Like many I was prescribed Prilosec for GERD (gastrointestinal reflux disorder). In my case I was given this diagnosis and medication back in 1998, some 20 years ago. At the time it was prescription-only and due to the cost and a desire to take as little as possible I took down my amount from less than that prescribed. Then when the over-the-counter (OTC) version became available I began using that, only a single pill a day. For years that has been my standard, with even missing a day or trying generics ending up with pain so I went dutifully back to it. When on the road for work, when I eat far more fatty and worse foods than normal, I began a few years to double my usual to 2 pills for those week trips, knowing it wouldn’t really kick in until the end of the trip if at all.
In the last several years the amount of research on my health has increased and it became increasingly clear that Prilosec and similar meds were terrible for you and I had to get off. My allergies and intolerances for foods of all kinds has continued to climb in the last 4 years so I made the decision a while back that I would quit cold turkey after I got back from a business trip August 5th, 2018. I spent weeks leading up to the chosen day planning my super restrictive diet and food plans for success.
At the start of this cessation of Prilosec I weighed in around 185lbs, while not horrible, I wasn’t thrilled with that either. At my highest I got to 210lbs maybe 4 years ago so I was well under that but still not happy with how I felt. After following my new plan and quitting Prilosec my weight continues to drop with almost no effort. Currently I weigh in at 162lbs and it continues to fall. I am fitting into clothes I haven’t worn for over 10yrs and was beginning to lose hope I would ever fit into again.
The Secret
So what was this magical diet, really it is just eating smart, and frankly a lot of which will-power alone had not been enough to do in the past. So while the diet and acid has been restrictive, it has also been a blessing in disguise.
Due to my many food issues, I decided to adhere much more closely to my avoidance of all things soy, dairy and while not perfect I have gone nearly gluten-free as well. With those restrictions I have had a lot of success of looking up various paleo diet suggestions for things to eat and such.
In addition to avoiding my usual intolerances and allergies, I also decided to strictly avoid the standard acid reflux trigger foods which include:
- tomatoes
- citrus fruits
- onions
- chocolate
- peppermint
- spicy food of any kind
- carbonation of any kind
- High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
I also don’t drink alcohol or coffee, so avoiding those was easy, but those are also triggers to look out for.
While I was restricting my diet I continued to make this nearly an elimination-diet, deciding to also cut out nearly all add sugar of any kind, this is perhaps the hardest thing, as I among the most extreme sweet teeth (plural of tooth in this context?) I’ve seen. I don’t go through a day at work without candy surrounding me, and now I have been off for over four months. This is where will-power has not been enough in the past, but knowing that the smallest bite of candy would trigger my acid to rise was more than enough to keep me away.
Finally small meal sizes, so as to not give your stomach any further incentive to produce a lot of acid that will then just be hanging around to burn your esophagus later. So small meals more frequently, aiming for 5 or so a day helped a LOT.
My diet also normalized on a lot of fatty and fried foods, and I have since swapped to a lot of salads, and I have actually grown to like them.
Finally I also have been super careful not to lean over, or even lean forward, which puts a lot of pressure on your gut, and squeezes the contents of your stomach upward. So I tend to sit up straight or lean back to give me stomach as little reason to force acid up as possible.
The Process
Given my extremely long exposure timeframe, 20 years as a reminder, I was expecting things to be a bit rough for the first several weeks and those weeks didn’t disappoint. The first couple days started out OK, but by the 3rd day, very high acid, feeling like it was just at the back of my throat was nearly constant for the next several weeks. I found I just had to sit around the house in a single chair that seemed to keep me in the optimal position to lessen the feeling as best as could be expected. I ate very little as my acid was just too high and too painful – this began the weight-loss.
By the end of the 2nd week things began to feel a little better, not a lot, but better. Seeing small improvements was enough motivation to continue, but I have to admit, lots of people were giving me advice that I shouldn’t have gone cold-turkey, but instead should have done alternating days for the next month or so, to slowly wean myself on less and less. But alas, by 2 weeks in, I was resolved to not start over, having endured enough burning pain already. There are many “home remedies” people online have suggested, apples being a key one. Yeah, those didn’t do a thing for me, and in many instances actually made it worse, so that was not my go-to. What worked to reduce my acid, even if only by a little bit, was a small handful of raw almonds (big Costco bag – life-saver!). Eating maybe 5-6 almonds when my acid was feeling really high would just take the edge off and make it bearable again. That is the only thing I really have found to help in my journey.
My other preparation item that this would have failed without was my wedge pillow! Without it I don’t think I would have ever slept, the acid would have simply been too severe to cope with. This is the wedge pillow I went with (Amazon Link) and it has been a life-saver. I have dragged it around hotels with me, and camping, it basically goes wherever I go.
Week 3 continued to improve slowly, and week 4 went well, with me feeling a lot better and only rarely feeling the acid burn. But then week 5-6 reverted and felt almost like week 2, which was very disheartening. I powered through it, just further restricting the amount I ate, and paying super special attention to what I ate.
From week 6 to week 13 since I quit, I still was having good days/meals and bad ones, but I tended to cheat a bit more on some of the food restrictions than I did in the beginning when I was very strict. The process continues, and I’ve read that after such a long time on Prilosec it might take your stomach 3-months or more to have it back to normal. I’m coming up on that timeframe, and it still seems mine is not going to be “normal” but at this stage I feel it is manageable.
I’ve now made it to 20 weeks since I quit, and I feel more and more that I can eat nearly what I did before I quit, albeit still in smaller quantities, and I do still avoid some triggers and situations. I still do not eat candy or any just blatant sugar, but I eat cookies, or other things with sugar in them, although I try to avoid HFCS as best I can still.
Final Thoughts
In summary, I have had a major health makeover and generally feel pretty good. I have lost a lot of weight (23lbs thus far in 4 months), and am feeling better about what I eat and how I feel in general. Currently after 20 weeks my acid is largely a non-issue. There are moments when I cheat on something and I can feel it, but not any worse than my usual day-to-day while I was still on Prilosec, so I’m feeling pretty good. I’m careful to avoid big meals and too much fat or rich food, although I have added back most of what I ate before including pizza. So that is adding back cheese, bread and tomatoes so a triple whammy on that one. But I eat much less than I used to, and I have tamed down the topping options.
Overall I would say I have found that the size of the meal is the biggest determinant on whether my acid will spike. If I am good to keep the meal size small (probably 1/3 or less than what I used to eat) then my acid remains not very noticeable. But if I just can’t stop myself, I pay for it almost immediately, which further strengthens my resolve to be extra careful next time.
Hope this has helped others with some ideas to try as you embark on your own journey of kicking the Prilosec habit!
Pysan 