[bromgeksan]

I am having persistent heartburn too right now. It comes and goes but I'm having to take those acid reducer pills at night, and then sometimes I have to get up and swallow some Mylanta. I'm going to research it and see what is going on.

I know what part of mine is but I shouldn't be having it, as are you, consistently. If you find out anything please post it.

Thanks!

[strmini]

Evrdy, I think what you did is important for all of us. As you said sometimes we just have to sit down and think what we have been doing, eating, experiencing lately in order to figure out what is happening to us. That is whay I keep a journal that I enter things in every so often (daily when I can) so that I can see a pattern if there is one. At the end of the day it is my 5 minutes to truly think about my day, my Atkins journey and anything else. When I am puzzled about my reaction to something or am despondent about my lack of weight loss, it also helps to see my success in black and white.

Hope your heartburn is better.

[strmini]

I know this seems strange, but cut out the Coke and see what happens. In addition to the aspartame, there is a considerable amount of acid in it that could be irritating your stomach, especially since you weren't drinking this before. Also, have you had more grease lately than usual, either on vacation or when you got home? Not fat, but grease like from a hamburger or something. I know that can both me without the carbs I used to have to "soak it up".

[cakaeroryrere]

Thanks everybody for giving me some ideas as to what this is all about,, and once I figure it out "for sure and definite" I will be sure to let you know what it was,,,so that it can help others,, and we can keep a log of what works for each of us..

Ok,, here is what I have evaluated since making this post..

1. The diet soda MAY have a link,, however I have cut them down so much and still have a problem that if it is linked, them I will have to cut them out completely.. this is my next step.. as of today, no more soda for the next week, to see if there is a link..

2. Stress is at a high right now. With hubby being gone,, and Navy wives being at their worst,, many of them are coming to me for reassurances.. I have had to cut my ties with many of them and completely shut them out, because of the toxicity that they bring to my life..

3. School starts for the kids on the 18th,,, and for me on the 25th.. While I know this is a good thing,, I always get the "jitters" as it comes closer. It's kind of stupid to be 33 years old, and still get jitters about school,, but it does happen.

4. I have a history of nerve problems that create gastrointestinal disturbances.. I started getting "nerve related ulcers" when I was 12 years old.. Stress can do me in quick.. but I am on Paxil to help with that, and I guess under the circumstances,, I should have increased my dosage by 10 mg per day,, until this period gets under control.. This is something that I am also going to take into consideration.

5. Email communications with my hubby have been few and far between. I didn't think it was having an impact on me, until yesterday, when I got yet another 2 sentence email that basically said,, "he's having a hard time, and can't talk to me about it"... it really put me in the toilet.. but today he called me, and we talked about it,, and he is just afraid that I will worry more if he vents about things. I explained that it is vitally important that we continue to talk about things,, as if we were in the same house still,, because otherwise,, the worry only get worse, and we will have to deal with an "eggshell" period for that much longer when he gets home.. We had a great talk,, and I think this could also have been part of my problem.

6. As far as my hunger levels go,, I have been eating alot.. but I haven't gained any weight back.. but after thinking it over about "what" I ate, I realized that I wasn't getting hardly any vegetables.. and was opting for an abundance of protein and very high fat foods..I am going to keep a watch on this,,, and make sure that I keep my vegies in the mix better.

7. Another diet related thing is, I had incorporated nuts (almonds/macadamia) into my diet.. However, I had done this several weeks ago... Then I realized that I wasn't just eating a couple every now and then... I was getting a handful every time I walked past the bowl.. So,, bye bye nuts.

8. Not drinking enough water.. this started when I went back home.. I was not getting nearly enough water.. and then when I got back to my real home,,, I was late to add it back to my plan.. The last couple of days, I have had water and only water, and it seems to be helping.. I don't know if it was the soda (as mentioned) or the fact that I was barely getting 16 oz of water per day..but I have had some relief since adding back in the full 64-70 oz of water per day.

9. Another thing about the hunger... I also realized that while I was eating all the time,, I was opting for "snacking" instead of actual food. Then when I would sit down to a meal,, I was ravenous.. and wanted to go back for not only seconds, but thirds!!!! So,, without realizing it,, I had let myself, become almost starved, because I wasn't making myself plan.

Ok,, as you can see,,, I was sssoooo wrong about things being the same, and not doing anything differently.. but it really took me having to sit down and evaluate every part of my routine for the last couple of weeks to find out what was going on.. It's absolutely amazing, how things can add up and before you know it,, you are in trouble in some way.. All I was paying attention to, was the carbs and exercise,, and I had inadvertently let the rest of my life go to sh*t...

So,, everybody,,, if you find yourself experiencing negative effects,, then sit down and MAKE SURE you have slipped into a trap of security and BLINDNESS,, like I did!!!!

I have alot of work to do,,, with both my diet, exercise, and awareness of my "interemotions"... Hope my little venture helps someone to realize what my be contributing to some of their problems..

[Feflyinvelf]

GREAT PIC : ) :wink:

Sunnee

[Buincchotourbss]

I have been on this diet for a week and am concerned about the heart burn. I think that their is a possible correlation between heart burn and your body's PH. The animal and fish protein we eat on this diet are acid forming foods..when the body becomes to much acid ,symptoms appear like heart burn that can lead to other major problems.There are other types of problems if you become too alkaline but I do not think that would be a problem for an Atkin's eater. So are we getting enough alkaline foods? Grains are also very acid foods! My sister was very acid and I prepared her a dinner which included a lot of alkaline foods that she was afraid to eat because she thought her heart burn would increase. and she was very suprised with the outcome. She stopped the TUMS and did very well. Black mission figs are one of the highest alkaline forming foods, try almonds or almond butter, all your greens...I have been puttiing my allotment of lemon juice in my water because lemon is a food tha turns alkaline in the body...if you suffer from heart burn think about buying a book about acid and alkalinity in the human body. Also if you take antiacids if has been found that they mask the acid problem and the heart burn actually gets worst This is not a medically excepted idea but your alternatives know about this spiral.

[Sierabiera]

Sounds painful . My gut feeling is ( if you pardon the pun) it's the coke.
Try cutting it out and see what happens

Jane.


PS. It's great to see more pics of everyone. We may have weight problems - but we're all soo good looking, that I don't think anyone could notice a bit of fat :wink:

[cakaeroryrere]

OFF TOPIC HERE

Nice to SEE you Blueskyes!

Back on Topic - Evrydy, I'll bet it's the coke - happens to me all the time - and when I stop the coke, it eventually (ugh - takes TWO DAYS) stops too!

Your analysis of your stress level, caffeine intake, eating urges and nuts seem right on target. I hope you find relief soon, and if not, please get yourself to a doctor. I would hate to find out we were giving your our non-professional pedestrian advice and it turned out to be something else (gall bladder, peptic ulcer etc.)

[wrefrinny]

The advice people are giving is wonderful. I am sure you will find relief from your symptoms shortly.

I would like to throw something out in the atmosphere for you to consider as well. I went through a period of time where my stress level was enormous and I found that I was eating about a bottle of Tums every month or so. I had the upper GI series done and they found nothing. I had gotten the presciption Zantac until it came off prescription.

My brother-in-law finally convinced me to have an endoscopy done. For anyone who is not familiar, an endoscopy is where they insert a camera down your throat and into your stomach. The acid had started to eat away the lining of my esophagus and stomach. Once that starts, scar tissue begins to form and it begins to close off your esophagus and food gets stuck on the way down. So now I am a permanent member of the Nexium club.

My point in sharing this with you is that most heartburn symptoms are controllable and, happily, few people need to contend with this type of problem for long stretches. However, there are those for whom this seems to be an inherited, or chronic disease. If your stress level is high and your family tends to be this way, please try and take the Zantac on a regular basis until the symptoms get under control (meaning a week or so). If you find that it last longer than before, you may want to consider having it attended to or at least checked out.

I hope I have not gotten too graphic for everyone. I just want to give something to consider.

[cakaeroryrere]

Ok, it's about to drive me nuts!!!

I have always had a problem with heartburn, and then two years ago, they told me that I had a gall stone the size of my thumb, and my gall bladder had to be removed.. Well, had the surgery, and then suffered like a dikkins because they told me to go on a low fat diet,,, and I have had to take Zantac ever since..

Well,,, I'm not good about taking medications.. It's wierd, I'll take any and every vitamin that you throw at me, but when it comes to meds, I have a mental block.. and typically only take them when I "feel" it,, (bad in some way).. So,, I was going along merrily in my heart burn ridden life, and stumbled upon Atkins.. and as you all know, have been here ever since..

Low and behold,, I hadn't had a single heart burn attack since starting Atkins... UNTIL I CAME HOME!!!! Now, nothing has changed. I'm still eating right, working out, drinking my water (mostly,, I have added 1 diet van coke per day) taking my vits,, and everything else.. and every single day I have gotten a serious bout of heart burn,, almost on the level of "attack" around 4:30!!!! and it doesn't want to go away!!!

Like I said,, the only thing "different" is that I am drinking diet soda.. but as soon as this started happening to me,, I cut it down to 1 per day,, and I don't always even drink the one,, but I just limited it to that much if I was going to have any!!!

What's the freaking deal... gggggrrrrrr

[L8fGLM4d]

I've only had heartburn or reflux a couple of times in my life, but while I was travelling I drank a diet coke one day to help me stay awake while driving. That night I woke up with heartburn. However, if you don't always have them and are still having discomfort, it's probably something else.

Somewhere else you mentioned being hungry all the time since you got home. Are there some emotional issues going on? Stress from being back at home and back in routine? Maybe you could take a look at your life in general and try to see what's different. Even if it is something that seems insignificant, it could be enough to throw your body off. If you're eating fatty foods, your digestive system may not be able to handle it right now if you're stressed in other areas.

I've also noticed that as the seasons change or as I go through transitions in my life, it shows up in my body--appetite, headaches, sleeping patterns, general feelings of being unwell. Even though it's still summer by the calendar, school starts for my kids next week and the week after that for me. I'm wanting to sleep a lot, eat more, etc. (the sleep I'm giving in on but not the eating!).

good luck! I hope you get some relief soon, that's such a miserable feeling.
luci

[22paseabelldaps]

nothing works for me, i take generic previcid or generic tagament from the dollar store or kroger daily.