Treating GERD/LES with Ginger and/or Melatonin

Interesting. I'd love to try daily melatonin for my gerd. I have some 300mcg tablets that would probably work well since they won't effect sleep as much as the usual 3-10mg ones people use. I'm worried about it confounding my self titration right now though so I'll figure out my CPAP settings first before adding another factor like melatonin use.

Do you have the head of your bed elevated 3 to 4 inches? It's highly recommended for people with reflux. Risers are available at Bed, Bath & Beyond and probably on Amazon and eBay.

I have a wedge pillow but don't often use it since I don't find it all that comfortable sleeping on an angle. I just read the study you quoted and they mention they use 3 mg per night for 8 weeks. I'm not sure if I can tolerate that much since melatonin tends to give me a bit of a hangover in large doses. But I hesitate to significantly lower the dose when there isn't a study to show it is still effective. I might try 3 mg per night for a few days and see how I feel. Thanks for your help.

tyrone747 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:39 pm

I have a wedge pillow but don't often use it since I don't find it all that comfortable sleeping on an angle.

There is a problem with most wedge pillows. They cause a bend somewhere along the trunk. This can actually make reflux worse.

There is an expensive wedge pillow that is long enough to cause a bend at the hips. This would be the only acceptable wedge pillow for reflux sufferers. On a personal note, Gramps bought one. Neither one of us likes sleeping on it. It's been in a closet for years. We have our bed on risers because Gramps once had reflux, and I thought it might help a bit with my CPAP therapy.

I took omeprazole and a single 300 mcg melatonin last night to start the therapy from the study. I feel no ill effects today. My sleep seemed normal. Perhaps waking up earlier than normal but melatonin always seems to cause me to sleep shorter. My plan is to take 300 mcg for a few days and if I have no bad side effects up it to 1 mg. Then up to 3 mg later. I'm only taking omeprazole for a short while because I don't like the idea of reducing my stomach acid long term due to the potential of bacterial overgrowth. I haven't decided yet but I'm either going to take either a 1 week or 2 week course of omeprazole just to jump start the healing of my esophagus. Thank you for your help ChicagoGranny.

That sounds like a good plan. Please update this thread if you get time.

You might also want to consider some of the lifestyle changes recommended by Mayo Clinic.

Maintain a healthy weight. Excess pounds put pressure on your abdomen, pushing up your stomach and causing acid to reflux into your esophagus.

Stop smoking. Smoking decreases the lower esophageal sphincter's ability to function properly.

Elevate the head of your bed. If you regularly experience heartburn while trying to sleep, place wood or cement blocks under the feet of your bed so that the head end is raised by 6 to 9 inches. If you can't elevate your bed, you can insert a wedge between your mattress and box spring to elevate your body from the waist up. Raising your head with additional pillows isn't effective.

Don't lie down after a meal. Wait at least three hours after eating before lying down or going to bed.

Eat food slowly and chew thoroughly. Put down your fork after every bite and pick it up again once you have chewed and swallowed that bite.

Avoid foods and drinks that trigger reflux. Common triggers include fatty or fried foods, tomato sauce, alcohol, chocolate, mint, garlic, onion, and caffeine.

Avoid tight-fitting clothing. Clothes that fit tightly around your waist put pressure on your abdomen and the lower esophageal sphincter.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20361959

Quick update on my treatment. I've been taking 40mg omeprazole daily. I did three days of 300mcg melatonin with no adverse effects on my sleep. I coughed up some thick mucus on the first three mornings. Sorry this is really gross but I think it's important. It had sort of a scab like appearance so that is encouraging to me that some healing may be taking place in my esophagus. I've now upped my melatonin dose to 1mg. I took 1mg regular release melatonin and woke up at 4 am unable to get back to sleep. This is a problem I've always had with melatonin, waking too early. Luckily I have some timed release melatonin tablets that I used last night. I took one 300mcg regular release about an hour before bed, then two 300mcg timed release tablets right before bed. I slept much longer last night.

So going forward I will stick with that protocol. I'm going to up the dosage by 300mcg per night until I'm at the 3mg daily that is used in the study. I will continue omeprazole for one more week before stopping it while continuing the melatonin for the full 8 weeks. So far I can't say I've noticed any strengthening of my LES from the melatonin but it's hard to tell what is happening since the omeprazole kills my reflux dead more or less. The real test will be when I stop taking it and continue on melatonin alone.

tyrone747 wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 08, 2019 7:29 am

tyrone747

Have you undergone an upper GI endoscopy?

No I haven't.

Muse-Inc wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 31, 2019 2:24 am

For those who have heartburn/GERD, the following might help. I rarely have heartburn but the few times I have had it, it's horrid. My go to is ginger candy, one made with actual ginger not just the flavor; for me, within 5-10 minutes, heartburn is gone. Interestingly, another forum member, who was a member of our Atlanta-based apnea support group (while we had it), swore by ginger.

Ginger has long been used to treat indigestion.

muse, i want to thank you very much for posting this! i rarely, if ever, have heartburn. but i've been diagnosed with a slight hiatal hernia. i don't present with heartburn. but i do have a bit of a "rumbly tummy".

have been taking ginger for the last few weeks and it's calmed my stomach wonderfully. it may even have helped me sleep as i think it's been my gas that may have been waking me up.

it, in conjunction with low dose melatonin, seems to be helping to allow me to get more solid and uneventful sleep.

thanks again for posting.

Get one of the foam ramps on amazon that slightly raise the head of your bed. Works wonders.

tyrone747 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:39 pm

I have a wedge pillow but don't often use it since I don't find it all that comfortable sleeping on an angle. I just read the study you quoted and they mention they use 3 mg per night for 8 weeks. I'm not sure if I can tolerate that much since melatonin tends to give me a bit of a hangover in large doses. But I hesitate to significantly lower the dose when there isn't a study to show it is still effective. I might try 3 mg per night for a few days and see how I feel. Thanks for your help.

I'd suggest trying something like this. https://www.amazon.com/Avana-Mattress-E ... 8968&psc=1

seattlepap wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:21 pm

I'd suggest trying something like this. https://www.amazon.com/Avana-Mattress-E ... 8968&psc=1

Those work well because the entire body is on a slant. The body does not bend at the stomach as with other wedges.

Unfortunately I had to stop my melatonin therapy. It was just hurting my sleep quality too much when I got to quantities over 1mg. I'm still in the process of getting accustomed to my CPAP and dialing in the perfect settings so the melatonin is complicating that process. Once I'm confident my CPAP therapy is going well I will try the melatonin again. Probably not at the 3 mg the study used but 300mcg which I can tolerate well. Even though it's only 1/10th of the dosage from the study perhaps it will help LES tone over time with accumulation in my system. I will be stopping the Omeprazole for now too because I fear the long term side effects.

tyrone747 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:44 am

Unfortunately I had to stop my melatonin therapy. It was just hurting my sleep quality too much when I got to quantities over 1mg. I'm still in the process of getting accustomed to my CPAP and dialing in the perfect settings so the melatonin is complicating that process. Once I'm confident my CPAP therapy is going well I will try the melatonin again. Probably not at the 3 mg the study used but 300mcg which I can tolerate well. Even though it's only 1/10th of the dosage from the study perhaps it will help LES tone over time with accumulation in my system. I will be stopping the Omeprazole for now too because I fear the long term side effects.

Again, get something like the thing i posted above. It will help.