From Reflux to Resilience: A Grandmother's Wisdom and My Journey to Reclaim Health

Personal Chronicles

How It Began

I first became aware that for every ill there is a natural cure when I was 5. My maternal grandmother, who was a force of nature and, although loving to the point of obsession, could be terrifying at the best of times, would chase me round the garden and shovel spoonsful of some nasty concoction – made of egg yolk whipped to a froth with sugar – down my throat, because in her mind, I was too thin and anemic. Truth be told, I was neither, but that was not her truth. And her truth was the only truth that mattered.

So, knowing it was futile to resist, and with the resignation of the habitually pursued, I would swallow the aforementioned concoction in the hope that my non-existent anemia would be cured.  But those force-fed spoonsful were more than just questionable nutrition – they were my first lessons in the power of food as medicine. That concoction was followed by a number of others, each for an intended purpose.

The jury’s still out on whether Vovo (that’s granny in Portuguese, and what I called her) was right or not, but when she left this world at the remarkable age of 102, she was of sound mind and had a blood panel report that would make many a 30-year-old envious.  She took with her the endless delight of our weekly ritual of marathon Sunday phone calls. Those conversations that went on for hours and ended with countless blown kisses across international lines that bridge Canada and Portugal, left an ache in my heart that no natural remedy could soothe. But she also left behind a treasure trove of sayings that will forever echo in my mind, the most significant of which are, in no order of importance, “Your health enters through your mouth,” “Stay away from doctors,” and “The more you bend over, the more your arse shows!”.

So, I grew up believing that what you eat can either nourish or kill you and that doctors are to be avoided at all costs, among other important dictums.  Little did I know how desperately I'd need to recall her pearls of wisdom in the years to come.

A Health Crisis Emerges

Fast forward three decades, and I found myself alone in Canada, and struggling with a hiatus hernia – courtesy of two enormous pregnancies –  that made me feel like I had battery acid in my chest and had me waking up literally choking on reflux every night.

The echoes of Vovo's warnings had faded somewhat over the years. Fearing for my life (and only someone who has choked on reflux knows how real that fear is), I headed to my family doctor.  The diagnosis came swiftly: GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). The solution? A little pill called a proton pump inhibitor (PPI).

Oh, how easily we can be seduced by the promise of quick relief.

The Downward Spiral of Modern Medicine

That first prescription marked the beginning of a medical odyssey that would span more than a decade. It all went downhill from that first miraculous pill. That PPI and a series of others prescribed subsequently as my body developed increasing tolerance, led to an expanding list of other more serious conditions.

What the doctor failed to mention back in 2005 (and in the countless follow-up appointments that ensued) was this: PPI’s just mask the problem; they don't address the root cause.  And, more importantly, these medications are only approved for six weeks of continuous use.

After 17 years – yes you heard me, 17 YEARS –  my health had deteriorated in ways I couldn't have imagined. At this stage, I was now plagued by:

• Morbid obesity

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

• Heart palpitations

• Type 2 Diabetes

• High cholesterol

• Chronic insomnia

I, who had been raised on Vovo’s vast medicinal repertoire, was now on beta blockers for my heart and maximum dosage Dexilant (another proton pump inhibitor). And the irony of life was that I was still choking on reflux every night. The heartburn was well controlled, but the reflux that started this whole journey was worse than ever.

The Frustration of Failed Solutions

 “You need to lose weight.”

 This refrain became the chorus of my doctor visits, each repetition more disheartening than the last.

But here’s the kicker, I was doing everything I could do to drop the pounds. I exercised and literally threw myself into every diet that promised results:

Atkins, Poon, Bernstein, Dukan, Livy – I tried them all! The results? A maddening cycle of lose and gain, each round leaving me heavier and more discouraged than before. Drop 40 pounds, gain 50. Rinse, repeat, despair.

When I look back now, I realise I was never going to succeed. I was fighting a losing battle. Those PPIs I'd been religiously taking for nearly two decades were sabotaging my every effort.

The Hidden Dangers of PPI Long-Term Use

Because here’s what the doctor should have told me: Research has shown that long-term treatment with proton pump inhibitors is associated with a host of risks, including but not limited to:

•  weight gain

• fatty liver disease 

• Type 2 Diabetes, and

• Magnesium and vitamin B12 deficiencies, which cause heart palpitations

See where I’m going with this?

In essence, the very medication meant to improve my quality of life was actively undermining my health at every turn.

The Tornado That Changed Everything

But life has a way of shaking us awake when we least expect it and often when we need it most. For me, that wake-up call came in the form of a tornado in 2022.

Let's pause for a moment to consider the events that had shaped my life up to this point:

• The joy and exhaustion of motherhood

• The sudden, heart-wrenching loss of my own mother

• A nomadic existence, moving more times than I care to count

• A painful divorce, made more agonizing by watching my father succumb to lung cancer

• The gradual erosion of my health and vitality

These experiences had left me feeling small, insecure, and unworthy of advocating for myself. And although I had found love again and was now in a loving marriage with my dream guy, I couldn't fully shake the feeling that I was merely a passenger in my own life, accepting whatever came my way with resigned fatalism.

And then the tornado hit. And in a matter of seconds, everything changed.

The Moment of Reckoning

Picture this: A 60-foot tree crashing through your roof. The world reduced to a cacophony of splintering wood, howling wind and torrential rain. My oldest son, displaying a presence of mind I'll forever be grateful for, literally dragging me to the safety of our basement.

In those heart-stopping moments, as nature unleashed its fury around us, a single thought pounded through my head with the intensity of my racing pulse:

"There has to be more than this. It can't all end here... like this."

The Path to Reclamation

So, two weeks after the tornado, I made a decision that would prove to be the true turning point in my health journey. I began weaning myself off Dexilant, ending a 17-year dependence on proton pump inhibitors.

This wasn't just about stopping a medication. It was about reclaiming control over my health, my body, and my future.

A Message to My Younger Self

When I look back now, at the naïve girl I was – the girl who blindly followed her ex-husband to the ends of the earth, sacrificing her own ambitions; who abandoned her career to support someone else's dreams; who started over from scratch more times than she cares to remember; who placed her health in someone else’s hands and popped whatever pills were prescribed without question – I wish I could give that girl a shake.

I wish I could grab her by the shoulders and say: Have you forgotten whose granddaughter you are? Straighten up, Bitch! Because the more you bend over, the more your arse shows!

How It’s Going So Far

Today, I stand at the threshold of a new chapter, as I explore Lifestyle Medicine and holistic healing.  The journey ahead won't be easy – undoing years of damage never is. But armed with Vovo's timeless advice and my own hard-won knowledge, I'm ready to face whatever comes next.

To those reading this who might see echoes of their own struggles, I offer this:

• Question everything, especially when it comes to your health.

• Trust in the healing power of real, nourishing food and wellness-oriented lifestyle choices.

• Never underestimate how radically your life can change in a matter of seconds.

• And remember, sometimes it takes a storm to remind us of our own strength.

As I continue on this path of healing and rediscovery, I invite you to join me as I document my journey. Together, we can explore holistic approaches to wellbeing while forging a healthier, more empowered future.

After all, as Vovo would say, "Your health enters through your mouth" – and it's high time we started feeding ourselves the truth.