u/Stunning-Penalty2573

Update: Just watched Midsomnar since so many have mentioned it and I feel a lot of things lol. What a hauntingly beautiful and weird film…an instant classic, very glad I watched it. I’ve actually never liked horror films because I found them corny, but after watching this I am hooked! Such fresh writing. Thank you all for the recommendations. I Will keep watching more tonight. Btw, Ex Machina is one of my all time favorite movies.

Looking for my next modern poly synth and I’m hoping you guys know of alternatives. I need something for around $2,000 (under 2k is preferred); keybed; warm, vintage-sounding, and full like the Juno 60; No menu diving (or extremely minimal). I’ve heard the Bree6, the Udo Super 6, the Behringer DM12, and a couple of Dreadboxes (but no keybed). What else is out there?

As promised, I will provide information disproving that GERD and gastritis are unbeatable or unmanageable, how medication may be worsening your symptoms, and how to go back to enjoying a regular meal. I am exhausted from writing this and don't have much spare time, but I will try to answer questions whenever I can in the short future. Disclaimers first in order not to waste your time:

1. I am not a doctor, nurse, nor dietician; however, I believe that I have the qualifications needed to provide a testimony and I will post them below. I will also provide links to peer-reviewed articles. I am not recommending that you stop taking your medication, or stop your treatment; I am merely providing my testimony. I am not telling you to do this process, and you should speak to your doctor if you're curious about it.
2. Resolution does not mean cure. It means that the symptoms will lay dormant, as if you were normal, unless you abuse your system. Keyword is *abuse*, people can enjoy the occasional burgers and fries.
3. I learned that the method I tried will not work for people who have irreversible structural damage, autoimmune destruction, or dead nerves. These include Moderate to severe Hiatal Hernia, Systemic Scloderma (scleroderma), and Refractory Gastroparesis (Vagus Nerve Damage). I do not know if there are others illnesses and I do not know if you have them (again, ask a doctor).

If you're still here....I'm male, in my 40's, United States. I don't have a medical degree, but I do have a Masters in a scientific research-heavy field, having spent much of my time doing and writing research. I just joined this group and I see many people worried and in pain and I can empathize. Perhaps my most important qualification is that I have abused the hell out of my stomach and have been to the ER many times with several stomach issues. I was born into a family that drank Coke soda and never water, deep fried everything, ate candy throughout the entire day, and never went to the doctor. I continued that diet throughout my most of my life (adding an aggressive party lifestyle during my young adulthood), and even when I "dieted", I now know that it was only hurting me. The cycle then became: Feel terrible > Eat "healthy" > feel a little better > eat a few crappy meals mixed with mostly "healthy" meals > Emergency Room visit > medication > feel better temporarily > restart. At the age of 26, I was diagnosed with GERD, Gastritis, and hemorrhoids. I was never given a dietician...instead they gave me Pantoprazole, Simethicone, Sucralfate, and something else for stomach contractions. I took those for YEARS, and they were making me more ill. In my late 30's I developed a kidney stone which prompted the doctors to remove my gallbladder at the age of 41 (despite me eating "healthy" for years), making it even harder for me to digest food. After they removed my gallbladder I continued having digestive issues. My breaking point came when I started having fainting spells and ended up in the ER after falling face first to the ground and busting 4 of my teeth. Doctors found me with a low blood-count which made my doctor think I may have had colon cancer, so he ordered 2 colonoscopies within 6 months, and 2 endoscopies (I had more fainting spells after that big one). No one found anything. Fed up with the medical system, I decided to do my own research.

Speaking strictly about the US, in many non-private facilities, doctors are trained to treat the symptoms, give medication/therapy as treatment, and see the next patient; This is due to the sheer volume of people in and out. I was dealing with a well-known government hospital and this was confirmed by the hospital administrator. Because of this, they don't have the time to give you specific information, often treating it as common sense. You've all probably have heard things like: "Don't eat too much bread", "flour is bad", "fried stuff is bad"...but no one ever took the time to really explain what that "bad food" is, when you CAN eat it, or how much can you eat. I was very angry to find out that all this nutrition information is common among gastro doctors, because to my surprise, Gerd and gastritis are a MECHANICAL issue caused by backed up food, not a lifelong disease that came out of nowhere.

GERD is a Mechanical Issue Driven by Upward Pressure:

The medical consensus that GERD is an isolated, incurable failure of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) ignores the physical laws of the gastrointestinal tract. GERD is directly caused by pressure originating in the lower bowel. Increased intra-abdominal pressure from constipation and gas equalization is the major force that initiates GERD by overwhelming and disrupting the lower esophageal sphincter. The pathogenesis of GERD is linked to gastrointestinal motility disorders and delayed clearance in the lower tract. Clinical studies using wireless motility capsules prove that patients with slow colonic transit times (lower bowel blockages) have a significantly higher failure rate for anti-reflux surgeries. Fixing the top valve fails if the bottom pipe remains blocked, proving the mechanical link.

Refined Carbohydrates (Rice/Flour) Drive Constipation and Upward Pressure:

This is what "flour" is bad and "carbs" is bad really means. Refined, low-fiber carbohydrates like white rice and flour create a low-motility sludge that stalls in the colon, dehydrates, and creates the physical blockage that pushes acid upward. This sludge stays there for months/years as you keep adding more fats, spices, carbs, and dehydrated/processed foods, because your intestines are unable to heal and shed that sludge. Additionally, the pieces of bread that you ate won't be able to pass, instead it stays in your tract, fermenting into toxic matter, mixing with old bile, dancing around the sludge and eventually dehydrating and hiding in the folds of your intestines (and form sores, scabs underneath, while also robing you of nutrients like iron which caused my fainting spells). Adding to this, your stomach produces mucus to protect itself from irritants, as well as lubricate feces in order to exit. It also swims around with the sludge when eating unhealthy as your stomach keeps producing mucus from bad food. The dehydration from everything later turns into a thick cement-like paste and/or solids, pushing on your intestines, hiding in your intestines' folds, and accumulating as they expand to 2+ times their size, while also trapping gas underneath. This is why endoscopies and colonoscopies do not detect it; as long as doctors are able to see the walls of your intestines, they can see if you have cancer. The problem is, they cannot see in the folds, and a lot of the food may be fused there, camouflaging with the intestines. The only medical way to remove this is through a combination of laxatives and anal enemas, if you can convince a doctor that the "food in your stomach is causing medical issues". Prospective crossover studies confirm that high-carbohydrate meals cause a statistically significant increase in the frequency of acid reflux episodes, total reflux time, and the duration of reflux compared to low-carbohydrate meals. Clinical reviews of dietary patterns confirm that excessive intake of simple carbohydrates contributes directly to GERD symptom severity. Case series and clinical trials demonstrate that moving to very low-carbohydrate diets completely resolves GERD symptoms within two weeks in many patients by reversing the stagnation and fermentation. Chronic constipation and incomplete evacuation create massive pressure gradients; the symptom severity in constipated (which causes hemorrhoids and bleeding) patients matches the symptom severity of GERD, linking the two conditions physiologically.

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) Worsen Mechanical Function:

Medications like Omeprazole, Pantoprazole, and Esomeprazole suppress stomach acid and actively destroy your stomach's natural motility required to clear the lower tract, creating a toxic feedback loop. Why my doctors recommended Pantoprazole and simethicone every single day for years, Idk. Peer-reviewed trials demonstrate that long-term PPI use significantly impairs both gastric and intestinal motility, actively delaying intestinal transit time and exacerbating colonic dysmotility. PPI agents systematically decrease small intestine motility in a dose-dependent manner. By paralyzing the intestine, they manufacture the exact physical backup that forces stomach acid upward. Transit studies using wireless pH capsules confirm that altering the highly acidic environment of the stomach with PPIs disrupts the natural pH-driven motility milestones required to keep food moving out of the upper tract.

What does all of this mean; am I stuck eating low carb meals forever? No, here's how what I did to get rid of Gerd in about a month.

Here's the disgusting part. How did I get rid of cement and toxic liquids in my stomach? You've also heard "eat bland" by a doctor, but what does that even mean? If I eat BBQ every day for a year, having a bacon, ham, and cheese sandwich sounds like a bland meal. The reality is you DO have to eat bland, and it's not great (I'm sorry in advance), but only for a minimum of 3 months. This is about how long it takes your intestines to heal; however, note I said minimum...it takes 6 months+ for them to fully heal. I decided to do 3 months, and I'm currently on month 2 with no burn and minimum gas which both diminish each day. The resolution for issues caused by refined carbohydrates is...a refined carbohydrate! Weird, right? White Rice actually dissolves in your small bowels before even hitting bottom; BUT it causes constipation when you are backed up because it steals water from your already dehydrated stomach and becomes part of the sludge. However; in a healthy/healing stomach it acts as a cure when cooked in a specific way.

My process:

I started by changing my diet to a somewhat healthy diet for 2 weeks. This allowed me to start shedding some of the bulk in my stomach. I Cut carbs, ate lean protein and paired it with things like roasted potatoes, using very little extra virgin oil. Once those 2 weeks were up and I shed some of the bulk, it was time for the REAL beginning.

Warm, nearly tea-temperature Water is the most essential part of this and this is the only liquid I can drink during this. The process requires your body to naturally produce an insane amount of mucus to lubricate pieces of very dry and hard feces. The problem is that the mucus carries all of your body's sodium and electrolytes, making me insanely tired and sometimes feel bed-ridden. This is when sodium comes in: Adding a pinch of salt to 6oz of water helps your body retain water instead of passing it quickly, thus hydrating you and the feces (which makes it soft enough to pass). Natural potassium pills helped me with the other half of my lack of energy (no gel caps) as you lose a lot of potassium as well. Now, after those 2 weeks of "Healthy" eating and some bulked passed, I was able to take 6oz of Magnesium Citrate (over the counter) without shocking my stomach. By this point I spent the next 3 days going profusely to the toilet. Simultaneously, I tapered off my pantoprazole (only because the burn wasn't as intense) during the course of a week, and I started the strict, bland diet doctors should tell you about. This is composed of rice made with 3 cups of water to 1 cup of white rice, and chicken breasts, lean ground turkey, or fish...all boiled: No fats (not even spray), no spices, no hard surfaces. 3 times a day, no exceptions. The rice turns almost into a gell that sticks to your stomach lining and hydrates the feces. Shortly after starting the diet, I saw the fabled "sludge" spoken about and it is gross, in fact, I saw it many times because the process is cyclical and once you think you're done with old feces, you aren't. I saw many different textures, smells, and colors including red and black (fresh/old blood). Food stuck there for ages. As the sludge passes, the acid shoots straight up to my throat, burning my entire system on the way out. As I spit up all the built up mucus, old bile, and toxins, the burn subsided (proving that was causing Gerd). Then came more spitting mucus...and more...I have spent 2 months spitting (I still spit, although not nearly as often). The taste is disgusting, and it was so much that sometimes I could barely breathe as so much came out. I'm still going to the bathroom and seeing/smelling unspeakable things. I tasted almost all the shitty food I ate, including food I hadn't eaten in many months like papaya smoothies and pizza. The only thing keeping me going is the thought of eating a burger in about a month.

Only After my burn subsided and I was able to eat meals without feeling the burn (roughly after a month or month and half), I started to add egg yolks to my meals which contains fat and essensial nutrients. To my surprise, 0 burn even on day one. Note that I still feel the occasional burn, but it is caused by the sludge, not the new food as it is not acidic. My next step after 2 weeks of that, is adding carrots (they work the best) which will the soluble fiber that acts as a broom for anything remaining, and for retraining my stomach to run at full power. Fiber is NEEDED (after taking the previous steps) in order to both go to the bathroom AND prevent the paste/sludge/cement. I'll be eating this for at least one more month, but the idea is to only return to regular meals once all gas, burn, and pressure goes away; messing with this diet in anyway can cause a bad reaction and a soft reset in my recovery. Currently, I haven't had hemorrhoids, bleeding, stomach contractions, or acid. It's worth saying that I have been taking other essential medication (not for my stomach) and although it stalls the process a bit, I don't have any other choice; however, there is a safer way to take meds. The process then is: Eat somehwat healthy for 2 weeks to knock the bigger bm out > take magnesium citrate + start rice mush diet > Wait for burn to feel better before stopping meds > wait for burn to go away for 3 days straight to start egg yolks > eat the rice and protein with 2 (or 1 with each meal) yolks per day (it has to be runny or spilled over the hot rice on your plate to let it cook that way).

My researched plan going forward:

"Eat with meal" is another phrase I learned to dislike. What that really means is you do not take it before, you do not take it after: You sandwich your pills with food. You do this by eating a bit, then taking the meds, then finishing eating. That creates a barrier around that will trap acid where the pill creates it, instead of shooting up your throat. Rice remains a great way to trap acid and help digest once my stomach is recovered, and I plan to keep eating it (by the time you're healthy, you can cook regular water to rice ratio and even season it). Now the good news: this "sandwich " method is applicable to unhealthy food! How many times have you heard "Don't eat junk on an empty stomach", what that means is that if you eat a bag of cheetoes by itself, you are devoid of protein, fiber, and nutritious food that prevent the acid and paste/sludge from forming. So, if you eat ice cream, do so immediately after a meal. Also, (and I'm really sorry), do not drink anything cold while you're eating. I mentioned that very warm water was esential, that's because it promotes digestions while cold drinks paralyzes the process; so if you eat ice cream, chase it with warm water. The stomach takes around 2 hours to be empty after a meal; These are the only times anyone should drink anything cold (unless they're overheating) overheating. It's also the time to eat HEALTHY snacks (such as nuts). If you snack an hour after eating, you may be adding to a new sludge. So, what things to avoid and how to live a normal life:

1. I cannot abuse again. Yes, I can eat chocolate with a meal containing protein, fiber, and healthy fats...no I cannot go back to eating chocolate for dinner. I have to remember that as long as I have a meal with fiber, healthy protein, and healthy fat, my stomach will register the cookie as part of a regular meal. So I will only eat a moderate ammount of cookies with healthy meals. As soon as I start eating a bunch of cookies and eating bacon every day, Gerd WILL return.
2. I will walk after heavy meals and try to maintain a healthier lifestyle like working out in order to help digestion.
3. I will take Digestive Enzymes and Ox Bile supplements (with no gel caps as they help build pastye/sludge) to digest fat, dairy, etc, in heavy meals, helping prevent the paste. I will only return to ox bile because I don't have a gallbladder, but the enzymes help me digest in general (read labels to see which food they attack, including lactose).
4. I will remember what causes the sludge and hard stools: Dehydration (ALWAYS hydrate, and more so if you eat like crap), processed carbs (bread, pasta, cookies), heavy dairy products like hard cheeses and heavy cream, dense and low fiber proteins (red meats and processed meats like hot dogs and sauseges), food binders (like xantham gum, guar gum, and carrageenan), Deep fried foods and transfats (especially when mixed with flour which causes a dense paste), Rifined sugar (candy).

Peered reviewed articles and refferences in the comments.

I love playing the pads on the Beatstep pro like a keyboard, and would like to find a cv/midi controller that offers that. I see a few of them, but I need it to have a keyboard layout like the Joué Pro midi controller (which lacks cv). The Muse Kinetic K board has cv and would be perfect, but from what I read it’s not very playable (stiff pads, unusable bend pad, finicky midi). Maybe someone has better experience with the k board or another Muse Kinetics board, or maybe another board? Thank you!