Burn Baby Burn - Heartburn Inferno!

OMG!  I have never, never, never, never, EVER had heartburn or acid reflux in my life.  That is until tonight! It was one of the worst things I have ever experienced.  I seriously thought I was going to choke, fall out and die.  No kidding.  It hit me out of nowhere.  I was walking through the grocery store after having dinner at a nearby restaurant just 10 minutes prior to the episode.  I got ready to say something to the clerk when all of a sudden the Great Chicago Fire erupted in my chest and throat.  I was paralyzed physically and verbally.  I couldn't move, I couldn't speak.  I began gasping and trying to swallow, but the burning sensation nearly caused me to blackout.  Tears welled up in my eyes and all I could think what the heck is happening to me?  Within about 90 seconds, what felt like a never-ending burning sensation subsided and I slowly was able to breathe and speak without gasping for air.  I began to swallow and dry the tears from my face.  It then hit me - you just had an episode of acid reflux!  Wow!  I had heard of people having this, I've seen commercials for over-the-counter treatments but never had to deal with it personally.  Even as a health coach, I haven't had any clients that report having acid reflux.  And tell you the truth, I hope I never do!  That's not to say I wouldn't welcome them to the Rite Choice Nutrition family - I just never want anyone to experience what I went through and I am going to make sure it does not happen to me again.

Time for a quick medical lesson:

What Is Acid Reflux Disease?

The fabulous staff at WebMD helped me to understand what acid reflux is.  Without getting too technical, it's basically when stomach acid moves up into your esophagus.  This happens when a ring of muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter or LES for short doesn't close all the way or opens too often when food passes through it.

 

What Causes Acid Reflux Disease?

Ok, now that I understood that, I had to figure out what causes it.  I was shocked to learn there are so many things that can lead to acid reflux.  Some of the common risk factors include:

• Eating large meals or lying down right after a meal
• Being overweight or obese
• Eating a heavy meal and lying on your back or bending over at the waist
• Snacking close to bedtime
• Eating certain foods, such as citrus, tomato, chocolate, mint, garlic, onions, or spicy or fatty foods
• Drinking certain beverages, such as alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, or tea
• Smoking
• Being pregnant
• Taking aspirin, ibuprofen, certain muscle relaxers, or blood pressure medications

 

 

As you can see, I highlighted a few of the risk factors. That's because these are the ones I believe sparked my episode. Starting backwards, I took ibuprofen a few hours before dinner and I am still taking a daily, low dose of blood pressure medicine - per doctor's orders for the next 3 months. I drank both coffee and tea earlier in the day. And I ate just about everything mentioned in the list of food except mint. Oh, but now that I think of it, I did have some mint flavored chewing gum too! Oy ve! The fatty food was my weekly splurge - which was fried onion strings with jalapeno peppers. Yummy, but I think I won't indulge in them for a while after what just happened.

 

What Are the Symptoms of Acid Reflux Disease?

In case you can't relate to the description of the symptoms I had, here are some other common one\:

• Heartburn: a burning pain or discomfort that may move from your stomach to your abdomen or chest, or even up into your throat
• Regurgitation: a sour or bitter-tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth

Other symptoms of acid reflux disease include:

• Bloating
• Bloody or black stools or bloody vomiting
• Burping
• Dysphagia -- a narrowing of your esophagus, which creates the sensation of food being stuck in your throat
• Hiccups that don't let up
• Nausea
• Weight loss for no known reason
• Wheezing, dry cough, hoarseness, or chronic sore throat

These symptoms surprised me as well - because I dismissed them and related them to something else.  Good reminder to not to that.  There's a reason why something happens and it is not always what we think it is.

How Is Acid Reflux Disease Diagnosed?

Here's the deal friends:  If you have acid reflux symptom two or more times a week, it's probably a good idea to make an appointment to see a doctor.  That is a feeling I would want to have twice in a lifetime, let alone more than twice a week!  Of course there are several medication on the market to treat the problem, but being a holistic practitioner, I seek natural remedies first.  Avoiding the triggers is what I always do first.  Then I'll look for an alternative treatment and if all else fails, I turn to meds temporarily while still avoiding the triggers.  Lifestyle changes are key when fighting any sickness or disease.  If this doesn't work or if your symptoms become more severe, you physician may need to test and check for other problems.

The road to living healthy and wealthy can sometimes be a little bumpy.  And as the old saying goes, you play with fire, you'll eventually get burned.  In my case it was heartburn!  Well, I let my guard down and even though I was mostly enjoying healthy foods, I probably overdid it with spicy meals (I just love spice) and the citrus too (lime, orange, pineapple).  Those are some of my favorite fruits to squeeze over veggies, salads and whole-grains.  Guess I'll have to make some modifications along the way and pay more attention to food combinations.  I like things hot, but that was way too hot for me!

Take care everyone.  Until next time - keep investing in your health and wealth.  Leave me a message here on the blog and tell me about how you're depositing into your account.  You can also follow me on Facebook.  Peace!