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From: JimR
Date: 11/02/01
Time: 20:10:22 -0600
Just thought I'd post this in case it might help others. Recently I eliminated all grains from my diet and within 5 days I wiped out about half of my symptoms, especially heartburn and that feeling of reflux in my throat/esophagus. I am still getting sinus pressure/shortness of breath. After explaining my history to a new doc (a DO - Doctor of Osteopathy, not an MD - they're worthless), he believes the sinus pressure/shortness of breath is due to a candida yeast over growth. I've never bought into that theory before, but now I think I do. I used to always think that the heartburn/reflux feeling and that the sinus pressure came from the same cause, a weak LES, which is what the GI surgeon told me a long time ago. He recommended surgery, of course, but could never explain what caused the les to be weak. Now that I've eliminated the reflux, it's become obvious that the sinus pressure and shortness of breath is from another cause. I've been on a whole foods diet for over a year, and use to post here regularly because I was doing well and believed whole foods and meditation was the answer, but I stopped posting because I kept having setbacks and was beginning to feel like a hypocrit. Now, I've never gone this long without that feeling of reflux, so I believe I've solved half of my problems.
This DO believes I've had food sensitivities all my life (apparently, according to my mother, I was her only child out of 6 that was constantly regurgitating food as an infant). Since she told me that, I've feared that the surgeon was right and this proved I had a weak LES from birth, but the DO with his food sensitivity theory makes a lot of sense, now that its become obvious I'm doing better by eliminating grains. I've been a carb addict for a long time. With all the media attention about a low fat diet, I ate very little meat or eggs over the past 20 years, and made up for it by eating more carbs, especially refined carbs. Now I'm following a diet that I think would benefit others, that is described on Dr. Mercola's website. He's extreme, and you can't go into his diet over night unless, like me, you're already half way there by eating a whole foods diet. His site is at Mercola.com. I would also recommend finding a good DO. The first one I went to wasn't very good, and I wasted about a year listening to her, but this new guy has been helpful and as of right now I believe he will help me figure out whatever else I might have going on. He thinks my adrenal glands are shot and that my thryoid might not be functioning all that well. I'm going to get those tested. I believe a good DO should be able to figure out whatever is the REAL CAUSE of your problems. Your problems might be for different reasons than mine, but I doubt it is truly from a weak les. The pressure around my les tested weak and surgery was recommended. But it appears that my digestive system was out of whack because of food sensitivities, which caused this pressure to be weak.
The downside of a DO, is that your insurance may or may not cover it. But I think it's worth your while to pick up these costs if humanly possible. It may be the only way to get well.
Hope this helps.