So I had a massive heartburn attack in August and was diagnosed with GERD. No more pizza, coffee and chocolate.

[ificandream]

So I can no longer have tomatoes, tomato sauce (I'm Italian), coffee and chocolate, among other things. This really sucks. I'm surviving (and have actually lost a little weight), but part of me is sad.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I'm so sorry to hear this, my dear ificandream . . .

Of course you're sad. You're giving up a big part of your identity, your heritage. It's a huge change.

Perhaps you could talk to a dietician about these changes and see if there's something you can do?

[AntivaxHunters]

2. Have you tried low acidic versions of those foods?

[50 Shades Of Blue]

3. My sympathies! GERD is awful!

I have it too but my trigger is mostly stress, not food. What I didn't know until I was diagnosed with it is that GERD can have all kinds of symptoms (I once had chest pains so bad I once went to the ER! Nope, not a heart attack - GERD!). Living with GERD has been a real and sometime scary education.I hope yours is under control now!

[LuvLoogie]

4. Hopefully you can recover and fortify

your gut health to the point you might be able to enjoy that stuff once in a while.

In the meantime, take care.

[marybourg]

5. I know that some people who can't have

tomato sauce have developed a recipe for sauce made from carrots. They say they can’t even tell the difference. It’s on line.

[ificandream]

22. Have to look for that one. Thanks.

[KPN]

6. Ouch! I had GERD pretty bad about 11 or 12 years ago. I also gave up eating all of those

things -- for a while until I got it back in control. I eat them all now. But I also switched to more of a Mediterranean-like diet. I don't eat much meat aside from fish. That seems to be the ticket for me. Once in a while I get some acid reflux (GERD?) when I eat too much especially too late at night, but I can manage that by cutting back a bit on red wine and chocolate (replacing the wine with herbal tea for a day or two), and using other things daily that helped me with GERD like Bragg's Unpasturized Apple Cider Vinegar (2 TBS in a 12 ounce glass of water), crystallized ginger, and fennel seeds (these last two helped with heartburn/acid reflux symptoms through the day -- took when needed). Haven't had any major recurrence of GERD in those 11-12 years. I'd have a really hard time foregoing chocolate, coffee, tomatoes/good pasta sauce, red wine, etc. It has worked really well for me so thought I'd share.

Oh yeah, Prilosec worked really well, but I avoid pharmaceuticals whenever I can -- which is most of the time.

[ificandream]

23. I'm on Weight Watchers and I eat basically chicken and fish (shrimp).

Sometimes veggie burgers. Lots of salads and fruits and veggies. Don't drink. Don't eat more than a few hours before bedtime. And I take protonix twice a day. So I've been doing pretty good so far.

[Lochloosa]

7. Black Pepper is a huge trigger for my wife.

I've learned to cook without it. I cook with a lot of Cajun seasonings now. Cayenne and other peppers don't bother her, I just have to be careful with the heat.

[multigraincracker]

8. I've lived with it for over it for

over 30 years. Also Barrett’s Esophagus. Take my Omeprazole every morning. If I forget, my stomach reminds me by noon. I get it scoped every 4 years and it has actually improved a little.
Eat to live. Don’t live to eat. I’ve had 4 friend die from esophagus cancer.

[MOMFUDSKI]

9. I have been taking Prilosec for years and

know exactly how you feel. Can’t remember last time I made spaghetti and meatballs. I sometimes try to eat foods on the forbidden list and never know if my tummy can handle it. I do still have 2 cups of half-caf coffee every morning because NOBODY is taking my coffee away from me! Lol. So I am on a not so fun merry go round. Best wishes to you. You are not alone.

[justaprogressive]

10. No you still can in moderation...

You need Famotidine..

Famotidine, sold under the brand name Pepcid among others, is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist medication that decreases stomach acid production.[3] It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.[3] It is taken by mouth or by injection into a vein.[3] It begins working within an hour.[3]

Common side effects include headache, intestinal upset, and dizziness.[3] Serious side effects may include pneumonia and seizures.[3][4] Use in pregnancy appears safe but has not been well studied, while use during breastfeeding is not recommended.[5]

Famotidine was patented in 1979 and came into medical use in 1985.[6] It is available as a generic medication.[4] In 2020, it was the 66th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 10 million prescriptions.[7][8]

My wife uses it and enjoys all the things you list...

[MOMFUDSKI]

27. I augment Prilosec with famotidine.

The old ranitidine worked much better but they took it off the market due to cancer-causing ingredient.

[Duppers]

29. Used to take it.

Wondered why it was removed.

Thankfully, my stomach is a lot better now.

[EYESORE 9001]

11. Among the foods you mention, chocolate is the only one that causes problems for me

Even then, it’s not a problem unless I have it close to bedtime. Lying down really increases likelihood of acid reflux. Eating smaller quantities has decreased the frequency of nocturnal acid reflux as well. When I followed an ‘intermittent fasting’ routine, where I didn’t eat past some time around 6 PM, the need for antacids disappeared entirely.

[NJCher]

32. this is the answer

What's the big deal? Just eat small amounts throughout the day, as eyesore says here, and stop eating a good long time before bedtime.

There are so many reasons--even aside from GERD--to do this. A good night's sleep is a big one. Here's an excellent article:

https://www.powerofpositivity.com/scientists-explain-why-you-should-never-eat-late-at-night/Scientists Explain Why You Should Never Eat Late At Night
]
If you don't have time to read the whole thing, just read the bullet points.

[Basic LA]

12. I'm still able to have one cup of coffee.

I used to have 2 cups a day. No good for the Gerd. But when I tried to give up coffee cold turkey, I got painful (leg) muscle aches. Coffee withdrawals are a thing, who knew?

[LudwigPastorius]

13. NOOooooo!

Spag sauce coffee and chocolate are staples.

[Funtatlaguy]

14. I also have GERD. I take a daily PANTOPRAZOLE pill.

Works great. No other pills worked for me.
Prescription, once daily 40mg
I’m also Italian and I now eat all of the pizza and chocolate I want.

[ificandream]

24. Taking pantoprazole twice a day. Haven't had any major attacks recently.

[Fiendish Thingy]

15. No medication?

I’ve used rabeprazole (aka aciphex) for 20+ years, and can eat most of what I want- pizza, chocolate, mildly spicy foods, etc without symptoms. I couldn’t take Prilosec or Prevacid because of GI side effects.

I never drank coffee, and I steer clear of most onions, as they still seem to be a trigger, but tomatoes are ok most of the time.

[ificandream]

25. Protonix twice a day. Seems to be helping.

[tanyev]

16. Have you tried an elimination diet to try to identify your specific triggers?

Basically you eat only safe bland foods for a few days plus one thing you suspect. If you don’t react to that item, it might be okay. Then you keep going with the bland diet and add in something else. Not the most exciting way to eat, but worth it if you can isolate specific triggers.

I finally figured out that bell peppers were the main cause of my issues. Avoiding them helped immensely. A few years later I reluctantly gave up dairy, which was worth it when I realized that I was feeling better than I had in years.

A couple things have popped up recently that have me eyeing gluten. Yeah, I’m a lot of fun at restaurants.

[ificandream]

26. When the attack hit, I was eating a lot of things that might have been the cause.

Coffee, chocolate, spicy dressings were three. Can't remember them all. Not touching them anymore.

[tavernier]

17. Sleep on your left side if you are having them at night.

It makes a difference.

[Bluethroughu]

18. I was having issues, I'm Italian also...

I can only eat big beefy tomatoes. No onions unless they are walla walla, just a little chocolate and blonde roast coffee. Pizza with no garlic and no cheap cheese.

I keep peppermint tea close by.

It's tough out here. I understand.

[usonian]

19. Losing weight helped me.

Apparently, the excess "me" was pushing acids up.
And losing weight is good for the joints, as well.
Getting calmer always helps, of course.
When things were going "badly" as reflected on DU, I blocked a lot of terms.
I may do so again.

Good luck, and try some white sauces (but not too rich!). I am doing so partly because tomato sauce is really hard to clean.

Coffee and chocolate are stimulants.
Not sure if decaf and carob are good substitutes.
I like Peet's decaf. It's water-processed, so no benzene or whatever, and they roast it extra to make up for the water process.

[NJCher]

33. decaf

Not sure if decaf and carob are good substitutes.

I mix chicory (ordered from Amazon--Worldwide Botanicals French Chicory) and a supermarket decaf. It tastes really good but these days I actually am drinking dark Chinese tea more instead of this. It's been found that the dark Chinese tea has quite a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels.

There's another decaf called French Quarter which has half decaf and half chicory. It's also available from Amazon.

I've tried buying these items from the local supermarkets but you just can't get them. Not even Whole Foods carries them.

I'd be interested to hear if others have used carob as a substitute for chocolate. Now that chocolate has been found to have high levels of lead and metals, I've discontinued it.

[usonian]

35. Interesting.

Chicory (aster family) grew wild in New England, common names include cornflower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory
It’s related to radicchio and curly endive and escarolle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicchio

https://food52.com/hotline/38117-what-plant-is-chicoria-the-green-italians-revere-but-the-rest-of-the-world-disregards-as-a-weed

That said, it’s a decent coffee substitute. I may have tried it once.
It was used more in the depression and WWII, when things were in short supply.

Just musing (I like growing things). No idea about carob.

Good luck. Trader Joe’s discontinued their dark nonpareil chocolates (but not dark chocolate bars) but you can get them in other grocery stores. I think it’s because they were sued on this particular product and others weren’t.

I can’t give any solid advice, so rely on sources you trust.

[NJCher]

34. carob

I'm so curious as to whether this could be a substitute for chocolate.
I researched it and found that carob tastes nothing like chocolate. However, many people like it better. It has numerous health benefits that chocolate doesn't have; no caffeine, for one.

Tomorrow I am going to shop for ingredients for a coconut-carob bar. It looks a lot like chocolate, which tends to go a long way in satisfying certain cravings. I'll prol'ly post my results on the dinner thread sometime in the next few days.

[usonian]

36. I tried substituting gingerbread for my chocolate addiction.

I may be worse for all I know. And the mix makes so much that it spoils before I can make a dent in it. I suppose I should refrigerate it or freeze it. So, that experiment has gone nowhere. I figure that the strong flavor might substitute. But that’s just a wild guess. Other strong flavors I like are orange and lemon.

I really limit all things, or try to.

Italians use laurel leaf (bay) as a seasoning and as a tea. Turns out that I have several trees some 30 feet tall on the property here. We used to make it for upset stomach.

You know to check things out, so I am just throwing some ideas out there. In the real world, moderation is the first step, as is eliminating known trouble makers. The rest is in finding substitutes that work, and as you noted, it might mean giving up some old favorites. Hopefully something decent substitutes rather than imitates.

[Warpy]

20. Keep a food diary first

and note what triggers attacks. You might be able to tolerate limited amounts of tomato sauce, depending on how it's prepared. Or small amounts of chocolate. You might not be able to tolerate other foods that can be a surprise, if not a downright shocker.

Coffee is out except at breakfast, when you might be able to tolerate a cup of it since you're going to be mostly vertical for the following 8 hours. Caffeine is the worst when it comes to opening that valve at the top of your stomach.

The food diary can be enlightening. My own Kryptonite is canola oil. I get any of that, I'll be in agony with an erupting volcano under my sternum. A lot of GERD diets online suggest that shit and I can't get near it.

This doesn't mean you can chow down on a pizza overloaded with greasy cheese, it means you need to be aware of what's in your food and what might be a trigger food. What triggers you might be well tolerated by whoever comes up with those diets online.

Good luck, this can be managed. I do my own cooking, so my days are pain free. And yes, I can tolerate tomato sauce that I make.

[mike_c]

21. good luck

My GERD is well controlled with omeprazole (20 years) and I can eat almost anything as long as I take that daily pill. What I have to be careful about is night time snacking. Undigested food in my stomach won't always stay there while I sleep, and aspirating it sucks.

[Jilly_in_VA]

28. I can eat those

but I take Pantoprazole twice a day. My problem is esophageal spasms, so now I have to take diltiazem before I eat a big meal. Not before snacks though.

[JustAnotherGen]

30. I just had a major

Attack in September, that lead to another endoscopy. My esophagus was not looking good - so I'm on pantoprazole for two months - then go back to my GI.

Mine is triggered by stress, citrus, and dairy (I'm also lactose intolerant). Night time I don't eat for three hours prior to bed - that helps tremendously. Drinking water helps. My banana smoothies (oatmilk, flax seeds, vegan vanilla protein, cantaloupe, banana) soothe it.

The Complete Acid Reflux Diet Plan has some great recipes while you are in heal phase. Look into it.

And most important - I'm sorry. Its so painful.

[ificandream]

31. I go in for two medical tests next month.

I have an endoscopy (second in three weeks) Nov. 2. This one's to look closer at what they saw in my stomach the first time) and then an MRI the following week. I'm used to the endoscopy (my sixth in five years ... I had four in one year following my bleeding ulcer) and now these. Fortunately, I'm used to them by now. I remember I was terrified for the first one.