Dr. C. suggested I try an "elimination diet" for GERD. This means avoiding the following for 1-2 weeks and introducing them back in, to see what/if anything triggers GERD:
- Alcohol
- Spicy foods
- Chocolate
- Caffeine
- Mint
- Fatty foods
PROGNOSIS
Alcohol: Easy, as I am a teetotaler.
Spicy foods: Also easy, as I am a spice wimp.
Chocolate: Problematic. By 11:00 AM, I have usually had a square of dark chocolate.
Caffeine: Tea is my life. I have been experimenting with drinking caffeinated tea every other day. For the elimination diet, I will have to cold turkey it for 1-2 weeks.
Mint: I can take or leave it. This should not be a problem to avoid.
Fatty foods: I will need to leave my olive oil at the kitchen door for the next few weeks.
OTHER ISSUES
I have been a vegetarian since the age of 12, and am striving to a vegan diet altogether. This does not affect the GERD diet but if I also try a classic allergy elimination diet, things get complicated.
I am not supposed to recline until 2-3 hours after eating, but logistically, this is ridiculous. By the time I get home, cook, and eat, it's already 8:00 PM. That means going to bed at 11 PM but this is too late if I want to get up by 5:00 AM. How do people manage?
Did I mention tea is my life?
Your mileage may vary, but...
ReplyDeleteReclining after eating is a generally bad idea. I have had to train my SO not to expect me to recline for a few hours after dinner.
To be honest, I'd rather put up with whatever restrictions are necessary to get to the source of the problem than take a drug. I could have continued chomping antacids and laxatives to deal with the consequences of foods I wanted to eat, or I could figure out where the heck the problem was coming from, and make changes. I decided to figure out where the problem was coming from and nip it in the bud. No, it's not easy, and never will be, but it's better than the alternative.
Finally, there's some sense in the idea of eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. We're just not meant to go to bed on full stomachs.
Two weeks isn't the end of the world.