I can’t believe this wasn’t in my cupboard. I bought a one pound bag because it did wonders for my dog’s feet. (Because it is so light, the one pound bag looks HUGE.) He has grass pollen allergies and had licked his feet raw last year. I read that chamomile could soothe it and bought the giant bag. I made the tea, let it cool, and soaked each doggie foot in a tall glass for about 30-60 seconds before bedtime one night. By the next morning, all the redness and weeping was gone. I pour it over him after his bath just for skin health and itching, too.
Well, now I need to drink it, and I am enjoying it immensely. I am making it, resteeping, and pouring it into swing top bottles that I refrigerate. It is so good and so cold when stored in glass, quite refreshing. I don’t get apple like lots of people do, but rather hay and minty light citrus.
But I am drinking it for a special reason. I have been on proton pump inhibitors for sixteen years. Yes, the drug that is supposed to be used for two weeks maximum. I had tried and couldn’t get off of it, although I got myself down to 20mg a day which is half of what they started me on.
Lest anyone think I was being a wimp, I can tell you that even with Prilosec I had heartburn and chest pain from esophagus spasms, nighttime reflux, bending over reflux, and would lose my voice from the acid washing up. And this all started back when I was really skinny, not due to being overweight.
I read a study recently that suggested that since acid is natural and needful, perhaps there is often a different problem. The most common is thought to be possibly an inflamed esophagus which can be due to allergy instead of acid. I decided to try again and this time, treat my esophagus with lots of natural anti-inflammatories. Thus the chamomile tea! And I am pleased to say that while I have had some rebound reflux, I can live with it and it isn’t constant. Also, Pepcid Complete knocks it out, and in five days I have only had two of those.
I am also drinking lemongrass tea made from the lemongrass I grow, and I drink it cold, too. I am replenishing my good bacteria with homemade yogurt and homemade water kefir.
The great thing is that I really love the cold chamomile tea and I love that it is making me healthier and helping me to get off of a drug that can be very bad for you in the long run.
I must show this to the wife. Our dog has an allergy to chicken (just try finding dog food made without some form of chicken). We have found one dog food brand (Blue Buffalo) that makes a couple varieties he can eat. Occasionally he gets into something he shouldn’t and his little feet to red from licking the itch. So you may have helped Spike.
My wife suffers similarly with her reflux. She has been on those pills for a few years with only limited relief. I’ll never convince her to try yogurt in any form (I love it) but she does like chamomile.
Thanks for the heads up!
Turmeric (and curcumin capsules) is a natural anti-inflammatory that might work in your toolkit. Good luck with this. Medications can be harsh with our gentle selves.
So true, Evol! I will add those. I am also eating GinGin candies and using Tummy Rub essential oil blend and they really do help. I am hoping that within a couple of weeks the rebound reflux will resolve!
I wish my boyfriend would take a lesson from you. He eats almost no veggies, despises tea (even herbal), drinks a litre of milk every day despite being allergic… and has really bad acid reflux and so consumes a whole lotta tums! I managed to convince him that yogurt(homemade with multiple strains) was necessary after he had mega antibiotics due to an ear infection, but otherwise he is a hopeless case when it comes to healthy gut and such (even claiming that studies show not eating vegetables is nearly harmless for the body if you have proteins! sighs)
Anyhow, I’m glad the chamomile is helping you!! :)
Oh and he isn’t overweight so I can’t use that excuse to make him eat better haha
Fermented food such as kimchi and sauerkraut is also excellent. Indigobloom, see if you can organize regular visits to Korean town for meals.
It started for me during pregnancy and came back when a friend end through a horrific divorce that affected a lot of our friends and loved ones. I weighed less than 100 pounds at the time. I have little doubt that stress had a lot to do with getting reflux, plus I was tested for h. Pylori and did have it. The treatment was terrible! They took my gall bladder. Still little relief. PPI meds were the only thing that helped. It took me two tries to cut my dose in half. The first time I tried I was in agony. So I feel like this is going pretty well even though I have to accommodate it all day long, watching portions, foods, eating ginger, drinking chamomile, but going as naturally as possible to get past the rebound phase.
I make dairy kefir and yogurt and we eat pretty well. My hubby doesn’t like beef so we eat mostly veggies and a little chicken. I do stress eat, however, and I ah e always carried stress in my tummy and neck and back.
I am refusing to even consider going back on the meds at this point I want to see this through! Rebound reflux is supposed to stop after about two weeks. I am hoping for less!
You might consider seeing a functional or integrated doctor if you need more help with this using natural approaches to fixing the problem, and whatever may have been created through the use of meds.
I have a similar condition. Thank you for sharing your experience, I will try some chamomile
Day 7 and it is going well. I drink water with organic vinegar, eat GinGin candies, eat small portions. Pepcid Complete rarely but it knocks out any building heartburn and it didn’t used to help.
@Evol possibly. He is allergic to shellfish and salmon skin so it’d have to be guaranteed safe. Not sure if they can do that in Chinatown. But I might try takeout and see how that goes!
There are several restaurants in Korean town here that do not have either shellfish or salmon on the menu, so one would assume that they’d be as safe as is possible.
@Evol hmm if there is no fish at all, I might be able to swing it! the smell turns him off, I’m guessing due to his allergy