Painkillers & Acid Reflux Symptoms: Unhealthy Relations

I realize that this flare up of symptoms is probably due to Ibuprofen overuse." (full email below in Pickle Juice Section

I started having acid reflux when I was about 12. Now that I realize it was the Ibuprofen that was causing it, I can link this to the fact that I started taking Ibuprofen for menstrual pain about a year and a half before that. It took awhile for it to tear up my stomach because I wasn't taking it regularly at first, but I do believe that it may have been at least part of the problem. I was taking 2 of those tiny red pills at first. And after awhile, as my pain became worse, I started taking 3 of them. It was shortly after that that the reflux began. My acid reflux has calmed down. Now I only have heartburn if I eat something extremely spicy.

I have been taking ibuprofen and aspirin occasionally with no problems related to stomach. Lately I started overusing these medications and ended up with rebound headaches first and then my gerd started to flare up again after a 3 year remission of symptoms. I will be drastically restricting use of these meds in the future!

I have taking ADVIL for years for pain and just put it together that it caused my GERD and Barrett's. I am going to the store today to buy ACV. I am hopeful it will replace the Prevacid I was just given after my diagnostic Endoscopy.....I'll let you know! This is the only site that has given me support and hope. Thank you all!

As far as a cause of GERD ... I never had heartburn until I started taking Inderal for anxiety. A few weeks after starting the Inderal I started experiencing bad heartburn. For a while I didn't know what was wrong, I thought something was wrong with my heart and I was having trouble breathing. Later a doctor told me beta blockers like Inderal relax the sphincter muscle. Though no doctor will admit to me that Inderal was the cause of my GERD, it's the only thing that makes sense to me.

I agree with the ibuprofen theory! I had taken it for a week prior to the onset of my severe attacks which sent to the hospital 6 times! Now I wonder how long it will take for my stomach to return to normal!

I have just recently (past 2-3 months) started to have reflux symptoms. I take ibuprofen but not a lot (or so I think). The one thing I have been taking every night for the past year or more is Tylenol PM (or generic version). Could this be a reason (as well as stress) for my sudden reflux symptoms? I haven't' tried a remedy yet but have just started Nexium. I've had weird side effects and checked on-line to find out about it. Now I'm checking into the natural remedies. Any good ones I should know about?

I wonder about the Ibuprofen/Celbrex theory. I took these drugs with my back pain for several years. I have had GERD for a couple of years now and will try some of these remedies. I have tried several medications (nexium, Prevacid, acidflex, prilosec) and all of them work for while and then they don't work anymore. All of them gave me diarrhea and some vomiting. If the side effects are this bad, it can't be good for you. I wonder how long it will take for these drugs to get out of your system. If I find a remedy that works I will post it again.

I had root canal in the last two months I took different pain meds and antibiotics ever since I have been having GERD symptoms. I did not think it might have been the pain meds, but instead the antibiotics This article helps alot-Thanks.

I took ibuprofen for a lingering dental problem which also affected my sinuses. I must have taken the highest dosage at least 2x a day for approximately 6 weeks. It was soon after that that I realized my digestion had changed and I started having acid reflux, but I didn't connect it to ibuprofen until I read up on it on the internet.

I take Amerge for migraine's but at $26/pill I decided to try two Motrin the other night (first time) to see if it would help. By the next morning I had acid reflux SO bad I rushed to the doctor. He suggested Mylanta.... but a friend at work told me about ACV and how great she feels. So.... I'm off to the store. Maybe it will even help the headaches , as one person wrote in. I'm very optimistic!

I was taking ibuprofen pretty frequently. 800mg 2-3 times daily for several years. I was just recently diagnosed with GERD which I had been suffering with for quite a while and did not know it. I no longer take ibuprofen ND. NOW TAKE Nexium for GERD. I replaced one evil with another.

I had terrible acid reflux last week for 2 hours, i thought i was having a heart attack. I just read the women's comments about using ibuprofen. I had eaten my dinner, and taken a Tylenol Ultima, for a headache. Well! in 2 mins. i had the acid reflux, no more ibuprofen, no Tylenol, no nuthin! for me. Thank you. I worked in Allopathic Medicine since 1971, but i am turning into my grandmothers, i don't want medication, i want Nature's Cure. Thank you so much.

I started using Advil a lot over the last few years for menstrual cramps and last year starting having GERD. Nothing I ate agreed with me. All the foods I loved, whole grains, fresh fruit, raw veggies, huge salads, they all made my stomach upset. My digestion was off, I was suffering from GERD and I mysteriously became lactose intolerant after 42 years of being a dairy lover. I never connected the Advil with my problems until I read your website. I've been drinking two TBSP of _______s ACV diluted in water 1X a day for a few weeks now and I cannot believe how much better I feel. The stomach pain and GERD pain is gone. At this very moment I'm chomping down on a huge salad and I'm not worried. (Still no luck with the lactose thing yet though.) But what do I do now about not being able to take Advil for menstrual cramps? I heard ibuprofen was a progesterone blocker, which is why it's such a good drug for menstrual cramps. Does anyone have an alternative for Advil for this kind of pain? Are there any other progesterone blockers out there?

Just read about Rosemary's experience with Ibuprofen (3/30/06), and it dawned on me that after about a year without reflux, it has come back again with a vengeance. After a blood clot in the leg from a sports injury back in March, my doctor prescribed Ecotrin 325mg twice a day, then reducing to 81mg once a day. Ecotrin is 'enteric coated' to make it dissolve in the intestines rather than the stomach, so it is supposed to be fine for people with reflux. But now I'm going to stop it altogether and see if the reflux stops as well. On another note, I bought _______s ACV at the health food store today, but the manager told me he has not seen great results in customers. He recommended Aloe Vera and some digestive herbs instead. I tried the Aloe and it worked for a good part of the day. I am curious about the ACV but the manager says it might make it worse, so I am concerned. Any advice would be appreciated.