I hope this is the right place to post this.

During the 5 years of Arimidex I had a sore throat off and on. Been off since May of this year.... and the sore throat continues, along with a mild cough.

Took an antibiotic for the throat and it got worse -- and sick to the stomach -- had to go off the antibiotic. Dr.'s orders.

I found through my own research that a sore throat and cough can actually be acid reflux. My Dr. put me on Nexium and it is getting MUCH BETTER but not gone.... and I have to be very careful what I eat.

I also have found that some have damage to the esophagus from the radiation. I had 36 + boosts and the scar is on the inside top of breast, very close to where the worst burning is in my esophagus.
I keep a check on the se's of Arimidex and see that since I last looked -- they have added sour stomach and cough - along with the nausea and sore throat. I'm wondering if it was mild acid reflux all
along during the five years I had the sore throat coming and going.

I will probably have a complete digestive work up after the first of the year -- but just curious if anyone else has experienced this.

BTW - it never occurred to me that it was acid reflux -- because I had never had it before, so not a chronic problem for me before BC. (I did not have chemo - so it is not from that.)

Joan

Joan,

I had it because of taking Actonel. What helped me the most was ginger. I didn't want to take another pill with those side effects attached. Some times it's not having too much acid, it could be you don't have enough acid. The effects are the same so you don't know if you have too much or too little. They give nexium to everyone without finding out what the underneath problem could be.

I use to eat crystallized ginger, which is delicious, and bingo, no more heartburn or reflux. They sell a really fresh ginger at nutsonline.com. I made my own ginger tea but I took it too far. I lost my voice from all the ginger, but that's delicious too.

Then there is Brenda Watson, with her H.O.P. E. natural formula. She explains that a lot of gerd comes from not having enough stomach acid. Look her up online. You should also know there is controversy over taking Nexium and getting bone loss. It's out there.

I hope this helps you.

Rosemary,

I did read that Nexium keeps calcium from metabolizing in your system but it didn't say if that was from food as well as supplements.

Everything I read says this should heal in 4 - 8 weeks, 12 at the most. So far I haven't had much in se's from the Nexium but did have a bad headache last night --- and that is one of the se's, could have just been a headache....

I am going to request an endoscope when I have my colonoscopy but that won't be until after the Holidays, I'm sure. I don't like this shooting in the dark kind of treatment --- I've already gotten sick on an antibiotic I didn't need!

Is Ginger for no acid or too much acid? Someone told me about the no acid thing and said if the problem is no acid -- to drink a Tablespoon of cider vinegar in a glass of water --- My hairdresser uses that and I did read it in a Health Book. Tried it and it did not work for me.

Would you find cryst. Ginger in a Health Food store? I don't think I've ever seen any.

Thanks for the input.

Joan

June,

Ginger heals stomachs for a lot of problems. Supposedly, it keeps that stomach bug from getting a hold that a lot of people get... H pylori. Women who eat ginger have less ovarian cancer..go figure on that. Who would even think to research that connection? I don't know if it is used for more or less acid, it's just a natural healer for nausea, heartburn, and sea sickness.

Here's the place where I buy mine. I use to see it in my supermarket, but they stopped selling it.

http://www.nutsonline.com/search_result ... zed+ginger

Actually, I forgot I had it in the fridge for emergencies...it's been a long time since I had a bout with gerd since I fixed it.

If you get another headache, see if there is any sodium in the Nexium pill. Salt and headaches go hand and hand for some people.

That "candy" ginger is yummy!

As far as cider vinegar..if one has irritation in the esphogus I wonder if it would be more harmful than good to drink the vinegar.

I think the Nexium depletes the acid in the stomach, thus calcium doesn't absorb well.

Don't try Ginger Snaps... My friend has to take Methotrexate for RA. She sometimes feels nauseous and I told her about taking ginger. She couldn't find the crystalized ginger so I said try Ginger Snaps. She did and loves them. However, and I'm laughing, she read the ingredients to me and there was NO ginger in them. I used to love those when I was younger. So, I wonder why they call them GINGER snaps?

Imagine ginger snaps not having ginger! I did not know that..... but don't like ginger snaps anyhow.

I am going to check with our health food store -- they have everything so will probably have ginger, too.

I wonder if it could be used with the Nexium I am taking?

Joan

You won't know which is working if you take them together. Just wait till your off the Nexium, and if it returns then buy some ginger and see if that helps before you go back on the Nexium. The idea of taking natural foods is to keep you from having to go on pills. If it will work.

I'm actually just going to find out where I can get the ginger.

I've read that some get rebound acid reflux after stopping Nexium. Has anyone had that happen? I don't want to stay on the Nexium very long because of the bones and liver. (It can cause liver problems )

I had liver damage (all healed now) back in the 80's from a pain med. (off the market) and I never want to have that again.

The Nexium is working because the sore throat and cough have gotten better --- not gone but much better. I still have to watch what I eat and can't drink coffee at all, no chocolate and yogurt. I thought sure I would be able to eat yogurt!

I have also stopped my fish oil pills. It seems that fish oil can cause acid indigestion and heartburn. I just upped my dosage about a month ago! hmmmmmm..... learn something new every day!

The insert that came with the Nexium says it should heal the esophagus, stomach, etc. in 4 - 8 weeks but some take 12 weeks. I won't take it longer than that, so may need to have some ginger on hand!

Thanks again for your input.

Joan

Joan,

This chart might help you decide what to eat. I believe the goal is to eat more alkaline foods over acidic. It's better for our bones also:

http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

Thank you Rosemary,

I printed the whole thing out..... I hate reading on the PC and can read it and reread as I need to.

Joan

The fish oil pills cause me to burb ........ and it tastes like bad fish when it comes up ... Little Red Riding Hood says it gives her the toots ... don't know if we should still take it. But I have noticed that my blood pressure is lots higher than it was 2 years ago .. I always had very good bp .. 110/70 and now its 130/80 ... have to work on this!!!!!

Rosemary,

My husband is going off his fish oil for a while --- because he has been having some indigestion, bloating and etc. too. (He has been off for three days and sees a difference already.)

If I ever go back on it -- it will be the lower dosage and only one a day! Right now, I get heartburn if I take just one of those higher dosage ones -- even with food.

I really think less is more with the fish oil, for me.

If you go on the Mayo Clinic site and type in fish oil - then go to safety - you may be very surprised at what it can do to you!

Worth checking it out, I think.

Joan

Well, girls, I got some candied ginger! I don't know what kind you got that you could eat it and even someone said it is yummy!

We bought a bag of crystylized candied ginger and it tastes awful. I thought it would be hard and could just suck on it like hard candy. This is soft and horrible!

Did we get the wrong thing?

Joan

No, it's soft and chewy. And has sugar on it. I love it. I don't eat it all the time. Perhaps you don't like the taste of ginger. Mine's in a jar like a spice. We bought it for that reason.

Mimi,

This ginger that we bought is in big thick chunks (bigger than the end a man's thumb) It is sugared on the outside and the inside is very very dark. It says it is made from the ginger root.

Yesterday I saw some w/ the dried fruits in the grocery store (where all the things for fruitcake are) and it was very thin and in small strips and a pretty yellow color. I didn't buy any because I was afraid it would taste yucky, too.

Neither my husband or I can eat this stuff we bought. It has an awful musty taste --- not like ginger spice at all.

I am going to make ginger cookies tomorrow --- maybe that will help!
Joan