Painkillers & Acid Reflux Symptoms: Unhealthy Relations

I was recently on an anti inflammatory drug and Advil (Ibuprofen) for several weeks for a pulled hamstring. Right after this I got bronchitis and had to go on antibiotics. I now have esophageal spasms and acid reflux. I think Rosemary is right. There does seem to be a connection between the use of the drugs and the onset of this ailment. I will try her suggestion with the yogurt and acidophilus. Thanks for the advice.

Started taking Motrin Ibuprofen for headaches and suddenly started having severe acid reflux. Nothing works except Prilosec OTC which your not suppose to take more than 14 days at a time. I am convinced the Ibuprofen caused the reflux.

My son (now twenty) was diagnosed with acid reflux when he was seven. He would vomit as soon as his feet hit the floor in the mornings. After a nightmare existence with two heavy duty prescriptions by his doctor, as his mom I refused to watch my child live this way. I contacted his doctor believing his problem was some sort of food allergy. Our conclusion now is that we weren't far off the mark. I've always been somewhat of a naturalist, so I've never given my children pain relievers and such, only when I thought it was absolutely necessity. I never fought their fevers and such and was kind of viewed with that open mouth "ohhh!!!" by friends and family who couldn't believe I thought I knew more than our doctor. I didn't. I just used common sense. Point being I don't believe there is a connection in our case with pain relievers. Our conclusion is that not only pain relievers., other meds, coupled with food processing, genetic modifications in food, pesticides and all kinds of additives in our foods are the culprits. Two culprits seemed to have the most impact on our son. When we eliminated partially and hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup from his diet (and ours) everything made here is from scratch, grown in our garden or bought from local farms who are sustainable agriculture farmers. Oh yes and one other food that seemed particularly offensive. Store bought milk. We get our milk from a local farm, straight from the cow. The research against raw milk does not bear out. If you research it well you will see what I mean. Now several years it took us to figure out all that was going on and we got his acid under complete control. He played ice hockey all through school and was captain of his team for two years. (He used to vomit with every physical exertion.) I can say honestly, the most notable health improvement, his skin, eyes, hair, muscle tone...drastic improvement with in a week of switching to raw milk, whole to boot. So I don't buy the stay away from fat theory either. Course it does depend on the quality and processing of those fats. Do not recommend any dairy products commercially produced. Most foods would also (bought in stores) fit that category as well. When he does have flare ups now, it's usually quelled immediately with apple cider vinegar, (raw of course), crushed fresh cranberries in spring water and a genuine aloe vera juice, which ever we happen to have at the moment. (He still stops at Mcdonalds and such occasionally with his friends.) And it only gets bad if he's had fast foods three or more times a week. In conclusion I believe that pain relievers and other such culprits are not the cause of but rather the antagonizer of the problem which is caused by the absolute denigration of the nutrients in our food for commercial profit and the use of additives and fillers which on there own would most likely be labeled "not for human consumption". I've done a ton of personal research on this topic and have mountains of information on the way our foods (breads, sourdough, fermented veggies, sauerkraut, homemade wines and vinegars, why they were used and prepared and how our food doesn't even resemble anything like what they used to eat. Sorry this was so long. There is just so much to tell.

Wow! I have lived on Aciphex or Prilosec for almost ten years because my acid reflux is so miserable without it. I read your emails, and my only reaction is, "Wow!" Ibuprofen is the only other medicine I have taken since my reflux began. No more ibuprofen here! Thank you for posting...

Acid Reflux (cause) I was interested to read about your theory that ibuprofen causes reflux. Every month when I take alleve (for cramps) my reflux flares up. I'm going to try just using a heating pad next time.

My observation is that I get acid reflux after I have eaten food that contained strong preservatives. Restaurant food usually has a lot of preservatives, restaurants do that to avoid law suit for food poisoning. However, the preservatives do their job to keep the food from being broken down. Eventually the food will start to ferment in the stomach, which will cause acid reflux. When I avoid foods that contain preservatives, the acid reflux will go away.

One piece of information I did find helpful, was the link between pain medication and GERD. My GERD developed shortly after a 15-day hospital stay in which I was on a morphine pump that delivered a dose of morphine every 3 minutes. (I had a complication to a gallbladder removal surgery.) My theory has been that large doses of antibiotics & the lack of gallbladder & the bile it produced left my stomach vulnerable to h.pylori & unable to digest food properly. However, now reading about the pain medication theory - that would make sense too.

I started having episodes of feeling faint and then chest pains and bowel issues this past November. At first it was occasional but this week has been daily and last night was the worst. Horrible gas pain and that feeling of food stuck. My dr put my on Protonix and for 8 weeks it worked but has since stopped working. I have never had a digestion problem. However, after reading Rosemary's comment on ibuprofen I think it may be my cause. I have severe headaches and usually take 3-4 200mg pills of ibuprofen to find any relief. Not daily but a few times a week. I can't take this any longer and turned to the internet in hopes of finding an answer and found Ted's formula. I just took my first glass of acv/baking soda. I'll write back with results as soon as I see them. Here's hoping..

When the problem started (over a year ago) I had just finished taking several rounds of antibiotics and anti-inflamatories for a sinus infection that did not want to go away. The Antibiotics included Ketex, Ceftin, Amoxicillin. The NSAID was Ibuprofen based.'I have tried ACV, Nexium, Protonix, many others. Has not cured anything yet. I will try the yogurt, pro-biotic advise from Rosemary.

Motrin for PMS cured the pain but interestingly enough I developed an uncomfortable case of heart burn that seems to keep popping up. I had rarely had it before, and never to this extreme. It started when I began taking Motrin. I had suspected that Motrin could be the cause. I am going to do a cleansing diet for a week. I will use Aloe juice as part of the plan. Towards the last few days I will start to add yogurt. Hopefully this will heal my poor tummy. But what to do about the PMS?

I started taking ibuprofen on a fairly regular basis about 3 years ago for pain from 2 bulging discs & a lateral tear in my left shoulder, approx. 400-800 mg 1-2 times a week, and I was fine. Then I had a Physiatrist prescribe 800 mg on a daily basis for about a month, and it began to reek havoc on my stomach. I'm now a mess, and looking for any solutions I can, including quitting drinking (beer, wine, & spirits), which I'm sure hasn't helped my stomach situation either. I've also quit smoking cigars. My throat is now being affected, and is a problem especially as a singer. I find red wine & red sauce really triggers it bad, along with garlic & greasy things like sausage. In the big picture quitting all these things that affect my stomach now are probably a good thing, but hard to get there.

I take Ibuprofen regularly for back pain and headaches. I never thought about the connection. It sounds logical to me! I am going to try the yogurt and the acidophilus/bifodophilus and not take ibuprofen.

I say yea,I had a very bad experience taking ibuprofen. I had severe acid reflux . After giving birth I had a headache I was given motrin... it upset my stomach so bad I stayed in the hospital 5 days. I was given morphine for my pain.

well, i was on FOSAMAX for 10 years. I never had any problem with reflux until I was prescribed a heavy course of antibiotics. I agree with the theory about bacteria since the antibiotics gave me a wicked yeast infection. Now i'm trying the acidophilus pills. I am off Fosamax now. I'm not sure if it, or the antibiotics caused this, but I am confident my body can reverse this situation and heal. My body is really smart! All our bodies are!

Ibuprofen definitely causes my painful acid reflux. I take about 2-3 ibuprofen a month for severe cramps due to endometriosis. I eat a healthy diet but have not been able to reduce the pain through natural techniques. Ibuprofen is a last resort because of the pain that follows a week or two after taking it.