GERD & Heartburn Support Group

HELLO I TOO HAVE GERD...HERINA AND EROSIONS...I TAKE NEXTUM...IT TOOK AWHILE TO WORK...NOW AFTER BEING ON IT A YEAR ITS SLOWING DOWN AND MY GERD IS ACTING UP BIG TIME...I ALSO HAVE ACID IN MY THROAT ALSO LUMP FEELING... ITS TERRIBLE...WISHING YOU THE BEST..YOU ARE DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS :)

JDoll, I am so very sorry to read that life seems to have thrown such an incredibly tough challenge at you. My heart goes out to you and I will pray that with time you will gradually become better and better to the point that you will no longer need the chemo and all these nasty GI symptoms will also go away.
May I make some suggestions? I have spent quite a bit of time in the past volunteering at old age homes where so many of these elderly folks - just like you - due to chemo, their GI system was also totally out of whack and many of them had sores, tears at the corners of their mouths and a whole wide variety of really painful symptoms.
While I do not live in the USA, I do believe though that you most certainly will find whatever products we have here except that it might come with a different name.
I do suggest though that you first run any suggestions I make by your own oncologist to get his okay even though all the elderly folks here who were on the products I am going to mention - in every case they got full consent from their oncologist so I don't believe their should be a clash.
First off, try to get yourself to a really good health shop and buy yourself the best possible brand of Ginger capsules you can find. (Zingeber Officinale.)
For average people with perhaps only very light acidity problems, drinking one or two ginger capsules daily is recommended but for people post chemo still dealing with major acidic burn issues, the oncologists here suggest drinking at least 3 capsules daily - preferably with meals.
There is a product also available at all good health food stores here made by a German company called A.Vogel. It is called MULTIFORCE ALKALINE POWDER. For people with excess acid and major GI issues, getting one heaped teaspoon per day swished in a bit of water is recommended except that again, for post chemo folks, they recommend 3 teaspoons taken 3 times daily and if possible, swish it around inside your mouth as long as you can as the mineral content of this product works wonders on mouth sores, mouth ulcers and the achy, burning feeling in the throat.
I will write down just what this product contains so that even if you cannot find the exact same one - you most likely will find the equivalent.
Each teaspoon full contains:

Magnesiumhydrogenium phosphate 244mg
Calcium citrate 145 mg
Potassium bicarbonate 783 mg
Magnesium citrate 870 mg
Potassium citrate 870 mg
Diccalciumphosphate 2-hydrate 973 mg
Organic plant calcium
Acerola extract
Mannitol

It's very important to get 3 daily doses of this powdered mineral supplement as when taken in tablet/solid form, it often is only broken down while exiting the stomach which stops the body from gaining the full benefit of taking it in powdered form.

I won't write everything but it says this much....
This alkaline powder will bring sustained balance to the body as a whole. Typical acidic conditions such as arthritis, rheumatism, circulatory ailments, GI hyper acidity....
Multiforce Alkaline Powder can be used to assist the body in neutralizing acid levels which is the cause of heartburn, aching joints......

I might just add that when my mom had breast cancer years ago - due to chemo and radiation, her acidity was also sky high and her mouth and throat was covered in sores. From the time that I discussed with her oncologist to include this on my moms prescription (she is a very ornery, stubborn woman) - she started drinking this and the change was remarkable. (Once her chemo and radiation was over and the gastric issues calmed down, she also stopped drinking this.)
I won't go into my own story but you will find it on the Gerd/Heartburn section. I had MAJOR pain and discomfort for *years* which no one seemed to be able to diagnose and I was on 120 mg's of the P.P.I. Pantaloc daily! That is a huge dose!
I radically changed my diet, also started with the ginger tablets, drink one tablet of PH BALANCE 3 x daily PLUS also drink the Multiforce Alkaline Powder daily.
I am happy to report that as of the middle of April, I took my last 20 mg's of Pantaloc and have not had the need to take it any longer.
You might also like to try keeping some freshly made boiled water with some tablespoons of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR in the fridge and drink it if you can, or use it as a mouth rinse several times per day.
Just NOT normal grape vinegar! That will burn your insides! ONLY APPLE VINEGAR will do. It is also one of the cheapest, most wonderful mouth, throat and stomach alkalizers so if you feel up to it - give it a try mixed in with water. Bottled, mineral water of course in your case and people with hyper-acidity is the way to go - just not the fizzy kind.....
Okay, well, I hope that perhaps something in all of that might have been useful to you. I wish you strength and a speedy recovery - I am pulling for you!