It’s now 1:33am pacific time, and I am still awake. I have been awake for hours, and hours, trying to deal with acid reflux. Yesterday afternoon, I had a migraine, and a slight fever, so why not top the evening off with a little bit of acid?

To set the stage for you…yesterday for lunch I had 3 crab cakes from Albertsons. For dinner, I had 10 cups of coffee (yes you read that right…10) with a couple shots of bailey’s – a bit of a hot toddy because I wasn’t feeling well. That was paired with a few episodes of the Star Trek Voyager marathon on SpikeTV, and one episode of American Dad that David got me to watch (and I will admit, it was pretty funny).

I got very tired around 9pm, so I went to bed. From that point, I think I slept for maybe 1.5 to 2 hours before I woke up with acid reflux. I tried to swallow it away, you know how you get a lot of saliva going with acid reflux, and I kept swallowing it down to soothe my esophagus…no-go.

So I finally got up and crunched a couple Rolaids (mint flavour)…with limited success. I flip-flopped for another hour and finally decided to just get up and wait until my stomach calmed down before attempting sleep again. And why not do a little research while I’m at it…lovely google, here’s what I found initially:

A new study suggests that drinking alcohol, coffee and tea may not cause acid reflux disease as once thought. That is surprising enough, but even more unexpected was the findings that table salt may increase a person’s risk of developing acid reflux by 70%.

In a recent study, researchers in Sweden had set out to identify the lifestyle factors that can cause acid reflux, and they came to some surprising conclusions. While smoking, as expected, strongly increases the risk for developing acid reflux disease, drinking alcohol had little impact. The same was found true with coffee and tea. [Link]

Well that makes me feel a little bit better about the 10 cups of coffee and Bailey’s I had last night before bed (and I don’t smoke since I’m allergic to tobacco, so that’s not an issue). Caffeine really doesn’t do much for me, although, I usually drink decaf coffee at work so I don’t have to use the bathroom as frequently, but it’s never really been something that keeps me up at night. Sugar, on the other hand, will keep me wired for days…so for the most part I drink diet soda’s, and use Splenda to sweeten things (even in cooking).

So then what could it be? Was it the crab cakes? Was it the bailey’s? Was the coffee simply exacerbating an existing issue? And what specifically IS acid reflux? Let’s consult…

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) does not close properly and stomach contents leak back, or reflux, into the esophagus. [Link]

Interesting. Though I really do protest the use of “sphincter” in this context. So we know what it is, and what might/might not cause it, how do I treat it at 1:50am now, so I can get back to sleep? I don’t have any prescription medicine available to me at the moment…so let’s take a look at some all-natural remedy ideas…

ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS (snippets of full details at: [Link])

Herbalists recommend consuming 500mg. of ginger with a full glass of water after each meal.

Papaya enzymes are sold in chewable capsule form, and are taken immediately following a meal with a full glass of water.

Consuming more fiber nutrient foods is another natural way to alleviate future suffering.

The more water you drink, the less likely you are to suffer the pains of heartburn.

Green teas aid the body in the digestion process, and help soothe the stomach’s sensitive tissue.

Herbal teas containing even trace amounts of peppermint, chamomile, ginger, licorice root and catnip help the stomach lining repair itself.

Of these options I have the crushed ginger (we cook with ginger all the time), water, and the teas (David tells me I’m a person who “Has a lot of tea“). At this moment, 1:56am, the easiest choice for me is the ginger in water. It’s readily available in the fridge, and I don’t have to worry about waiting for water to heat up and tea to brew. So off I go…[time lapse]…I have just mixed a spoonful of crushed ginger with water, and downed it. I love ginger. When we go to sushi I always get extra…I just love the stuff.

It’s now turned 2:00am on my computer. I am going to head back to bed to see if this home remedy has any validity to it. Already I feel better, but that might just be psychosomatic. We’ll have to wait a few hours to see if I’m still awake. I will update the entry in the morning (or in a few hours if I’m still having issues). Best wishes and pleasant dreams…to me, hopefully.

UPDATE (9:21am): The ginger worked a little bit. I was finally able to get to sleep around 4am…so basically it took about 2 hours for my stomach to settle down enough that I could fall asleep. Perhaps I should have taken the time to brew the tea…we’ll see. Or I might just go back on Prilosec and see how that works.