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As much as I've found reasons why not to go Paleo, I've generally found multiple ones why I should at least try it. With this past weekend being the final straw.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis (sp?)

I figured it had a lot to do with a lousy diet, little exercise, and my beverage of choice, Pepsi. I'm a sugar junkie, Snickers bars, jelly candies, etc.

Add to all that, but I also get something where I would get egg burps, followed by bloating, gas, diarreaha, and lately projectile vomiting, for about a day, day and a half.

After lots of research, I figured it had something to do with bad bacteria in my gut (SIBO?), a lack of good bacteria in there, and lately a lack of stomach acid, as when my gastro put me on Prilosec for GERD, my egg burp/vomit fun increased quite a bit. 3 episodes within 2 weeks, whereas before, I would only get it a few times a year, not always vomiting.

Needless to say, I quickly dumped the Prilosec, although I do use the inhaler when I get the spasms in my esophagus. I don't want to take any meds at all, who does?

So, about a month ago I started taking flow yoga. I figured it would be a good way to reduce stress, strech myself out, and ease me back into working out again. I'm taking Vinyasa, which is a bit more vigorous than Hatha. Anywho, I felt great, as when I'm working out ( I used to lift 5-6 times per week, thus the yoga to stretch myself out), I tend to eat better.

I was eating eggs and fruit for breakfast, little more lax at lunch, but nothing horrible. Added protein shakes, vega sport for snacks, occasionally nuts. Dinner was generally a shake, or salad with protein and nuts.

I know its not totally paleo, but it was a start.

Onto my reason for taking the Betaine. I figured that I had some good momentum working, and read in several sources that my GERD was caused by a lack of stomach acid, contrary to what my doc said. He also felt that the EE was caused by GERD, but he said that he wasn't sure.

I bought some NOW foods Betaine, I've liked their brand, and started taking it last week. Thursday with bfast, no reaction. Popped one right before my bfast of eggs and fruit. Nothing at lunch, and then had one before dinner of Chipotle (better than how I used to eat, with a Pepsi (I know, I know). Needless to say, spasms, GERD, etc. Did I take it incorrectly? I know the pop wasn't the best move, but I got cocky, as I hadn't had an episode in awhile, and was treating myself for the progress I was making. I've read different ways to take Betaine, before a meal (NOW foods); after a few bites; and at the end of a meal (Twinlabs)

It's easy to point to the pop, but I'm just throwing it out there to see what responses I'll get from those who've had similar symptoms or diagnoses.

I'm at the point where I will move to a Paleo diet, at the very least try it for a few months, to see where this goes. I'm just sick and tired of dealing with this.

Hopefully, Paleo will increase my stomach acid production without supplements.

Any help, suggestions (keep it decent, I'm not looking to get bashed for my choices above. In fact, it was the written attacks of some people posting on Paleo sites, that turned me away from this lifestyle.)

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4 Answers

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Hey Howie,

I'm not going to bash your for the pepsi, but I am going to suggest you put it down and back slowly away. At least for 30 days. Commit to Paleo for 30 days and then reintroduce the Pepsit to see how your body reacts. You may luck out and you have no reaction. Perhaps this is becuase your system has had time to heal or perhaps it's becuase you actually don't have a problem with Pepsi. Or you could have a flare up and know that Pepsi has a bigger cost than you realized. You can of course keep drinking it, but you'll know either way what kind of cost you'll pay to drink it. I'm not even going to dive into other associated 'costs' of drinking a highly processed product. THat's another post entirely and I believe I promised no bashing, yes? ;-)

Anywho, since you're have GERD issues and some other nasties I would suggest you try the dairy free Paleo to limit the number of variables that could be causing your issues. Seriously. Limit your dairy to ghee which is pure fat minus the irritants like lactose and milk proteins.

Good Resources: The Whole 30
http://whole9life.com/

Robb Wolf (use menu on right to navigate to beginner stuff)
http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/meal-plans-shopping-guides/

Lastly, I'm going to suggest you get your poop tested. Sounds gross and it really is pretty gross, but oh, so worth it. Find out what is going on with your bacteria by getting an aenerobic test. The one I got was a parasitology test so I get to look at my bacteria counts, my yeast counts, and we tested for parasites. I was great except that my bacteria was way off and I was completely missing one that every has and NEEDS. So yeah, do it. It's almost impossible to really heal if you don't know what is going on in there. We can't really be functional human beings if our guts and/or our bacteria is jacked.

Keep us updated and best of luck.

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Yeah, I'm thinking I need the stool test too. Would you recommend a naturopath, or my can going through my regular physician achieve the same thing? With all the sugar I consume, pop being the biggest evildoer, I'm sure my bacteria is all out of whack. I take a probiotic daily, Jarro brand, but I wonder how much of it actually makes it to the intestines. – Howie Handles May 7 2012 at 18:26
I went through an osteopath. In hindsight I would have started at my regular insurance covered doctor and done it as part of a full physical. I think it would have been covered by my insurance then. – MeepsIsWellfed May 8 2012 at 1:05
Sugar, carbs, really mess me up. My worst and immediate symptom to sugar was terrible horrible death gas. I don't know that brand but it probably isn't hurting you. I was taking a probiotic before the poop test but found out it didn't include the bacteria that I was missing. They don't sell it in the states so I had to get some from Germany. I'm very thankful I decided to go through with the test or I never would have known. – MeepsIsWellfed May 8 2012 at 1:11
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I take the Now Betatine and I take 1-2 per meal. I've read you're supposed to take the Betatine until you feel a warm feeling in your stomach and that's your proper dose, but I haven't tried it. I also take digestive enzymes. I can tell you that my gerd went away after getting rid of the pop, candy, and all grains and dairy. Whenever I want pop- I drink Zevia. The Ginger Root Beer, Black Cherry, and Orange are my fav. I also buy or make RAW Apple Cider Drinks. I put some ginger juice in mine and it helps with inflammation and GERD. Dr. Axe has a recipe on his site. My diet is very similar to paleo-I just don't eat a lot of nuts. Good luck.

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You can also try flavored seltzer as a substitute for soda. It takes a little while to get used to, but pretty soon you'll start to love it (maybe). – trjones May 7 2012 at 17:57
Do you take your Betaine before, during, or after your meal? When I'm disciplined, I try to pound water, and it makes the craving go away. But when I fall, sometimes I fall hard. – Howie Handles May 7 2012 at 18:27
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I'm also a sugar junkie who finds that the cravings for sugar go WAY down when I greatly increase my dietary fat intake. I have also had a little GERD, although not that bad.

But -- you're dealing with GERD and the EE on top of that. Reading about your Chipotle meal, did you have a burrito with tortilla? Because the tortilla alone would give me a little GERD, add the Pepsi and it's a GERD party.

Re: The EE -- Have you narrowed down the allergies that cause the inflammation? When you say that you get 'egg burps' does that mean that eggs worsen the inflammation?

I think that paleo could help, but that you will want to get a handle on the EE allergies. Also trial to see if a higher-fat meal would worsen the symptoms, as many Paleo meals do lean on fat as a food source.

Good luck!

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No, the egg burps are the precursor that I'm going to be really bloated, burps with an egg smell (usually without having eaten eggs), guaranteed diarrhea, and sometimes vomiting. It's really as fun as it sounds. It goes on for about a day or so, until everything has been expelled from my body. – Howie Handles May 7 2012 at 18:23
I know Pepsi is my biggest vice, and would assume that played a large part in my recent episode. I thought that I could cheat, as I had been eating much better the previous month, and was working out almost daily. My concern was if I was taking Betaine the correct way, just prior to my meal. – Howie Handles May 7 2012 at 18:24
I have taken Betaine during the meal & not had a problem. But the EE sounds hard to predict! Good luck improving it all, I don't think health demands perfect adherence. – ElisaOS May 8 2012 at 16:59
I know pop is a majorly bad food, but I need to get over this mental addiction. I was doing well, until I came down with a cold this past week, and fell off the wagon. I need to jump back on. Also read that I should wait on Betaine, until my stomach and esophagus are healed. that makes sense, but how will I know that, other than through an endo. – Howie Handles May 8 2012 at 18:13
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I never took the betaine HCL, as I didn't know about it back then, but maybe it's a little harsh? I used kombucha and apple cider vinegar tonics instead. I think that + a VERY low carb diet for at least a week will put your stomach in a much better position to heal. Once you've gotten that week out of the way, I suggest looking into the GAPs diet or Whole 30, with lots of probiotic supplementation and high nutrient density from things like liver and oysters. In the beginning you do need to be strict, but the goal is for you to be able to eat more things, so it's really worth it!

I never thought I'd be able to enjoy things like spicy curries again and here I am eating them often.

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I've read about ACV, and actually like the taste of it straight. It would seem to be less harsh than the Betaine, although I'm open to any suggestions. I purchased the Whole30 plan, now I need to read the whole thing. Thanks – Howie Handles May 7 2012 at 18:28

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