My Allergy Journey: A Little Hiccup (or Burp)

 I have a tendency to get GERD — Gastro Esophogeal Reflux Disease — but it’s been a few years since I’ve really felt it. That changed last week. I was burping like crazy, and my throat was burning as I tried to fall asleep. It had been a while and I’d forgotten what it was like. So, at first, I blamed OIT (Oral Immunotherapy).

“Maybe the amount of allergens I’m taking is too high,” I thought. “Should I talk to the doctor about not raising the dose at the next session?” Then I started to think more rationally: What did I eat before bed? Well, I had Spaghetti squash with Tomato sauce (high in acid) and cheese (high in fat—not good for GERD). THEN I took my usual Tums, waited 20 minutes, then had my daily dose of ground sunflower seeds and cashew. Half an hour later, I went to bed. My throat burned for hours.

It turns out I broke a whole bunch of GERD-related rules. The next day, I took my dose after lunch, and had a light, low-acid meal earlier in the evening. I invoked my ENT’s advice, and didn’t eat anything within 3 yours of bed time. 

I had no issues after taking my OIT dose, and slept with no GERD symptoms that night. 

What did I learn from this? Drop acid.

Dr. Novick agreed. Despite my initial misgivings, we went ahead and increased my dose. I’m now up to 1.6 Grams of a mix of Cashews and Sunflower Seeds, my two biggest allergens.

And, I’m self-dosing at home earlier in the day.

I’m generally eliminating acid from my diet again. This means swapping out coffee for Earl Grey tea or Postum, melons replacing citrus, and just saying no to tomatoes. (Drat—I just planted 4 tomato plants!) The burning throat symptoms have gone away. I’m going to give my digestive system a month to heal, then gradually reintroduce coffee and maybe tomato sauce. 

On to the photos

Since I was feeling pretty good, I decided to swing through Times Square on my way back to Penn Station. Ahh, a warm spring Wednesday in Times Square! (You might recognize one or two people in this set.)