Just wanted to write a very short thank you post. I’ve suffered from chronic gastritis and reflux for over two years and had been put on quite high doses of PPIs in order to keep it under control.
I started replacing breakfasts with Huel back in August, because the high doses of PPIs were affecting nutrient absorption, and also I am vegetarian so find it quite hard to keep my protein intake high enough to counteract these side effects.
Huel surpassed my expectations. I’ve always been breakfast-ambivalent and gone for the easiest quickest meal so I could get on with my day, so it’s been a huge dietary improvement. It’s enabled me to wean myself completely off the PPIs (very slowly, to avoid rebound acid) and it’s now been over a fortnight since I’ve taken any omeprazole and currently have no gastritis or reflux symptoms at all.
I am not a doctor, and I can’t claim that it was solely Huel that caused the improvement (I have been trying some other things along side), but I’m pretty sure it’s been a big factor in my recovery.
Thank you . Still planning to continue having Huel for breakfast and have started replacing some lunches too when time-pressed (and lazy )
I know this is old, but couldn’t find another post with the same topic. I also suffer from gastritis, and have trouble eating enough calories. Huel looks like a possible solution to that problem. Which flavor of Huel did you end up using? I’d prefer the vanilla, but I’m worried that the sweetener will irritate my stomach.
Hi mute I have the vanilla and add toffee flavouring to it with no issues with irritation. Although I’m sure you can get samples of sweetened and unsweetened to see which suits you best.
I still get gastritis flare ups from time to time, sadly, but they’re shorter lived and not as severe. Huel is the one thing I can eat during a flare up that is well tolerated and gives decent nutrition. I’d definitely recommend giving it a go.
Thanks for posting this - I was really interested to read about your experiences. I also have had chronic gastritis and have been on PPIs for the best part of 10 years!! I have been on Huel for four or five months now so I’m thinking of weaning off the PPIs slowly. How did you go about weaning off them? I know if I don’t take them for a couple of days I get bad rebound, so want to avoid that if at all possible!!
Really really REALLY slowly. From vague memory, I had a tablet in the morning and a tablet in the evening. I decided the evening one was the most important for me, so I started only having a morning tablet every other day (and took a ranitidine instead on the days I didn’t have it) for a week or two. Then stretched to every two days, then dropped it all together (but still taking ranitidine).
Then did the same with the evening tablet. Then I gradually dropped the ranitidine in a similar way using antacids to help with rebound symptoms (much, much less with ranitidine, I’ve found).
I still use ranitidine during flareups but I find I don’t get the rebound issues as I did with the PPI. And I’ll add the usual disclaimer that this is what worked for me, but everyone’s body and triggers are different - it’s really important to pay attention to what’s going on for you and adjust as required If you’ve been on PPIs for years, it probably won’t be an overnight process.
This last year, I have occasionally had an uncomfortable sensation whilst eating. Almost as though the food was stuck in my throat, but it wasn’t, if that makes sense. It only happened occasionally, and lasted for about 10 minutes, perhaps 3 times in 9 months. However, it very recently became more severe to the point of causing me to violently vomit! The last instance was after a lovely Italian meal (very meaty), I managed to get out of the car and vomited 8 times, but felt absolutely fine immediately afterwards.
I recently started taking Nexium, once a day, and no issues so far. I can sometimes feel a sensation of it recurring whilst eating, but it subsides.
Anyway, to the point, I am planning on taking Huel again, to replace all meals, 5 days a week, hoping to eat normally at weekends. Are you still PPI free? Were your symptoms anything like mine?
I have chronic GERD too due to an hiatal hernia since a lot of years. Huel helps a lot, I drink it for dinner and have less problems going to bed than when I was eating normal dinners.
Just be cautios with PPI like Nexium or omeprazol: they’re not friendly meds. They are nasty, because they inhibit a normal physiological function. I take them too, but only for short periods of time, like a 2 or 3 weeks, when I really can’t cope with the symptoms. Unless your doctor told you otherwise (like to my father, but that’s because he has to take lot of other meds that mess with his stomach), PPI are not to be taken everyday forever.
Hi poinsy, I’m still PPI free, although currently am in a cycle where I need to rely on ranitidine (I’m not too worried though as symptoms are well controlled, and I don’t get the side effects with ranitidine that I used to with PPIs).
However, I did want to say that a) my symptoms weren’t as severe as yours sound and b) that feeling like you’re unable to swallow/feeling food stuck in your throat was one of the red flag symptoms that my doctor warned me about. Please do go see a medical professional ASAP and don’t rely on over the counter meds or dietary changes only for this. There are some quite serious conditions that can cause those symptoms and you really do need to get checked out, if only to rule them out.
I agree, that’s how I’ve discovered my hiatal hernia. It’s not curable, but I do a gastroscopy every year or two to keep it under control. It’s a bit annoying, but better than a colonscopy.
Thanks danosavi and DancingNeo. I will certainly not take the med for more than 14 days. I am already skipping a day. Huel has never caused a problem. Nor do I have heartburn when I go to bed. And it only seems to be meaty products that occasionally cause it.
Good to read this. I have a hiatus hernia and if I don’t take my PPI the symptoms are unbearable. Some nights I will thought I might due…or wish I would just to make it stop! I also have IBS and am dairy intolerant so I’m really hoping that using Huel will help my poor digestive system in some way. Getting off PPIs would be a brilliant outcome.
Good luck NurseWAF. For the record, my colleague had the operation for a hiatus hernia about 10 years ago. This worked, but now, he has the problems again, so it clearly wasn’t a long-term solution.
I would certainly give Huel a try. The nature of the product helps its bio-availability. The convenience is great. That said, I would recommend swilling it around your mouth a little, as this helps saliva production which is a good thing. Sip it and enjoy it
Have you tried alginates based products? My doctor always gives me one (Gaviscon, don’t know if it has the same name in your country) and I take it before going to sleep, it’s actually more effective than PPIs in the short period, like overnight. I too can’t sleep without it and sometimes even if I take PPI, symptoms are still strong.
Now i take PPIs only in short periods, like in mid seasons when the symptoms are worse.
Also, I’m trying some strong probiotics I’ve bought from UK that should alleviate IBS, I hope they’ll work better than the expensive and ineffective products I found in our pharmacies.
Yeah, that’s the reason all the doctors I asked never wanted to give me a go for the operation. Hiatal hernia is not curable because science has not yet found a way to artificially replicate the stomach valve as they do with heart, so any solution is temporary. Here operations are done only to ER patients with very strong and unbearable symptoms.
. Still planning to continue having Huel for breakfast and have started replacing some lunches too when time-pressed (and lazy 
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