o some food? I'm allergic to regular tea (both black and green) and coffee contributes to heartburn, so I drink mild herb teas. Only a few kinds actually, because many herb teas give me heartburn too.

I read that St. John's Wort might interact with Nexium, so that could have been why the Nexium stopped working for me. But even the experts don't seem sure about whether it really does or not!

What's definite is that St. John's Wort is a strong herb and can cause problems with some medicines. Read about interactions with both herbs and foods here. (The food list contains some surprises, so everyone on prescriptions should be familiar with it.)

I really like the taste of St. Johns Wort tea but I've given it up for now. The only herbal tea I've been able to drink lately has been Burdock Root tea. It's very mild and unfortunately has very little taste. But at least it doesn't seem to contribute to heartburn or nausea.

Meanwhile I've got a new prescription to pick up. This is the fourth one I've tried for GERD. They all make me feel worse than I did before I was diagnosed with GERD! I'm only getting one week's supply this time because wasted prescriptions are costing me a fortune!

PPI Blues

Two months ago I was diagnosed with GERD. It was a surprise to me but it showed up as irritation to the esophagus when I had an endoscopy.

The doctor gave me samples of Nexium. For about three weeks it worked well. I was able to eat a small amount of spicy food without a problem. (Okay, I had a problem with spicy food for a long time, but I didn't think of it as reflux disorder; I just figured I was sensitive to certain spices.)

Then the Nexium stopped working. I started getting nauseous after almost every meal, even non-spicy low-fat meals. So the doctor prescribed Omeprazole, another proton pump inhibitor (PPI).

It worked for a while but then I started getting nauseous again. Funny thing is I felt worse than before I even had the endoscopy! I called the doctor and he said to increase the dose.

That gave me side-effects: constipation and a sore throat. So they changed my prescription to Prevacid. Again, it worked at first. But it stopped and now I'm suffering with nausea and chest pain. Old-fashioned antacids like baking soda help some. But I wish I had never started on the PPI's!

You Can't See Chronic Pain

I came across a couple of websites of interest to people with "invisible" disabilities. One is the Invisible Disabilities Association. The other is But You Don't Look Sick. Thanks to this blog for the links.

Dogs Can Smell Gluten

USA Today spotlights a hardworking gluten-detection service dog.

I don't suppose my dog could do that... it would be useful. But my problem with hidden wheat is in restaurant food, and I can't imagine taking my dog into restaurants.

Obviously gluten has a distinct odor that dogs can detect. Why can't someone develop an instrument that detects it? Of course, if this were practical, the customs service would have instruments to detect all kinds of contraband. Dogs are awesome!

Are You Consuming Too Much Fluoride?

You probably saw the news: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a lowered limit on the amount of fluoride in drinking water because excessive fluoride is causing spots on the teeth of many children. Did you also see the story about fluoride in tea?

A study presented at the 2010 International Association of Dental Research Conference in Spain reported that people who drink too much tea risk their bone health. You can safely drink two to four cups of tea a day, but keep in mind that fluoride can also me found in water and toothpaste so it adds up.

Read the article here.

A Clue about Healing

This may offer a clue as to how placebos (and even regular meds) work:

Fake Pills Can Work Even if Patients Know It.

Personally I can see that the ritual is part of the cure. If a person spends time doing something that is intended to heal, it can be helpful. They are sending a positive message to the mind: "I am working on getting better. I want this illness to leave me."

Herbs and Pregnancy

Herbal medicine is an ancient tradition. Some herbs are pretty strong and we should be cautious with them. Pregnant women should be especially careful.

• Toxic doses of nutmeg are known to induce abortion in pregnant women (note the word toxic... do not try this at home).
• Saffron promotes production of gastric juices. Large doses cause contractions in the smooth muscle of the uterus and may induce abortion. Poisoning is a significant danger when this herb is used to induce abortion.
• Many herbs including parsley are used to cause abortion and have been for centuries. Some are dangerous. See Herbal Contraception and Implantation Inhibitors
• From Medline: Extracts of rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis L., have been used in folk medicine as a diuretic, an emenagogue, an antispasmodic and its aqueous extract does not present toxicity to man, presenting, however, abortive effects. In order to evaluate if this plant induces abortion and/or interferes with the normal development of the concepts, doses of 26 mg were administered to pregnant rats... This result suggests that rosemary extract may present an anti-implantation effect without interfering with the normal development of the concept after implantation.

Women who fear an unintended pregnancy should not take a herbal concoction to avoid implantation without expert advice. Some of the traditional herbs for this purpose are very dangerous. Also, some non-herb supplements are also suspected of having this effect, especially vitamin C in large doses. Read Sister Zeus on this - even this everyday vitamin can have side effects.

Royally Bad Coffee

We signed up for a cruise. I was a little concerned about finding allergy-safe food but with assurances from Royal Caribbean personnel and a choice of three restaurants on board, I felt that I could find adequate food. (However, I did bring a bag filled with snacks just to be sure. )

Since I recently started on a heartburn medication, I was looking forward to being able to drinking decaf coffee with meals. At the first dinner, I had a rude awakening.

My cup of decaf had a scorched, acrid smell. I asked the waiter if any other kind was available. "No madam," he informed me, "All the coffee on the ship is Shattle's Best." That's how he pronounced it, but I knew what he meant.

I asked if another restaurant would have a different brand. I don't care for Seattle coffee, and the so-called "Best" is actually the city's worst, at least in the decaffeinated version. Even if I could get past the odor, the taste is not pleasant and I'll always associate it with the severe chest pain I suffered after drinking it at Burger King.

But no, the entire ship serve's Seattle's Best exclusively. And not only do they not provide coffee makers in the staterooms, they don't allow passengers to bring their own. I imagine I could have got away with bringing in a French press but I did not pack one.

So there I was at the dinner table, horrified with the prospect of spending nine long days on a ship without decent coffee. And when my dinner arrived, it was mediocre. I ate part of it, trying not to look unhappy in front of the strangers we were seated with. But before dessert was served, I made an excuse and left. I made it back to our room before letting the tears of frustration flow.