Digestive Disorders Community

Ive used DGL, works ok. Also use probiotic at breakfast and a vegetarian digestive enzyme with dinner, Seem to work fine, but had some breakthrough GERD (Mexican food?) and had to ge back to tagamet. The H2 blocker also worked for a week, then got abdominal pain, gassy with that. So Im not on 2 gaviscon at night before bed, which works well.

Hello,

I've been taking DGL for several months and unfortunately it hasn't helped my reflux. It may be helping heal the lining of my stomach which an EGD showed as "atrophic gastritis". I've continued taking it because, like you, I've been trying a holistic approach for various reasons. I"m also taking the HCl but probably not enough of them at a time. I've been taking one with each meal for a couple months. I recently had a blood test for food allergies after seeing a Naturopath and he said he'd never seen someone sensitive to so many foods without having leaky gut syndrome. He recommends a 10 day antibiotic course with a 20 day anti fungal due to the severity of my symptoms. I don't have H Pylori and my stool test showed no other bacteria or parasites. I was having a gnawing pain on my upper left side of my stomach after eating certain foods and that seems to have passed. I'm also trying accupuncture but so far I'm refluxing and having burning in my throat and sometimes asthma type symptoms. I read "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You" by Jonathan Wright which suggests the HCl/DGL/zinc/vit A/L Glutamine. I'm restricting dairy but finding it hard to avoid all the foods I need to according to my allergy test.

you can buy the licirice capsules from gnc for 10.00 that donot require chewing. i had heartburn ,gerd,hiatel hernia,gastritis for 2 years and had to take 2 prevacid a day plus zantac,mylanta and pepto daily-got fed up with the docs and started on the licorice at first 6 to 8 a day with 2 mastic gum capsules aday for a few months . have completely stopped taking anything for heartburn-absolutly heart burn free for a year now.do not even need the mastic or licorice. the mastic you can find online or health food store. also would suggest correcting your bodies ph balance by drinking more water and green vegtables.hope this helps

I was just reading IBS for Dummies and learned about DGL licorice so of course, I googled it to learn some more. Thanks for your posts; I like the one about how you can get capsules at GNC so that you don't have to taste it. I have never really liked the taste of black licorice. At any rate, I wanted to add my two cents. I am a pediatric, pulmonary nurse, and studying to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. I learned on my former unit how closely the gut system and respiratory system were related. Often times, because an infant or young child had bad reflux or GERD, they would develop pneumonia. So, in patient teaching, I would stress to the parents to get their child's reflux under control with the prescribed medications and simple things like keeping the child upright during feeding, burping an infant frequently and keeping their head of be elevated about 30 degrees and keeping the child upright in that position for at least 30 minutes after a feeding to keep the food in the stomach due to gravity. There were more interventions like thickening the formula, but the point that I want to make is that as adults we too can elevate our head of bed by 4 to 6 inches to allow gravity to keep food contents down in the stomach and not to reflux back up the esophagus. At Bed, Bath & Beyond, I purchased solid wooden bed lifts that lift the head of the bed nicely. When you are in bed, it is only slightly noticeable that it is elevated, but it helps with controlling reflux. Additionally, remember not to eat about three hours before going to bed to keep contents in the stomach at a lower level than a full stomach. I also learned this past semester that eating after dinner mints or mints in general relax the esophageal sphincter and thus promotes reflux--so pass on the mints!
I will give the DGL licorice a try and stop the daily Zantac and see if it works. I can only hope.

DGL is the next thing on my list to help with adrenal support.. As far as heatburn, avoiding PPI medicines and having possible low stomach acid, have you read Adrenal Fatigue by Wilson? It suggests too little sodium in the body causes difficulty in producing enough acid, and says people with adrenal fatigue often need more salt. As soon as I began drinking hot water with Himalayan salt and a dash of lemon for taste, the horrific heartburn stopped, as did the nausea. I believe, in my case, it helps to balance electrolytes.

...to add to my previous comment: Even without adrenal fatigue, I'd suggest trying salt water to see if it stops your heartburn. My doctors were amazed (even though one of them had recommended Wilsons book) when I quit both Zantac and Prilosec and the heartburn never returned. If I feel nauseated, which often comes before my heartburn, saltwater stops that and does not proceed to HB. I have low blood pressure and have always avoided salt because I dont like it. This new temporary habit of adding saltwater 4x a day to my diet allows me to sleep at night and eating is becoming more pleasant. I still have the head of my bed elevated and eat slowly, but I was doing that with the medicine too...and the medicine wasnt helping. I question how nutrition can be absorbed if we're coating our stomachs with drugs. Trying salt water is simple and cheap. Wilson has lots of info online too, if you want to know more about his ideas.

I hope you've had some luck finding something. I think the DGL tastes great, but I use Enymatic brand and I get the German Chocolate ones, which taste great! Even their straight licorice flavor tastes good to me. I cured my GERD using DGL Licorice. For the first time in years, my endoscopy showed no sign of erosion. Yay!

You should never take straight licorice for a long period of time, or on a regular basis. It can cause toxicity and it can cause a lot of problems, like hypertension. DGL licorice has that component removed, which is why it can be used regularly. Please don't embark on a straight licorice regime without reading about the negative side effects.

I do use DGL and taste good with germen chocolate and helping me

yes it taste good I`m using it after all Doc. I have seen have no answer.DGL was recomanded to me by the owner of Love Health Food store in Fl and He is right.Helping.
Had hiatal hernia surgery 7 month ago and I feel worst than ever.Pain 24/7 and no help.Trying to get appointment at Mayo.

I am planning on buying DGL,,,mostly for Acid Reflex, /Barrettes
esophagus, you say try the german chocolate,,,I'm not allowed chocolate, is there chocolate flavoring or what in this? Just wondered...thanks