You will find many articles, forums, and blogs on Fibromyalgia and GERD out there. Those of us that have Fibromyalgia may also have digestive issues and possibly GERD. We may not have it in the beginning, and it could develop later down the line.
I did not have GERD when I first was diagnosed with Fibro I just had acid reflux. I was taking an over the counter medicine to control it so that I could eat and that worked for a few years but then the medicine just completely stopped working.
Everything that I had been able to eat before, suddenly was causing me so much pain, and I was bringing back up stomach acid to the point that I was choking. This was the most horrible feeling in the world as now I had to deal with another problem.
The thing with GERD is that the way to control it is by changing things that you eat. You have to try foods to see if you will get the symptoms, this way you know that you need to eliminate those foods.
I googled, I did research, I read whatever I could to see what I could do so that I could eat and not have all this acid come back up. My doctor recommended taking Pepcid Complete Chewable. When you have GERD you need an acid blocker which is different than acid reducer.
When I first started going through the list of things that I needed to stop eating I could not believe it. Most of my favorite foods were on the list, but I also knew that if I did not change this, I would suffer even more and to me, that was just not going to happen.
I took the positive approach again and said ok I can do this and let’s eliminate what foods are acidic which were:
- Chocolate - this one I about died as I love chocolate
- Pineapple
- Oranges
- Tomatoes
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Tomato Sauce
- Fried Foods
- High fat meats
- High fat dairy products
- Lemons
- Barbecue Sauce
- Grapefruit
- Limes
- Onions
- Spicy Foods
- Salsa
- Caffeinated beverages
- Cream sauces
These are just a few things that trigger an episode for me. Each person is different, so you have to play trial and error to see what will cause you to have an episode.
Is it hard going from eating whatever you want to not being able to eat what you like? Yes, it is, but I always try and stay as positive as possible about it. The alternative is being in excruciating pain and not living life, which is a negative for me.
Will there be more changes? Yes, I know there will be, and I will take each one on a positive note because once I give into the negative and creep over to the red platform I have let my illness win and control my life. Staying positive lets me win each time.
Always remember to stop, take a breath and be positive!
Aimee Reese is passionate about bringing awareness to others about Fibromyalgia. Aimee has been living with Fibromyalgia for years but officially diagnosed five years ago. Aimee is the founder of The Green Platform Assistant where she believes “In order for you to grow you have to start with knowing who you are.” Aimee believes by staying positive and on the Green Platform it helps get through the most difficult times when living with an invisible illness. Aimee lives in Kentucky with her husband Eric and two children.
Contact Aimee: aimee@thegreenplatformassistant.com