• Log in with Facebook Log in with Twitter Log In with Google      Sign In    
  • Create Account
  LongeCity
              Advocacy & Research for Unlimited Lifespans

Photo
- - - - -

Antibiotics to treat GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease)?


  • Please log in to reply
15 replies to this topic

#1 j03

  • Guest
  • 592 posts
  • -46
  • Location:...

Posted 17 May 2009 - 06:20 AM


I have GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). Twice in the last six months I have had to use antibiotics. One thing I have noticed is that my GERD got better during those times. I'm currently in my 4th day of using Azithromycin, and yesterday morning i awoke without a sore throat.

I have seen a specialist, and had the camera shoved down just recently, and the doctor said everything was fine, and he didn't spot any ulcers.

What else could it be? Why would a course of antibiotics be helping this?

#2 j03

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
  • 592 posts
  • -46
  • Location:...

Posted 17 May 2009 - 06:27 AM

And i might add: I had a few drinks last night, and due to the resultant drunkenness I ate 3 turkey sandwich's, and a whole bunch of fruit about 30 minutes before bed. That would normally cause serious havoc on my stomach/esophagus, especially the beer and huge meal late at night. But i woke up and there was nothing.

And i had an endoscopy less than a month ago. I did it specifically to see if i had a ulcer (I believed it was this because of it being cured during the first antibiotic treatment), and the doctor assured me there was nothing.

opinions?

sponsored ad

  • Advert
Click HERE to rent this advertising spot for SUPPLEMENTS (in thread) to support LongeCity (this will replace the google ad above).

#3 StrangeAeons

  • Guest, F@H
  • 732 posts
  • 6
  • Location:Indiana

Posted 17 May 2009 - 06:31 AM

It would be helpful to know what the azithromycin was for.
Also, have you ever been on probiotics?

EDIT: random idea, have yet to verify it but: if you're already on a PPI like Nexium, it's conceivable the antibiotic might have interfered with its clearance and therefore increased the levels of it in your system. Just a thought.

Edited by StrangeAeons, 17 May 2009 - 06:33 AM.


#4 smithx

  • Guest
  • 1,433 posts
  • 451

Posted 17 May 2009 - 06:35 AM

As I've mentioned before when this came up, my GERD was put into remission after 8 weeks of taking triphala.

The brand I use is Triphala Gold, about 4 pills (two twice a day), but other brands would probably work well too.

#5 j03

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
  • 592 posts
  • -46
  • Location:...

Posted 17 May 2009 - 06:38 AM

It would be helpful to know what the azithromycin was for.
Also, have you ever been on probiotics?


I might have sinusitis, so the doctor gave me that prescription. The antibiotics i was taking before were different, and I couldn't name it. It was for bronchitis at that time.

I've been taking probiotics during the day recently (I take the antibiotic at night), to offset the side-effects of the antibiotics. I took them before (probiotics for the GERD), and felt no benefits I recall.

Edit to answer your edit: I stopped taking proton pump inhibitors because they were making me photophobic. I now only take Pepcid, but i don't know if that matters with your scenario

Edited by j03, 17 May 2009 - 06:45 AM.


#6 Jay

  • Guest
  • 406 posts
  • 22
  • Location:New York

Posted 17 May 2009 - 04:35 PM

You might have had H pylori, which generally lowers the acid level in the stomach but, nonetheless, can cause reflux symptoms in some people. The antibiotic that you're on can kill H pylori.

By the way, it's not clear that H pylori is worth killing. It may be protective against Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. On the down side, it is associated with a substantial increase in risk for getting stomach cancer. However, I read a theory recently that h pylori's mutagenic damage might occur in the inital phase of infection, with the result that killing it later doesn't help lower the risk of stomach cancer.

Anyway, don't mean to worry you -- even if you had h pylori, your risk is still quite low. You might want to opt for endoscopic surveillance every few years (once in your 40s, say) just to be sure.

#7 Matt

  • Guest
  • 2,862 posts
  • 149
  • Location:United Kingdom
  • NO

Posted 17 May 2009 - 04:56 PM

Active Manuka Honey 10 UMF (rowse is a good brand I use) PLease read this
http://www.rowsehone...a-honey-science

"Digestive Health

Countless thousands of individuals all over the world have reported that Manuka honey has been effective in dealing with a range of digestive disorders. Research at the University of Waikato has demonstrated how efficiently Manuka honey neutralises heliobacter pylori. This bacterium, which infects various areas of the stomach lining, is proven to be the root cause of gastritis, peptic ulceration and gastric cancer.(2) Heliobacter pylori colonisation is caused by prescription antibiotic over-use, smoking, excessive caffeine intake, and from ingesting contaminated food and drink. It is estimated that 50% of the Uk UK population are infected with heliobacter pylori. (3) How does Manuka neutralise this insidious bacterium? Most honeys cannot survive dilution by the body’s gastric juices, but Manuka honey, with its unique non-Peroxide activity, not only survives dilution, but becomes more potent in the stomach and duodenum, thus making it an effective weapon against unwelcome bacteria in the digestive tract (4)

(2) Marshall BJ (1983). "Unidentified curved bacillus on gastric epithelium in active chronic gastritis". Lancet 1 (8336): 1273–1275. PMID 6134060.

(3) www.eurosurveillance.org

(4) al-Somal N et al, 1994, Susceptibility of Heliobacter pylori to the antibacterial activity of Manuka honey"



IT 'CURED' my GERD. I had to take it 3x per day. I put it on a small bit of toast about 30 - 60 minutes before a meal and used it at bed time to coat the throat. It not only cured the gastritis I was getting, but my swallowing problems from the GERD completely went away. It used to feel like food was getting stuck in my throat. You have to use the manuka honey for at least 3 months. It actually started to work within a day though because I had this stomach pressure feeling for weeks and by the next morning this feeling went away after I got the honey. I now have some every day for prevention :) #

Has to be " MANUKA HONEY" not regular.

Edited by Matt, 17 May 2009 - 04:59 PM.


#8 nameless

  • Guest
  • 2,268 posts
  • 137

Posted 17 May 2009 - 05:50 PM

The H. Pylori theory seems to make sense. Unless you just happened to have a throat infection at the same time as sinustits/bronchitis, and that's why your throat felt better.

Matt -- Approx how much is your daily intake of honey? Tablespoon, half a tablespoon? And have you ever tried Wedderspoon or YS Organic and gotten decent results?

Not sure if I have acid reflux (tested by endo previously and was told probably not), but I do get the occasional sore throat and have a somewhat sensitive stomach, so thought it may be worth trying. I can't find Rowse over here and it's hard to find any brand locally, so I may need to order online. Those two above brands are available from vitacost and swanson's, but I don't know which is considered better.

#9 bgwithadd

  • Guest
  • 820 posts
  • 16

Posted 17 May 2009 - 08:07 PM

Probiotics did nothing for me, either. If drugs don't help, it usually means LOW stomach acid, which is actually worse than high stomach acid and doctors seem dumbfounded by it as well. A lot of things can cause gerd and getting tested for h pylori and candida are probably the best first steps, but for me ashwagandha worked well.

#10 Matt

  • Guest
  • 2,862 posts
  • 149
  • Location:United Kingdom
  • NO

Posted 17 May 2009 - 09:18 PM

Another thing that helped was my green smoothies, which you can read on my blog (just go to my website on my imminst profile). I've never heard of those honeys. You need specifically 'manuka' honey. It is from New Zealand bee hives. Just do a search on Manuka Honey digestive health on google or something. There are plenty of brands out there. Just make sure you're not getting standard regular honey.

I now just take 1 tbsp before going to bed as prevention. But for at least two months I must have had 1 tea spoon 3 x a day... at the start it was one tablespoon 3x a day. Got to make sure you spread it on a bit of bread or toast so it stays in the stomach longer. Honestly it really does help if you have gastritis or GERD related problems.

Edited by Matt, 17 May 2009 - 09:19 PM.


#11 nameless

  • Guest
  • 2,268 posts
  • 137

Posted 17 May 2009 - 09:25 PM

I've never heard of those honeys. You need specifically 'manuka' honey. It is from New Zealand bee hives. Just do a search on Manuka Honey digestive health on google or something. There are plenty of brands out there. Just make sure you're not getting standard regular honey.

Thanks for the info. Those honeys I mentioned are just brand names and they are both Manuka. I just didn't know if some brands are better than others.

Edited by nameless, 17 May 2009 - 09:26 PM.


#12 bgwithadd

  • Guest
  • 820 posts
  • 16

Posted 18 May 2009 - 12:14 AM

Oh, and I did try the honey and it seems very soothing. Of course I don't really have issues any more so it's more difficult to make any judgements.

#13 j03

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
  • 592 posts
  • -46
  • Location:...

Posted 18 May 2009 - 12:45 AM

I wanted to try Manuka Honey awhile ago after reading some positive reviews for GERD, and infections, but it was like $35 for a tiny little jar of it. It's not the cheapest supplement out there, but that's to do with the the economics of supply and shipping from New Zealand.

bgwithadd: I take the Now brand Ashwaganda 450 MG twice daily, sometimes three times for the adaptogen effects. I've been using it for over two months now, and my GERD is the same.

I think Glutamine might have helped a bit. Liquid pro-biotics might have help as well. Rabeprazole worked good for awhile, but it wasn't without side-effects for me. Pepcid works OK right now. But even on the PPI, and Pepcid, I awoke with a sore throat. It reduced the severity though, but they still didn't stop all the reflux. Really, only the last couple days are the only times in recent memory i haven;t woken up with a sore throat from the reflux.

P.S. The antibiotic i took before was Biaxin

Edited by j03, 18 May 2009 - 01:35 AM.


#14 j03

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
  • 592 posts
  • -46
  • Location:...

Posted 18 May 2009 - 09:46 PM

So h pylori and candida are what I should mention to my doctor after i tell him the antibiotics helped the GERD?

Any other possibilities?

Is it possible i do have an ulcer, but it wasn't picked up during the endoscopy?

#15 FunkOdyssey

  • Guest
  • 3,443 posts
  • 166
  • Location:Manchester, CT USA

Posted 18 May 2009 - 10:12 PM

Not candida, that is not killed by antibiotics.

sponsored ad

  • Advert
Click HERE to rent this advertising spot for SUPPLEMENTS (in thread) to support LongeCity (this will replace the google ad above).

#16 StrangeAeons

  • Guest, F@H
  • 732 posts
  • 6
  • Location:Indiana

Posted 19 May 2009 - 05:54 AM

The test for H. pylori is the urea breath test. They give you some "juice" to drink, then 15 minutes later you blow into a bag. Pretty ease as lab tests go. If you have H. pylori, then it will metabolize the juice differently and the metabolites will show up in your breath.

And Funk is right, on account of the fact that candida is a fungus, not a bacteria.




1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users