Ever heard of Red Tea, known also as Rooibos tea (pronounced like “roy-bos”)?  It means Red Bush in Afrikaan.  Is a natually caffeine free herbal tea.  But its different from all those fruity (read acidy) herbal teas.  It comes in different flavors (my favorite is Good Cape Hope Vanilla by The Republic of Tea.)  It tastes richer than other herbal tea so you don’t feel quite as cheated when you can’t have a cup of coffee.  Drink it English style wiht a little milk or cr... Read Full Story

With the onset of middle age I’ve had an increase in stomach fat.  In fact it seems that all of my weight gain has been through my middle.  Most of what you read says this is not good from the perspective of many diseases (heart disease, diabetes, etc.)  I am also wondering if the increased fat may be contributing to GERD symptoms. My GERD started right about the time I started putting on more stomach fat.  This was the kind of fat that is around the internal organs, not just a spare ti... Read Full Story

Slowly, over time, I’ve discovered little things (diet-wise) I can get away with.  Its good news on the one hand and not so good on the other.  I now know what causes only mild problems for me and I’m over eating those things.  Because of that, I’ve gained back all 15 lbs that I lost after my original diagnosis.  The weight is bad enough.  But the extra pounds have worsened my symptoms.    So, I’ve come full circle.  I need to know take my own advice and dial back my e... Read Full Story

I haven’t had any alcohol since July 2008 when I was diagnosed with GERD.  Its always been something I could give or take.  However, I did enjoy a nice glass of wine or a marguerita with the girls periodically.  Once I had things a little bit under control (last month) I decided to try a glass of white wine.  Wow, big mistake.  It really burned!  So,  I assumed that alcohol was permanently out of the picture. This weekend I was out with a friend for dinner and decided I would try a marg... Read Full Story

I went to my doctor today with excitement in my step.  I was going to finally get a perscription for the GERD medicine that works best for me.  As I said in my previous post, I tried ALL the different meds available due to the generosity of my doctor and her samples.  Prevacid was the winner.  But there was a big BUT.  United Healthcare won’t cover Prevacid.  They only cover:  Aciphex which only comes in a 20 mg version and stops working by mid-afternoon Zegerid which has sodium bicarb... Read Full Story

Well, I think I’ve tried all the PPI’s now.  My gastro gave me 10 day samples of each brand to try.  She wanted to help me figure out which wone worked the best so that I could possible save some money.  I had been taking Zegerid to help with GERD and cure an ulcer.  It worked great on my ulcer, but made it hard to “go” if you know what I mean.  I’ve now tried Prevacid, Aciphex, Zegerid, Protonix, Nexium and Zegerid.  Protonix was the worst.  It was as if I wasn&... Read Full Story

Lately, I’ve started getting hits on several of my blogs from a site caled Alphainventions.com. Evidently, it picks up recently updated blogs somehow and has a running window that displays blogs. Pretty cool. If you have a blog, check it out        Read Full Story

If you are cooking for the family and the meat dish isn’t exactly GERD friendly, I have an idea for you.  This also works for anyone who is cooking for one and is a bit lazy about cooking.  What’s the idea?  Shrimp! Most mainline grocery stores ( I use Kroger) or gourmet food stores (Whole Foods, Fresh Market) carry frozen jumbo shrimp that you can buy by the pound.  Now, I’m not talking about the prepackaged kind next to the fish sticks (yuck!)  These are flash frozen and w... Read Full Story

You’ve probably already experienced it, even if you don’t realize it.  Stress makes GERD worse!  Heck just thinking about GERD can make it worse.  Its a viscious cycle.  So, lets talk about some ideas for reducing stress. EXERCISE: Walking:  this is one of the easiest forms of exercise.  It requires no special equipment beyond a good walking shoe and you don’t have to have an expensive gym membership!  Walking in yhour own neighborhood is just fine.  Just do it every day. ... Read Full Story

After struggling with various slant pillows for months I finally went to look at adjustable beds. I had trouble with sliding down off the slant pillows, back pain from the pressure on my tailbone and sliding down the mattress when I had blocks under the feet of the bed. I always thought adjustable beds were only for the elderly. But, these are actually now sort of a luxury item. I’m not talking about the sleep number kind of bed. This is a bed that can have the head and/or foot of the m... Read Full Story