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.
DEE (CLEARWATER, FL) on 11/25/2008:
I HAVE RECOMMENDED APPLE CIDAR VINEGAR TO MANY OF MY FRIENDS WHO SUFFER FROM ACID REFLUX AND WE ALL AGREE THAT IT'S A MIRACLE RELIEVER OF ACID REFLUX. I AM MORE CONVINCED THAT NATURAL MEDICINE IS THE WAY TO GO. THINK ABOUT IT! WOULD GOD PUT 6 BILLION PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH WITHOUT THE NATURAL MEDICINE NEEDED FROM NATURE ALONE? OF COURSE NOT! PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS ARE UNNATURAL AND IT'S FOREIGN CHEMICALS ARE SIMPLY JUST NOT GOOD FOR OUR BODIES.
I have suffered from severe acid reflux for the last year. Was placed on Nexium and had horrible side effects. My esophogus is throbbing constantly. I have had all the tests, stress tests, chest x_rays,upper endoscopy and Chest CT--all came out ok. I went off the nexium 15 days ago and the rebound was miserable--the side effects are still there----ringing in my ears, tingling in my legs,dizziness, etc. I have been on the apple cider vinegar remedy for the last 15 days. It helped a little at first but the discomfort is back. The throbbing in my esophogus and not sleeping is the worst. I definitely believe that the vinegar does help some people but I'm not so sure about the really tough cases like mine. I would sincerely appreciate some feedback as I have no intention of ever going back on the nexium. Is 15 days on the vinegar remedy long enough to expect at least some improvement? Thanks for the help.
I have suffered for over 20 years with acid reflux. Prilosec used to work when it was prescribed and not able to be bought over the counter. I suffered morning noon and night. Just taking a drink of water in the morning would trigger the acid reflux. Tonight I was so fed up with drinking baking soda, that I typed in "home remedies for acid reflux disease" and hit this site. I immediately drank ACV with water and cannot believe the burning is gone. When I get up in the morning, before coffee I am going to drink it again. WOW what a relief it is, so ironic, I am saying that, isn't that a slogan for a commercial that doesn't work?? I am in heaven. Just so you know, my husband wanted to have sex today, but I was in so much pain from the disgusting pain of acid reflux, I had to pass, but after the ACV treatment, I invited him to bed!!!!
hi this is the first time i have ever replied to a website like this. so here it goes. for the last couple of wks i have . recently i have had severe chest pain, earache, and flu like symptoms on one day. yesterday at work i was in really bad shape my chest felt like i had a 500lb person sitting on it and i am only 117lbs so that is alot. i though i was havin a heartattack. on top of that i took four asprin not all at once but during a 8 hr pd.so i woke up today and took tums. they relieved some of the pain but i didnt really have much. i figured i would look on the internet to see about acid reflux due to i remember havin it a few yrs ago but not thtat bad. i read the acv article and decided to try it. well i have had it in my system for two hrs now and it seems to have helped alot. except for the whole fact of the taste is really bad. lol. i really hope it works and stays away. but we will see. thanks for the advice though and i love this site.
Well let me say that ACV was awesome and it works!!!
I was suffering from acid reflex for years, as far as I remember - I kept on taking TUMBS to ease the pain every time I got A.F problem. I got some sleepless nights and that burning sensation - sucks!!!
Recently I was surfing the net for some organic remedy, I found this site - So I tried ACV (two teaspoonfulof ACV with water). And oh boy, it works!!!
Thank you so much for all the help and you guys made my day.
Organic is better than some chalky and dry medicine...yack!!!
Dan, when I first tried the ACV I had the same reaction. Do try it again it works!!!! I have had acid reflux for about 3 years - ACV does work..hopefully you will try it again...good luck cause it is painful..now I'm cured.
Huge NAY for Apple Cider Vinegar to treat Acid Reflux. I tried it after reading the site. The cider hurt my stomach and made my symptoms much worse It kept me up until 3am. Tread carefully.
I have been suffering with acid reflux for about a year and a half but didn't want to take the PPIs. I have taken Nexium, Aciphex, Prilosec, etc. but nothing worked for me. In fact, some of the meds made my symptoms worse. I started seeing a naturopathic Dr. and it helped to some extent, but didn't alleviate the symptoms entirely. I would wake up several times during the night and finally had to elevate our bed about 8 inches, which my husband had to get used to. This helped too, but still was waking up with symptoms. Yesterday i was searching the internet and found this site and i saw the ACV comments and decided to try it. So i mixed a tablespoon of organic ACV with a cup of water and added some maple syrup for sweetening and drank 1 dose at about 6:00 pm and another before bedtime. Last night was the first night in MONTHS that i have slept thru the night and felt rested. It was awesome! That pain behind my sternum has disappeared and i don't feel that "hairball" in my throat anymore. I took another dose this morning and feel almost "normal" again. I can't believe what a difference this is making for me! I am so thankful that i tried this. I was almost at the end of my rope with these symptoms and just could not take the meds anymore. I've actually heard from some naturopathic folks that acid reflux is actually a LACK of stomach acid. Don't know if that's true, but it makes sense if the ACV is making the symptoms disappear. I plan to continue with this therapy and hope that it will continue to work.
I started using stronger and stronger medicines for acid reflux and wanted to try something else. Looking in your site, I got some apple cider vinegar. I take less than a teaspoonful in a large glass of water, twice a day, and have stopped using any medicine. Thank you so much.
DANIEL A MANJARREZ SANTIAGO (LOS ANGELES, US) on 09/19/2008:
I TRIED EC REMEDY OF ACV SUGESTION FOR MY ACID REFLUX. I'VE BEEN IN PPI'S SINCE 1993. I JUST READ THE INFO ON THIS SITE AND RAN TO TRADER'S JOE FOR IT. I TOOK A 16oz GLASS WITH 2 TBSPNS AT NITE. IS GONE! I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE. ALSO MY ITCHY NOSE STOPPED!! THIS WAS DUE TO ALLERGIES. I'M NOW DRINKING THE 2TBSP W/1LTR OF WATER TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. THANK THE LORD FOR THIS SITE AND BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL THAT THOUGHT OF THIS!!
** one tiny thing: My upper right lip started tremoring as soon as I finished with the 16oz glass. By morning it looks like cold sores where coming out, but they were dead! No pain, no itching, no redness. They were gone by 8:00am. The lip still tremoring, though, any thoughts...?
OK I tried it and the 1st and 2nd day I had some burning and it did seem like the acid reflux got worse but I stuck it out like all of you said and by the 3rd day it was gone completely. Now I am taking 1 teaspoon in the AM with 8oz of water and I am good for the whole day. No more meds, I am free. This really does work you need to give it a chance. If you get the burning start with less than a tablespoon because you may not need as much, like me. Go on give it a try. It is worth the try to be free from meds and that knife pain in your stomach. Let us know what happens.
I tried straight Apple Cider Vinager once as a preventive measure and it actually started an Acid Reflux attack. Not sure about Baking soda plan on trying that and apples for a quick fix next.
I have been on omeprazole for about 6 months, after an endoscope revealed an esophageal ulcer. It healed after a couple of months, and I've been trying to wean myself off the pills ever since, without success. So I tried the ACV, first time about 5 days ago, and so far, so good.
Now, my question is this: Do I need to keep taking ACV? If so, for how long? Forever? Or does it "reset" the stomach to go back to "normal" amounts of acid production?
So in my mind, a "treatment" would necessitate taking this continually, whereas a "cure" would mean that you take it for some duration, then you are able to stop taking it without further symptoms.
And second question: I have been unable to find a consensus about dosage. I have been taking two teaspoons about 4x each day, spread throughout the day. This seems to be working, but is there a better, optimal protocol?
thanks Dana
9/8/2008: Dana writes: "Hi again, another question. What are the long-term ramifications of taking the ACV? And I am taking it plain, in water, with no baking soda. I have mild blood pressure issues, so I don't want to add sodium to my diet. Is there any problem with taking this ACV straight into the water, without sodium bicarbonate? thanks
Apple Cider Vinegar has been a miracle for my mother. She has been suffering terribly from acid reflux and it was so bad the other night she felt like she could not breath. She has tried every medication over the counter and prescription and nothing has worked. She was desperate, so I thought I would look up some natural cures and found this site. I called her right away and told her about the apple cider vinegar. She tried it right away and she could not believe it. She said immediatley her throat felt better and she slept all night for the first time in weeks. She took it agian today and said she still feels great. She said she has not even taken a pill today. She used 8oz of water and a Tb. Apple cider Vinegar and a pinch of baking soda. Thanks for this site. Its a life saver. Debbie
ACV cured my stomach pain. thanks to this site. My history follows: I am on Protonix(PPI)since my diagnosis of gastrix reflux. I have been scoped and my throat looks bad. My pain is contolled as long as I dont eat junk foods,foods in boxes,bags,etc. No alcohol or chocolate. The problem sneaks up on me when I cheat, some crackers, corn chips, etc. It doesnt take much,,, then I am in huge break through pain. Unrelenting pain that zaps your strength. I can max out on rolaids or gaviscon..without relief. Seems as tho the alkaline products don't help me one bit. Last night (after eating a no cheese, no meat mexican veg fahita and 2 hand fuls of corn chips, no alcohol), I was in massive,unrelenting pain that woke me up at 1 am, could not sleep, found your site at 2:30 am. Took 2 tbls of B__gs organic ACV. Felt a little odd at first, but no worse. So I took a second dose of ACV and By 3am I was pain free. Took a while to get to sleep as I was so keyed up from the pain. I write this to encourage others, seems as tho some are helped by acidic products such as ACV, mustard, pickle juice, olive juice, etc)
Apple Cider Vinegar has been my miracle cure! I began to suffer from acid reflux this past winter when my gall bladder decided to stop working properly. The pain, weight loss and sleepless nights were making life for me and my family miserable. The side effects from the doctor prescribed PPI's were worse than the reflux. After reading posts from this site in June, I ran out and bought Apple Cider Vinegar supplements from my local health food store. I just couldn't stomach drinking the vinegar straight. After the first supplement, my stomach felt a little calmer, but I thought perhaps it was just wishful thinking. Each day I continued on with the ACV supplements (1 with each meal), and each day the reflux improved. I can now completely control my reflux with ACV supplements and diet, staying away from my trigger foods as much as possible. Sometimes I forget to take the supplements at each meal and still no problems. I also take digestive enzymes and probiotics to aid digestion since my gall bladder has been removed.
Dear Jane and Jacky, I've only recently started having esophageal spasms myself (the first was 2 months ago), and they are so painful. My doctor had no idea what was causing them, but gave me prilosec anyway. Thanks doc. I've also been going to acupuncture every week for about a month and thought it might be helping until 2AM this morning when a severe spasm hit. Now, I'm scouring the internet in the middle of the night. After reading your postings about being fellow spasm sufferers, I tried my first glass of ACV and honey. The taste was certainly not great, but I think I feel a little relief already. Here's hoping that this inexpensive, natural remedy will be an end to the painful spasms.
My wife had been suffering from severe chest pain from acid reflux for about a year. Almost every night, no matter what she ate during the day she would have some extreme attacks. As her husband I wanted the pain to go away, I felt powerless. So we went to 4 different doctors all prescribed medication that didnt work, ranitdine 150mg and 300mg, Losec, Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid and Protonix.
Not one of those medications worked, and with each new medication, I kept telling her that it would take about a week to work, I just lied to her) to get her off my back. But I felt so emmasculated, because there was nothing I could do for the pain. Finally I read a book on nutrional healing and it told me to take Apple Cider Vinegar, to increase the acid and normalize. I didnt think much of it at the time, mainly because for the last year we thought she had too many. But one evening she woke up, she said she couldnt breath and was having the worst heartburn of her life. I Didnt know what to do, so I ran to the 24hour grocery and picked up ACV. Gave her a Tablespoon in a glass of water, and the pain went away in a few minutes.
And for the first time in about a year she has been able to sleep an entire 8 hours without waking up.
I can't believe Doctors dont know about this, and if they do why do they prescribe medication that clearly doesn't work.
I had suffered from acid flux reflex for about two years (off & on) and I heard about takinig ACV. I did and had the worst heartburn ever. But I continued to take it. After about a day or more the pain went away and I was able to get along fine. I think if people would continue the treatment or put one tablespoon of Vin in 8 oz of water it would cut down the pain. I still take it when I have too. Every once in a while I take a generic Zantac which helps. I am still a great believer in natural remedies. I am now looking up the sites for ACV, honey and garlic to help in helping to get my body under control with weight and cholesterol. Just on garlic tablets, my cholesterol came down 20 pts in 6-8 months. Thanks for letting me share about ACV & honey. Leland
Suzanne, Brad is absolutely correct. I, too, do not recomment increasing your dosage. These meds at normal dosage are risky enough per the recent news on liver effects and gastro cancer. Have your doctor check on the tumor issue. I'm not a doctor but as a long-term sufferer of severe GERD, I have done my research as well as the medicines. I have been on every type and brand available. In fact, I became worse after being on the medicines and briefly stopping. If you chose the meds, be sure to follow with your doctor regarding liver enzymes. Mine were elevated just above high normal for two years and my doctor suspects the PPI was to blame. Try the ACV. Be patient and it will help you, too.
I have been taking acid reflux medication for over five years.I found this website near the end of June and decided to try it. I started out taking ACV twice a day for two weeks then switched to one Golden Delicious apple a day. I have now been off the medications for two months. I am forever in debt to this website.
I am, at this very moment, trying the ACV cure for Acid Reflux. I developed reflux symptoms after a greasy meal 3 months ago. I don't eat much grease and I guess it was a shock to my system. I've been on Aciphex for 3 days and today I felt worse than ever. I really do not want to take another pill so, after reading all the praises of ACV and honey, I'm giving it a shot. I also have anxiety/panic disorder and the Aciphex and pain from reflux has made it much worse. I bought a bottle of ACV 3 weeks ago. Without reading about mixing it with water and honey, I just tried a spoonful of it and couldn't bear the taste so put it away. I'm desperate tonight as its 2:30 in the morning and I'm in such pain I don't know what else to do. I only used about a teaspoon in a cup of water, and a big squirt of honey and I'm sipping it. The taste is not great, but bearable. Part of my symptoms are esophageal spasms from my esophagus trying to keep the acid from leaking out. And today I have this horrible lump in the back of my throat that feels like a ball of acid. I've gotta say, I think I'm feeling a bit better from it. I will continue to take it 2 or 3 times a day, as well as the apples. I just can't take another PPI. I sure hope this works. Thanks so much for offering me some hope of a natural cure.
ACV is the best. Lived on all the prescriptions and over the counter drugs. They relieved but they did not cure. ACV does. It's not just good for acid reflux but for other things in your body. Every Morning 1 tble spoon ACV plus 1 package of emerg C in 8oz. of pure water, been acid reflux free 2 years and counting.
Hi! I was reading about the ACV remedy for reflux and I have tried it now for 4 days. The ACV burns my throat terribly, BUT the 1st 2 nights... I did not have reflux. However the other times I have used it my stomach instantly became bloated and I got really bad pain in my stomach. I really am looking for a natural cure...so any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks :)
I Guess i'm one of the first one, all the way from Tanzania (East Africa) who has appreciated earthclinic's efforts. ACV - worked wonders for me an effective relief in no time. i still hope it to be a permanent relief from the annoying pain of Acid reflux. I shall continue for a week or two.
Another temporary but effective relief from acid reflux is half a glass of cold milk mixed with another half of cold water, drink it fast for immediate relief.
I have to disagree with you about ACV because it has been my lifesaver. I started taking ACV over 10 years ago because I was diagnosed with SLE & RA along with a lot of complications. One of the complications was ulcers, acid refluk and a hiatial hernia from all of the prescriptions they had me on for pain. I was having to take daily stool samples to my doctor because i was losing so much blood. I was put on prevacid 7 prilosec and neither worked. I started the ACV and my ulcers are gone and I never have acid reflux anymore.
I think a lot of people buy the cheap ACV and it does taste bad. I buy the pure unfiltered ACV with the mother from my health food store. This does not taste bad and I buy a couple of gallons at a time because I use it for so many other personal uses. I take 3 tbsp. of ACV and 1/4 tsp. of baking soda in a cup of water and drink it daily. This helps not only my acid reflux but my SLE & RA have been in remission for over 10 years and I have no joint deformity from RA. I contribute my health to ACV and I have at least 20 or more friends on it and all have came back to me with praise.
So i suggest you try a little longer even though I saw results the same day from my acid reflux and am not taking any prescriptions.
I have suffered from acid reflux and a hiatal hernia for over 10 years and have taken prilosec for almost the entire time. Recently, I've heard that prilosec is bad for you, so I've been trying different natural remedies. I tried the apple cider vinegar and I have to say it was awful. Not only did it taste terrible, but it gave me the worst, sudden attack of diarhea EVER! Great remedy if your problem is constipation. Not so great for acid reflux.
I had acid reflex really bad. My doctor put me on Prilosec. I was only suppose to take 1 every 24 hours. I was taking 2-3 a day. I was working in Alaska and someone told me to take a teaspoon of ACV in the morning and one at night. I received immediate results. I have not had acid reflex for 1-1/2 years now. I tell every one about the benefits. Drug companies only relieve symptoms and do nothing to cure disease. I also had high bad cholesterol and my Doctor wanted to put me on medication for that. I have changed my diet, began taking supplements and am currently not on medication for any past ailments. I am 55 years young and am getting younger an healthier everyday.
I had been having my lunch which consisted of salad plus a raw carrot. I managed to eat half of the carrot when I started to get pains in my stomach. As the day wore on it got more painful and my cheeks became flushed. I had to be sent home from work where I went to bed for 5 hours where the pain eased a little but the acid was very nasty in my throat. I then decided to surf the net and came across your site and read all the postings from people who had used ACV to get rid of acid reflux. It also said that my stomach wasnt making enough acid that is why i needed to drink the Appple cider vinegar. I immediately went to the shops and bought some. I added 2 tablespoons of ACV to 8 ozs of water and within ten minutes the pain was gone. I have heard of ACV before as I dabble in complimentary therapies but not to cure this ailment. It certainly worked for me. Thank you all for posting your findings to help others.
I have been using ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) for acid reflux for over 2 years. I started having reflux after I had a sore foot and was prescribed 600 mg of Ibuprofin 3 x daily. prior to that time I could eat anything. After a couple of weeks of the large dose of Ibuprofin I could not eat anything without severe Reflux. After using antacids for a long time I tried 2 TBS. per 8oz ACV to Water 1/2 hour prior to eating. It worked better than all of the antacids to releive the symptoms and the reflux slowly went away.
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