The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Lakanush (North Brunswick, Nj, Usa) on 09/15/2010:
I am new to this forum. I have acid reflux on and off and went two times for endoscopy and they could not find any evidence of damage to the oesophagus but mild inflammation in the stomach in 2008. They are dismissing it as IBS.
2 weeks back it started with severe bloating, gas and heartburn. It made me feel something stuck in my throat and could not breath properly and it feels like gas bubble stuck in somewhere and burps with food. I am trying with diet and decided to try this Apple Cider Vinegar for the past two days. Actually it is fine after taking for 1 1/2 hr and then burning in the stomach comes and also gets bloated with ACV and also sore throat in the morning. Could someone tell me whether it will create side effects like this or it is not suiting me or will not work for stomach burning and gastritis. It would be very helpful.
Joey (Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines) on 08/21/2010:
Hi Ted It's me again. I'm on my 4th day of ACV and BS. Last nite I began to experience heartburn chest pains and throat irritation that I had difficulty to eat and couldn't burp. Before that I drank a glass of berry and apple juice. An hour later heartburn began. Not sure if the juice was the cause. After a little dinner at 7pm I drank 2 tbs of ACV to gain relief at 11pm I had difficulty sleeping as I couldn't burp like something is stuck in my throat I can taste the acid in my mouth. Anyway after just 4 hrs of sleep today 4th day I drank 2tbs of ACV and 1/4 teaspoon of BS. It gave relief but still couldn't burp. 1 hr later I ate a light breakfast of chicken rice soup then drank 2tbs of ACV. I'm little bit ok though tired probably for lack of sleep. Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong. I'm really tired. Hope to hear from you. Thanks
I had acid reflux for a long time and my doctor had me on Nexium and it was doing nothing to stop the condition. It made it worse. I was also taking baking soda after every meal to kill the acid. That gave temporary relief. They wanted to operate on me. Then I saw a guy on TV who said that acid reflux is not caused but excess acid but a shortage of it. Taking an anti acid only makes it worse and persistent.
I started taking apple cider vinegar a tablespoon of it and it burned like crazy for a while as my esophagus healed. I have heard that hydrochloric acid pills work too but never tried them. Apple cider is supposed to have other curative effects so I stuck with that. The theory is that lack of acid causes a corrosive gas to burn the esophagus and damage the valve leading into the stomach. That seems to be the case but I can't prove it. Once my esophagus healed the acid reflux went away and I have not had any trouble for years, well until my doc had me take high doses of Metformin for diabetes and that caused constant indigestion.
When I quit taking it the indigestion goes away. The only other time I have trouble is if I eat a lot of meat and go to bed shortly afterward.
Carolina (New York City, New York, Usa) on 07/18/2010:
Better But With Side Effects
ACV for acid reflux
Hello earthclinic! I have been under intensive ACV treatment for the past 20 days and I can happily say I am almost entirely cured. It all happened slowly: my first week was indeed a living hell, I was bloated and oscillated between constipation and diahrrea, I had abdominal pain and cramps but noticeable less nausea. The second week was a lot better, I had less and less nausea so I was able to sleep 7 hours without feeling I was about to die in the middle of the night. Now, I feel so much better! I still experience slight discomfort and abdominal pain, but not at all as much as before. My problem is that I do get sick after having the vinegar for about 10 minutes. I experience a really strong abdominal cramp. I am taking 3 TBS, 3 times a day in 8oz of water. I just want to know when will it be safe enough to start taking just 2 TSP in 16oz of water without reverting to the awful pain of the past.
The awesome things I have noticed with ACV are: healthier skin, better sleep quality, less hunger. The bad things: I developed a fungal infection which is totally weird to me since I thought the ACV will strenghten my immune system. I do not feel the energy boost either and feel quite lethargic. Thanks in advance for any feedback :)
I read someone saying that her husband has the pilori bacteria and was wondering if ACV will kill it.
Carolyn from NM, I am in a similar situation with mild gastritis. I am enjoying much relief from the ACV 3X a day. I was wondering what time of day you take your Zantac?
Apple Cider Vinegar cured my acid reflux. I had suffered from severe acid reflux for many years, and stumbled on your site while trying to find an alternative to ranitidine and PPSIs. My acid reflux was so severe that the pain was similar to having a heart attack, and I could not sleep unless I was sitting up. I started using apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp in one glass of water) 20 minutes before my evening meal,and within two weeks, had no more symptoms. I have now been taking ACV for about a year, and have had NO recurrences of acid reflux whatsoever, and no side effects - unless you count a 10 lb weight loss as a side affect! Thank you to Earth Clinic for offering an alternative to pharmaceuticals! And BTW,the ACV has also cured my toenail fungus. This stuff is absolutely amazing!!
I am 34 years old and have had acid reflux for a couple of years, and possibly longer. I ignored the symptoms until 3 months ago when I experienced throat tightening. I am a teacher, and suddenly I would get extremely congested and my vocal cords would cramp up every day after breakfast and lunch. I would try to drink glass after glass of water just to make it through the day, but at one point I wasn't able to finish reading a story to my students. At the same time, the symptoms started piling on: heartburn, coughing, sneezing, and acid in the back of my throat after eating. I would also wake up with a sore throat every morning.
Since then, I've gotten an upper endoscopy and stopped caffeine, alcohol, chewing mint gum, and limited dairy products. Also, I don't eat 2 to 3 hours before bedtime and sleep on a bed that is elevated 7 inches. Due to this, all of my symptoms stopped except for the throat tightening. At that point, I was desperate, because I didn't know how I was going to be able to teach. I tried two medications, one of which I'm on currently, but neither has helped.
So three weeks ago, at the beginning of my summer school session, I discovered this website and I started drinking ACV. What a relief! When I drink it, my throat and vocal cords immediately relax. For three weeks straight, I have sipped ACV water throughout the day and I have been able to teach and read books out loud. I mix 1 tablespoon ACV with 20 ounces of water and sip it through a straw so as not to have it touch my teeth. I drink this three times a day after every meal. Every day I try to make it without drinking the ACV to see if the medication is going to kick in, but my vocal cord cramping becomes so extreme that I quickly start drinking the ACV just to be able to talk to my students. I'm thinking of going off the medicine since I only needed it for this one symptom and it's not even helping.
Thanks to this website, my tears of frustration have stopped. I will keep drinking ACV for as long as I need to because it works! It saved my summer session and probably my next year of teaching as well!
I have had acid reflux for over four years. My valve isn't working properly. The doctor recommended the purple pill and a bland diet. I tried the pill but it is almost as bad as the reflux, so I stopped. For the last four years I have chewed gum and if necessary used an over the counter liquid. It has worked okay until I ate too much one night and burnt my esophagus. Bad move. The doctor placed me on another type of pill. I took it for 14 days (he recommended twice the dose for thirty days, I only took one for 14) not feeling a lot better. I saw your site and decided, the day I finished my first suggested doses of medicine, to start ACV. I used one tablespoon in 16ozs of drinking water, morning and evening. Immediately helped. I eat an apple before my lunch, and a lot more water than normal. I have been doing much better, especially for sleeping at night. I am going to try the bicarbonate soda too to see if it works better. I'm still waiting to see a specialist just to ask some questions and get his opinion. I have totally changed my diet but it needs some tweeking. When I'm stressed I have a little more of a problem. The apples help that. I have noticed more benifits to this situation. My sinisus have cleared up, my teeth are whiter and I have lost five pounds. I wish I had known this a lot sooner. Not perfect but I am grateful for the help. Thank you, Lynda
P.S. I'll let you know how the addition of the bicarbonate soda works.
I am also a singer who suffers from a hoarse voice apparently from acid reflux. I have recently started taking cider vinegar and havent had medication for two weeks. I have to watch what I eat ,chilli's are a no go and I have cut back on coffee. I find yogurt is soothing but the acv seems to be working as well or better than what the medication did.
In Australia 1 in 3 people over 50 suffers from reflux ...I feel mine may have been stress related, so probably its time to start a bit of yoga and meditation to help keep the stress in some sort of relative order.
I have been suffering from acid reflux for years, especially after my doctor advised me to kill my thyroid (I had Graves disease and surgery didn't ensure they'd get all of it.) with radiation treatment (I took a pill and that was that). Afterward, my acid reflux got worse. I've done Prisolec which worked pretty good, but after awhile, got to be more than I could afford (I'm unemployed), so I began using an over-the-counter acid reducer. The other night, I could not sleep. I finally got up around 5am and took a sleep inducer, and woke up 3 hours later with bile in my throat. Ugh & Yuck. I'd read somewhere that Apple Cider Vinegar was good for acid reflux, but didn't know how to administer it. When I was finished in the bathroom, I went into the kitchen & retrieved my apple cider vinegar, which I'm sure has been filtered. I took 1 tbsp. of it straight from the bottle. It went down a bit raspy (You have to remember that I just burned my esphogous [sp?] from the bile), but today I am feeling much better. I slept all through the night last night without any problems. I will try it again this evening before bed...And now I read that I should be putting it in water. I think I'll just "drink it down" in a teaspoon!
For most of my young adolescent life, I lived virtually every day of my life with acid reflux; baking soda when convenient, antacid tablets during other times. Once computers came into the Engineering profession, I daily combined about 3-4 oz of ACV with ice and water as my [32oz] drink. I've been without acid reflux for so long now (~35 years) that I have forgotten how long it took to relieve/cure my acid reflux. I'll be 70yo in 4 months and I never have any relapses....YES, ACV does 'cure' acid reflux.
ACV and baking soda- I was taking medication for acid reflux which made me feel lethargic. I stopped the medication and tried the ACV and baking soda for 2 days. On day 3, I feel 100% better than I did before. I also stopped drinking coffee as well. It is hard, but tea will have to do until I get this acid reflux under control. Thanks to everyone who posted their experiences on this site. It was very helpful. I will post again to update my progress.
When I have reflux, or a touch of biliousness from a meal (stomach locks off the food from the small intestine), I take 1 tablespoon of ACV (organic) with some lime juice and a dash of water- down in one (rinsing with water immediately after, a squash will do) and within 5 minutes the problem starts to resolve itself, if not resolved. Much quicker than zantac and natural. I swear by it, as do some others I know, for the same type of problem. My daughter, an anaesthetist is puzzled, acid on acid was her comment, BUT HEY for me it works.
I took the purple pill for years and years until it stopped working. I went to the doc for coughing fits, and hoarseness not realizing it was connected to acid reflux. He doubled my prescription of the purple pill to 2 a day, nothing got better in fact I got worse. I started searching for natural remedy, found this website and tried the apple cider vinegar plus honey and water. It started working immediately to fix the acid reflux. I went off the purple pill immediately and stayed on the ACV plus honey. It took 2-3 months but my hoarseness went away and eventually the cough. While taking the p pill, I had all the tests- barium xrays, endoscope, cat scans for the stomach and hoarseness and the ACV plus honey is what helped me. Now after 5 months, I am fine but I also changed my diet for a couple of months(stopped tomatoes, onions, coffee, menthol, mint)and stopped eating 3-4 hours before bed. I elevated the head of my bed 3-4 inches too. Now I only have problems if I over eat and go to bed too many days in a row. I am eating tomatoes, and onions again with no problem. I still don't eat menthol or mint or cafeine, to protect my esauphagous. The doctor told me it may take months or years to heal if ever. The purple pill does something to cause motility problems I guess, you can read side effects on the p pills websites. I spread the word about your website and the apple cider vinegar with MOTHER (buy in health stores or online) and honey to everyone I meet. You saved me. Thank you so much!!!!!
I have been having a problem with reflux for several years now. I had been on prescription meds, but after seeing side effects others had listed online, I never stayed on them very long. I was also having severe anxiety problems where I felt like I couldn't breathe, felt nauseated, hot and all at very random times. I had tried ACV once before with terrible results. Earlier this week, I had the worst reflux burning I'd ever had and was about to succumb to the "purple pill" once again. I got on this site and read all the testimonials on ACV and decided that with how bad I was feeling, I might as well give it a try once again. I didn't have the organic kind with "the mother", so I just tried the regular. In about an hour, I realized that I didn't have ANY burning, pain or the sensation of anything coming back up. I slept like a baby and without keeping a cough drop in my cheek for the first time in...waaaay too long...years, probably. I have been using it for three days now and I cannot believe what a difference it has made! I didn't realize how disruptive my reflux was! I have not had any of those old anxiety feelings whatsoever since ACV! I believe it was all connected to the reflux. I have been more relaxed and don't have to feel panicky when I am out, having that nauseated, can't-breathe feeling. I have been enjoying life more and time with my little boy doesn't feel rushed, with me trying to "keep it all together". What a miracle! I will continue the ACV and spread the word! Thanks to this site and to all who have put their testimonials on here...I never would have tried it if it weren't for you!
I'm not usually someone that writes my experiences on websites however, this is an exception. My Dr. diagnosed me with Acid Reflux back in Jun/09 and hence gave me a prescription which I was told to take for 2 weeks. I literally felt worse. I was then given a different prescription and had absolutely no positive results. By chance I came upon this website and my world has changed. I started drinking 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar with 8 ozs of water after every meal and a glass before bedtime and within the very 1st day I felt some relief. I continued for 3 weeks and I now feel "human" again. If I eat something like pizza I still may make a glass to drink. For the most part my symptoms are so manageable and I feel the best since I was diagonosed.. I just want to say thanks to the people that created this website. I also want to say shame on the Doctors for not letting acid reflux sufferers in on such a huge secret.
I'm a 69 year old male in good physical condition. I was diagnosed recently with Acid Reflux. My doctor prescribed Prevacid. I asked him how long I would have to take it. He said "the rest of my life". That's when I went to the internet and found this web-site. I started taking the ACV recipe (2) 1/2 teaspoons in 8 oz's of water either before or with meals. I've been on this for about 6 weeks now and I can say, it has worked for me! I have not had any heart burn at all! The only thing I'm wondering about is, is it just "masking the heartburn" as does Tums, etc. Because if that is the case you can still get cancer of the esophagus! Not good! I have grown to actually like the taste of the ACV.
I googled this problem having sufferd from it for 2/3 years, i found this site and tried the remedy, wow, 2 minutes after taking the drink i felt much better, best night's sleep for a long time.
Has anyone felt bad after they have taken ACV? I have GERD and have tried 1 tsp of ACV 1 tsp of honey in a glass of water 3 times a day for the past 2 and 1/2 days and I feel bloated and some slight burning in my tummy. I have mild gastritis so this may be the cause of it. It's hard to tell if my reflux is better because I have a cold and my chest is congested. I hope the cough and congestion is not being caused by the Apple Cider Vinegar!!! Has anyone felt bad at first, then felt better after sticking to the ACV? I'm hoping that as I continue with this "remedy," I will feel better. Please help!!
I started ACV 2 weeks ago. 1tbsp, acv with 1tbsp honey and a pinch of baking soda in 8 oz of warm spring water. By the way the acv is unpasturized and "the mother" and local pure honey. It has relieved my acid reflux pain but now I have a canker sore starting. I am drinking this tonic in the morning and in the evening. Am I getting too much acid now causing the canker sore?
apple cider vinegar has helped, my acid reflux pain is gone. i feel like a new person. my face has a glow. i've only been on this for a week. i add this to my tea are anything i'm drinking
I had acid reflux and pains in the stomach after I took naproxene for my shoulder pains. The doctor prescribed zantac and I was on it for several days without any improvements. All of a sudden I remembered what I read in this site about acv. I stopped my xantac and took acv (2tbs in 8 ox of water. Add 1/4 tsp baking soda for better taste.) The result was immediate. The reflux and pains were gone. I now religiously take the acv at night for many of my illness - high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
I have suffered with acid reflux since 1985. I remember my mother telling me, "...just take some vinegar in the morning." I ignored her suggestion and started going to doctors. Nothing worked. I changed my diet and took everything the doctors prescribed. It got so bad that I would wake up in a start because I began vomiting while sleeping.
I came across this website about 3 days ago and saw that people were recommending ACV and it reminded me of the home remedy my Mom had recommended years ago. I immediately went downstairs and took a teaspoon of ACV and followed it with a cup of water. Nasty stuff... but I noticed I didn't have any problems that night. I repeated the dosage yesterday morning and last night, I slept for 10 hours without interruption. I haven't slept more than 4 hours at a stretch for more than 20 years. I know its a little early to tell if the ACV is really doing the trick but so far I am a believer.
ACV does not work at all for me. in fact in burned the whole way down. Then i got fizzy bubbles up my throat. an hour later i was sick and throwing up. continuously until all the fizz in my stomach was gone.
Apple cider vinegar and honey has definitely helped my acid reflux problem. I took a 2 liter(2 qt) plastic bottle, which is 8- 8oz servings and added 8oz ACV and 4oz of honey and filled with H2O. I started 6 days ago and drink 2 8oz glasses a day, one before breakfast and one before dinner. It has worked wonders! No more coughing and regurgating at night and the lump in my throat is about gone. On day 4, I decided to skip the one before dinner, just to see if it made a difference and I was coughing and food was coming up in the night. I went to the kitchen and drank a glass and slept the rest of the night without a problem. Before I started this, I would spray my throat several times a night to try and keep from coughing. I haven't sprayed my throat one time since I started doing this. I would recommend trying it to anyone. It may not work for everyone, but, so far it has worked great for me with no side effects!
Apple Cider Vinegar, mixed with an equal amount of Honey - 1 tsp.of each in a glass of warm water is considered an Alkalizing drink - good for the stomach, and excellent when fasting.
I have acid reflux and gastritis (mild to moderate). I am having pain in my tummy area and am not sure what it's from. I've been using the ACV for about 4 days now and all my acid reflux is gone but I'm worried as to how the vinegar is effecting my gastritis. Is there anyone with information for me on this?
(5) 
I had acid reflux for a long time and my doctor had me on Nexium and it was doing nothing to stop the condition. It made it worse. I was also taking baking soda after every meal to kill the acid. That gave temporary relief. They wanted to operate on me. Then I saw a guy on TV who said that acid reflux is not caused but excess acid but a shortage of it. Taking an anti acid only makes it worse and persistent.
