Heart Burn, who gets it?

[Bouncer]

I always seem to get it around the same time each day around 3pm. I went and bought some Pepcid AC. Is this stuff safe to take on a daily basis?

[Shibby]

I get it after certain foods and coffee. But I got the stuff by folgers that is gentle on the stomach and I don't get it after coffee any more.

[FitnessBrat]

Do you really get it everyday? If so, you need to see a doctor. Long term it can lead to some very serious problems.

[coffee-guy]

I've had it almost every single day since I came off of my contest diet back in May - my doctor has prescribed me Aciphex and it's done wonders - get it checked out bro...

[beefcake]

I get acid reflux when I eat things that are high in tomato sauce.

[Bouncer]

I have pretty much had acid reflux/heart burn off and on since I was kid.

Fog, just did a search on that Aciphex. it is prescribed for people with Acid Reflux disease and it is only intended to be used for 4-8 weeks to heal the esophagus. basically it shuts off the pumps that make acid in your stomach. how is your prescription for? my concern with turning off the acid in your stomach is that food would be digested very well would it?

[Bouncer]

The digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. Inside this tube is a lining called the mucosa. In the mouth, stomach and small intestine, the mucosa contains tiny glands that produce juices to help digest food.

Two solid organs, the liver and the pancreas, produce digestive juices that reach the intestine through small tubes. In addition, parts of other organ systems (for instance, nerves and blood) play a major role in the digestive system.

How is food digested?

Digestion involves the mixing of food, its movement through the digestive tract, and chemical breakdown of the large molecules of food into smaller molecules. Digestion begins in the mouth, when we chew and swallow, and is completed in the small intestine. The chemical process varies somewhat for different kinds of food.

Movement of food through the system

The large, hollow organs of the digestive system contain muscle that enables their walls to move. The movement of organ walls can propel food and liquid and also can mix the contents within each organ. The muscle of the organ produces a narrowing and then propels the narrowed portion slowly down the length of the organ. These waves of narrowing push the food and fluid in front of them through each hollow organ.

The first major muscle movement occurs when food or liquid is swallowed. Although we are able to start swallowing by choice, once the swallow begins, it becomes involuntary and proceeds under the control of the nerves.

The esophagus is the organ into which the swallowed food is pushed. It connects the throat above with the stomach below. At the junction of the esophagus and stomach, there is a ringlike valve closing the passage between the two organs. However, as the food approaches the closed ring, the surrounding muscles relax and allow the food to pass.

The food then enters the stomach, which has three mechanical tasks to do. First, the stomach must store the swallowed food and liquid. This requires the muscle of the upper part of the stomach to relax and accept large volumes of swallowed material. The second job is to mix up the food, liquid and digestive juice produced by the stomach. The lower part of the stomach mixes these materials by its muscle action. The third task of the stomach is to empty its contents slowly into the small intestine.

As the food is digested in the small intestine and dissolved into the juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, the contents of the intestine are mixed and pushed forward to allow further digestion.

Finally, all of the digested nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls. The waste products of this process include undigested parts of the food, known as fiber, and older cells that have been shed from the mucosa. These materials are propelled into the colon, where they remain, usually for a day or two, until the feces are expelled by a bowel movement.

Digested molecules of food, as well as water and minerals from the diet, are absorbed from the cavity of the upper small intestine. Most absorbed materials cross the mucosa into the blood and are carried off in the bloodstream to other parts of the body for storage or further chemical change.

What does the colon do?

The colon, which is about five feet long, connects the small intestine with the rectum and anus. The major function of the colon is to absorb water, nutrients and salts from the partially digested food that enters from the small intestine.

Colon motility (the contraction of the colon muscles and the movement of its contents) is controlled by nerves and hormones and by electrical activity in the colon muscle. Contractions move the contents slowly back and forth but mainly toward the rectum. During this passage, water and nutrients are absorbed into the body. What remains is stool. A few times each day, strong muscle contractions move down the colon, pushing the stool ahead of them. Some of these strong contractions result in a bowel movement.

The muscles of the pelvis and anal sphincters have to relax at the right time to allow the stool to be expelled. If the muscles of the colon, sphincters and pelvis do not contract in a coordinated way, the contents do not move smoothly, resulting in abdominal pain, cramps, constipation or diarrhea, and a sense of incomplete stool movement.

ok so will these medications have an effect on digestion or not?

[FitnessBrat]

They will not have an affect on digestion. Aciphex is *usually* taken to "heal" the esophagus (often with people with acid reflux and/or ulcers) but can be taken longer. Untreated heartburn can cause long term damage.

[Bouncer]

That Aciphex is in the same class as prilosec. They are both proton pump inhibitors. They are only to be used short term. My question is, wouldn't the heart burn just come back after the short term use?

I have also seen the term "irreversible" mentioned when reading about Proton pump inhibitors. anyone know what it does that warrants the word "irreversible"? that word scares me. lol

[Shibby]

What are you doing around that same time each day? I don't remember a whole lot about it, but I do remember that using an antacid long term can cause it to get worse. Basically you take tums and you are adding more Base to the PH scale releaving the acidic burn. Then your body creates more Acid to try and bring the PH balance back to neutral, but in the large scale you now have more acid then before. All these things like Tums and Pepcid are intended to give temporary relief until the cause is digested. If it's not being caused by something you consume then there is a much bigger issue.

[Bouncer]

What are you doing around that same time each day? I don't remember a whole lot about it, but I do remember that using an antacid long term can cause it to get worse. Basically you take tums and you are adding more Base to the PH scale releaving the acidic burn. But then your body creates more Acid to try and bring the PH balance back to neutral.

its about 2-3 hours after i get back from the gym. i have had my PWO shake already usually have just gotten done eating my chicken, brown rice, and greens bean meal.

one thing i have read is that many weight lifters get heart burn/acid reflux. anyone know what that is about?

[Shibby]

I know the stress you are putting on your body can put pressure on your organs. If you engage your abs you can kind of feel yourself about to burp. Well all through your workout you are doing something like that. It could be a reaction from constantly shaking things up.

[house1]

B i have acid reflux - which i let go for a long time unchecked when i was younger -

it ate a hole - causing berets disease which can turn into stomach cancer -- i go every 2 years to have it looked at to be sure things are fine -

i take prevacid - without it i couldnt eat anything without heartburn -

dont let it go for to long unchecked specially if its a everyday occurance

[coffee-guy]

I had ulcers back around the time I was coming out of my contest season (lots of shit in my life at the time piled on the stress of prep) - that combined with the drastic changes in my diet after coming off my prep led to the reflux...

My doctor put me on a 4 week schedule of the aciphex to "heal" my problem so that it wouldn't come back (this was about 9 weeks ago) - the only problem is that if it isn't AAS I'm not very religious with shit like that so I kept missing doses for days at a time - I've been back "on" it for about a week solid now and I'm fine - as long as I can stay on it like I'm supposed to for 3 more weeks my doc says it "should" be gone for good considering I don't eat/drink things that continue to affect it....

[Bouncer]

I see. So it is more about healing the esophagus and stomach more so then just preventing the stomach acid.

Hey fog, they say coffee is a no no for people with our problem. haha. fuck that, i am not giving up my coffee.