Blueberries symptoms and conditions

Hi everyone, I read some of the posts here and thought to share my experience with you.
About 15 years ago I started having heart burns and started taking Tums, Gaviscon and some other antacids and they seemed to work for a little while. But my heart burn slowly got worst and worst until I went to my family doctor. He sent me to a specialist and after sending the scope in my stomach (EsophagoGastroDuodenal (EGD) endoscopy), he said that I have H. Pylori infection in my stomach, as well as LES malfunction (LES = Lower Esophageal Sphincter). He prescribed some antibiotics and 20mg/day of Losec for 8 weeks.
After 8 weeks I ran out of Losec, and my heart burn returned again. I went and saw my doctor again and he said I can continue taking Losec and that I can take it as long as I need it and that Losec has been in the market for over 19 years and no one had any side effect from it and it's one of the safest drugs that they have come up with. So I kept on taking it regularly 20 mg/day for 15 years now. Until about 6 months ago I switched to Omeprazole because my insurance company wouldn't cover the cost for Losec but covered the generic brand Omeprazole. I've had none of the side effects mentioned here, BUT PLEASE READ THE REST OF THIS.
Losec is also called Prilosec and Omeprazole is a generic brand with the same active ingredient but different fillers.
About 2 months ago, I went to a Nature's Source store (here in Canada) and was looking around. An employee of the store offered his help to me and I told him about my case. He said you have totally shot down your digestive system and told me to go and see a Naturopathic Doctor.
I found one and went and saw him. His recommendations were: have 2 tablespoons of an Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (I use Bragg brand) 10 minutes prior to each meal. Also gave me some Probiotics pills as well as some Digestive Enzymes pills.
Prior to this, if I missed taking Losec in the morning, I suffered a great discomfort in my stomach with heart burn (a lot!).
I followed the naturopathic doctor's advice and did what he told me. After about 1 month, today is the second day that I haven't taken Losec. I haven't had discomfort in my stomach yet. I'll have to see how long I can go without it. I will post and update this again. BUT PLEASE READ ON!
Losec, Prilosec, Ranitidine, Omeprazole, Nexxium (the purple pill), and all of this family of drugs are Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI). Which means, they stop the production of the stomach acid. Therefore, no acid reflux or heart burn....
But when there is no acid in the stomach, the stomach becomes the biggest target organ and a paradise for bacteriums, microbes and other microorganisms, which otherwise can not survive in it's very high acidic environment (H. Pylori is an exception). We can not digest our food properly any more. Our bodies suffer from lack of Calcium (regardless of the amount and type of calcium intake), because it can not be processed any more. Meat can not be digested properly any more. Therefore, lack of Amino Acids which are the building blocks in our bodies. Guess what, NO AMINO ACIDS = JOINT PAIN WHICH LEADS TO ARTHRITIS. And lots of other problems later in life.
NO SIDE EFFECT, MY A*S.
If you're suffering from heart burns, indigestion, reflux, or GERD, stop eating: ANYTHING THAT HAS WHEAT IN IT, TOMATOES OR ANYTHING MADE FROM IT (i.e. ketchup, tomato sauce/paste...), DAIRY FOOD, COFFEE/TEA, ALCOHOL. NO CHEWING GUMS, SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, FRIED/OILY FOOD, STARCHY FOOD. STOP SMOKING AS SOON AS YOU CAN. These are all irritants to the stomach and esophagus.
I'm still educating myself about this. I read this book about stomach acid called: Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You by Jonathan V. Wright, Lane Lenard. Read it and you will be surprised.
I hope this will help some of you.

God bless.
S. AA (Toronto, Canada)

I was on 5/10 lotrel, a mild dose over 3 months. I took myself off of the drug and learned to relax more, and have a better diet and exercise more. I felt weird where I could not focus on my priorities, and the way the medication made me feel made me think of it more than I wanted to rather than life. I am normally a no headache person. While on the medication, i had horrible headaches where I had to take Excedrin migraine to get over it. My skin after taking it for awhile became dry and itchy. I had dark circles under my eyes, which was new. My knees and feet and hands became ice cold. I think it is because I believe that my blood pressure the way it was, was what my body needed, and maybe there was not enough circulation with the very low 117/60. My normal and feel good blood pressure is about 140/85. I am happy with that and will keep it. Also wild at normal 140/85 my blood sugar is normal. when I took the medication and it dropped to 117/60, my blood glucose rose. My body was releasing glucose because it was saying, hey something is not okay here. I think the drugs are bad, and now I eat organic vegetables, no coffee, no sugar, protein meats, and soy milk, unsweetened almond milk, walnuts, blueberries, whole grains. No white bread, no sugar, no soda, no fried food, no white potatoes, no white rice. My range is now 120/70 to 140/85 when i am rushing around. That is normal. I think medications change your body chemistry. When my skin became itchy and my extremities cold, and my body started shaking and freezing and sweating, it was from the pills. if you want to know you readings, don't go to the doctor. Buy a self test BP machine, Glucose reader, cholesterol meter. My doctors cholesterol count was 100 over another text i had at a free clinic. Maybe they cheat the numbers, who knows, to make you think you are sick and bring you back. take care of yourself, and get away from the fear and panic the doctors put you in. you are way better to see a natural nutritionist if you need help. Break a sweat every day!...that will help.

I am 31 years old and I FINALLY have relief from the pain caused by endo. I have been dealing with this crap for about 14 years. I have only been on it for 1 month. The hot flashes are TERRIBLE!! But I guess it beats the pain. I have been reading some of the other people that have posted their side effects. Some of you are saying that you have been on Lupron for 1 year or even 2 years. My Dr. says you can only use if for 6 months. I guess I should've asked more questions. Any suggestions on what to do about the hot flashes - other than put a fan in my face??

I was on Lipitor for less than a week 2 years ago and the muscle pains were so bad that moving my head was painful. I called the doctor's office and was instructed to stop taking the medication; which I did and felt 'back to normal' within a few days. I haven't had my cholesterol checked since that time, or if I did before surgery, no one mentioned anything negative about it. However 6 weeks ago I had a heart attack. Apparently my cholesterol was twice what it should it have been, and my potassium was incredibly low. So I'm now on Lipitor (standard procedure after having a heart attack and high cholesterol seen as the cause of it) to ensure that another blockage does not occur.

The only problem is I'm now bloated even though I've changed my diet drastically (no more junk food or soft drinks, no 'white' flour products, no dairy products with more than 5% M.F and lots of veggies and fruits). I've lost 3 or 4 pounds but my pants are too tight around my waist, and now I have a my upper abdomen bulges over the waistline. Besides that, I get muscle 'kinks' in very places and after sitting for more than 10 minutes I limp when I take the first few steps.

People have told me to 'keep taking Lipitor and Plavix' but exercise more. The only problem with that is that I have a brain aneurysm and the neurosurgeons don't think it can be operated on 'without it being a very high risk procedure'. The first one ruptured 10 years ago and since then I've managed to control my blood pressure. However the meds I took for that was what lead to my potassium being so low that my electrolytes were imbalanced. That combination of low potassium and high cholesterol is what lead to the heart attack.

I'm 54 and feel as though I'm losing control of 'how' I feel. Between Lipitor, Plavix and diuretics and medication for hypertension I'm not sure if it's one drug in particular that's making me 'ache, limp and look like a blimp' or if it's because of the interaction of all of them. How do I decide 'what' to stop? What's more important to look after first - my heart or my brain?

About eight to ten years ago i had a violent reaction to lactaid. I had taken it numerous time before with no problems and then I woke up one morning - had a bowl of cereal and a lactaid pill - within the hour I was experiencing severe stomach pain along with vomiting and diarrhea. I thought it might have been due to the fact that i had had very little to eat the day before and only a bowl of cereal that morning with the extra strength pill.

the following weekend i was brave enough to try it again with some ice cream at night (this time i had a full stomach from dinner). BIG mistake - this time it was worse - the stomach pain was out of this world (i have a high pain threshold but this had me in the fetal position) and i couldnt leave the toilet and trash can for a few hours. My girlfriend was scared and called one of those nurse hot lines. they told her to coat my stomach with some kaopectate - which seemed to help. I checked the bottle of lactaid - and the expiration date had passed - so i threw it away and swore off of lactaid pills. fortunately they came out with the lactaid milk!

Fast forward to now - never touched the stuff again. well the other day I was out of lactaid milk and my wife (yes the same girlfriend) had picked up some samples of lactaid pills at a trade show - so I guess with the passage of time - I forgot how painful and miserable the other experiences had been - so i took the pill. Nothing happened!

Last night i decide to take another one because i had a craving for ice cream (had been awhile!). I figured it was ok since i had no reaction a week ago. Well sure enough - within the hour I was on the floor in severe stomach pain - followed by vomiting and diarrhea. This time we had kaopectate in the house - so i started taking it - well i just threw it right back up.

This episode lasted about an hour and a half this time. There was a metallic taste in my mouth about the third time i vomited, and the fifth and final time, there was puddle of yellow liquid that came out at the end.

I was put on Topomax for migraines. I've worked myself up to 125 mg in about a week and a half. (Probably a bit too fast, but the migraines were killing me.)

I went on a trip the same day I started Topomax. I was convinced the entire city made disgusting Diet Coke. Then I got home. Needless to say, it was the Topomax.

Tingling in palms of hands.

Mild, constant nausea. Nausea worse after eating oily food. "Clean" foods such as water, mildly sweet ice pops, blueberries, celery, etc., taste wonderful. I think this propensity for not wanting to eat fatty foods is making my stools just a bit harder than they should be, which causes a bit of tummy pain and gas.

Also, I got my period two weeks early. which is just unheard of for me. That might have been a side effect of going off the beta blockers. (My last preventive migraine treatment.) Just noting it in case someone else has had a similar experience.

As for the migraines, it's a bit early to tell. They were awful when I was on the 25-50 mg dose, but I guess that was to be expected.

Good luck, everyone. Btw, what do you do for the nausea? Phenergan?