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Comment by davzie | Hacker News Reader

I spent 6 years trying everything to solve reflux. I am a relatively fit 35 year old. I tried antacids, PPIs, H2 blockers and these just exacerbated the issue over time.

Eventually after much reading I read that without enough stomach acid, food backs up and causes reflux. It also causes the LES to not close properly. So I started taking Betain HCL and Digestive Enzymes (Solgar ones) before I eat and I can't tell you what a difference it's made. It's so amazing. I get 0 symptoms and I also feel so much better generally.

I honestly encourage you to try this. The medication for this stuff just has it the totally wrong way around. I can't believe this stuff is given out as one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the UK at least.

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I have a vague recollection that I was tested well over a decade ago and the result was that I have really mild stomach acid and/or not enough of it.

Basically if I eat stuff that digests slowly (fats and red meat), it takes my stomach a LONG time to actually break it down and move it forward. If I shove more stuff in there before it's done -> bad time.

I lost over 10kg during the worst episodes in about 9 months, I lived pretty much on rooibos tea (even green tea irritated my reflux), white rice and mildly flavored chicken.

Sounds really awful. Sorry to hear that! I wonder if this would have happened many years ago before modern agriculture and all the awful stuff that is present in our foods. I wonder if our environments are causing this lack of stomach acid / enzymes in people. This can’t surely have been happening when we were hunter / gatherers!

There are theories about how our modern wheat for example is vastly different from what it was 50+ years ago, something in the structure has changed so that there's "more" wheat, but it's just fluff - all the good stuff has been modified out to get the maximum weight of wheat at the cost of quality.

> This can’t surely have been happening when we were hunter / gatherers!

Or it did, and those people died and we no longer have any record of them. That's entirely possible, I suppose.

That implies might be a genetic disposition which would also imply anyone suffering today maybe shouldn’t be here if that mutation died out. I dunno, I’m a software engineer not a geneticist but I just enjoy the thought experiment

Not GP but I also have severe reflux - I've had it years. It's been really bad lately.

In related information I've found that fortified yogurt helps not only my reflux but also improves my mood. But it never seemed to be enough to actually solve the reflux problem.

Just ordered the supplements. Truly hope this solves the problem.

Whoa I just realized that I have a hiatal hernia too. I didn't realize that's what that was. I hope this is a day of solutions!

I’d love to hear if this does solve it for you ! Feel free to reply on here or on my contact page : https://davidt.co.uk

I know this sounds like a hack, but did you ever try taking some apple cider vinegar in water after eating? It's a lifesaver for me, near-instant cure for lack of stomach acid. Has to be the ACV "with mother", the cloudy stuff in it. Maybe no longer relevant if you're already taking Betain HCL (I thought that was a medication at first lol), but I definitely have to mention it in case you may have a natural medication-free alternative available that you may not have tried. Don't take my word for it or anything though, def read up on it if you're interested about it!

Yeah it’s the same mechanism ! The ACC stimulates the stomach to produce loads of acid and enzymes which it is lacking. The supplements I use are basically the same except the enzymes themselves are provided in the form of the digestive enzyme tablets and the Betail HCL with Pepsin is what stimulates the acid production!

Very glad it’s working for you :)

I use apple cider vinegar whenever I get acid reflux. It works but often only for about an hour. Perhaps I should start doing it proactively whenever I eat. How much water do you mix it with? I just take a tablespoon of concentrated vinegar.

I had symptoms of low stomach acid for a while also.

Six months into COVID I hadn't experienced anything at all on what would have been 1-2 monthly flare ups. Once I had the realization I put it all together.

When COVID hit I had restarted taking a multivitamin and some extra iodine (which is involved in stomach acid production, as it turns out). I had thought my diet was pretty healthy, but as it turns out there was something I wasn't getting enough of. I still don't know what. But I keep up with it and I don't have symptoms.

I'll have to try this! I have reflux or heartburn daily if I don't do things right. A few things help me.

1) Don't have an empty stomach. My stomach goes crazy. 2) Don't overeat. Large portions cause it nearly every time. 3) Don't eat anything within 2 hours of bed time.

So, basically, if I eat small meals often I am usually fine. And then there are trigger foods like too much coffee and alcohol and red sauces, and garlic and other things that cause indigestion.

I promise you, I had all this. If you try these supplements I mentioned you will never think about it again. The downside is you end up putting on some weight whilst you get over the fun of being able to eat whatever you want again :)

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