Cured, what worked, what didn't

I never had acid reflux in my life, then, last January had a health crisis that turned out ok in the end, but I developed health anxiety and eventually went on 25mg Sertraline (Zoloft), which was a godsend.

However, the anxiety and Sertraline caused mild acid reflux from stomach to throat. I learned to eat a low acid food diet and all that was left was the mild sore throat and mild swallowing issues. I'd say my LPR symptoms were usually around a level 2-3, occasionally flaring up to about a 5 (at which point I'd make powder out of some Tylenol, mix with something like applesauce, and chase it with water).

I went off the Sertaline after about 4-5 months (it works very well if you need it for anxiety), and my mental state is (mostly) totally without anxiety, like before.

Honestly, not having Sertraline probably cured my LPR, however, here are things I learned.

No:

• Coffee or tea - but I could take a caffeine tablet under my tounge and try not to swallow to get some caffeine. I couldn't do that every day since it can make my under tounge area a touch raw. Also, I could grind up a caffein tablet and take at the beginning of a meal. One last way, I tried this once, to get caffeine was to take a caffeine enema with about 1 cup of lukewarm coffee - this gave me a harsh rush, and kind of cleaned me out, so be careful with this one.
• Cantalope. It took my throat days to feel better after that.
• Food with any kind of shelf life (like months or more) - if it comes in a box or bag it caused my throat to be sore. Bummer.

Things that worked were:

• Chewing gum (Dr. Koufman recommends that). Spry makes a natural fruit flavor that works very well. I'd say gum really was the best at healing my throat.
• Gaviscon Extra Strength liquid. I'd mix about 1 tsp in 1/3rd cup water and gargle with that, and/or drink when my throat felt sore, or just chase a meal with it. I only did it a few times a day, so I know I was not even approaching a maximum daily dose.
• Soy milk, even some mixed in water felt helpful. It actually raised the pH of the water.
• Cucumbers were the best, cold!

Food that was processed, but I could eat:

• G2G Almond coconut bars. Expensive, but worth it.
• Rx bars, but not the chocolate ones.
• Cape Cod 40% less fat potato chips, well chewed.

Other notes on my diet - I don't drink or smoke anything so these were not a problem. I generally eat between 9:00 and 6:00 pm, and generally don't eat within 3 hours of bedtime.

I got pH test strips, Hydrion brand, and they helped confirm the pH of some items - and that 9+ pH water off the shelves does not maintain a high pH over time, so those generally had a pH of about 6.7-7, and no where near 9 like they claim. The issue is the plastic bottles and the time they sit on the shelf after production (bro-in-law is a PHD chemist and he explained why they don't retain their high pH value in plastic, but I can't explain it.).

So, good luck to everyone.