Looking to get rid of acid reflux naturally and for good? Tired of relying on harsh prescriptions every day just to find relief? Here’s what I did to get rid of my acid reflux for good.
Discloser: I am not a trained health professional. All articles are based on my own experience and opinions. Please consult with a health professional before making lifestyle changes.
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My Experience with Acid Reflux
I remember having acid reflux as young as the age of 6. I started having really bad health problems around the age of 12, food sensitivities, migraines, etc. Finally, around age 15 we decided to see a GI specialist who did an Endoscopy and found that my entire stomach lining and esophagus was inflamed and scarred.
The doctor suggested that it was caused by stress and prescribed an antacid. We didn’t think too much about it and I started taking a version of Zantac daily. The medication made a huge difference right away. The inflammation reduced which allowed my appetite to return and I started to actually eat without intense pain.
I continued on that medication every day for 4 years. If I missed a dose I would feel literally like death. My throat would be on fire and I would get sick if I tried to eat anything.
At yearly follow-up visits with GI they continued to increase my dose and change prescriptions “because my body got used to it”. At that point, it baffled my mind that my body could not fight this on its own. Acid blockers at most should only be used for 2 weeks – it says that right on the bottle, yet I had been taking them for years! And I was just a teenager!!
In my mind, I thought these were supposed to heal my body so I didn’t have acid reflux anymore, but it was simply masking my pain. I was sick and tired of them and wanted another option. I went in for a second Endoscopy at age 19 with a new GI and my tests came back completely normal!
If it was completely normal, why did I feel like I was breathing fire if I missed a dose?! So I decided to turn to natural remedies to get rid of acid reflux for good. I hated being dependent on prescriptions that seemed to be doing more harm to my daily life than good.
Today I can honestly tell you that I do not take prescriptions daily, and I only take supplement every once in a while if it starts to act up. I still feel like my stress level can trigger an acid reflux episode but I can manage it within a few hours with some natural remedies.
2024 update: I completed this process back in 2018, in 2023 I finally found out I have celiac disease, which could be the root of my acid reflux. However, even before that diagnosis I was able to manage my acid reflux with the remedies I’m about to share.
Here’s a list of the things I tried, what seemed to work, and what didn’t.
My Tips For Getting Rid Of Acid Reflux
Don’t Go Cold Turkey
I didn’t just stop taking my meds when I decided I wanted to change. Instead, I slowly took the dose down by taking half a dose at first. After doing that for a few days and if it was unbearable I would take the full dose.
After a week or so I was good on half a dose so I started doing some of the things below to transition. Then after a week or two with multiple remedies, I cut out the prescription altogether.
Don’t go cold turkey! You’ll shock your system and potentially cause more damage than good.
Avoid High Acidic/Fatty Foods
While you’re working to get rid of acid reflux you’ll want to be kind to your digestive system. Obviously, during this transition, you shouldn’t eat salsa or anything that would normally give you heartburn.
It’s good to identify your triggers like tomatoes, spicy foods, gluten, stress, etc. If you aren’t sure of your triggers at this point just start paying close attention to how you feel after you eat something. Acid reflux usually occurs soon after eating but it can also appear the next morning. Take note of what you eat and how you feel and start to identify any patterns. If it’s really bad you may simply react to everything, so don’t panic – no you don’t have to cut everything out, as you heal you’ll be able to tolerate more items.
Avoid any known trigger foods and stick to a warm, simple diet – like soup. I ate a lot of cooked chicken and veggies, broth-based soups, and warm teas during the transition (skip tomatoes as much as possible).
I also recommend staying away from raw veggies (like lettuce – that was a huge one for me) because they can actually be pretty rough on your stomach lining. Instead, opt for steamed veggies.
You should be able to eat regularly in a few weeks, so just avoid them for a moment. Know your body, listen to your body, and do what’s best for it. This is a time to be really kind to your body and remind yourself that you are healing, it won’t be like this forever.
Determine If You Have High Or Low Stomach Acid
I have low stomach acid, which is the cause of my acid reflux. You can find out if you have low stomach acid by taking this simple baking soda test.
Mix a 1/4 tsp of baking soda in 6 ounces of cold water and drink it on an empty stomach. You’ll want to time how long it takes you to burp. If it takes you longer than 3-5 minutes, then you probably have low stomach acid and would benefit from adding some acid to your stomach, like with apple cider vinegar. If you have high stomach acid you should focus on limiting acid. I have low stomach acid so my remedies are related to that.
Supplements To Heal Acid Reflux
Apple Cider Vinegar Shots
I started drinking 8oz of warm water with a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar and some honey every morning and night or as needed.
My GI recommended warm water because it’s more soothing than cold water. You can drink it as a tea or just get it over with as quickly as possible if you’re like me. It does not taste amazing. I’ll tell you that. But give it at least 5 tries before you give up. It will become bearable I promise.
The honey really helps with the taste, but it takes a few minutes to dissolve in the water. I found this was very soothing but only for an hour or so.
Sometimes I would add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a water bottle and sip it whenever I could feel the “heat rising”. I drank it in the morning and night for a few months but carried a bottle with me while transitioning off my acid blockers.
It’s not pleasant, but it works. Apple cider vinegar is an anti-inflammatory so it will help soothe your stomach and esophagus lining leading to relief. The honey is also helpful for getting it to stick to your esophagus and stomach lining longer – promoting healing.
Here’s the apple cider vinegar I used.
You can take apple cider vinegar in capsule form, but it isn’t any more pleasant than the liquid. The capsules and gummies also tend to have a very low quantity of apple cider vinegar. During your transition, I recommend using the liquid.
I do, however, keep some capsules on hand for when I occasionally get acid reflux from a night of overdoing it or when I get really stressed. Here are the ones I recommend.
Slippery Elm
This one was WAY weird, but the supplement that I always recommend to people with acid reflux. I have no idea why it works – but it totally does.
What I would do is take 1-2 slippery elm capsules when I started feeling my acid reflux coming. It was an on-demand type of thing. I used this during the last week on my prescription, and then solely this and Apple cider vinegar for about two weeks. Then I would just use this when needed beyond that.
I just kept some in my purse for easy access. The best part is this supplement isn’t very expensive. Here’s the one I used.
I still keep a bottle of these around for when I occasionally have a flare-up. Like I’ve said, I sometimes still experience acid reflux if I eat a ton of tomatoes or when I get really stressed. But when that happens I’ll take 1-2 of these and I’ll feel better in less than an hour or so.
Another one I reach for more often is GI Revive, this supplement has slippery elm but also additional supplements that help calm my stomach and resolve any acid reflux symptoms I have.
Aloe Vera Juice
This is something I only tried twice during my transition because it wasn’t exactly my favorite, but it did help.
You can buy bottles of Aloe Vera juice at the grocery store. These are nice to sip on like the apple cider vinegar water to help cool the “heat” when it creeps up.
Much like how aloe vera feels on a sunburn it helps to cool your throat and may help relieve the sore throat that often comes with acid reflux.
This is what I’d recommend trying.
Probiotics
Another thing that really helped me was getting started on a good probiotic routine. This helped me get rid of acid reflux for good. I used the apple cider vinegar and slippery elm to kick my prescription and get my body healing, but I believe it was adding probiotics a few months later that kept it from coming back.
My favorite probiotic is Ortho Molecular Biotic Probiotic which was recommended by my doctor. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly probiotic you can add 1-2 tbsp of sauerkraut or kimchi to your diet. This is my favorite brand of sauerkraut. I typically relay on sauerkraut now that I’m doing better, but when my digestive symtpoms act up or I’m traveling I’ll grab a bottle of the probiotics for convenience.
Cure Your Acid Reflux in 4 Weeks!
What I found was those 4 weeks of transition SUCKED, but every day was a little more manageable, and before I knew it – I didn’t wake up with acid reflux, foods didn’t give me heartburn, and all my other acid reflux symptoms were gone!
It takes dedication to do this, but if you’re sick of prescriptions and want a life free of acid reflux, I recommend giving it a try. Your body will heal itself, but you HAVE to get off those prescriptions. What I found is these remedies helped me manage the pain during the transition, but my body in the end did heal itself.
Ready to give it four weeks and see what happens? Follow this four week guide and get started! This guide has everything laid out in a more easy to follow way so you can give it shot too.
Common Questions
I get emails all the time from people just like you who are fed up with their acid reflux. So I thought I would cover a few of the most common questions I get asked.
How long will it take me to get rid of my acid reflux?
Honestly, I’m not a medical professional – and everybody’s SO different. So I can’t give you an exact answer. I can tell you that for me it took about 4 weeks to comfortably transition off of the medications that I had been using for almost 5 years. Your case may not be as extreme or may be worse.
I also did not have GERD, so if you do your situation could be more complicated. It’s also been much easier to manage now that I understand my food sensitives and can avoid them.
Can you eat whatever you want now? Or do you stick to a low-acidic diet?
In the last year or so I’ve come to realize I have a nightshade sensitivity, so I largely try to avoid nightshades. But they cause much more than acid reflux.
Occasionally I’ll get some heartburn if I eat a lot of sugary food or acidic foods but a quick Slippery Elm or GI Revive takes care of that. Lately I’ve noticed if I have coffee more than a couple times a week my acid reflux will get worse, so I drink apple cider vinegar in the mornings again for a few days and it balances it out. I also don’t drink coffee daily and when I do have coffee I make sure to eat and drink water before.
There are foods I just became accustomed to avoiding that I don’t have the desire to eat (like cow’s milk and fried foods) but I can eat them every once in a while and be fine.
I’ve learned what my acid reflux triggers are and I avoid them where possible, but I also default to these strategies when I do want to indulge freely – knowing I have a recovery plan. Typically I can bounce back in 1-2 days from a mild flare up.
What did you eat during your transition?
Honestly, it was pretty bland food. But I was in college so eating a plain, cheap, easy meal was fine. I took my own food everywhere I went and stuck with it. If you like variety try to get creative but remember this is a time of healing – it’s not going to be a super fun experience (but you’ll love it after!)
What probiotic do you take?
This is the one I’ve been really liking lately. https://amzn.to/3wtaReC
Thanks take Care!