I’ve been doing a version of intermittent fasting in which I eat one meal per day for around three months now, and I’ve lost a lot of weight. However, I’ve been having acid reflux (minus the heartburn) for slightly longer than this, and despite having been on a strong dose of generic Proton Pump Inhibitor for the last two and a half months, I’m still suffering quite a bit. It also seems like eating a lot at once can exacerbate acid reflux, so I’m considering going back to a regular diet for a while to see what happens. Maybe I’ll try eating exactly twice a day, first. Since it seems like intermittent fasting is somewhat common here, has anyone else had similar issues?
Different PPIs tend to work the same as each other. PPIs are pretty safe drugs, but having ongoing acid reflux is itself not that good for your health. You could try to reduce it by staying vertical for a while after eating, by spacing your meals into at least two per day (even two within a couple hours), and doing any other simple suggested lifestyle measures.
Adding or switching to a different class of antireflux drug seems rash if you can just fix things with a lifestyle change.
This seems like good advice; thanks! I hadn’t looked into switching drugs, but I had been curious as to whether switching PPI’s might be helpful, so that’s good to know.
I started an IF schedule where I eat from 4pm until 8pm a few months ago. I did have acid reflux issues in the beginning, but that stopped after a couple of weeks. In my experience, the acid reflux is worse if you eat shortly before going to bed. (In the beginning I ate until 9pm and went to bed at 10pm. Now I’m eating from 5pm to about 6:30 and go to bed at 10, with no problems. (I’ve had a sore throat for the last 4 years or so, but other than the acid reflux thing when I started IF, this has pretty much remained unchanged, so I’m assuming the intermittent fasting isn’t making it better or worse.))
So you could try taking a ≈2h break before going to bed (if you’re not doing that already), eating twice a day, experimenting with different foods, talking to a doctor, and if you still feel bad after that, I would suggest going back to a regular diet. Three months seems like enough time for the body to adjust as much as it’s ever going to.
I’ve been doing a version of intermittent fasting in which I eat one meal per day for around three months now, and I’ve lost a lot of weight. However, I’ve been having acid reflux (minus the heartburn) for slightly longer than this, and despite having been on a strong dose of generic Proton Pump Inhibitor for the last two and a half months, I’m still suffering quite a bit. It also seems like eating a lot at once can exacerbate acid reflux, so I’m considering going back to a regular diet for a while to see what happens. Maybe I’ll try eating exactly twice a day, first. Since it seems like intermittent fasting is somewhat common here, has anyone else had similar issues?
Junior doctor here.
Different PPIs tend to work the same as each other. PPIs are pretty safe drugs, but having ongoing acid reflux is itself not that good for your health. You could try to reduce it by staying vertical for a while after eating, by spacing your meals into at least two per day (even two within a couple hours), and doing any other simple suggested lifestyle measures.
Adding or switching to a different class of antireflux drug seems rash if you can just fix things with a lifestyle change.
This seems like good advice; thanks! I hadn’t looked into switching drugs, but I had been curious as to whether switching PPI’s might be helpful, so that’s good to know.
I started an IF schedule where I eat from 4pm until 8pm a few months ago. I did have acid reflux issues in the beginning, but that stopped after a couple of weeks. In my experience, the acid reflux is worse if you eat shortly before going to bed. (In the beginning I ate until 9pm and went to bed at 10pm. Now I’m eating from 5pm to about 6:30 and go to bed at 10, with no problems. (I’ve had a sore throat for the last 4 years or so, but other than the acid reflux thing when I started IF, this has pretty much remained unchanged, so I’m assuming the intermittent fasting isn’t making it better or worse.))
So you could try taking a ≈2h break before going to bed (if you’re not doing that already), eating twice a day, experimenting with different foods, talking to a doctor, and if you still feel bad after that, I would suggest going back to a regular diet. Three months seems like enough time for the body to adjust as much as it’s ever going to.
Too many proton pump inhibitors may interfere with your absorption of minerals. You may want to have your blood tested for deficiencies.
Have you tried sleeping on your left side?