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What causes heartburn and reflux?
It sometimes happens that if I have severe pain in the chest area, I call an ambulance. As an older person, the thought of a heart attack is unpleasant. I once drove my care to the emergency room at the local hospital only to find out there was nothing wrong with the organ. Years ago, I was diagnosed with reflux during an episode due to a hiatal hernia and warned me that this condition would reoccur and that is likely the cause of the pain. One time when it happened I was bent over weeding the garden and about an hour later the pain was severe. This sent me back...
What causes heartburn and reflux?
It sometimes happens that if I have severe pain in the chest area, I call an ambulance. As an older person, the thought of a heart attack is unpleasant. I once drove my care to the emergency room at the local hospital only to find out there was nothing wrong with the organ. Years ago, I was diagnosed with reflux during an episode due to a hiatal hernia and warned me that this condition would reoccur and that is likely the cause of the pain.
One time when it happened I was bent over weeding the garden and about an hour later the pain was severe. This sent me back to the hospital by ambulance and the heart was fine again. Now I have a small blood pressure monitor on my wrist that tells me what the body is doing and has alleviated the worry significantly.
Recently, a doctor on television advised patients with these symptoms to take a glass of water about 15 minutes before eating. This apparently stops the acid buildup in the digestive system and sounds like good advice to me.
I have now learned to deal with my problem. My advice is not to bend down, but to lower your body with your knees when picking something up from the floor. A change in diet has also helped and the time for eating the main meal of the day has shifted from evening to late morning. Eating a smaller meal at night is more beneficial because it doesn't put strain on your stomach while you sleep.
The other adjustment I've made is eating less bread and having a smoothie for breakfast has replaced the oats that were part of my previous diet. It consists of extra protein yogurt, at least five fruits consisting of banana, kiwi, apple, pear and berries and a piece of celery. This gives a good balance and makes for a delicious filling without the gluten of oats. Avoiding fatty foods is another big benefit.
There are other benefits to such a closely managed diet. Headaches are a thing of the past as sugar and salt are eliminated from the diet. Now my blood pressure is normally 120 over 80 and heart rate between 70 and 80.
As with anything, we must treat pain by understanding its cause. Once we do that, the solution is usually obvious. Heartburn and reflux are a thing of the past for me as I haven't had an episode in months.
Inspired by Norma Holt