A Little Purple Pill

Antacid with that, Ma'am?

     GERD happens. I wrote a previous post, which talked about acid reflux, or Gastro Esopha-geal Reflux Disease. Whether you view it as a disorder or a disease, GERD happens to people of all ages, even, infants. For many women, it is a daily ordeal of pregnancy. The condition may simply follow months or years of "acid" indigestion. It is very important not to ignore symptoms, such as acid reflux incidents or difficulty in swallowing. Few of us equate them with cancer of the esophagus or stomach, but begin by not ignoring symptoms, on the chance they may signal cancer. Part of the problem with acid indigestion and acid reflux is, we don't view them as dangerous ailments. 

Do you suppose there is any living man so unreasonable that if he found himself stricken with a dangerous ailment he would not anxiously desire to regain the blessing of health? ~Petrarch

     Like so many conditions we've come to accept as part of aging, more elders suffer from acid indigestion and GERD, than do our younger counterparts. There is some truth in equating acid indigestion with age; many people less able to produce stomach acid as they age. Then there is the brutal truth posed by the cumulative effects of unhealthy life choices. We so want to believe we are suffering because our bodies have mysteriously begun to produce too much stomach acid. Never mind that it seems counterintuitive to believe otherwise. We have this reinforced by our physicians. Like most people, if my doctor says, "You're suffering from hyperacidity; I believe it. Anyway, I can taste the stomach acid of GERD. 

     Of course it does not help to have inherited plenty of myth from our own parents and grandparents. To top it off we're bombarded with a media blizzard of ads for antacids and proton pump inhibitors. Marketers know we want comfort, and, now. It is little wonder we reach for the easy answer. Before you open that bottle of antacids, though, think about what they do. They reduce or virtually shut down stomach acid production. Maybe we need stomach acid? Even if the problem were too much, rather than too little, stomach acid, antacids are not designed to address the causative imbalance. On the other hand, if we are not producing enough stomach acid as we need it, antacids exacerbate the problem, so we're making ourselves worse.
     Once antacids are solving nothing, or making things worse, your doctor may prescribe a protein pump inhibitor, a PPI. These are effective in the short run, so much so, they are among the most overprescribed drugs in history. Now that PPIs are commonly available over the counter, maybe, you'll simply try one. From experience you will feel bullet proof within a day or so. Whopeeeee! (Fade to t.v. ad on luxury yacht.) Please read the brochure, before you take the PPI. In reading the fine print, know this: Big Pharma does not have to report all of the side effects of the medications it produces. In addition, at best, the PPI is safe to use for a little over one month.  

     This is important. NO PPI was meant to be used for more than 6 weeks, period. Researchers in the development of proton pump inhibitors warned against high dosages or prolonged use of any PPI. By 2010 the FDA repeated some of the issues raised by these researchers in its report.  The sad and terrible thing is, these drugs remained immensely popular, in spite of the report, which echoed the researchers' recommendation to have patients discontinue the use of PPIs at or before 6 weeks, millions of people continued to use them for decades. 

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm213206.htm
     Ordinary antacids do not pass the acid test, either, no pun intended. Antacids of all sorts are associated with: 

• Decreased Absorption of Vital Nutrients from Food 
• Bacterial Overgrowth 
• Less Effective Immune Systems (opening the door to serious diseases) 

    Increased joint pain is a possible outcome of years of PPI use. It is what happened to me. It is said to be a rare side effect of the use of a particular PPI. It is also how I found out pharmaceutical giants do not have to disclose side effects believed to occur infrequently. Trust me there was no consolation in the notion that my profound joint pain was rare. While I was in excruciating pain, terribly stiff, and having my life diminished to an unrecognizable level, there was no such thing as consolation. Nor was my "issue" something I immediately associated with my PPI. No, it took more than a year and countless hours of researching medical sites and consumer feedback, to figure it out. Absent better ideas from the medical community, to solve the problem of a herniated hiatus, it took more research, commitment, time and effort for me to eliminate the PPI and antacids from my diet.

     To be entirely up-to-date regarding PPI issues is to be aware of a recent data-mining study, in which Stanford researchers noted that the use of a particular PPI increases the likelihood of eventual heart attack. So look upon the fire of heartburn as a signal fire. Ignored or improperly addressed over a period of months or years, it will likely become much more than an occasional or minor discomfort. Heartburn may signal the impending failure of an entire system of the body. Next come diseases, such as hypertension, depression, anxiety, migraines and insomnia. One or all may be related to the failure of stomach acid production and poor protein digestion. Read this statement again, and think it over. Even if it is not a given in each and every case, it is a game changer. 

     Finally consider what happens, when we cannot digest proteins. Nutritionists know the body must have appropriate levels of proteins for health. Amino acids from protein are converted to protein molecules, neurotransmitters and Nitric Oxide. All this is just to say, without sufficient amino acids, we suffer various nutritional diseases. Nutritionists also know people reduce their intake of salt, voluntarily or at the behest of their physicians. The problem is, they faithfully eliminate salt, while taking antacids or PPIs. It is a bad nutritional move. Sodium Chloride (salt) is the only source of chloride available for the body's production of, wait for it ... Hydrochloric Acid. 

 In next week's post I'll revisit lifestyle changes and alternative methods for approaching indigestion and GERD.